Marrying Fountain Pens and Paper with the Cloud

This is a guest post by Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D. You can find him on twitter @assistivetek and his blog assistivetek.blogpsot.com

As much as I enjoy my digital tools there is just something about using pen and paper that still feels just right! For the past couple of months, I have gotten back to using fountain pens in my work flow and have really enjoyed using a variety of fountain pens and ink colors that abound. The big question for me was just how could I integrate it with my workflow? You see for me to keep organized I generally keep everything in my iPhone and have been using Evernote for the past eight years. While this problem may seem insurmountable I did find a workflow that allows me to use my fountain pens and continue to use my Evernote account.

One of my favorite note taking tools is Evernote which I have been using for some time now. Evernote is a great way to capture ideas, notes, images, audio and store it on the web for easy access. Not too long ago, Evernote in collaboration with Moleskine came out with journals that allowed me to quickly move my handwritten notes to the cloud with full searching capabilities. The system is very easy to use and gave me the ability to continue to take notes using a fountain pen and paper. After writing my notes or tasks I can use Smart Stickers that come with the Evernote writing journals to quickly file my notes into the right notebook using the camera on my iPhone. The Smart Stickers are quite ingenious. Using the camera on my iPhone I can associate a sticker with a particular notebook. For example, if you associate the sticker that has a House icon on it with your Work notebook, then when you take a picture of that page that has the house sticker affixed, it automatically will file the note in your Work notebook. The Evernote system works great and one of the big advantages of this system is that you can easily search all your handwritten notes. Evernote will OCR all of your handwritten notes and make searching them very easy. Using the Evernote journal from Moleskine has allowed me to use my fountain pens and marry my need to keep my notes and to-do in the cloud.

While searching the web one day, I came across a relatively new solution that bridges the analog to digital world for note taking called Whitelines Link. Whitelines Link produces several different notepads with a grey background with whitelines, with a unique looking code on the four corners of each page. On the bottom of each page is a set of three icons in a box, which probably needs no introduction and includes one for Email, Evernote, and Dropbox. More about this a little later. The notebooks were designed this way so that when you write or draw on the page your words or drawings pop on the page. I have been using the Whitelines Link A5 Squared notebook for the last two months and have really enjoyed the experience. The Whitelines Link notebook is spiral bound so the pages lay flat and the paper quality is great for use with a pencil, gel pen or even a fountain pen. Once I have finished my page of notes - there is where the fun begins! First I decide what I want to do with my notes- am I going to send them to someone via email, or save them to my Evernote or Dropbox account? By ticking off one of the icons on the bottom of the page I can easily and automatically route the note without having to think about it. As a heavy user of Evernote this works great. When I'm done with my note, I simply tick off the Evernote icon and when I open the Whitelines Link app on my iPhone and take a picture of the note, the app using the codes on the corner of the page can senses where the note is and automatically routes it to my Evernote account for safe keeping. The Whitelines Link app is available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and is free. I should mention that when you use the Whitelines Link app to capture your notes, the grey background and white lines disappear and all you are left with are your notes on a white background which really highlights your ideas! The ways to use Whitelines Link is only limited by your creativity. Whitelines Link notebooks are available on Amazon and are licensed to be used with Leuchtturm Whitelines Link Black Pocket Dots notebooks which are readily available in the United States. This is a great product and one that I know you will enjoy using.

If you enjoy using fountain pens to jot down ideas, journal, or for writing your to-do lists then you may want to consider bringing the analog to digital gap by using the Moleskine Evernote, Whitelines Link, or the Leuchtturm Whitelines Link Black Pocket Dots notebooks. All of the notebook solutions add a considerable value proposition and one that allowed me to continue to use fountain pens that are then married to my cloud based services!

Top 5 Blue Pens to Cure the Blues

Blue, Blue & More Blue

Looking over all the new pens that have been launched by the greatest pen-makers like Pelikan, Pilot, Conklin and more, we've noticed a great deal of blue this year. Without further adieu, let's check out all the awesome blue pens that are currently available :

Pilot Vanishing Point Matte Blue Fountain Pen (View)
2016's latest line extension of the ever-popular Pilot Vanishing Point ("Capless" if you're outside of the US) retractable fountain pen. This royal blue is finished with a satin feel and stealth black trims. A black plated 18kt gold nib is installed to complement the furniture and clip.

Conklin All American Lapis Blue (View)
We were so stunned by the vibrant, marbled blue of the Conklin All American that we had to do a video overview on this pen to capture its gorgeous color.

