Hail the Snail Mail

Today let’s talk about the Hail the Snail Mail card subscription! Hail the Snail Mail is a card shop located in San Francisco. They carry all sorts of cards in addition to the subscription. Thanks to the owner, Darcy, for sending some cards my way!

For 2023 the subscription includes 4 cards and an extra. For August the subscription included 4 cards, a multi-colored pencil and an eraser.

This is September’s 4-card subscription. It includes 4 cards and a Uni-ball One pen. I love the celestial theme.

In January they are switching to a two-card subscription. It includes two cards and some stickers. The subscription is $14 per month with free shipping.

Here’s a closer look at one of the cards and the stickers from the January 2024 subscription.

Overall, I really enjoyed seeing what the subscription includes. It’s a great idea for those of you who write a lot of snail mail, or even have a goal to write more cards. Since the papers are all different I wouldn’t suggest using fountain pens on them, but it’s a great way to use your rollerballs and gel pens!

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Hail the Snail Mail for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This post is not sponsored in any way.

Ayush Paper

Ayush Paper notebooks seem really popular lately. I’ve seen them on a lot of other fountain pen Instagram accounts and blogs so when they offered to send me a few to try I jumped on the chance. Thanks to Ayush Paper for sending these notebooks over for review!

The paper is 100 gsm natural shade paper (a very slight off-white). There are a few different sizes and rulings, but the paper is consistent from notebook to notebook.

The largest notebook is an A4 spiral notebook with 50 sheets of 9mm lined ruling. The pages are perforated and tear out easily.

The medium notebook is an A5 spiral notebook with 50 sheets of 5mm grid ruling. The pages are perforated but because they are perforated so closely to the spiral binding it’s difficult to tear the pages out cleanly.

The smallest notebook is a 3.5 x 5.5 pocket notebook. The brown notebook shown on top holds 50 sheets of blank paper, the pages are not perforated. The mint notebook on the bottom holds 50 sheets of 5mm dot grid paper with perforated spiral binding.

This 100 gsm paper handles fountain pens well, no feathering or bleeding and it shows shading and sheen well. The paper does have a fair amount of tooth to it and it absolutely sucks up ink. I used a few pens with wet nibs and every time the paper made the pen feel dry and ink stingy. This did cause a bit of railroading, especially in longer writing.

Let’s do a quick comparison. On the left is Rhodia dot grid paper and on the right is Ayush grid paper. Both papers handled fountain pens without feathering or bleeding, and both show some shading and sheen, but Rhodia dried about 10 seconds faster.

Both papers had about the same amount of ghosting with no bleeding.

This paper also handled pencils, pens and markers well. Only the Sharpie bled through.

Overall, this paper does handle fountain pens with no feathering and bleeding. It does make my pens feel a bit drier than they are, so these notebooks are not a must-have for me, but they are a great option and good alternative if you aren’t a Rhodia fan. I love the variety of sizes and rulings so there’s a better chance you will find the size & ruling you prefer.

Disclaimer: These notebooks were provided by Ayush Paper for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This review does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Pebble Stationery Cosmo Air Light x Liberty London

Pebble Stationery CO recently sent me one of their Cosmo Air Light x Liberty London Notebooks in Mabelle A5. I’m a sucker for hand made journals, and this one is gorgeous! This notebook measures 16 x 21.7 x 1.7 cm. Thanks to Pebble Stationery for sending this notebook over for review!

The paper is 75gsm Cosmo Air Light. This paper has become popular recently, especially since the news that Tomoe River paper is going through some supply issues.

The Cover:

This Liberty London Mabelle fabric was released in 2007.

Inside cover:

The inside cover is a thick cardstock.

This notebook lays completely flat and has a pink ribbon bookmark. Because the notebook is handmade, the edges of the pages aren’t perfectly aligned, but I enjoy the handmade look on the edges.

If you have not used Cosmo Air Light paper before, it has more tooth to it than Tomoe River paper has, but less tooth than Bank or Midori MD paper.

This CAL paper handles fountain pen ink really well, no bleed through or feathering. It also shows shading and sheen well.

I tried out Sailor Manyo Nadeshiko in a Pilot Vanishing Point Twilight with a broad nib and the shading is sooo pretty! This ink can be rather light in the lighter part of the shading, but the paper showed the shading without issues.

Overall, I love this notebook. The only thing I would change is the paper ruling, simply because I prefer dot grid paper. The Cosmo Air Light paper works really well, shows shading and sheen and the notebook cover is gorgeous. This notebook is currently out of stock in this cover, but there are quite a few other covers available, like this Persephone one that I’m drooling over!

Disclaimer: This notebook was provided by Pebble Stationery Co. for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This review does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

LA Paper Lover Stationery

I love good stationery, so when LA Paper Lover sent me some new stationery to try out I was so excited!

Air Mail

One pack she sent was the Air Mail Stationery Kit in pink, white and gold.

There’s another Air Mail set in white, blue, red and pink. I love how well the papers match the envelopes.

There are matching telegram pages and envelopes.

With fountain pens there was a little feathering and some ghosting but no bleeding. The texture of the paper makes the flow seem a little drier than normal, but I think that’s the case with most papers that have some texture.

Pens and pencils all performed well, like the fountain pens the paper texture makes the gel pens feel a little drier than average.

Pink and yellow Air Mail gives a modern look to an old classic.

I love the pink pansy stationery set. It’s perfect for spring writing.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this stationery! There are so many fun colors and designs and handle pen and ink really well.

Disclaimer: These products were provided by LA Paper Lover for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

TRU RED Graphed Journal

The TRU RED Graphed Journal is a recent release from TRU RED. It’s designed as a business essential for everyday use. The notebook measures 5.5 by 8 inches. Thanks to TRU RED for providing these products for review! Last week I reviewed the TRU RED Starter Journal and Rollerball pens, congratulations to Batsheva who won the giveaway!

Front Cover:

The front cover is a flexible black cover with an elastic closure.

Inside Cover:

The front inside cover is a black and grey pattern with a small pocked that would easily fit business cards.

The Paper:

There are 256 ivory pages with a 5mm graph ruling.

The pages are not embellished in any way and are not paginated.

Writing Samples:

This paper did not handle fountain pens well-every nib feathered, bled or both. The paper is so absorbent that it made the nib and ink feel super dry and scratchy.

The paper handled some pens and pencils okay but the TRU RED rollerball pens bled through. Some ball-points and rollerball pens felt scratchy on this paper.

Rollerball Pens:

In the same collection with the Graphed Journal is this pack of Quick Dry Gel Pens in 0.7mm. The pens are green, teal, purple, red and orange.

These gel pens work okay but definitely aren’t the best gel pens I’ve ever used. They did okay in the graphed journal but skipped when used in my hobonichi.

Overall, I had hoped I would enjoy this notebook since I liked the TRU RED Starter Journal I reviewed last week but this paper is only good for ballpoints, gel pens and pencils. I didn’t enjoy the paper because it’s so absorbent and made all pens feel dry and scratchy.

Disclaimer: Both products were provided by TRU RED for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This post does not contain affiliate links and is not sponsored in any way.

TRU RED Starter Journal

The TRU RED Starter Journal is a recent release from TRU RED. It’s designed as a business essential for notetakers. The notebook measures 8x10 inches.

Front Cover:

The front cover is a textured grey that boasts a pen loop on the spine, a card pocket (perfect for holding business cards) and an elastic strap for keeping the notebook closed.

Back Cover:

On the back cover is an elastic strap, perfect for holding your phone.

Inside Cover:

The front inside cover has a lovely list of note-taking ideas.

Inside Cover:

The opposite inside cover has a spot for basic contract information.

The Paper:

There are 192 lined white pages. The standard pages are a basic narrow rule.

Every 5 pages alternates between a to-do list page with a perforated tear-off and a mostly blank page to sketch out ideas.

Each page has a discreet number in the bottom corner. Page numbers are my favorite detail!

Writing Samples:

This paper handled fountain pens quite well, there was a bit of feathering in the largest nib sizes but only the zoom nib bled through. It handled extra fine and fine nib extremely well, medium nibs well and broad nibs okay.

The paper handled all pens, pencils and highlighters well with no issues.

