Watches, Pens, and the Craft of Analog Living
Ellen Ashford · July 22, 2026
Here’s something I got badly wrong early in my collecting life: I assumed any fountain pen ink would turn waterproof if I just let it dry long enough. I was wrong — spectacularly, expensively wrong. I’d written a full page of tasting notes at a watch auction preview using what I thought was a “durable” … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 19, 2026
A few years into collecting fountain pens, I made a mistake that still stings a little. I bought a full 50ml bottle of a highly recommended ink based entirely on a swatch card photo. Gorgeous deep teal in the image. On my paper, with my nib, it bled through like watercolor on a paper towel … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 13, 2026
If you write with fountain pens long enough, you will eventually look down at your hands and see something that resembles a crime scene. I’ve had mornings where I sat down to remove fountain pen ink stains from three different surfaces before my coffee finished brewing — my fingers, my shirt cuff, and the corner … Read more
Ellen Ashford · July 8, 2026
If you’ve ever held a journal page up to the light and seen a ghostly shadow of yesterday’s entry bleeding through, you already know the frustration. Ghosting and show-through are two of the most common complaints I hear from fellow journalers — and honestly, they tripped me up for years before I understood what was … Read more
Ellen Ashford · June 27, 2026
The first time I uncapped a bottle of shimmer sheen fountain pen ink, I genuinely thought I had discovered the best thing in the hobby. The liquid glittered like crushed stars. It flowed onto the page in a deep, shifting purple that caught the light from three different angles at once. I was completely seduced. … Read more