Pelikan M205 Blue Transparent (View)
A re-issue of the same style that had been a hit success back in 2011 with a slightly updated finial top. Not much changes with these Pelikans, and that's a good thing! If you're a fan of high-performing demonstrators and the color blue, this one is a must have for your collection.

Pelikan M805 Vibrant Blue (View)
This special edition for Pelikan does not disappoint. The barrel and cap are made from a translucent, marbled blue acrylic that is a marvel to behold and feel in hand. Check out our video review, which has been lovingly called "pen porn," here.

OMAS Arte Italiana Vintage 556F (View)
While this isn't a new pen, we recently got our hands on the very last of this classically designed OMAS pen because we fell in love with the simplicity and the richness of the resin color. The navy blue is paired with either gold trim or platinum-plated trim. The demure and subtle quality of this combination is not to be overlooked.

To match these wonderfully blue pens, we'd recommend the following inks and notebooks :

Mont Blanc Leo Tolstoy Sky Blue Ink (View)
A limited edition ink, this Leo Tolstoy is one of our best sellers in Mont Blanc fountain pen inks.

Rhodiarama Webnotebooks (View)
The high quality paper in the Rhodia webnotebooks can handle most fountain pen inks and nibs. The sturdy hard cover and elastic band ensure your writings and sketches stay protected in your daily travels. The Rhodiarama collection has a color cover to match every personality, with several shades of blue to match your blue pens & inks.

The Write Stuff Clairefontaine Notebook Giveaway

So, we've got this little newsletter we do once a week called "The Write Stuff." This week, we're writing up issue #52, which means we've done this for about a year now. A giveaway is in order!

At over 29,000 active subscribers and growing, we're eager to hit that 30k milestone. In case you haven't heard of us, or have been reluctant to get YET ANOTHER E-MAIL from a online retail company, please allow me to tell you why the Write Stuff is better than your typical, sales-driven e-mail list.

It's full of photos of awesome, beautiful, writing gear. 

Hey, we get it! You've got to eat and pay the mortgage like anyone else. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy the aesthetic beauty of these wonderful, new pens and inks we have to offer. Our newsletter has plenty of gorgeous pictures for you to oogle and put on your wish list for later.

It keeps you informed of the best pen content on the internet.

We love sharing posts from your favorite pen bloggers like Brad Dowdy from the Penaddict.com, Azizah from Gourmetpens.com, Matt from Penhabit.com and SBRE Brown. We share links to pen reviews, ink reviews and other fun articles that will inspire and delight.

It gets you the best bang for your pen buck.

Every week, we try to have a new promotion where we are adding value to your order by including a complimentary pen, ink or notebook. We run our Weekly Dip specials that change every Thursday that you can take advantage of at an additional discount. We also run special sales where you can save additional $'s off your next order. How will you know about any of these specials? By signing up, of course!

It only happens once a week, for a few minutes.

Think of all the times you have to listen or watch the same ad over and over again. On any given day I'm listening to at least 20 minutes of ads on Spotify, watching 8 minutes of ads on a 30-minute television program, or scanning through ads on the Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed. All we ask for is a quick 2 minutes each week for you to look through our newsletter. That's it! The only time you can expect a few extra e-mails is during a special, holiday promotion or during Christmastime.

It's an exclusive list that never gets spammy

Look, we get a ton of e-mail, everyday. There are some e-mails that you look forward to opening, and others that you are eager to find the "unsubscribe" button. We treat your attention like it is ours and would only want to send you premium content that you enjoy looking at each week. Goldspot will never rent or sell your e-mail address to ANYONE! We respect the trust you have put in us to provide us with your e-mail address and would never compromise it for a quick buck.

So, if you're looking to join for FREE and enter our giveaway, please submit your entry below. You also have the option to tweet about this giveaway to spread the word (and earn an additional entry in the giveaway).

This week, we're giving away these Clairefontaine Classic pocket notebooks (3.5" x 5.5" size) that contain a 96 pages of fountain pen-loving ruled paper. We'll pick 10 winners to get 2 notebooks a piece. Giveaway closes Tuesday, June 21st at 11am. Good luck and have fun!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

#WriteitWednesday - Quote from your Favorite Book

] Yesterday was National Librarian's Day. Inspired by these stewards of the printed word, our #writeitwednesday challenge for today is to write a quote from your favorite book.

Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut

Share the pic of your entry on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #writeitwednesday and mention @goldspotpens to make sure we see it! You may also opt to e-mail us the picture at social@goldspot.com.

Deadline for entries will be Thursday at 10:00am Eastern US Time. We will randomly select a winner on Thursday at 12 Noon.

