I have this habit. Once I find out that you like something that I like, and you might not have some aspect of it…say for example I find out that you like fountain pens and ink and there is a particular color of ink that you haven’t had the opportunity to try out. I will immediately offer to share if I own it.
But Charlie! Why? You might ask. Well for one I get to spend time geeking out about something that I truly enjoy, and I am never ever (ever) going to use up all the ink I own by myself. Why not give some of it to someone else to try and test out? Of course, it’s easy to sit next to someone and go through a physical swatch book. (Every pen enthusiast has one or two, right?) Not so easy when you live in different states.
This is where the Fountain Pen Companion (site link) comes to the rescue. This is a fabulous site where you can catalog all of your inks and then share that with others.
This site is meant to allow you to track your ink collection and to simplify sharing this data with others. It also aims to help you trade ink samples with other users.
– Urban Hafner, creator of FPC.
See where I am going with this? Here’s my list. You are more than welcome to take a look if interested. Let’s talk about ink.
-Charlie
Clicking the button below will take you to my ink list on Fountain Pen Companion.
It’s inevitable, at least in my opinion, that when you get into the hobby of fountain pens you will eventually fall into the rabbit hole that is fountain pen ink. How long one stays there is up to each individual, but you will end up there at some point.
I know that I currently have more ink than I will ever use writing or with my art. I’ve slowed down in purchasing new ink to actually focus on what I already have, but occasionally, an ink just absolutely has to be collected.
I’m a huge fan of a comic series called Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe. (Per Wikipedia – The comic is a modern retelling of the relationship between the Greek goddess and god Persephone and Hades.) One of the things that I really like is the way color is used.
The first of seven volumes.
Why am I mentioning this in a post about ink? Well the two inks I’m writing about today are Persephone and Hades.
If you aren’t familiar with Wearingeul, the thing to know is all of their inks are inspired by literature. Persephone and Haydes are part of their World Myth (Greek and Roman) line of Inks. Wearingeul will on occasion release two inks together, for example, they released Romeo & Juliet together. Persephone and Haydes would have been an awesome pairing to release at the same time, however they were not. Persephone was released first and was hard to find at US retailers for a bit. I added a bottle of it to my collection in February. Four months later I managed to find a bottle of Hades in stock after learning of its existence. I found both inks at Droomgoole’s. A recent google search told me that more shops had both inks as of me writing this though.
One of the things I love about Wearingeul is they add a swatch card with color values in RGB and Pantone with each of their inks.
Per Wearingeul about Persephone and Hades:
In Greek and Roman mythology, Persephone is the goddess who, after being abducted by Hades, becomes the queen of the Underworld. The Persephone ink is a dark violet color, infused with a heavy and death-laden atmosphere, embellished with red glitter symbolizing pomegranate seeds.
An Ink inspired by the god Hades, who rules over death, it embodies restrained beauty with a deep black reminiscent of the underworld. Enhanced by a frozen-blue glitter, it exudes an ethereal elegance, capturing the essence of the afterlife.
Pretty flowery but accurate descriptions of the inks, though you can’t really see the glittering aspects very well in my picture. I don’t know what inspired Rachel to use color the way she did in Lore Olympus, but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Wearingeul took even a small cue from Rachel’s work. (Also, I could just be oblivious to which colors are typically associated with Greek goddess and gods. It’s not something I think about often.)
I really like both Persephone and Hades. Persephone has really pretty chromatography and that frozen blue glitter in Hades really pops when I write with it. Sorry, I don’t have a writing sample to share. Both inks are smooth and not overly wet. Perhaps that’s because I tend to use medium to broad nibs mostly.
Chromatography. Left is Hades. Right is Persephone. That pink in Hades was a surprise.
As with just about all shimmering inks, I’d recommend a fountain pen that is easy to disassemble for cleaning and a nib larger than a fine – because using a shimmering ink in a fine nib fountain pen makes no sense to me – I want to see the glitter!
Have you used these inks before? Do you have something similar in your ink stash that could be dupes for it? Let’s chat about it.
Loose Endings Studio 