About Me

My name’s Eleanor, and I’ve been a fountain pen user and enthusiast for years now. I’ve dabbled on and off since my first fountain pen a couple of decades ago, until finally falling into the hobby for good a couple of years ago.

Apart from the aesthetic pleasure of using fountain pens and beautiful inks, the physical act of writing helps me be more mindful in my writing, journalling and planning – an incongruous position for a digital-first woman, perhaps, but it’s working for me.

Why a blog? Well, why not! I’ve been blogging since the days when that meant hand-coding static HTML pages and uploading via FTP, uphill, both ways, in the snow. The fountain pen hobby has a rich and welcoming community, and blogging’s one of my favourite ways to connect.

My favourite pen: so far, it’s my TWSBI Diamond 580 in White/Rose Gold. So far.

My grail pen: probably a Sailor Pro Gear nib in a Just Turnings pen body.

My best-loved ink: I can’t pick just one! At the time of writing, it’s a fight between Sailor Hanagokoro, Lamy Dark Lilac, Lamy Turmaline or Yun Jingtang Nàlán Róngruò.

My favourite ink properties: moderate shading and high sheen in a complementary colour. I’m trying to learn to love shimmer but it’s A Process.

My controversial opinion: black cigar-shaped pens with gold trim are not my thing.

Apart from the love of fountain pens and ink, my favourite hobbies are journalling and planning, and tabletop roleplaying games. (And yes, all my gaming notes are written with fountain pens!)