This Week's Prize

Up for grabs this week is a Rhodia 80th Anniversary Limited Edition Notepad and Pencil Set. This No 80 notepad is made in France and contains 70 sheets of 90 gsm ivory paper in grid format. The cover is decorated with a black and copper Rhodia design and so is the accompanying pencil.

About #WriteitWednesday

Each Wednesday, we run a new social giveaway challenge with a different giveaway prize every week. Anyone around the world with an Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or E-mail account can enter. Once the entries have been collected and the deadline has passed, we randomly select one of the entries as the winner of the giveaway and send the prize accordingly.

No purchase is necessary to enter the #writeitwednesday giveaway. Those who enter the contest via social media may have their images shared by Goldspot on this blog or on Goldspot's Social media accounts. The winner will have 1 week to contact us by e-mail to claim their prize. If the prize is unclaimed, it will be used in a future giveaway.

April 2013 Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper

] Welcome and step right up.

 
We're proud to host the April 2013 edition of the Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper. These are posts freshly picked from the wild of the internet blog-o-sphere that stoke your love of the writing process and its materials. Check them out! Maybe you will find a new blog to follow, a new pen to lust after or just a plain ol' good read.

EDITOR'S CHOICE

dowdyism presents My Fountain Pen Education: The Edison Pearl -- The Pen Addict posted at The Pen Addict.


PENS

Ed Jelley presents Sailor 1911 Professional Gear Imperial Black Edition Fountain Pen – Handwritten Review posted at edjelley.com.

TonyB presents 6 Sexy Budget Ballpoint Pens posted at Tiger Pens Blog.

Bruno Taut presents KMPN: Lamy Safari Neon Yellow (2013) posted at KMPN.

Sandra Strait presents Review of the Pentel Energel X Roller Ball Retractable Gel Pen #shopletreviews posted at Life Imitates Doodles.

Azizah Asgarali presents Review: Airmail 444 Eyedropper Fountain Pen - Flex posted at Gourmet Pens

Heather presents Dong-A Miffy Scented Gel Ink Pen 0.5mm posted at A Penchant for Paper.

Jackie Parkins presents Pilot Petit1 Mini Fountain Pens posted at Addicted to Pens and Paper.

INK

Ed Jelley presents Diamine Eau De Nil – Handwritten Ink Review posted at edjelley.com.

Azizah Asgarali presents Review: Sailor Jentle Grenade Ink posted at Gourmet Pens. 


PAPER

Ed Jelley presents Leuchtturm 1917 – Jottbook – Handwritten Stationery Review posted at edjelley.com.

Azizah Asgarali presents Review: Moleskine LEGO Pocket Ruled Notebook posted at Gourmet Pens.

Aisazia presents Alternative Frugal Traveler's Notebook Pt 1: Cover + Sketchbook Binding posted at Ethereal Voices: Story/Art Progress Blog.
 

EVERYTHING ELSE

Liz Shaw presents Addicted to Office Supplies posted at Liz Andra Shaw.
 
Liron Yankonsky presents Art in the Middle East: Drawing Lesson - Sketching and Shading techniques posted at Art in the Middle East.


Thanks for reading this month's edition of the Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper. Stay tuned for the next issue coming May 7th over at the Rants of the Archer Blog. You can submit an article (requires log-in) if you have a post you would like to share.

When I see a Notebook

When I see a notebook...

When I see a notebook, I think of the stories that have yet to be told.
The notes that have yet to become ideas fully manifest.
An unrequited love, a terrible shame to bear.
Loops, swoops and curls. Writing for writing's sake.
Some thoughts that barely make it out of the pen, only to be erased.
Proud moments in our lives that remind ourselves the struggle is worthy.
I see the quiet, contemplative thoughts that surface after a day of turmoil.
The to-do's, plans well laid that never go as planned.
The cursing, dark thoughts that have their place on pages instead of the internet.
A roller coaster with peaks of optimism, followed by troughs of pessimism.
An appreciation of beauty in all of its amorphousness.

It's life as a human being, inside of a human being.

--This ode to the notebook has been brought to you by the wonderfully colorful Rhodiarama notebooks, which just arrived at the office this afternoon. I can't help myself when I see such a beautiful cover, full of silky smooth ivory paper.

Finally, A Finished Moleskine

The crowd was wildly untamed that late March afternoon. Preparations were made earlier that day for a celebration that would be remembered through the ages. Balloons were netted, confetti corked, the champagne put on ice. The police could hardly hold the barricades up as the climax of the event was about to take place.

I was about to write my final words in this God-forsaken Moleskine journal.

It was an event that was over two years in the making. You could blame a lack of daily writing for the sluggish pace. When I bought the Moleskine back in January of 2010, I didn't know any better, I swear. I was convinced, as many of the uninitiated are, that if Picasso, Chopin and other famous artistic minds had used this journal, then I should have one as well.

I was very wrong.

As a nearly-exclusive fountain pen user, I found out pretty quickly that the "1-ply" paper quality that Moleskine affords (don't you have another square to spare?) just doesn't cut it for most pen & ink combinations. Part of the fun in owning fountain pens is to write with the entire gamut of the visible spectrum, and the journal I chose to write in is color-blind. It would only "accept" lighter, less saturated colors. All other inks had a fair amount of bleed-through to the other side of the page. I'm not a wasteful person, so only using one side of the page was not an agreeable solution.

Making sure that there was always a pen loaded with Moleskine-friendly ink around, I drudged on through the journal. It wasn't until after doing some homework on the internet that I found many like-minded FP users to be complaining of the same issues with the paper. The ultimate solution - we started carrying Rhodia!

After my pen tasted the promise land of 90 gsm, French-milled, ivory silkiness that is the Webbie, the Moleskine's days became numbered. There was much unrest about how long it would take to finish the last 30 or 40 pages that remain in that wretched Mole, but it had to be done. There were principles to uphold.

Sensing the imminent transition, the citizens ordered the new Rhodia Webnotebook into the presence of the writer to push him to write more and faster. The new journal, wrapped in its thin layer of clear plastic and packaging, taunted him, made his hand quiver in regret as the last few pages were being written. The crowd became cross, frustrated and impatient.

5 sheets to go. 7 pages left. 2 pages. 1 more entry.

As the last word was laid to rest, the crowd erupted into relief and jubilation. The writer collapsed in tears and raised his arms to embrace the sky. It was done. That chapter is over.

Here are the pages that were used to catalog the ink & pen combinations that were used over the 2+ years. They are in order from the very last page of the journal going inward (in reverse).





 

Take my life lesson seriously folks - if you are an avid fountain pen user, you would be doing yourself a disservice by using a Moleskine journal. Go Rhodia and never look back.

Tom Needs Your Help!

Our very own Tom O. from the graphic department entered an e-mail design contest and was selected as a top 10 finalist! He needs your help to make it to #1! Voting on the top 10 designs is taking place now until Jan 31st.

Please click the following link : http://www.verticalresponse.com/email-template-challenge/t1/

Then, click the "like" button to vote on Tom's Design, which is called "Hand Drawn Moleskine (notebook)". You will need to be logged into Facebook (which most people are nowadays) to cast the vote. You do not need to give any e-mail address or personal info to vote.

This is a sample of what the e-mail template looks like :

If Tom is selected as the winner, this template will be included for all Vertical Response e-mail clients to use in their correspondence, which would be a huge thrill! I greatly appreciate your time and help to get the word out on this vote and to get as many people as you can go vote on it as well. If you would like to use this e-mail template and know a bit of HTML to be able to customize it to your needs, please drop me a line at toddo [at] Goldspot dot com

Pen Spotlight - Veni, Vidi, Voting

While voting for Election 2010 has now concluded, voting for Pen of the Year 2010 continues until Tuesday, November 9th. Cast your Vote for your favorite pen.

A pair of spotlight posts come from OfficeSupplyGeek, who was nice enough to take the time to visit and buy some products at our Pen Trunk Show back last month. In a post about our show, he writes about the Montegrappa Muhammad Ali and new Lamy Studio finish that he spotted.

In an interview with one of our own, OSG featured Tom's Desk and favorite office supplies. It is a part of the What's on their Desk series, which is a series of interviews of people in the stationery, fine-writing and office supply industries about what tools do they use everyday.

Reviews:
Okami reviewed the new Delta Italiana fountain pen. The additional photos and writing sample are done very well to give you a great impression of how that pen looks and writes. The "aged/dull" finish of the swirl colors really doesn't translate well in pictures. You have to feel the pen for yourself!

The NoteBooker got a hold of some neat Waterman Harley Davidson Pens. He compared the Harley Free Wheel and Horizon to other fountain pens you may also have in your collection : the Lamy Safari and Monteverde Invincia. We also have them up for sale on our clearance section, as these styles have been discontinued.

Other Pen News:
Tiger Pens talks about a Telegraph article that wrote about how stationery shops are flourishing amid the digital revolution. "Journalers are cool kids now," Tony writes. Yes! Finally!

