We’re over halfway through 2026. How is this even possible? My year has been flying by, and mid-year snuck by me. But, better late than never, right?
I want to check in on more than just pens this year, but we’ll start there and then cover a few other things.
Pens
My pen goals for this year are:
- Add 30 pens max to my collection (including non-fountain pens and gifts).
- Limit mainstream brand acquisitions to 14.
- Save up for pens rather than buying on credit and paying them off.
- List all of my for-sale pens or consign them somewhere.
- Evaluate my current collection for pens I can sell and list any that I identify as ready for new homes.
- Use my pens more.
And how am I doing?
So far this year, I’ve added 17 pens to my collection, with 1 commission in the works. Interestingly, that puts me at exactly where I was this time last year. Which means, once again, I’m 2 pens over what I should have at this point, assuming half of my limit for half of the year.
| Type | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| BP/RB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 17 |
Of my acquisitions, in no particular order and with several instances of overlap:
- 1 was purchased last year, but attributed to the month it arrived,
- 1 was a wish list commission,
- 3 were gifts, one of which was completely unexpected,
- 4 are indie-made,
- 1 is from a small business,
- and 2 are new colorways of a pen I collect.
I’m not sure I’ll manage my majority indie-made pens goal, since I can only purchase 2 more mainstream brand pens. Then again, with some of my favorite brands raising their prices so much, maybe it won’t be that difficult.
I thought I was doing alright with saving up for pens, but when I looked over exactly what I’ve purchased so far this year, I realized I’m not doing well with that goal, either. Although, most of the pens I bought then paid off were from BWIPS, so maybe it isn’t that bad?
I’ve succeeded in making my pens available for sale. They are consigned with Happy Hour Pens and Gifts. You can see what’s for sale at the 3:10 mark (about halfway through) of this video. Currently, they’re available at pen shows, but I’m sure if you reach out, Adam will be happy to give you information about what pens are still available.
I have yet to review my current collection for additional pens to sell. I really need to work on that.
I am however, using my pens more, mainly in my doodle book, but I’m trying to write more, too.
Ink
My ink goals for the year are:
- Don’t buy any bottles without trying a sample first, or at least seeing a swatch in person when it’s not possible to get a sample.
- Don’t buy any inks that are similar to those I already own.
- Compare more inks to weed out everything that is too similar.
- Use every “for use” sample at least once.
I’ve done better this year with inks. I’ve only acquired 14 bottles of ink — only, that’s still too many — to last year’s 26. However, I’ve purchased 9 of them without seeing a swatch in person or buying a sample. To be fair to myself, though, 5 of those inks were exclusives where I wouldn’t have been able to see a swatch, and 7 of them could not have been sampled.
So far, only one ink I purchased turned out to be similar to one I already owned.
As part of my comparison goal, I’m doing better at using my ink samples. So far, I’ve used 29 different samples — of 109 — and have relegated 10 to the “for dupes” bins. I’m not sure the 109 is correct, I need to double-check my inventory. I’ve completed 15 comparisons, which, surprisingly, didn’t result in any ink bottles leaving my collection. I’m planning additional comparisons, though, and I have a zentangle/doodle notebook that I’m using to better “learn” my inks and get rid of any I don’t love.
Wish List
I’ve basically ignored my wish list so far this year. The ideas are still there, but, other than getting one of my commissions — I think the other will be ready soon — I haven’t checked anything off.
Paper
I finally used up the last of my Franklin-Christophe Firma Flex paper — I’d cut apart my last journal to use the paper in my binders. I’m also slowly working my way through the Maruman Giuris paper I have. I’m 99% certain that once I’m out of my massive stock of paper, I’ll just stick with Muji paper.
I’ve been finding uses for my M5 notebooks, so I’m actually working my way through some of the extra paper I have for those.
My journaling use has been going OK, though still not as regular or as useful as I’d like. I think part of that is that I always feel like I need about 30 hours in a day to get everything done. Maybe someday I’ll feel like I’ve caught up.
I definitely feel like I’m, overall, doing better this year than last year, but also that I could still be doing better. Let’s see how the second half of the year goes.
How have you been doing with your stationery goals this year? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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