Ink Organization and Display for Maximum Enjoyment

[DilettanteG]

@inkstainedruth thanks for the tips. I already have both of those programs, so I'll try them out.

 

Also, OCD people are my people!

[Chimera01]

On 12/5/2023 at 5:03 PM, lapis said:

And, as you also saw (I'm certain) the saddle which is a Brooks. In your vicinity perhaps?

Physical vicinity? No... Brooks are up around Birmingham, whilst I'm in the southwest. But aesthetic vicinity? Absolutely. I can draw a straight line between vinyl, fountain pens... and lovely bicycles  Quality, indeed. And personally, IMHO I think fewer, beautifully made things is a more elegantly sustainable way to live.

[DilettanteG]

I cleared out one of the shelves of the hutch above my desk, borrowed a tiered riser from the pantry, and made my first pass at creating an ink display.I've been collecting the Pelikan Edelstein and Jacques Herbien lines for the last few years, so they're getting the prime real estate closest to my desk. Looks like I'm going to have to find some risers that fit this space first. I do love how the bottles look on the clear acrylic.

 

I also thought I'd try the pen chests in my book case first. That's just too many things to open to get a pen. So, it looks like they'll go in an open bookcase and the inks get the glass doors.

rs.

 

.

[DilettanteG]

Another trip to the pantry to borrow some more tiered risers. These fit the shelf depth so that the doors close, but the tiers are so short that I can't see the labels. Which is one of the problems I'm trying to solve. I really want to be able to see everything with one look. Also, if I don't keep the brands together I'll never find anything. So, it won't just be the fanciest bottles that are out. The Noodlers is probably staying in the closet though. Cool labels, but the bottles are pretty standard fare.

 

I think have have more Noodlers than any other ink. They should be easier to use if they aren't quite so squashed together.

[inkstainedruth]

For displaying the bottles, the tiered risers are a great idea!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[DilettanteG]

Not alphabetical, but better:

 

 

[DilettanteG]

@inkstainedruth Thanks! I went a little wild on the pantry organization this year. So, I've got a few on hand to test sizes. I think the clear ones also look much better than the white version I was using, 

[AmandaW]

Ok, now I'm looking for tiered risers too.

[DilettanteG]

@AmandaW Oh no, peer pressure! 

 

Seriously though, I really like the ones the Pelikan Edelstein's are on. The height is perfect, but at 12" they're too deep for my shelves. They're actually made for bar shelves. They make ones with built in LED colored light strips too, if you want to go totally crazy.  I got these at Amazon (no affiliation) if you like them for your cabinets:

 

https://www.amazon.com/BARsics-3-Tiers-Assembled-Display-16x6-5x12-5/dp/B096SDVWVQ?pd_rd_w=T52tZ&content-id=amzn1.sym.f8bd5c4a-4a1d-4518-8a74-d7b144a3f981&pf_rd_p=f8bd5c4a-4a1d-4518-8a74-d7b144a3f981&pf_rd_r=7WK8BH4M6WPMJX04BG45&pd_rd_wg=GnDTs&pd_rd_r=c5abc47d-e97e-489a-a1d0-50cde7e2347c&pd_rd_i=B096SDVWVQ&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_1_ec_pd_rhf_ee_s_rp_c_d_sccl_1_2_i

 

The smaller ones are part of The Home Edit line at Walmart (again no affiliation.) I used a ton of their stuff in my organizing spree. It was cheaper than  their The Container Store line. I read that it's also a little flimsier, but they've worked fine for me. It's also cool that most of that line fits into the other pieces. Their tiered shelves fit on top of their large container drawer set, too. I tried that, but it looked too busy for a display.

 

https://www.walmart.com/cp/the-home-edit-collection-at-walmart/8053985

 

The smaller tiered shelves might work for me, but I'm hopping to find an expandable version that will use all of the shelf space and have higher shelves like the bar version or maybe more tiers. Still looking. Please tell me where if you find some.

[DilettanteG]

Going with the see everything at a glance, I put my ink samples and some other pen stuff in clear acrylic contains, too. I literally forgot I had all those samples until I opened that wooden pen box I'd stored them in. The little ziplock snackie bags I separated them into to organize them, or maybe just the plastic vials themselves, seem to have kept them in useable shape. Hopefully, slime free, we'll see when I try to use one. 

 

They're not pretty enough to go with my new, FPN inspired, display plan, so these will be hidden in the closet.

 

 

 

 

 

A clear vial rack would be better, but these were left overs from another project. The tack room or the laundry room, I think.

 

Edited to add: And the bins are labelled with clear shipping labels in gloss. (The matte finish looks really dingy.) I tried Dry Erasers, but they rubbed off really easily. Great for when I was just doing temporary stuff, though. Like my first sorting pass. As you can tell by my post edits, I never get it right the first time. Permanent Sharpie left a faint, but annoying mark on the plastic even when cleaned with rubbing alcohol. Comes off really nicely with rubbing alcohol on glass, which is great for notes on the hood glass in the lab.

 

Apparently, after six months of organizing my house, I just really needed to share that with someone.

 

Oh, and I also take photos so I can remember where I moved things by just checking my phone rather than running all over the house. So, might as well share them here.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Pretty!  
 

For sample vials, I was using acrylic lipstick cases.  A dozen little niches each, and I had two of them.  The vials fit perfectly.

[RedPie]

Way to go @lapis You have too many to just "store" them. Looks great!

[DilettanteG]

Thanks guys.

 

I do worry about storing these inks in the light and how to judge if they are rapidly deteriorating. If I start noticing dehydration or contamination, they might go back in the closet as I'm planning on moving my stored clothes out of my office closet and back into the bedroom where they're more likely to be used anyway.(Lot of dressy and winter stuff in there that I should get a bit more use out of.) However, I really do like how much easier my inks are to see now that they've got some breathing room.

 

I do think I'll have to keep the whole collection in alphabetical order or I'll never be able to find things when I need them., so my original plan on only having the prettiest bottles out isn't going to work for me. Trying to balance how readily available each ink is versus the best storage solution is something I keep going back and forth on. I could always put more shelves in the closet so they are displayed better, but I'm afraid they will be out of sight out of mind again. Plus, how long are these inks really going to last? Maybe I just need to embrace their ephemeral nature? Maybe make the display shelves a place to show off my pens instead and display the bottles in a nice fashion, just behind a closet door so they're light protected, but maybe enjoy the lovely bottles less? I might be over thinking it, but I have spent decades of my life and a truly silly amount of money on my inks. I'd like to reap the maximum rewards from that. 

 

@Sailor Kenshin I quite like the idea of lipstick storage containers for the ink sample vials. That must take up a lot less space than sample vial racks.The clear drawers and baggies I have them in are step up from the old wooden pen chest mine were in. At least now I'm reminded that I have them when I glance at my pen stuff. However, digging through the baggies is still a bit awkward. I've already tried all the inks in there, so now they're more of an archive. Not sure if I'd use them even if they were more accessible.

 

The Noodlers is turning out to be the hardest thing to organize. I had them sorted alphabetically by name, but decided to reorganize them by ink series: American Eel, Eternal, Standard, Swishmix, etc. So, if I want a lubricating ink I just go to the eels, for example. But if I want a specific ink by name, I'm not sure if nesting by series is going to make it tough to locate some of the more obscure inks. Here's what it looks like af the moment. (I've got more large clear tiered risers on order as the current ones make it hard to see the labels. Plus more risers for my large display case. still trying to find some that fit my desk hutch. Yes, I'm now buying stuff for my stuff for peak consumerism.

 

.

 

 

 

[DilettanteG]

One more picture before these risers go back in the pantry. The new risers are going to takes anywhere form a couple days to two weeks to get here. Well, we are in the Christmas rush season.

 

I do love those Caron d"Ache bottles on the top shelf!

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

@DilettanteG, pretty cabinet.  Hope the new risers work out. 

[DilettanteG]

@Sailor Kenshin Thanks! This is what the Noodlers will look like on the new risers. You can actually read the labels!

 

And room for another row of inks in front, for the next 25 years of collecting.

 

[inkstainedruth]

Of course I have to laugh because the riser has "Mixers" written on it....  Which is probably the last thing you want to do with most Noodler's inks....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[DilettanteG]

@inkstainedruth I think the Eternals contain actual black magic. Mix the wrong inks and you get pen killing sludge.

[DilettanteG]

The first of my new tiered risers have arrived. Yay! It's a bit more crowded than ideal, so I now wish I had ordered the same expanding version of these tiers that I ended up buying for the hutches. Guess I can always upgrade later if I have to. Or, you know, stop buying inks. Anyway, here's the first set of shelves done.

 

 

 

 

 

I also googled Noodlers labels, thinking to sort that collection more effectively by series and... wow. Just... wow. So, guess that's one line of inks I won't need to buy any more of.

 

I also found some bottled inks that I haven't done ink sampler pages of yet. So, slung them in some clear bins and stuck them on my desk where I will hopefully get around to testing them out.

[DilettanteG]

All of these new inks, plus five more bottles on the way. Hopefully, they won't look too smushed on the new shelf risers.Guess it's time to use what I have instead of constantly chasing the shiny new ink.