Pen Spotlight - Nice and Crap Notebooks

Yes, this is a "pen spotlight" post, but I just happened to find a few blogs that were talking about notebooks in the last few weeks that I found interesting to share with our pen crowd. Most notably, Notebook Stories sparked a discussion about the importance of having a crap notebook. Especially check out the comments below the post. Seems that most people have both nice & crap notebooks, each with their own intended uses.

I nearly squee'd when I saw that Moleskine was coming out with new covers for the iPhone and iPad that have notebooks attached to them. These hybrid tools are fantastic for those who straddle the line of tech and old-fashioned pen & paper tasking. They are taking pre-orders on Amazon, but one would assume that the covers will hit the US market shortly before the Holiday Season in the next month or so.

For our long-term Filofax fans out there who stumble across their beat up, old leather cover organizer, there is still hope yet to restore it! Philofaxy has a great how-to article on restoring a leather Filofax cover. Pictures included.

Rhodia recently sponsored an event called Two Night Stand, which according to Rhodia Drive :

[Two Night Stand] was planned as a weekend-long collaborative event where 20 creatives (designers, bloggers, photographers, coders, illustrators, video artists, etc.) would converge to tackle a mystery project together.  The entire creative process was to be cataloged online via the website and through social media.
You can see it here at http://www.thetwonightstand.com/feed

Creative collaboration, especially when done under a time constraint, is always a fun time, provided there is enough caffeine (or beer, in this case) to go around. The Rhodia pads they used were probably a great asset as they needed to sketch, design and draw out their concept from start to completion. One other writing escapade that will commence shortly is NaNoWriMo, which is a yearly event that takes place the entire month of November. The goal is to write an entire draft of a novel during the span of the month. Having tried and failed last year, I can tell you that it is no small feat.

See Your Decisions Through

An article by Clive Thompson in the most recent issue of Wired Magazine inspired this post. In his article, titled "Think Visual," he explains that our society hangs its hat on using words to describe complex topics and decisions when it really should be drawing pictures.

He writes that "dynamic, complicated problems - like global warming and economic reform - often can't be boiled down to simple narratives." Since there are so many factors that effect / may effect the system, the explanation of the problem is not as simple as putting two dots and drawing a line between them. For someone to comprehend such a multi-faceted issue, the fastest way is a picture.

First thing that came to mind after reading the article was the expression, "should I draw you a picture?" I imagine someone turning around in frustration after verbally explaining a dire situation to the dolt walking behind them and berating them with that facetious, condescending question. Yes, drawing pictures is addressing the lowest common denominator. Think of airports. How many pictures do you see there that point you in the right direction of the baggage claim, taxis and to the nearest Starbucks?

True, it does seem childish to be drawing your ideas on paper. Example:  Jay & Silent Bob's plan to take down the stage in Mallrats (left). The example that Thompson used in his article shows how visual thinking can be applied in a much broader sense. He cites President Obama's inability to effectively communicate his ideas in the health care debate. I remember in the election, one of his criticisms was that he sounded too "professorial." Dan Roam, author of The Back of the Napkin, drew a series of napkin pictures that visually explained the proposed models of healthcare. These pictures were wildly popular on the 'Net and he was even tapped by the Obama administration for help with their future public communications.

So, how does this apply to writing and pens? Well, the keyboard is still quite a "wordy" device, only capable of expressing ideas through prose and ASCII character art, if need be. Pen and paper is still the standard. After all, how did Dan write on all those napkins? I really enjoy Levenger's annotation notepaper because they give you ruled paper covering 3/4's of the page while the other part is plain, giving you scratch room for small sketches, notes and other nebulous ideas that don't fit in with the narrative structure next door. Notebook companies are also early adopters of this idea, offering not only lined, but gridded and plain versions of Moleskine and Rhodia papers in order to give the flexibility of describing your idea.

So, next time you have a big decision or a project to undertake, get yourself a plain piece of paper, a pen, a cup of joe and go for it. Get visual. See the final outcome you'd like to achieve and conceive all the steps to get there. Anyone out there have a similar process for planning and explaining things?

Starting a New Venture

Headed back to school? Want to start a new business? Want to create your own home office? We all have our reasons to hunker down and get busy. I was recently watching the first episode of the Food Network Show 24 Hour Restaurant Battle. The premise of the "reality contest" is two teams of two people face off against each other to prepare a menu, create a "front of the house" and get a fully working restaurant together in 24 short hours. The rules are explained to the contestants and the clock starts ticking. What's the first thing that happens?

Out come the notebooks and pens!

"Fail to plan, plan to fail." - old proverb

Before getting their hands dirty chopping, dicing and decorating, everything is listed, sketched and noted prior to action. This is essential when jumping into a new project or venture. There needs to be a strategy, a plan of attack that can be best laid out on paper.

