﻿Hi everyone! I’m Connie, a writer at JetPens.
You wanted to see what I carry with me every day, so here we are! Let’s get right into it.
First up is my bag! I bring my Superior Labor bag with me everywhere.
It’s made from a thick, durable fabric that’s printed with William Morris’ Marigold pattern.
It’s the perfect size for my daily essentials.
Unfortunately, we don’t sell it and I don’t think it’s available anymore either.
Sorry :(
Inside my bag I keep my planner, my pen case, a spare notebook, and my journal.
The Hobonichi Blink cover is my planner cover and my wallet.
This was released in 2020 and I just had to get it.
I love how bright and cheerful the colors are.
On the front there’s a bear, on the back… there’s another, smaller bear.
It’s so cute.
And, of course, I have it in a Clear Cover to keep it clean.
Oh, and I also have the Doraemon collaboration pencil board!
I was thinking about getting the Animal Crossing one from this year because it has my favorite villager on it (Apollo), but I finally resisted the urge.
In the pen loops, I have a royal milk tea keychain, a TRAVELER’S COMPANY Brass Ballpoint Pen, and a vintage Parker 51 Fountain Pen.
I actually don’t write with the TRC pen that much, but it comes in really handy for signing receipts.
I use the Parker 51 for the bulk of my planning and change the ink every month so they kind of match the colors of the Midori Chiratto Index Tabs.
For August, I used Sailor Shikiori Yamadori, which is an ink that looks blue black on Tomoe River paper.
Inside the card pockets I have my ID and credit cards, and a hockey card I decorated like a kpop card because I thought it was really funny.
In the back, I cut down a plastic folder to fit in this pocket. All my planner stickers are in here.
Okay, on to the planner!
I’m using the Hobonichi Plain Notebook this year.
I moved to a more freeform style because I value flexibility a lot more these days.
For everyday planning, I use monthly calendars, habit trackers, and weekly pages.
This horizontal format works really well for me because I’m generally pretty good at managing my time and I just need help remembering what I need to get done.
I add in special pages for...
my wishlists,
tracking game scores,
ink swabs and other things when I think of them.
I like keeping my planner pretty tidy and there isn’t always enough space for miscellaneous notes,
so I use the Kokuyo Field Sketch Book for things like grocery lists and brainstorming ideas.
The Field Sketch Book is slim so it doesn’t take up a ton of space in my bag, but there are enough pages for me to use it for a while.
Let’s move on to my pen case.
The Lihit Lab Smart Fit Actact Compact Pen Case travels with me everywhere— I literally do not leave the house without it.
You may notice that mine’s been customized a bit.
I have an acrylic rice cooker keychain attached to one of the zippers, and I sewed on a patch that says “Every Day is Just One Day,” which I find very relatable.
I keep handy items that I can always use inside this pen case,
like the Sun-Star Stickyle Scissors or a Tombow Mono Adhesive Tape Runner.
These angled tweezers are great for small stickers: they’re much more precise than my fingers.
The Actact is also where I keep my inked fountain pens.
I usually have three or four inked up at once so I have a couple different colors to choose from.
Today, I have my TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR, LAMY AL-Star, TWSBI ECO, and Pelikan M205.
They all have broader nibs and really show off how well inks shade and sheen!
My fountain pens are almost 100% used for journaling.
I have a JetPens Kanso Noto in a Midori MD Goat Leather Cover.
I take pretty good care of this cover and it doesn’t get a ton of sunlight, so it’s still very pink.
Maybe one day it’ll look like the leather on my Superior Labor bag?
The Kanso Noto is packed with Tomoe River paper, which is my favorite fountain pen paper.
I started using this journal in June 2021 and I’m a little more than halfway through.
I find journaling really calming, so I try to write about my day or anything that’s on my mind about three or four times a week.
I also copy down book quotes,like on this spread.
Usually I can fill about one page, front and back, per writing session.
I also have a lot of washi tapes and stickers, so I like to decorate the pages of my journal with them.
