iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 02/10/2026

It's Podcastathon day (September 32nd) in support of St. Jude! My sub-campaign with extra rewards of mailed postcards and lots of designs to paint with fountain pen ink (or watercolors/markers/etc.) should remain live theough the weekend, join me: oliveoctopus.ink/stjude.htm

oliveoctopus.ink

Supporting St. Jude | Olive Octopus

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 01/05/2026

Wow I've written several posts since I last posted here, but here's the latest one checking in on one of my favorite inky projects, the Col-o-dex. oliveoctopus.ink/colodex-3yea...

oliveoctopus.ink

Col-o-dex Update: 3 Years In | Olive Octopus

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Brad Dowdy @penaddict.com · 12/03/2026

The Pen Addict on the DWRDNET Stationery Feed www.penaddict.com/blog/2026/3/12/th…

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 07/11/2025

Happy Fountain Pen Day! I'm excited about how these turned out. After visiting Butler Stationery with friends all morning, find me at The Gentleman Stationer (in Nashville, TN) the rest of the day. youtube.com/shorts/mBucO...

youtube.com

Happy Fountain Pen Day 2025!

YouTube video by The Gentleman Stationer

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Brad Dowdy @penaddict.com · 30/09/2025

I am live playing Blue Prince for a Pen Addict After Dark stream. Come say hi! twitch.tv/penaddict

twitch.tv

PenAddict - Twitch

Blue Prince - First Play! !stjude

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 20/09/2025

It's still September and I'm thankful for all who've joined me and @relay.fm to support St. Jude. I've put up a matching donation up to $250 through Mon, sent out several new thank you rewards, and look forward to more special streams this month—come hang out on Twitch! oliveoctopus.ink/stjude.htm

Handmade A6 booklets made with twelve different fountain pen friendly papers and a medium brown cover, one side has 12 stained glass floral designs to color or paint, and the other side with labeled blank pages for writing tests.

Handmade booklets about 4 inches square with a blush cover and two copies each of 12 stained glass floral designs to color or paint, on fountain pen friendly b7 Natural paper.

Small papers about 4 inches square with stained glass floral and sea creatute designs to color or paint, printed on fountain pen friendly b7 Natural paper.

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The Well-Appointed Desk @wellappointeddesk.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

In The Shop: Gamify Your Life Zine We have just listed our new zine: Gamify Your Life Players Handbook (2nd Edition) ($12 for zine, $20 for kit)-- "Make it Fun to Get Sh*t Done". This zine was created to accompany my workshops of the same name but I've packed it full of enough information that I…

wellappointeddesk.com

In The Shop: Gamify Your Life Zine

We have just listed our new zine: Gamify Your Life Players Handbook (2nd Edition) ($12 for zine, $20 for kit)-- "Make it Fun to Get Sh*t Done". This zine was created to accompany my workshops of the same name but I've packed it full of enough information that I think it is a great jumpstart into the gamification of your life planning.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 08/09/2025

So excited to read Ana's answers to this question list! 💚🩷💚 The list of questions for the fountain pen/pen/stationery community and my own answers can be found here: oliveoctopus.ink/12penpersonq... #12PenPersonQuestions

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Stephen Hackett @ismh86.net · 27/08/2025

Since 2019, the @relay.fm community has raised over $4 million for the life-saving work of St. Jude. When I stepped foot on its campus with my son in 2009, I had no idea where life was taking us, but I'm thankful it's here. stjude.org/relay

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 10/06/2025

This was a recent pen acquisition to celebrate crossing some big things off the to-do list, and some small but cool things that have happened recently. TGS x Hinze Taschenstift in CrazyFiber Violet Tendencies (M) Diamine Vivaldi

Uncapped fountain pen, The Gentleman Stationer x Hinze Taschenstift pocket pen in purple CrazyFiber material called Violet Tendencies with dark gray purple metal section and pale lilac anodized nib, sitting on top of A5 notebook with writing sample of multiple purple inks, with the slightly gray purple Diamine Vivaldi ink featured in the center.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 09/06/2025

Bright inks may not be my wheelhouse, but despite being pleasantly surprised by the character in these TWSBI inks when first swatched I've rarely reached for them since and they deserve better! The bottles are nice too. I used 8 TWSBI inks to paint in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving book.

Eight 18ml frosted glass bottles with TWSBI fountain pen inks Orange, Prairie Green, Emerald Green, Sky Blue, Navy, Royal Purple, Grape, and Pink. Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, Log of Elixir, open to page with design of roses climbing up a wall and a window looking out to a castle on a cliff, a ship, and the sky filled with a crescent moon and stars, all painted with those 8 inks, and a ceramic paint palette that looks like bubbles with colorful inks in the wells.

Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, Log of Elixir, page with design of roses climbing up a wall and a window looking out to a castle on a cliff, a ship, and the sky filled with a crescent moon and stars, all painted with TWSBI inks Orange, Prairie Green, Emerald Green, Sky Blue, Navy, Royal Purple, Grape, and Pink.

Closeup of a large rose painted pale orange on a page in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, Log of Elixir.

Eight 18ml frosted glass bottles with TWSBI inks Orange, Prairie Green, Emerald Green, Sky Blue, Navy, Royal Purple, Grape, and Pink, corresponding Col-o-dex ink swatch cards for each ink, and a ceramic paint palette that looks like bubbles with colorful inks in the wells.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 20/05/2025

I've been testing out using the Notsu vertical To-Do cards and horizontal Week cards (available at my local pen shop, gentlemanstationer.com), and currently these are leading as the potential replacement for my Hobonichi Weeks next year.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 12/05/2025

I painted with three scented inks from Dominant Industry in the Ink Archiving book today. Bog Sage (Top Note) Ylang Ylang (Middle Note) Duftrausch (Bottom Note) I also used Allegory to have a darker shade to work with.

The Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir open to a page with sketches of birds and a scene of a garden with a large gazebo with trees behind and a pool of water in front with water lilies, a large tiered bird bath, several birds including a peacock, and a cat, all painted with 4 Dominant Industry inks. Next to the book are 3 bottles of fountain pen ink and a paint palette that looks like a cluster of bubbles with the remains of drops of ink.

Inks used:
Bog Sage (Scented, Top Note), a bright light blue
Ylang Ylang (Scented, Middle Note), a bright yellow
Duftrausch (Scented, Bottom Note), a muted gray pink
Allegory (Standard), a dark indigo gray

A closeup of The Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir page with a peacock sitting on a large vase in the middle of a pool of water with lily pads, painted with fountain pen inks.

A closeup of The Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir page with four birds on a large tiered bird bath and sculpture in a pool of water with lily pads, painted with fountain pen inks.

A closeup of The Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir page with three birds and ribbons around rectangles of ink swatches and the names of each ink written nearby.

Bog Sage (Scented, Top Note), a bright light blue
Ylang Ylang (Scented, Middle Note), a bright yellow
Duftrausch (Scented, Bottom Note), a muted gray pink
Allegory (Standard), a dark indigo gray

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 08/05/2025

So, in a rare on-camera appearance I talked with my friend Derek about fountain pens, paper, and of course inks. youtu.be/QUNFyzVwWXQ

youtu.be

DWRDNET Stationery Feed Episode 7 With Lisa of Olive Octopus Ink

YouTube video by dwrdnet

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 04/05/2025

All my palettes had leftover dried out ink and there are several Yamamoto papers I've only spent a little bit of time with, so I got out a pile of waterbrushes and pencils and pens and ponies and went to town on stream today. ...I've now added to my TGS shopping list, and am off to wash palettes.

A desk top full of ceramic and plastic ink palettes with the dregs of colorful fountain pen inks, several sheets of paper with colorfully painted ink ponies and flowers and an example of a letter with a colorful ink wash background. Other tools on the desk include water brushes and fountain pens.

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Brad Dowdy @penaddict.com · 01/05/2025

Today's activity at the #InkPonyClub.

Waterbrush coloring with fountain pen inks in the Dominant Industry Elixir book.

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Martha Wells @marthawells.com · 29/04/2025

Re-upping this:

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 22/04/2025

Two years after I went to my first fountain pen show, I returned to the Atlanta Pen Show (Oops! All Friends editon). oliveoctopus.ink/atlpenshow25...

oliveoctopus.ink

2025 Atlanta Pen Show Highlights | Olive Octopus

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 20/04/2025

I used fountain pen inks from my visits to Butler Stationery in Columbia TN for painting today, this page fit the colors and the day. Troublemaker: Sinulog Black Petrichor Moon River Diamine: Twilight Merlot Monaco Red I always enjoy talking to Jonathan, stop by his shop if you ever get chance!

Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, open to a page featuring dragons, phoenixes, and ornate eggs painted with fountain pen inks in blues, greens, red, pink, and purple.

Troublemaker inks:
Sinulog Black
Petrichor
Moon River

Diamine inks:
Twilight
Merlot
Monaco Red

Close up of flying phoenix and phoenix wing painted in reds and purples in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir.

Close up of dragon with 4 legs, wings, a long tail, and open mouth, an outstretched dragon wing, an ornate egg, and a view of a baby dragon curled up in an egg painted in blues, greens, and grays in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir.

