I never had a specific interest in vintage pens until I went to the Colorado Pen Show last year. (Here, I'm loosely defining vintage pens as any model that is no longer in production, mainly from the 20th century.) I had acquired a few here and there before then, but I didn't truly understand the sheer range and appeal of these pens until I saw tables and tables full of them in person. There was the usual garage sale thrill of finding cool old things, as any secondhand enthusiast would know, and I really enjoyed listening to people ramble about the pens they were selling.

I have a particular interest in pens from the 70s-90s because they usually feature cartridge/converter filling systems, which are less fragile and picky about ink than pens with built-in filling systems, but I've become increasingly interested in lever fillers because you can find a lot of interesting flex nibs in those pens. In any case, I've found that older pen nibs have a certain character to them that modern mass-produced nibs usually don't.

This is an excessively deep look at the vintage pens I have at the moment.

I love making book covers out of things that otherwise would have ended up in the trash, so I couldn't pass on one of these handmade book-sketchbooks from Arsenik Press. I don't have the time or energy to bind a new sketchbook right now, so I was happy to buy this one because it's still handmade and (importantly) it looks cool.

I love the ridiculousness of 80s book covers: the typography, the painting style, the corny catchphrases, the whole thing. The jacket synopsis is as follows:

Deep beneath the city streets lurks a creature hideous beyond description, powerful beyond imagining, a creature so dangerous that it can destroy its victims by the virulence of its thoughts.

The emanations of its computer-like brain invade every sanctuary, searching for those it would destroy. It is remorseless, cunning and inhuman. The pitiful human weaklings it has chosen as prey shudder with terror and disgust, but there is no escape from the ultimate torture that is far worse than death, unless...

I stole the idea to draw/paint an overview of my current favorite supplies on the first page from Apple Pine. I always struggle with what to put on the first page of a sketchbook, so I like this exercise. There's no pressure to make a masterpiece, and it helps give the sketchbook... context? I guess? My previous big sketchbook was a little more clinical because I was still relearning how to use one, but I'm hoping future books will be a bit more diary-esque.

My current supply rotation includes some stuff that I haven't found the time to talk about yet, so I'll merge that into this post while it's relevant.

I found out about a local secondhand art store earlier this year, and it's turned into my first stop when I want new art supplies. I've been able to try a lot of new mediums that I wouldn't have thought to buy otherwise. It's easier to find surprises when the inventory changes constantly (and you have to dig through bins to see all of it). Good quality supplies are also pretty cost-prohibitive, and I hate to spend so much money on stuff that might sit and gather dust.

I've seen a lot of end of year reviews of people's purchases of new stuff, but not a lot in the way of new used stuff. So this is a recap of notable secondhand purchases from this year (and, by extension, cool stuff I've gotten to try).