Here's what you need:

• A writing instrument
• A surface to write on
• Paper
• Ideas

I would say that, based upon the project you're starting up and your own preference toward fine pens and stationery would depend on the types or brands of products that you would be reaching for in the brainstorming session. For the design oriented, focused on creating a product or website, go with a Rhodia graph notebook with at least on mechanical pencil, like the Caran d'Ache Metal collection. For the artistic, try a Moleskine sketchbook (large is a great size for scanning on a typical flatbed scanner or all-in-one) along with rollerball pen that can accept fibertip refills. The culinary inclined can make great use of a Passions Recipe Journal. Running a babysitting service? A Filofax Organizer is the tops for keeping track of all your appointments and client's requests. If you're planning on a start up company and have to fill out all those legal forms, do it with style using a fountain pen.

The most important part is to have a place to do your thinking and planning that can be your go-to escape from the rest of the world. Whether it be a desk or a part of the kitchen table, this spot has to be yours and it has to have all of your materials readily accessible so that you can get working at a moments notice to get those ideas out and on paper.

Has anyone started anything recently that they would like to share? Any particular office supplies and/or fine writing instruments assist in the creative process?

Conquer Technology and Get it Done

We are meant to believe that the newest technological wonder is supposed to make our lives easier and more simplified. Part of living easy is being able to do your work quicker and more effectively, so you avoid long hours at the office and unnecessary stress. Think of all the smartphone, iPad and car commercials that you see. How many of you feel as carefree and at peace as those people on the advertisement?.... Don't raise your hands all at once...

Stever Robbins, author of the future best-selling book 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More, also has a podcast (which is one of my favorites to listen to), which offers bite-size tips to improve your productivity and business relationships. On a guest post about 3 secrets for doing less and working more, Stever brings up an important topic that he also writes about in his book : Conquering Technology!

If you were to imagine your version of a perfect world, would it even have half of the gizmos and gadgets that we use in our daily lives? On my "deserted island" scenario, I wouldn't bring my cellphone (there's no 3G coverage) or my laptop (only 2 hours of battery life and no internet) but I would most likely bring my fountain pen, a bottle of ink and a few dozen notebooks to document my adventures. Gee, that works anywhere, regardless if the network is down or if you're out of reception!

For us to simplify our work and our lives, Stever writes that we need to evaluate how technology works / doesn't work for us. For keeping appointments and schedules, does a Filofax or the Outlook calendar better suit you? Is it easier to manage pen & paper contacts or do it digitally through your Gmail contacts?

Stever writes about task lists, "The task list on my phone and computer is more trouble than it’s worth. I routinely ignore any tasks that had scrolled off the screen, and scrolling down the interface takes ages. I jumped ship to a to-do list on a 3x5 notepad and pencil and I’ve been blissfully happy ever since" Couldn't agree more with you there, as I have post-it notes and my own paper task manager template to keep tabs on all the actionable items attached to projects.

Next time you hear, "there's an app for that," consider the prospect of using that new, flashy application against your current techniques of organization and communication. Just because there is a new iPhone that can do your taxes for you and tell you what a handsome person you are doesn't mean that it is going to be a vast improvement over your accountant and a mirror. Yet, conquering technology doesn't mean shunning it completely. It means making it work for you, as it is supposed to do.

Back to School Season for Adults?

This is a guest post written by Brian from OfficeSupplyGeek.com, the go-to website for in-depth reviews on cool and innovative office supplies. You can also find OfficeSupplyGeek on Facebook.

Back to School shopping was always fun when I was a kid, and even today I still fondly remember the excitement of picking out new pens, pencils and notebooks. Now, as an adult when I look back at those seemingly archaic items and how excited I was about getting them, I cant help but question whether the excitement was just because of the fact that I got to have “new stuff” or were these stationery items really just that cool for the time period I was growing up in?

If I force myself to answer that question, I’d have to say that, these products really were some of the best and coolest out there, even as I sit here looking at them thinking to myself “how did I ever get by with that stuff?” Part of the reason I think these were some of the best products available is because many of them are still available in almost the same exact form today. It doesn’t take much looking around to find the Bic 4 color multi pen, the Bic stick pen with the blue cap, the Pilot Precise line of liquid ink pens or the classic Five Star notebooks with plastic covers.

Now as an adult with my school years long behind me, I get to use lots of even more cool and innovative stationery products, but I feel like something is missing. It is hard to imagine anything could be missing though when I’m lucky enough to have such awesome products like my Uniball Kuru Toga Mechanical Pencil, Sharpie Pen, Lamy Studio fountain pen, and Levenger Circa notebooks to help keep me organized and performing at the highest level possible at work. So it got me thinking, what was missing?