A ceramic paint palette that looks like a cluster of bubbles in varying sizes next to the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, open to a page showing ink swatches for six Birmingham Pen Co inks and these inks:

Troublemaker Sinulog Black, a dark greenish black
Troublemaker Petrichor, a chromashading blue, green, purple
Troublemaker Moon River, a gray, teal, and pink
Diamine Twilight, a dark blue
Diamine Merlot, a pinkish purple
Diamine Monaco Red, a warm muted

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 19/04/2025

I spent most of my day off today at Butler Stationery's new shop location in Columbia, TN visiting with friends, meeting new people, testing pens and nibs, talking inks, comparing papers, and of course finding some fun things to take home.

Interior of a stationery shop with dark green walls and warm wood shelves filled with inks, paper, notebooks, mugs, leather goods, pens, pencils, and accessories. A large table with chairs is in the back.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 18/04/2025

This is a great interview by Derek (dwrdnet) with Darrell (D² Arts), who made this beautiful, hand carved fountain pen I got at the Arkansas Pen Show. I talked with Darrell quite a bit at the show, but loved learning more about how he came to make these incredible pens. youtu.be/dwKfK8bFx6o

A hand-carved, rich blue sparkly resin fountain pen from D² Arts with a spiral carved around the pen from end to end.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 04/04/2025

Good morning Atlanta! Getting some fresh air before it gets ridiculously hot for early April.

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Mike @inkdependence.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

If you’re online during the day, there are a few of us who stream stationery content on Twitch and we’re always happy to answer questions and show you how to do things. Need to know how to fill a fountain pen? Swatch inks? Unclog your pen? Turn up! m.twitch.tv/inkdependenc...

Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 31/03/2025

I wrote about my time at the Arkansas Pen Show. oliveoctopus.ink/arpenshow25....

oliveoctopus.ink

2025 Arkansas Pen Show | Olive Octopus

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Carola @fromcarola.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

I was a guest on the Pen Addict podcast this week! We chatted about my art, workshops, live streaming, and how creativity brings us joy. And of course fountain pens 😊🖋️ Thanks for having me @penaddict.com !

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 23/03/2025

Time flies but it's been so good to meet people, hang out with friends, and talk ink at the Arkansas pen show. Yesterday I spent time checking out all the unique hand-sculpted pens from D² Arts and chose this beautiful blue sculpture that happens to also be a pen. www.instagram.com/d_squared_arts

A hand-sculpted fountain pen in dark blue resin with a long spiral carved from end to end, resting on a pen sleeve of dark gray batik fabric with a pattern of cream color horizontal and vertical lines, and a business card for D² Arts, Darrell Davis.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 22/03/2025

Good morning, Day 2 of the Arkansas pen show! Let's see if I can level up my purchase yesterday with a new grind. I've been wanting something in this material for almost a year, and the metal accents really make this pen unique. Magnolia Pen Company pen in Saturn's Storm by Pourly Controlled

Magnolia Pen Company fountain pen in Saturn's Storm resin material by Pourly Controlled, a swirly pearl amd black with bolts of shimmery orange and pink, and thin metal bands of copper, brass, copper accents near both ends of the pen

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 16/03/2025

It's Sunday, time to paint in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir. I've shortlisted a bunch of Birmingham Pen Co inks to use today. twitch.tv/oliveoctopus...

twitch.tv

OliveOctopusInk - Twitch

Painting in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir | Questions about fountain pens, inks, stationery are welcome

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Libro.fm @libro.fm · 14/03/2025

Hi, we are an alternative to Amazon-owned Audible 👋🏻 With us, you select the independent bookshop you want to support (we have 3,000+ partners across the globe), and we share profits from your purchase with them. We're also employee-owned and a registered Social Purpose Corporation.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 14/03/2025

I needed to do some minor patching on a wall after rearranging things in the room I use as an office, so I decided to repaint with a new color to make it an accent wall. There are so many shades of purple but I think this rather bold shade of red purple will set off the batik curtain nicely.

Photo of the corner of a room with the left wall painted a vibrant reddish purple with a closed closet door painted white, and the right wall painted a light orange with a window and curtains made of an orange and purple dyed batik fabric with a dotted pattern.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 13/03/2025

As I'm making tea this afternoon I checked and realized I never shared my latest post here. (The RSS feed is way more reliable than I am.) TL;DR I drink a lot of tea. oliveoctopus.ink/lvluptea.htm

Tall ceramic mug with tea bags steeping, canister of Republic of Tea Dragon Oolong tea, and electric tea kettle heating water.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 13/03/2025

Three Taccia Jeans fountain pen inks—none of these are my typical shade of jeans to wear, but I'm really curious to see what Aqua Blue will look like in a pen.

Col-o-dex ink swatch card and sketch of overalls for Taccia Powder Blue, a light periwinkle blue.

Col-o-dex ink swatch card and sketch of bootcut jeans for Taccia Aqua Blue, a light blue gray.

