The Well-Appointed Desk

I received 46 entries into the travel desk giveaway for a $25 gift certificate for Jet Pens. So, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… the winner is:

Well, Azizah, I hope the gift certificate will help you get all your travel needs sorted before your trip! Congrats! And thanks to everyone else who participated. I had such fun reading everything people would pack for their writing, drawing, note-taking journeys.

Original Article

One of the last, but in my opinion most important, issues to cover for traveling is how to travel with fountain pens. I’ve had lots of people warn me about it so I thought I’d find some research and share it here.

The biggest myth around flying with pens, fountain or otherwise is that they will explode. All my research suggests that the worst fate you might face is that the pen would leak. According to Penspotters:

The cabin pressure on the typical jetliner is maintained at about 10psia (0.7 atm), corresponding to the air pressure at about 10,000 feet of altitude. Although you reach this lower pressure within 30 minutes or so of takeoff, the air inside your pens is still at the ground-level pressure of 15psia (1 atm), and will take a very long time to equalize. This puts some pressure on the liquid ink, and can cause it to blot as you write, or to ooze or spurt from the pen even if you don’t use it.

…

Whenever you fly with pens, whether in checked baggage or as carry-on, you should make sure that the pens are either completely full (so that no air is trapped inside), or completely empty and clean (no ink to leak out). If possible, make sure the pens are kept points-up, which will make cleanup a bit easier should they leak.

So, if you are concerned that a pen might leak, store them upright (tip facing up) in a plastic bag during the flight to protect the interior of your bag. I plan to carry my Kawecos empty for the flight and pack a few cartridges and/or some sample ink vials and a syringe to refill (C’mon, my April Ink Drop samples just arrived!).

If you are not a fountain pen user but are concerned that other writing instruments might revolt on you mid-flight, you may want to consider a pen that has been designed specifically to tackle the challenges of the pressurized cabin like the UniBall Vision Elite or RT, Pilot Precise V5/V7 RT or the Pilot VBall RT. Ballpoint pens seem to be a good choice for many people in-flight and handling the rigors of pressurized cabins. A Fisher Space pen is a good option as it was designed to handle the pressure of space travel, so it can probably handle a domestic flight. And, of course, you can’t go wrong with a pencil though I would recommend packing a travel sharpener to keep pencil shavings neat or a mechanical pencil.

(Sites referenced in this post: Moleskinerie, Richard’s Pens, Budget Travel, The Pen Addict, Pen 4 U, Writer’s Bloc, Nibs.com, Levenger)

Original Article

For long trips, one of them most important but often last-packed items is the travel desk. Since I am going to be on the move, going from meeting-to-meeting, event-to-event and hotel-to-hotel, I need to come prepared with a good assortment of writing tools and paper, all tucked into an easy-to-use carrying case or bag. So, in an effort to help me choose the right supplies for 16-hour flights, road trips and hotels with Chinese-only TV, I present you with a challenge.

Tell me your must-have travel office supplies (maybe something from the Jet Pens catalog?) and you could win a $25 gift certificate from Jet Pens to use to purchase your perfect travel kit.

(The rules: you must leave a comment here on Wellappointeddesk.com, not on Tumblr, Twitter or Facebook. You must leave a comment by Saturday at midnight CST. You must leave an email address in order for me to contact you if you win. Winner will be contacted on Sunday, April 8, 2012. Winner will be selected using Random Number Generator. Thanks for entering!)

Original Article

With all the furious packing and trip-planning, its been a bit of a “slow news week” here at The Well-Appointed Desk. Here’s this week’s link love. Enjoy!

• When pencil sharpening becomes a how-to book (via Woodclinched)

• Eudora Welty’s desk (via Oprah, thanks to Missive Maven)
• The importance of journaling (via Modern Vintage Man)
• A Review of Jet Pens’ Maruman Mnemosyne Inspiration Notebook (via Konigi, thanks to The Pen Addict)

Original Article

• Packing light (via EF College Break)
• 10 tips for Traveling Well, Air Travel (via Delightfully Tacky)
• Taking the Problems Out of Packing (via Martha Stewart Living)
• Packing for Paris, in grey and black (via The Vivienne Files)
• How to Pack a Bag, the Esquire Man way video: apologies video auto-plays but is pretty funny (via Esquire)
• The Ultimate Packing Guide (via Budget Travel)

Do you have any packing tips?

(Original Source)

No travel bag is complete without the right luggage tag. A good luggage tag will help you identify your bag in the mass of black roller bags and also provide a sturdy place to put your contact information in case your bag goes to Tokyo while you go to Taipei.

(Luggage tags featured above are: Samsonite Aluminum luggage tags, set of two $10, I Pack Heavy ID tag $14.95, Flight 001 3-pack plastic tag set $12, This Bag Is Mine leather bag tag $22,  Leather Initial Tag, set of two $15.99, Keep Calm and Carry Your Own Baggage tag $7.95, Penguin Book On The Road tag approx. $20, Anne Taintor Bombshell luggage tag $8.99.)

Original Article