As I contemplated what could possibly be missing from my completely lavish stash of stationery products, I realized it didn’t have anything to do with the products themselves, it had everything to do with the process of buying them and what it all meant. It dawned on me that there is no longer a ritualistic stockpiling of an arsenal of unsharpened pencils, pristine notebooks and never opened packages of pens. There is instead a slow steady accumulation of “stuff” over time on more of an as needed basis. As an adult you don’t have that “clean slate” that you start with from year to year that is signified by your new stash of supplies.

Now that I’ve realized what it is thats missing, it surprises me that none of the major office supply stores have tried to generate some sort of “Back to Work” shopping season for us adults. Now sure it would be hard to do because there is no real “season” since we all start and end our employment on different schedules, however I think I might at least try and do this for myself to instill that “clean slate” feeling for my work year. Maybe if I save the majority of my office supply shopping for January of each year I’ll have my own personal little “back to school” feeling about things. Regardless of how I go about it though, one thing is for sure, and that is that I’ll probably spend way too much money on new office supplies, and a few years from now I’ll look back at how I ever managed to get anything done with these archaic tools.

Pen Spotlight - Manliness, Pocket Notebooks and new Pelikan

The Art of Manliness talks about pocket notebooks and their deep-rooted tradition in many walks of life. Ignoring the current "Cult of Moleskine" fad, keeping a pocket notebook has always been an essential part of the productive, artistic and intellectual mind. Speaking of notebooks, much ado has been made of the Webbie 3.0. Karen and the folks of Exaclair, the distributors of Rhodia, have done an excellent job of getting the word out on the internet by putting their great products into hands of pen & paper fans and bloggers alike. Check out Webbie reviews on "Whatever," Peaceable Writer, and Pocket Blonde to name a few. Take a look at these reviews:

• Lady Dandelion gets a hold of a Pelikan m205 duo highlighter fountain pen before any of us did in the US. Beautiful photography and some great examples of handwriting to aspire you.
• The Pen Addict takes an in-depth look at the Lamy AL-Star Aluminum rollerball, with an exploded view of pen parts.
• I spotted this neat "Embassy" pen on Uncrate. As if the black, anodized aluminum wasn't alluring enough, the pen uses a Fisher pressurized refill (SPR4) and writes in every direction in any condition. If you check out the manufacturer's website for the pen, you'll see a video demonstration that will reveal a hidden talent of this "convertible" pen.

Pen Spotlight - Carnival & Ed Hardy Notebooks

Hey kids, it's Carnival Time, hosted by Daydreamers Welcome. The editor's choice article was not of the usual pen & paper crowd, but a fun read, nonetheless. There has been much fanfare and some criticism over the newly released Noodler's fountain pens, and OfficeSupplyGeek threw in his hat in reviewing the Noodler's Aerometric filling fountain pen. Okami reviews a very unique composition notebook from teNeues that features an Ed Hardy flaming tiger on the cover. While it is a very colorful and fun design, the Ed Hardy brand has developed this stigma from people who wear the label's clothing. I won't go into detail, but I will just say that we live near the Jersey Shore, so we know. Getting to work on our big, annual catalog this week! It will be chocked full of new goodies from most of the brands we sell online. It will also feature several new brands that we just started carrying this year, including Rhodia, Moleskine, Pilot and ST Dupont. If there are any features or comments that you would like to see in the newest Goldspot issue, please feel free to comment! Also, we have a huge announcement coming up! To give you a clue, it has to do with something going on in October.

Pen Spotlight - Noodler's Pens and Ink Samples

Many have heard that Noodler's is coming out with their own line of fountain pens. We will be selling them on our site in the coming weeks. After reading this review by Bleubug, who bought oodles of Noodler's pens, we're a little nervous carrying these. We can at least help one of the issues by putting some padding into the pen boxes before shipping them to prevent any defects by the time they arrive to your door. There's been some buzz around the pen & ink blogs about "ink swatches" and their color representation on the computer screen. Brian Goulet over at Ink Nouveau unveiled his Swab Shop, which is an ink comparison tool, viewing ink swabs of 160+ colors from several brands. Inkophile wrote a post this week as a disclaimer to viewing ink swatches on the 'net. Ink color is a tricky subject that is riddled with inaccuracy when you try and reproduce the hue on another medium like the web. Part of being a fountain pen enthusiast is exploring the scores of different brands and formulas to find something you love. True, it does help when you have a swatch as a general reference, but I'd rather find out myself by loading up the pen and giving it a "go"! Remember our post about Pens and the Age of Consumer Electronics a few months ago? Pocket Blonde found a notepad app that looks a lot like a pocket Moleskine or a Field Notes jounral on your iPad. Steve Jobs is trying to take food off my table! As if you don't already have a Safari, or don't know why you should own one - check out Unposted's Lamy Safari review. If you like pens in general, and I'm talking ballpoint and rollerball pens, you should still have a Safari fountain pen. Do yourself a favor and buy one.

