Skip to content

Inventory Method Update

Posted in Fountain Pens

Three and a quarter years ago, I wrote about inventories as part of my fountain pen series. Bac then, I was using Google Sheets to keep track of my pen and ink collections. Of course, at the time, I only had 50 total pen records.

As my collection grew, I found that I needed something with more features than Google Sheets. After some searching, I found Airtable. It’s basically a WYSIWYG database. You can customize your databases quite a bit, if you’d like, or you can work with very basic features. You can use most of the features with a free account, but there are additional features and reporting abilities available with a paid account.

Airtable stores data in nested “areas.” An individual piece of data (like a pen model or ink color) is stored in a Field. All of the Fields for a single item form a Record. The Records are stored in a Table. Tables are in a Base. And, finally, Bases are stored in a Workspace.

You can create multiple views for each table, with various filtering, grouping, and sorting options. I currently have 16 views for my pen collection alone, letting me get quick snapshots of my collections.

Airtable also lets you link between tables and records, so you can connect data. Jim uses that feature to keep track of what ink is in which pen.

Quite a few of the DC Metro Pen Crew members have started to use Airtable as well, and they al seem to like it. Some have dived in quite a bit deeper than I have. Others are using only the most basic features.

What I Track

If you aren’t interested in what data I track and the specifics of how I track it, then thanks for reading to this point, and I hope I’ve peaked your interest in Airtable. What follows is really for data geeks.

As a data hoarder, I keep track of A LOT of information. To be honest, I maybe track too much. But, I enjoy having all the extra info. And it came in handy for my pen collection overview earlier this year. Below I’ll be discussing what type of field I use for each item and why.

I’ve put together an elongated screenshot of my pen table, showing all of the fields, and another of a single pen record.

Click on the field name to see a screenshot of how I set up that field. Please note that screenshots open in a new window. For fields that are set up identically — except with a different name — I link them all to the same screenshot. I’ll only provide descriptions for fields that aren’t self-explanatory.

Pens

For pens, I now track: Purchase Order, Brand, Model, Name, Number, Distribution, Manufacture Date, Discontinued?, Purchase Location, Event/Site, Purchase Date, Date Received, Nib Width, Nib Material, Nib Color, Nib Size, Nib Brand, Filling Mechanism, MSRP, Paid, Tax/Fees, Converter, Shipping, Extras, Pen Spending, Total, Status, Rotation Group, Pen Color, Condition, Came with Sleeve?, Came With Box, Kept Box, Sell Price, Date, Reason, and Origin.

