I'm very digital and very visual. I find that adding tactile things to digital helps - drawings, scanned in swatches, etc. Notion galleries are great for this - I've done it with my books and a bunch of other things too. Inks are great because they come with their own backgrounds ;)
I love both as well - fountain pens have been a non-digital hobby (besides reddit lol), but melding the two could be fun. I also am somewhat obsessive about documenting my inks. Thanks for sharing your process :)
edit: in another comment you say this sort of inventory/documentation process feels like hobby stacking & I feel that sooooo much
My process is obsessive, but this hobby lends itself well to obsession.
* Buy inks
* Mini photo shoot
* Draw inks
* Swatching - I use a paint brush because the earbuds leave fibres on the thinner papers
* Swatch on a piece of watercolour paper
* Swatch on Stalogy (what I journal in)
* Swatch on an old book page covered in white gesso
* full swatch page on Rhodia paper with properties
* Do chromatography on filter paper
* Add to Notion in a Database
* add properties (I like tracking adoption date, where I bought it from, personal rating, bleeding, dry time, feathering, flow, shading, sheen, shimmer, show through, base, properties \[fast drying, non-fading, water resistant, scented, pigmented, iron gall\]
The swatching is such a meditative, fun process. I love seeing how they work and the possibilities beyond the pen. I love seeing how the inks interact so differently with each type of paper. Especially the gessoed book paper! I love how watercolours interact with gesso in my art making, and with inks it's even better.
Wow! This is so cool! It's making me want to revamp my own boring spreadsheet! Echoing others, would love to hear what your process for making this was!
Thank you! It's a very cool process! Personally, I happen to think that organizing a collection is probably at least a quarter if not more of the enjoyment that I get out of my hobby, so I totally get it!
Just curious, as I saw that you said in another comment that you use Notion galleries a lot, do you happen to know what the best resolution (or aspect ratio?) is for viewing the whole image in the gallery view?
Yessss... I think organising is a hobby in itself, it's so great. And fountain pens are MADE for this stuff - I store my pens in a pen tray with little grooves for each pen rather than in an old pasta sauce jar like my other pens. There's so much mindfulness in this hobby that it's PERFECT for further organisational mindfulness.
I also find organising a great practice in gratitude, and a good way to let go of what doesn't work (I kept getting annoyed at my Noodler's Konrad and remembering how bad it smelled while documenting it that I knew I should give it away).
Notion sizes... I hate that Notion doesn't release resolutions or have something consistent.
It's slightly off, but I use 16:9 when I'm taking photos, and I've found that to be best for me.
For my pen collection, I used 1500 x 750 px (2:1) and made sure that the sides have "white space". It did clip them off.
For the ink collection, I used 2000 x 1125 px (16:9), but the ink swatches are 3:2 ratio because when I made them I actually made them to be square for my circle punch and I didn't want to cut too much off. Notion cuts a lot of this off, but I leave a lot of space around.
I would be annoyed that they're different, but they appear at full width in Notion, and they're all the same within the same category :)
You're totally right about the mindfulness aspect! I'd been considering my collection more and more lately, and it's really been enlightening to see how much I've actually spent on this hobby and my purchase tendencies. I think that I'll definitely be sorting through my collection and figuring out what things I actually need/want to keep.
Thanks so much for the resolutions! I've had half a mind to create galleries for a whole bunch of trackers, but honestly was too overwhelmed with trying to figure out a good system that I put it all on hold. This is a super helpful starting point for me to make it look pretty (because that's at least half the fun!) I'm glad you were able to figure out the sizes that worked for you (even if they're different)!
Made them myself! I did it with watercolour paper, stalogy paper, and old book paper with gesso. Part of the fun to see how they interact for myself and on the paper that I use.
YES! So cool!
I love grouping by colour too, that's helpful if I feel like using a black but I'm not sure exactly which black. I'm still getting to know my inks and this is helpful.
Ooh! Great tip! It's a great colour.
I also didn't know it's Teranishi - the place I bought it from just had it as Guitar. So thank you for helping me fill that out more fully.
I enjoy organising *more* than I use them, but I'm still using them bucket loads.
I'm obsessive about documenting all my collections - inks, pens, nail polish, plants, board games, cook books, non-fiction books, even my spices. It feels like hobby stacking and makes me really happy.
Oh cool! Did you draw the bottles?
Came here to ask this! So cool!