Rollerball Pens:

In the same collection with the Starter Journal is this pack of rollerball pens. They come in 0.5 tips in black, blue and red. I love the ink window so you easily know how much ink is left.

These rollerballs work well, and feel nice and smooth on the Starter Journal. They aren’t the best rollerballs I’ve ever used, but they aren’t the worst either. They are a comfortable middle-of-the-road at a nice price.

Overall, I enjoyed both the journal and the rollerball pens. I like how well the paper handles fountain pens and the details such as page numbers and to-do lists are lovely. I’m giving away one Starter Journal and Rollerball 3-pack below so be sure to enter! (The giveaway is limited to those in the Contiguous United States.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: Both products were provided by TRU RED for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This post does not contain affiliate links and is not sponsored in any way.

Thinkers Notebook Version 2

I reviewed the first Thinkers Notebook back in August but they recently released a second version which we are gong to look at today. Thanks to Thinkers for sending a copy over for review!

Size:

6.5" by 8.67" with a recycled leather cover and ribbon bookmark.

The paper is 120 gsm premium Munken paper, with 256 numbered pages using a 5mm dot grid.

The edges of the notebook feature an orange to black color fade.

Format:

The pages have space for a title at the top and a 5mm dot grid.

The page numbers are probably my favorite feature.

Fountain Pens:

Every ink feathered and bled at least a little, which is so disappointing after the first version. It handled all of the standard pens and highlighters I tried below.

This notebook is designed to be used with the app, but there isn’t a way to name files or group them by subject. It also crashes often. The app just isn’t for me I think.

Overall, I’m sad they changed the paper from the first version, which I preferred. I love the color on the edge of the pages but don’t love how blatant the branding is on the cover. There just isn’t enough I love about it that makes me want to use it often.

Disclaimer: This notebook was provided by Thinkers Notebook for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Thinkers Notebook

A few months ago Thinkers Notebook sent me their new notebook to try out. The notebook measures 9” by 6”. The cover is 300 gsm and has a recycled chipboard backing.

The paper is white, 100gsm paper. Each page has one dot grid side and one college-ruled lined side. This notebook is designed to be used horizontally rather than vertically. The disc-bound binding utilizes 9, 3/4” silver discs.

One side is a light dot grid with spaces for the title, date and four icons you can check off. Each page also has its own code to be used with the app.

The other side of the page is lined college-ruled with space for the same information as the dot grid side. Refills and extra covers are available separately.

Fountain Pens:

All of the pen/ink combos I tried performed really well, no feathering or bleeding.

When uploading pages to the app I had some issues since I prefer vertical orientation and the app is designed to be used horizontally.

Overall, the paper in this notebook works really well for fountain pens, I didn’t have any problems there. I don’t love the horizontal orientation of the notebook though, I use notebooks vertically. The discs worked well for the most part, but I did have some problems with the pages tearing around the rings over time. I like the paper, but I don’t love some of the other aspects of the notebook design.

Disclaimer: This notebook was provided by Thinkers Notebook for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Magazine

I love getting mail from Yoseka Stationery! I’m pretty sure I squealed like a little girl when I opened the most recent package. Hobby Stationery Box recently released a special edition Fountain Pen Ink magazine and it’s everything inky and wonderful. A while ago I saw an Instagram post about this magazine coming out. I never found out where to buy a copy, but Yoseka has come to the rescue and started carrying them for everyone ink obsessed (like me).

This magazine is 144 pages of inky goodness that displays over 2,000 different inks and is a must have for anyone who is interested in collecting ink. It is written in Japanese so Google Translate is your friend here.

There’s an amazing ink chart in the front of the magazine and pages that cover each brand individually. I love seeing brands I’ve never tried like Online…adding some to my wish list now!

There’s some helpful charts that show the different possibilities using the Platinum Mixable inks.

As well as some amazing illustrations done by different fountain pen artists. I love seeing all of the different bottle art.

There’s even some helpful charts and illustrations on everything from how to fill your pen to how to use them properly.

Overall, I’m 100% in love with this magazine. My only wish is that it came in English, but that won’t stop me from using it often!

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Yoseka Stationery. All photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page, and this review is not sponsored in any way.