{"id":17142,"date":"2026-08-18T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=17142"},"modified":"2026-08-18T08:07:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:07:48","slug":"surprise-brilliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/surprise-brilliance\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprise Brilliance"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Go to enough pen shows, and you start feeling like you’ve seen it all. Not that it’s any less awesome or enjoyable, but that there is little, if anything, that will truly surprise you. So, it was delightful to encounter a brilliant new-to-me idea at the DC Pen Show this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I arrived at my nib appointment with Damien (All in the Nib<\/a>) a bit early and watched as he worked on the nibs of the person before me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn’t intend to be nosy, but when Damien had her test the nib, my eyes naturally followed the movement, and the large title caught my attention \u2014 Nibmeisters Testing Page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I asked about the unique page, and she explained that she wanted to test nibs on the four main paper types she uses: 68 gsm Tomoe River (the paper in the notebook), 80 gsm Rhodia, 52 gsm Tomoe River, and 80 gsm Midori MD. The three additional papers had been neatly cut into rectangles to take up a quarter of the remaining space below the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The idea is so simple, yet so brilliant. I’d never seen anyone do that before, and knew instantly I wanted to share it. Unfortunately, the brilliant lady doesn’t use Instagram, and our conversation was interrupted before I could get her name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, ADD did as ADD do, and I forgot all about it until going through my photos after the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If anyone recognizes this notebook, let me know, because I’d like to credit her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Have you ever considered doing anything like this? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Make sure to subscribe to my blog<\/a> or follow me on Instagram<\/a> so you don\u2019t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I came across an idea of exquisite brilliance at the DC Pen Show that I want to share with you.<\/p>\n

Keep ReadingSurprise Brilliance<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[414],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-paper","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/surpriseBrilliance-featured.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-4su","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13481,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2024-nib-overviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":17142,"position":0},"title":"Pen Show Nibs Overviews","author":"Rachel","date":"August 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"As promised, I give you a post dedicated to the five modified nibs I bought at the DC Pen Show this year.","rel":"","context":"In "Fountain Pens"","block_context":{"text":"Fountain Pens","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/fountain-pens\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"top view of the reverse chimera double stack","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240815_193659.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240815_193659.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240815_193659.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240815_193659.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240815_193659.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5207,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/nib-mini-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":17142,"position":1},"title":"Nib Mini Reviews","author":"Rachel","date":"August 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Mini reviews of the nibs I picked up at the 2021 DC Pen Show. Really just a chance to extol the virtues of a couple of nibmeisters.","rel":"","context":"In "Fountain Pens"","block_context":{"text":"Fountain Pens","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/fountain-pens\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Skull nib installed in Gravitas Skull pen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/20210815_195536.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/20210815_195536.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/20210815_195536.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/20210815_195536.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7647,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/comparing-grinds\/","url_meta":{"origin":17142,"position":2},"title":"Comparing Common Nib Grinds","author":"Rachel","date":"June 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I've learned not everyone is aware of the differences in the way nib grinds write. So, I decided to compare the different \"common\" nib grinds I have.","rel":"","context":"In "Fountain Pens"","block_context":{"text":"Fountain Pens","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/fountain-pens\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Architect perfect angle, tipping fully in contact with paper","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220601_210918.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220601_210918.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220601_210918.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220601_210918.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220601_210918.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14566,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/makeup-stationery-tag\/","url_meta":{"origin":17142,"position":3},"title":"Makeup Stationery Tag","author":"Rachel","date":"December 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is a little different than my regular content, but I thought it might be fun to bring in a rarely-addressed subject that I enjoy.","rel":"","context":"In "Stationery"","block_context":{"text":"Stationery","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/makeupStationery-featured.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1395,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/fp101-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":17142,"position":4},"title":"Fountain Pen 101: Nibs","author":"Rachel","date":"June 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome back to Fountain Pen 101.\u00a0Today I've got an introduction to nibs, including sizes; materials; and flex, fude, and music nibs.","rel":"","context":"In "Fountain Pens"","block_context":{"text":"Fountain Pens","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/fountain-pens\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jowo Nib Unit","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/nibUnit-300x56.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13428,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2024-dc-pen-show\/","url_meta":{"origin":17142,"position":5},"title":"2024 DC Pen Show","author":"Rachel","date":"August 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"COVID kept me from completing this post earlier, but hopefully you're still interested in hearing about my fun at the 2024 DC Pen Show.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"top view of the reverse chimera double stack","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240815_193659.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240815_193659.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240815_193659.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240815_193659.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240815_193659.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17142"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17145,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17142\/revisions\/17145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}