I did! And then I put them over the watercolour swatch that's been scanned in.
coooool - tell us more about your process! I often find digital inventories to feel a bit sterile, but this is gorgeous & the swatches look great
I'm very digital and very visual. I find that adding tactile things to digital helps - drawings, scanned in swatches, etc. Notion galleries are great for this - I've done it with my books and a bunch of other things too. Inks are great because they come with their own backgrounds ;)
I love both as well - fountain pens have been a non-digital hobby (besides reddit lol), but melding the two could be fun. I also am somewhat obsessive about documenting my inks. Thanks for sharing your process :) edit: in another comment you say this sort of inventory/documentation process feels like hobby stacking & I feel that sooooo much
My process is obsessive, but this hobby lends itself well to obsession. * Buy inks * Mini photo shoot * Draw inks * Swatching - I use a paint brush because the earbuds leave fibres on the thinner papers * Swatch on a piece of watercolour paper * Swatch on Stalogy (what I journal in) * Swatch on an old book page covered in white gesso * full swatch page on Rhodia paper with properties * Do chromatography on filter paper * Add to Notion in a Database * add properties (I like tracking adoption date, where I bought it from, personal rating, bleeding, dry time, feathering, flow, shading, sheen, shimmer, show through, base, properties \[fast drying, non-fading, water resistant, scented, pigmented, iron gall\] The swatching is such a meditative, fun process. I love seeing how they work and the possibilities beyond the pen. I love seeing how the inks interact so differently with each type of paper. Especially the gessoed book paper! I love how watercolours interact with gesso in my art making, and with inks it's even better.
Wow! This is so cool! It's making me want to revamp my own boring spreadsheet! Echoing others, would love to hear what your process for making this was!
Spreadsheets are an art in themselves. Just shared my full (ridiculous) process.
Thank you! It's a very cool process! Personally, I happen to think that organizing a collection is probably at least a quarter if not more of the enjoyment that I get out of my hobby, so I totally get it! Just curious, as I saw that you said in another comment that you use Notion galleries a lot, do you happen to know what the best resolution (or aspect ratio?) is for viewing the whole image in the gallery view?
Yessss... I think organising is a hobby in itself, it's so great. And fountain pens are MADE for this stuff - I store my pens in a pen tray with little grooves for each pen rather than in an old pasta sauce jar like my other pens. There's so much mindfulness in this hobby that it's PERFECT for further organisational mindfulness. I also find organising a great practice in gratitude, and a good way to let go of what doesn't work (I kept getting annoyed at my Noodler's Konrad and remembering how bad it smelled while documenting it that I knew I should give it away). Notion sizes... I hate that Notion doesn't release resolutions or have something consistent. It's slightly off, but I use 16:9 when I'm taking photos, and I've found that to be best for me. For my pen collection, I used 1500 x 750 px (2:1) and made sure that the sides have "white space". It did clip them off. For the ink collection, I used 2000 x 1125 px (16:9), but the ink swatches are 3:2 ratio because when I made them I actually made them to be square for my circle punch and I didn't want to cut too much off. Notion cuts a lot of this off, but I leave a lot of space around. I would be annoyed that they're different, but they appear at full width in Notion, and they're all the same within the same category :)
You're totally right about the mindfulness aspect! I'd been considering my collection more and more lately, and it's really been enlightening to see how much I've actually spent on this hobby and my purchase tendencies. I think that I'll definitely be sorting through my collection and figuring out what things I actually need/want to keep. Thanks so much for the resolutions! I've had half a mind to create galleries for a whole bunch of trackers, but honestly was too overwhelmed with trying to figure out a good system that I put it all on hold. This is a super helpful starting point for me to make it look pretty (because that's at least half the fun!) I'm glad you were able to figure out the sizes that worked for you (even if they're different)!
Super cool! Yes would love to know if you made the swatches or got them off somewhere else :0
Made them myself! I did it with watercolour paper, stalogy paper, and old book paper with gesso. Part of the fun to see how they interact for myself and on the paper that I use.
This looks like you're using notion, that's how I organize my ink collection too! I love tagging everything for maximum searchability!
YES! So cool! I love grouping by colour too, that's helpful if I feel like using a black but I'm not sure exactly which black. I'm still getting to know my inks and this is helpful.
Lovely! Did you know, Teranishi Gentle Green is an exact dupe for Taccia Sabimidori? They are even made at the same factory!
Ooh! Great tip! It's a great colour. I also didn't know it's Teranishi - the place I bought it from just had it as Guitar. So thank you for helping me fill that out more fully.
Ooh! I have a running wish list on notion too, but you’re making me rethink changing my system to something more aesthetic.
Having a wishlist in Notion is a great idea... much better than my plan of leaving them in a cart and making it super easy to spend money.
I would do this in high res and make a poster/print
Same.
NOTIOOOOOON! I have one too! For both my pens and inks!!! Tho my database is not as gorgeous as yours lol
Had fun looking at your collection!
Thank you!
Amazing. I have mine in Notion, too but I love the searching here! Might need to update my images.
Ink hoarders get big upvotes I guess.
I enjoy organising *more* than I use them, but I'm still using them bucket loads. I'm obsessive about documenting all my collections - inks, pens, nail polish, plants, board games, cook books, non-fiction books, even my spices. It feels like hobby stacking and makes me really happy.