That’s everything! I have a lot of stuff.
But, you can stay tuned now for the Q&A!
Thanks, everyone, for your likes and comments! I'll answer some questions I got on the last few videos.
What type of left-handed writer are you? Underwriter, overwriter, or sidewriter?
Also, do you have any fast-drying ink recommendations for side-writers?
This is a great question!
With fountain pens I tend to underwrite and with ballpoints or gel pens I tend to sidewrite.
I don't personally use a lot of fast-drying inks but, in my experience, Pilot Iroshizuku inks do pretty well.
I got some other questions about how I don't smudge ink.
I think underwriting has helped a lot and investing in some blotter paper is a good idea too.
I do my best to be patient and wait for ink to dry but I've mostly accepted the fact that I'm going to smudge ink here and there.
I try not to be too much of a perfectionist about it.
Are there any particular inks you like best?
Absolutely! I have a couple of inks that I've really enjoyed lately.
We brought in Dominant Industry and I've really liked Autumn Forest. It's just--it shot up my list.
It's a really beautiful dark green with pink shimmer.
I also love dual-shaders like Sailor Manyo Haha.
Dual-shaders are inks that look like two different colors at the same time.
I think they're really cool and I love how they look when you fill an entire page with them.
I hate to bring up something you can't get anymore but...
Pilot Iroshizuku Ina-ho is literally a beloved ink.
I have most of the 50 ml bottle left and I'm worried that I'm not going to touch it again until it grows mold.
Out of curiosity, other than just liking the broader nibs, is there a reason you prefer broad to the fine or extra fine nibs?
In my experience, I find that extra fine and fine nibs can feel a little scratchy.
I'm a left-handed writer and when I write with the nib I push it across the page, rather than pull it.
So sometimes I'm digging the nib into the paper's fibers.
I think I'm just the type of person who's really sensitive to nib feedback.
So I try to make my writing experience as comfortable as I can for me by using really smooth broad nibs.
Also I think my handwriting just kinda looks better with broader nibs.
I feel like my letter are quite round and maybe they look a little misshapen with finer tip sizes.
Does the FriXion ink work well on Hobonichi or Tomoe River paper?
Yes, FriXion ink works well on Tomoe River paper.
Though I've noticed that I can't eraser more than two or three times or else it becomes crinkly and difficult to write on.
If your schedule changes a lot and you want to write and erase with your FriXion inks,
I would recommend sticking with Kokuyo THIN PAPER, which is found in Jibun Techo Diaries.
It's just a better option.
For me, I don't eraser and re-write over and over again so it's not a big deal.
I'd like to see your DIY planner!
I didn't show very much of my DIY planner in the previous video because I have some personal information in there...
But, I can show you the planner that I'm starting to set up for next year. Starting from the very beginning.
Also, I cracked and I bought the Animal Crossing pencil board.
So first up is my year at a glance.
I record birthday and holidays here.
Next... I write down all the fountain pen ink colors I'll be using every month.
And then I also jot down music I've been listening to.
Next up are the books that I read that year and wishlist of things I want to do.
On these pages I used my Tombow Fudenosuke to fill in the borders and then I wrote on top with a white Pilot Juice Up.
I think it looks pretty cool!
I've already set up my monthly calendar for January.
So it looks like this.
I usually highlight the top here to make it stands out a little bit more.
I also have the skeleton of my habit tracker.
A spending tracker and I've also set up the first week of January.
I really like how I used my planner next year so not much has changed.
I'm really excited to get started with the new Plain Notebook.
I hope you enjoyed taking a look at my every day carry.
If you haven't watched the videos yet, be sure to check the description for links to all of them.
Thanks for watching!
I also got a few questions about where I got my mug from.
It is a Starbucks Taiwan mug with a tiger on the side.
I think this is supposed to be an apple... maybe a peach? Not quite sure.
But I think it's very cute and you saw its butt for most of the videos.
But this is what I drink from on a daily basis.