Watches, Pens, and the Craft of Analog Living
Ellen Ashford · July 4, 2026
Two years into this hobby, I made a rule for myself: nothing under $80, because anything cheaper had to be junk. I held to that rule right up until a friend handed me a $28 pen she’d bought on a whim, and it outperformed three of my “serious” pens on the spot. That rule cost … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 4, 2026
Fountain Pen Buying Guide Under $50: Nib Sizing, Fill Systems, and 8 Pens Worth Buying Ten years ago, I dismissed fountain pens as nostalgic affectations. Then I spent $35 on a pen that changed everything. The smoothness of the nib, the intentionality of every stroke—it wasn’t a gimmick. It was better than ballpoints in ways … Read more
Ellen Ashford · June 22, 2026
The assumption nearly everyone starts with is that a decent pen will simply behave itself on whatever paper happens to be lying around — that ink is ink, paper is paper, and the pairing hardly matters. It’s wrong, and I still own the ruined notebook to prove it. Three years back I sat down with … Read more
Ellen Ashford · June 21, 2026
Nearly every beginner picking up a fountain pen assumes that if a notebook feels sturdy and looks nice, it’ll handle ink just fine — thickness equals quality, or so the logic goes. That assumption cost me $34 and three weeks of ruined journal entries. I’d loaded my TWSBI ECO with Pilot Iroshizuku ink and started … Read more