Col-o-dex ink swatch card and sketch of tapered jeans for Taccia Black, a black ink with sheen.

Three boxes of fountain pen inks in the Taccia Jeans series and corresponding Col-o-ring swatches. Taccia Powder Blue is a light periwinkle shade, Taccia Aqua Blue is a light blue gray, and Taccia Black is a dark black with sheen.

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Carola @fromcarola.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

I used these fountain pen inks to paint this abstract floral art piece: - Dominant Industry x Wonder Pens “Tuna and Olives” and “Chicken in the Sky With Diamonds” - Robert Oster x Pen Addict “Fire On Fire On Fire” (shimmer ink)

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The Well-Appointed Desk @wellappointeddesk.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Pen Show Season! It's Pen Show season! If you're a fountain pen aficionado and stationery enthusiast, attending a pen show can be great fun. Did you know we've got a list of all the pen shows we know about? And I've just updated that list today with all the 2025 dates that I can find. As always,…

wellappointeddesk.com

Pen Show Season!

It's Pen Show season! If you're a fountain pen aficionado and stationery enthusiast, attending a pen show can be great fun. Did you know we've got a list of all the pen shows we know about? And I've just updated that list today with all the 2025 dates that I can find. As always, if we've missed a show that you know of, please leave us a comment and we'll add it to the compendium.

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 09/03/2025

I'm two pages into the second volume of the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, and having a lot of fun with it. Featuring orange cat energy and shimmer that's got me looking around for Link.

Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, open to a painted page featuring suitcases, a pen and tool wrap, a book with a bandolier of potions, a canteen, an open suitcase with glass bottles, a book, and an upside-down orange cat inside, and a complex telescope tool.

Eight Taccia fountain pen inks were used:
Koiame (dark orange)
Natane (yellow green)
Sabimidori (dark teal, but very blue on this paper)
Fukaki Hanada (light blue)
Ainezu (dark blue gray)
Aomurasaki (dark gray purple)
Ume Murasaki (dusty mauve pink)
Kurocha (dark brown)

Close up of a painted page in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, showing an open suitcase with glass bottles in multiple colors lined up in the lid, a book strapped on the left side of the bottom section, and an upside-down striped orange cat playing on the right side.

Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, open to a painted page featuring stone ruins including a crumbling domed tower, close ups of a statue and column designs, and a scene of a round building with, pillars, a tall stone arch, and stone wall near the sea.

Four Dominant Industry fountain pen inks were used:
Allegory (a dark gray thatlooks indigo on this paper)
Unknown Land (a shading medium warm brown)
Seaweed (a chromashading medium green)
Atlantis (a blue green with electric blue shimmer)

Close up of a painted page in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, showing a white cat snoozing on a short broken pillar amidst ruins of a round building with pillars, a tall stone archway, and a short, crumbling stone wall with water, more land and fluffy clouds in the distance. Electric blue shimmer highlights the designs along and above the top of the columns.

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Mike @inkdependence.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Are you curious what a fountain pen show is like? Come with me on a tour of the Baltimore Washington International Pen Show (BWIPS)! I talk to a ton of vendors, show a whole bunch of pens, get a little lost, and an artist gifts me an art!

youtube.com

Live from the 2025 Baltimore Washington Pen Show!

YouTube video by Mike Matteson

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Olive Octopus @oliveoctopus.ink · 06/03/2025

Despite everything, I'm enjoying the Colorverse state inks. I'm up to ten with two new ones recommended by a friend, Tar Heel is a soft gray blue and The America's Dairy Land ink is a unique, vibrant cheesey orange. These are fun to sketch because there's good box art to reference.

Two boxes of fountain pen ink and Col-o-dex ink swatch cards for Colorverse The America's Dairy Land (Wisconsin), a light cheesey orange, with a sketch of a cow and a barn with an orange cheese sky, and Colorverse Tar Heel (North Carolina), a light blue gray, with a sketch of a foot with a dark patch on the heel and faded footprints in the background.

Col-o-dex ink swatch card for Colorverse Atchafalaya (Louisiana), a dark green brown, with sketch of trees and a crane in a swamp.

Ten Col-o-dex ink swatch cards for Colorverse USA inks The America's Dairy Land (Wisconsin), cheesey orange, Atchafalaya (Louisiana), dark green brown, Blue Crab (Maryland), medium blue, Chesapeake Bay (Virginia), a medium brown gray, Country Roads (West Virginia), a rich orange brown, December 7, 1787 (Delaware), a dusty blueish green, Giant Potato (Idaho), a medium warm brown, Gold Rush (South Dakota), a gray pink brown, Great Plains (Nebraska), a dusty yellow green, and Tar Heel (North Carolina), a light gray blue.

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