12th Carnival of Pen Pencil and Paper

Happy belated 4th of July and welcome to the 12th Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper! The brain-child of Nifty over at Notebook Stories, the Carnival has been a monthly staple since August of 2009 and we have the honors of hosting this month. The traveling Carnival is a showcase of all the pen, pencil and paper-related blog posts from around the vast expanses of the internet. Editor's Pick Julie (Okami) presents Pen Cabinet Extraordinaire posted at Whatever. You know you're a pen collector when a pouch, box or drawer of pens isn't enough. (Reading a Jeff Foxworthy accent into that comment). - Goldspot Pens. Pens Heather & Joni Bowers present First Fountain Pen: Platinum Preppy posted at A Penchant for Paper. dianeb presents Pentel VICUNA 0.7mm Gel Ink Pen posted at Pocket Blonde. Comment : "I can't tell whether I like the pen or the advertising more, but it's very trendy and a nice writing instrument." dowdyism presents Review: Uni-Ball Signo Broad UM-153 Gel Pen - White Ink posted at The Pen Addict. Be sure to look hard for the text of this review. Love the tongue-in-cheek humor. - GS dianeb presents Pilot Namiki Falcon Review (modified by Mottishaw) posted at The Penny Writer.. Comment : "Nice review of the Namiki Falcon with modified nib from a new pen, pencil and paper blogger The Penny Writer." Mark Webber presents The Magnet Tribune - Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts - Students are missing out on the joy of fountain pens posted at My High School Journalism.org. Ink David Garrett presents ink review: j. herbin orange indien - seize the dave posted at seize the dave. Beautiful scanned ink sample. -GS Paper Brian Greene presents Whitelines Hard Wire A5 Black Cover :: OfficeSupplyGeek posted at OfficeSupplyGeek. Cheryl from Writer's Bloc presents Behance Action Journal & Dot Grid Journal posted at Writer's Bloc Blog. Misc. dianeb presents Guest Post: The Mystery of Mary Nordmeyer posted at Pocket Blonde. Comment: "A detective story by Jack and Ilona that started out trying to unravel the mystery behind this amazing handwriting." -- - -- - - - - - Thank you to Nifty for honoring us with the hosting duties this month. Don't forget that you can submit your blog posts to future Carnivals by using this submission form.

Wednesday Pen Spotlight

Lots of interesting articles and blog posts this week, so lets get right down to it: Jackie from Letters & Journals proudly presents the new website launch of lettersandjournals.com which will promote the future magazine of the same title. Check it out if you are interested in all things stationery and writing. Whatever features an Edison Huron Bulb Filler review. Included in the post is a video of Brian, the master pen craftsman behind the Edison Pen Co., crafting the pen right before your eyes. What's the use of a notebook? What am I going to do with it? Notebook Stories has tons of ideas to get you inspired to use your notebook like a Mental Swiss Army Knife. The NY Times Magazine online has a great article written by a woman that is longing for the old days of using her Filofax Organizer in, "The Demise of Datebooks." Found through Notebook Stories blog. For some fun with fountain pen ink, check out the artistic expressions of Leigh Reyes. The coolest Crayola Crayon sculptures can be found on Doodler's Anonymous. Chisel Away!

Goldspot Selected for First "Carnival of Pen Pencil and Paper"

Hey all, Come one and come all to the first-ever Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper, as hosted by the Blog Notebook Stories. Here you will see a bevy of current pen, paper and office supply blog articles submitted by blog-writers from across the globe. The host was so kind enough to recognize our latest post that took a sneak peek at the new AT Cross fall 2009 releases. Along with writing instruments reviews, you will also be able to find notebook reviews, sketch art and unique stories from collectors and writing enthusiasts. Many of the articles are well-written and very detailed. So, if you like writing and are a pen and paper enthusiast, check out the Carnival and you will probably find a few new blogs worthy of an RSS subscribe. --- On the Goldspot front, we are close to putting the finishing touches on the new catalog. We will have loads of new products to share with you in the coming months for "Back to School." Subscribe to our blog's RSS feed, follow us on twitter @goldspotpens and check out our Facebook fan page for up-to-the-minute news on all things pens.