  • Purchase Order Field Type: Number. Format: Integer (2). I use this as the the table’s primary field as the values are meant to be short, unique representations of each record in your table. I also use this to sort in the exact order I purchased my pens. This helps when I forget to add a pen, as I can go back and renumber (rather than using the built-in numbering). It’s also good when I purchase multiple pens in one day, as I can number them by which one I picked up (or added to cart) first.
  • Brand Field Type: Single line text.
  • Model Field Type: Single line text.
  • Name Field Type: Single line text. Pen’s color name.
  • Number Field Type: Single line text. Pen’s number out of total number released, if applicable.
  • Distribution Field Type: Multiple select. Options: Normal, Special Edition, Limited Edition, Indie Manufacture, Vintage, Color Prototype, Custom, Prototype, Numbered. I originally had this as a single select field type. However, sometimes Indie companies release limited or special editions, so I changed it to multiple select.
  • Manufacture Date Field Type: Single line text. Pen’s manufacture date, year only.
  • Discontinued? Field Type: Checkbox.
  • Purchase Location Field Type: Single line text.
  • Event/Site Field Type: Single line text. The event or website where I purchased this pen, if other than the purchase location (e.g. BWIPS).
  • Purchase Date Field Type: Date. Format: US (11/5/2021).
  • Date Received Field Type: Date. Format: US (11/5/2021).
  • Nib Width Field Type: Single line text.
  • Nib Material Field Type: Single line text. I don’t include plating material.
  • Nib Color Field Type: Single line text. The color of the nib, to distinguish plating — Gold, Silver, Black, etc.
  • Nib Size Field Type: Single line text. For brands that mention their nib sizes — #5, #6, etc.
  • Nib Brand Field Type: Single select. Options: Bock, Jowo.
  • Filling Mechanism Field Type: Single Select. Options: International Standard, Proprietary, Piston, Button, Vacuum, Eyedropper, Lever, Ballpoint, Rollerball.
  • MSRP Field Type: Currency. Format: Currency Symbol: $, Precision: $1.00. Because I like knowing how much money I’ve saved over MSRP of all my pens.
  • Paid Field Type: Currency. Format: Currency Symbol: $, Precision: $1.00.
  • Tax/Fees Field Type: Currency. Format: Currency Symbol: $, Precision: $1.00. Any applicable taxes, or fees from money transfer services.
  • Converter Field Type: Currency. Format: Currency Symbol: $, Precision: $1.00. If I buy a converter with a pen, I include it in the price.
  • Shipping Field Type: Currency. Format: Currency Symbol: $, Precision: $1.00.
  • Pen Spending Field Type: Link to another record. Allow linking to multiple records. Show linked records in reversed order. I have a second table in my Pens base where I track every time I spend extra on a pen, for anything from buying a clip for a Kaweco to getting a nib customized, so I know how much I’ve really spent on a pen. I allow linking to multiple records, as I may choose to have multiple adjustments. Showing linked records in reversed order (I believe) shows the records with newest first.
  • Extras Field Type: Rollup. Rollup Tab – Field on this table that links to the records you want to summarize: Pen Spending. Pen Extras table field that you’d like to roll up: Amount. Aggregation formula which rolls up the values in each linked record: SUM(values). Formatting Tab – Format: Currency ($5.00). Precision: $1.00. Currency symbol: $. Sums the Amount field from any record linked to in Pen Spending
  • Total Field Type: Formula. Formula Tab – Formula: SUM(Paid,{Tax/Fees},Shipping,Converter,Extras). Formatting Tab – Format: Currency ($5.00). Precision: $1.00. Currency symbol: $. Sums the amounts in the Paid, Tax/Fees, Shipping, Converter, and Extras fields. Tax/Fees has the braces around it because “/” is a special character.
  • Status Field Type: Single Select. Options: Not Yet Arrived, In Rotation, On Break, Decommissioned, With Jim, For Sale, Sold, Out for Repair, Returned. On Break is used for pens I’m trying to decide if I want to sell. Decommissioned are for pens that I’m not using, but don’t want to sell (e.g. my Year One Pelikan).
  • Rotation Group Field Type: Single select. Options: Indie Pen, $250 and up, Under $250, Always Filled, Retro 51, On Break, Under Review. If you’re confused about this, check out my post about how I use all of my pens.
  • Pen Color Field Type: Multiple Select. Options: Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Gold, Green, Teal/Turquoise, Blue, Purple, Brown, Gray, Black, White, Clear, Rose Gold, Shell, Ivory, Silver, Copper.
  • Condition Field Type: Single Select. Options: New, Used.
  • Came with Sleeve? Field Type: Checkbox.
  • Came with Box? Field Type: Checkbox.
  • Kept Box? Field Type: Checkbox.
  • Sell Price Field Type: Currency. Format: Currency Symbol: $, Precision: $1.00.
  • Date Field Type: Date. Format: US (11/5/2021). Sell date.
  • Reason Field Type: Long text. Reason for selling the pen. I keep track of this to remind myself of why I get rid of pens. It helps keep me on track seeing how many impulse or poorly thought through purchases I made in the past.
  • Origin Field Type: Single line text. Country of origin.

Ink

And for ink, I track Name, Brand, Used in This Notebook, Used in Last Notebook, Used 2 Notebooks Ago, Used 3 Notebooks Ago, Color Family, Shade, Sheen, Sheen Color, Shimmer, Shimmer Color, Size, and To Sell.

  • Name Field Type: Single line text. I use this as the table’s primary field.
  • Brand Field Type: Single line text.
  • Used in This Notebook Field Type: Checkbox. In order to better use my inks, I only allow myself to use each color once in any given notebook — with the exception of my always inked pens. I use these fields to keep track of how much I’m using ink, and to give me an idea of which inks can be gotten rid of.
  • Used in Last Notebook Field Type: Checkbox.
  • Used 2 Notebooks Ago Field Type: Checkbox.
  • Used 3 Notebooks Ago Field Type: Checkbox.
  • Color Family Field Type: Single Select. Options: Burgundy, Red, Pink, Orange, Gold, Yellow, Green, Teal/Turquoise, Blue, Purple, Brown, Gray/Black.
  • Shade Field Type: Checkbox.
  • Sheen Field Type: Checkbox.
  • Sheen Color Field Type: Single line text.
  • Shimmer Field Type: Checkbox.
  • Shimmer Color Field Type: Single line text.
  • Size Field Type: Single Select. Options: Standard Bottle, Small Bottle, Special Edition, Large Bottle, Cartridge, Mini Bottle.
  • To Sell Field Type: Checkbox. I should probably rename this to “To Get Rid Of” as I don’t usually sell ink.

So, what do you think, is Airtable for you? Do you think you’ll try it? If not, what do you use to keep track of your collection? Let me know in the comments.

Make sure to subscribe to my blog or follow me on Instagram so you don’t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week.

2 Comments

  1. I love Airtable. Use it for tons of things including my pen DB. You collect a little more info than I do but it is the best.

    November 23, 2021
    |Reply
    • Yeah, I’m a total data hoarder. I keep track of several things on Airtable besides pens and ink.

      November 23, 2021
      |Reply

Leave a Reply to admin Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *