Ink Flight #49 Reveal, February 2021
When Hungarian pen enthusiast Máté Bikfalvi launched the Pennonia web store in 2018, it began as an extension of the hobby. In 2020, Máté wrote a new chapter with a line of handmade, quality fountain pen inks. The inks are inspired by his personal life, Hungarian language, tradition, and popular culture.
For this Ink Flight selection, I leaned on the Máté's expertise to curate the selection of these inks. He selected his personal favorites out of the 20 or so colors that are currently available.
Here is a rundown of February 2021's Ink Flight colors. Visit pennonia.eu/blog/ to hear the proper pronunciations of each ink name.
Pennonia Dungó
This bright, golden orange is inspired by wasps. Its light saturation provides just enough contrast on white paper to be readable. The shading is noticeable, even when using a thinner fine nib.
Pennonia Zöldike
Named after Hungary's Greenfinch, this olive green with cool undertones shades well.
Pennonia Gödényzöld
Máté wanted a green that matched his Pelikan M1000. Nailed it! This lush green color has some violet-red sheen when used with a wet-writing nib and Tomoe River Paper.
Pennonia Méregzöld
Don't worry, this "Poison Green" isn't actually toxic. Máté named it after his Mom's favorite color. This aqua turquoise has good shading and sheen to boot!
Pennonia Csontváry-kék
This medium-toned blue is named after famous Hungarian painter Tivadar Kosztka Csontváry.
Pennonia Kékfestő
This deep blue with hinting of sheen takes its name from the color and embroidery style of traditional Hungarian clothing.
Pennonia Gesztenyebarna
This chestnut color recalls nostalgic childhood memories. Warm and smoky with a rich brown hue.
Tasting Notes:
I was thoroughly impressed with the color range that Máté sent us to sample. Sure, there are more blues than other colors, but that's to be expected of any ink brand, considering that blue and black are the most popular ink colors on Earth. The lightly-saturated Dungo and Zoldike are impressive and worthy of use throughout the spring. If you're a Pelikan fan, Gödényzöld would be a great match for a striped M800. I was using it in my Platinum 3776 Century Kumpoo which is also a nice blueish-green. The sheening colors provided just enough sheen while not being too thick or troublesome to clean.
Box Extras: Clairefontaine "Aïda" A6 Softcover Notebook, Assorted Color Covers, and Midori Paintable Stamp
I need to stop assuming that I'll have a spare box at the end of the month to photograph for the reveal. Such was the case this month. I count myself incredibly fortunate that the Flights sell out each month. There was a time when I'd be nervous about making too many and having lots of extra boxes that would linger for months (I'm looking at you March/April of 2020). Now, it's gotten to the point where we need to either expand our production capacity or cap the number of subscribers that join each month. Anyway, that's something for later discussion.
Thankfully, there are kind folks on YouTube that publish video unboxings of the Ink Flight box's contents. Manda B's unboxing is embedded on this post. You can also check out Productive Dragon, and Angeliz Stationery Room for more Ink Flight unboxing fun.
On to the box's bonus items - the Happy Meal Toys, as PenBoyRoy puts it. Clairefontaine never disappoints with nice, fountain-pen-friendly paper and quality design. The soft, flexible leatherette covers are embossed with a Moroccan geometric motif and glue-bound with 144 pages of 90gsm ivory ruled Clairefontaine paper. One of four randomly assorted color covers were shipped to each Ink Flight subscriber.
The Midori Paintable Stamp is a self-inking, oil-based square stamp that adds fun to your everyday journaling with ease. Stamp it 1,000 times to catalog all your favorite pen and ink combinations. Write, draw, or paint on the stamped page without fear of smearing the ink. This stamp is sized perfectly to use with the Midori sticky notes that arrived in December's Ink Flight.
Had enough of stickers? You might be attracted to the Valentine's magnet that was included with each package. Attach the heart-shaped inky-tine magnet to remind yourself of your true love.
February's journaling theme was "Self-Care," encouraging writers to consider how loving oneself benefits others around them. As a parent, I often put the wants and needs of others (i.e. kids) before mine. It may seem noble to be so selfless, but we all need to water our own gardens to tend to those of others.
On Friday, February 26, we had a fun pen meetup on Zoom that lasted the full 40 minutes included in the free account. It cut a bit short. I'm considering splurging for the yearly access to have up to 100 people join the meet at the same time. I hope we can count you in for the next one!
Let's chat about this Flight
We invite you to join hundreds of kindred spirits in the Ink Flight Lounge Facebook Group to talk about this month's Flight Box. Likes? Dislikes? Favorite pairings? We'd love to read what you thought about the contents of this box. If you don't have/do Facebook, please feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Previous Ink Flights (Ink Flight #1 - Noodler's, Ink Flight #2 - Robert Oster Signature, Ink Flight #3 - KWZ, Ink Flight #4 - J. Herbin, Ink Flight #5 - P.W. Akkerman, Ink Flight #6 - Papier Plume, Ink Flight #7 - Platinum Mix-Free, Ink Flight #8 - Franklin-Christoph, Ink Flight #9 - Organics Studio, Ink Flight #10 - Monteverde, Ink Flight #11 - Krishna, Ink Flight #12 - Caran d'Ache, Ink Flight #13 - Rohrer & Klingner, Ink Flight #14 - Blackstone, Ink Flight #15 - Colorverse, Ink Flight #16 - De Atramentis, Ink Flight #17 - Aurora & Montegrappa, Ink Flight #18 - Krishna, KWZ, Papier Plume, Ink Flight #19 - Diamine, Ink Flight #20 - J. Herbin, Ink Flight #21 - Robert Oster Signature 80's Collection, Ink Flight #22 - 3 Oysters, Ink Flight #23 - InkJournal Holiday Blend, Ink Flight #24 - Taccia, Ink Flight #25 - Kyoto TAG, Ink Flight #26 - Kaweco, Ink Flight #27 - April Fool's Surprise, Ink Flight #28 - Pelikan, Ink Flight #29 - Sailor, Ink Flight #30 - Straits Pen Honest Inks, Ink Flight #31 - Colorverse, Season 5, Ink Flight #32 - Inks by Vinta, Ink Flight #33 - Troublemaker, Ink Flight #34 - Monteverde Sweet Life, Ink Flight #35 - Taccia Inks Pt. 2, Ink Flight #36 - Sailor Manyo, Ink Flight #37 - P.W. Akkerman, Ink Flight #38 - Waterman, Ink Flight #39 - April Fool's Suprise II, Ink Flight #40 - Lamy, Ink Flight #41 - KWZ, Pt.2, Ink Flight #42 - Robert Oster, Pt. 3, Ink Flight #43 - Pure Pens, Ink Flight #44 - Kiwi Inks, Ink Flight #45 - Sailor Manyo, Pt. 2, Ink Flight #46 - Colorverse Ink Project, Ink Flight #47 - Van Dieman's Ink, Ink Flight #48 - L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio )