Ink Organization and Display for Maximum Enjoyment

[amberleadavis]

@SamCapote  Big Grin.  Thank you for sharing. I think you need a shipping manifest in order to find a particular bottle of ink.

[DilettanteG]

So cool! Definitely has that hidden treasure feel.

[RedPie]

WOW. You do have a lot of ink. Thanks for sharing. You need at least a small museum to show all of that! 😉 ✒️ 😁

[SamCapote]

On 12/27/2023 at 4:31 PM, amberleadavis said:

@SamCapote  Big Grin.  Thank you for sharing. I think you need a shipping manifest in order to find a particular bottle of ink.

 

Eventually I will organize by brand, but I think I need an entire room with shelves to display it all.

[AmandaW]

I finally finished cleaning all the dried out pens... Those that are inked and still writing are now resting on stands in The Pen Cabinet. It looks so pretty... and there are slots to spare. No more inked pens hiding in drawers to be forgotten.

 

The acrylic stands on the top shelf were made here. The others are a motley collection of glass ones.

 

Inks get to be re-arranged and swapped for others when ever I fancy. And I finally have enough mini drawers for parts, carts and spare nibs.

 

Just one pen is unaccounted for: a cheapy clipless dark blue Sailor fude. That's definitely a drawing pen, so may be keeping company with a sketchbook somewhere. Yes, it will drive me nuts til I find it...

 

[DilettanteG]

@AmandaW That turned out really nice. Please post pictures of your pen cabinet when you finish it, too. I really love these inspirational pics!

[amberleadavis]

@AmandaW that display looks great!

[Misfit]

You are all doing so well with your storage.  Mine is in a box, tote, shelves in the basement. There is an old bathroom shelving unit in the garage.  But the shelves are too widely spaced. The risers likely would not work because of a lack of depth in the shelving unit. If I could add shelves, it would help. Or maybe use something to add height so there could be two rows of easy to see inks. 
 

@AmandaW nice to see, as my Dad used to say, Ted E Bear in your ink display. He is the guardian of pens and inks. Or is Ted E Bear a female?

[AmandaW]

9 minutes ago, Misfit said:

as my Dad used to say, Ted E Bear in your ink display. He is the guardian of pens and inks. Or is Ted E Bear a female

I'm not sure, the bear is the Pilot 2023 - free with purchase. So cute, I made a purchase... 💛

[SamCapote]

Amanda, You can see the difference with a neat, organized woman's touch display.

 

[Misfit]

@SamCapote I’m like you, and keep the ink in the boxes.

[SamCapote]

It's nice to have lofty goals of pensively constructed organizational strategies, but alas those dreams elusively wisp away amidst fleeting traces of ephemeral erudition.

[Ceilidh]

6 hours ago, SamCapote said:

It's nice to have lofty goals of pensively constructed organizational strategies, but alas those dreams elusively wisp away amidst fleeting traces of ephemeral erudition.

Couldn't have said it better myself. 😁

[azzgunther]

This won't provide ideas for your incredible collections but I do enjoy looking to my left once in a while. On the topic of "bottles out VS. bottles kept in boxes", there are a few threads with compelling arguments to leave the bottles out to enjoy: link

 

Amberleadavis' posts are linked in there, and they make the most compelling arguments in favor of "bottles out." 

 

[SLinkster]

I brought this home today. It was a local sale website find. Custom-built to hold CDs in their jewel cases, it will house my ink starting tomorrow.

 

12 shelves

LxDxH = 34"x5.5"x5.25" (height is an average, some are 5.5, one is barely 5.125, a couple are 5.25)

 

I can leave every bottle that has a box in its box, except perhaps the Noodler's 4.5oz bottles with eyedropper tops. Those boxes I might have to sacrifice, as they are all exactly 5.5" per my cheap ruler and thus might not fit.

 

I can't start transferring inks from the cheap plastic "dresser" until tomorrow. I need to run to the hardware store for a couple of L-brackets so I can secure the shelf unit to the wall. I'm also considering adding plexiglass flaps on piano hinges, more for dust protection than as an anti-cat measure. But it's past my bedtime now (the joys of working the overnight shift).

 

In the meantime I'm considering how to organize the inks. I think it'll end up being "group by brand, sort by color" which is pretty much how they are in the drawers. Then there are the singletons and the sample racks, and a bin containing assorted cartridges. And I think I'll have room for pen boxes/cases somewhere as well. And a whole h3ll of a lot more ink. 

 

Anyhow. Here it is.

 

 

[DilettanteG]

1 hour ago, SLinkster said:

I brought this home today. It was a local sale website find. Custom-built to hold CDs in their jewel cases, it will house my ink starting tomorrow.

 

12 shelves

LxDxH = 34"x5.5"x5.25" (height is an average, some are 5.5, one is barely 5.125, a couple are 5.25)

 

I can leave every bottle that has a box in its box, except perhaps the Noodler's 4.5oz bottles with eyedropper tops. Those boxes I might have to sacrifice, as they are all exactly 5.5" per my cheap ruler and thus might not fit.

 

I can't start transferring inks from the cheap plastic "dresser" until tomorrow. I need to run to the hardware store for a couple of L-brackets so I can secure the shelf unit to the wall. I'm also considering adding plexiglass flaps on piano hinges, more for dust protection than as an anti-cat measure. But it's past my bedtime now (the joys of working the overnight shift).

 

In the meantime I'm considering how to organize the inks. I think it'll end up being "group by brand, sort by color" which is pretty much how they are in the drawers. Then there are the singletons and the sample racks, and a bin containing assorted cartridges. And I think I'll have room for pen boxes/cases somewhere as well. And a whole h3ll of a lot more ink. 

 

Anyhow. Here it is.

 

 

Nice Find! Very clever idea using an obsolete CD shelving unit.

[AmandaW]

That's great! Normal shelves - meant for books etc - are often too tall, which is not just wasting space, but leaves big visual gaps. Your CD shelves will be a wall of colour. Perfect.  Do take a picture for us when it's done.

[SLinkster]

That feeling you get when you realize you've just given your retired engineer-slash-cost accountant husband all the ammo he needs to figure out how much you've REALLY spent on the latest obsession hobby. 😳

[inkstainedruth]

Of course, seeing the first photo of those shelves made me think of some quick & dirty shelving units my husband made for paperbacks -- one for in my sewing room where the shelves have more space between them, and a couple for in the "library".

I'll admit that for CDs, we bought an "apothecary" style cabinet with actual drawers for the living room when we realized that the rotating cabinet someone was giving away was filling up too quickly (it's currently in my husband's home office).  Mind you, the apothecary cabinet has a bunch of jewel cases on top of some cardboard unit to sort papers which is currently living on top of the apothecary cabinet -- and that doesn't include the tote bag of CDs in the hallway for car trips (I mean, I got the totebag -- which is plastic instead of canvas -- in the gift shop of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, so PERFECT for traveling).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[SLinkster]

18 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

quick & dirty shelving

Not as quick and dirty as it appears! The shelves are pegged and glued into the verticals, as well as being glued into slots in the back panel. That in turn is secured all the way around with countersunk screws

 

I admit the finish is not entirely to my taste, being varnish of some sort. Maybe I'll dump it and take it off the wall this summer for a trip to the beauty shop. More likely it'll stay as it is until the next asteroid hits the earth.