Once again, it's that time of year when I like to list out my favorite products from the past 12 months. I had to expand this year's list from 10 items to 20 - just too much good stuff I didn't want to leave out. Click
here if you would like to compare these items against my 2008 list. And so... in no specific order I present:
In Paper:The Exacompta Sketch Book One of the most versatile products I've ever found. 100g off white laid paper that takes fountain pen ink, markers, and watercolor paints.
Blank Paperblanks Journals - The off white paper is great for use with fountain pen ink and I love to doodle on this paper.
Clairefontaine Spiral Watercolor Pad - Square spiral bound 300g cold pressed watercolor paper is perfect for making mandalas with any number of different types of media.
Rhodia Meeting Book - I love the format and the small version is my absolute favorite Rhodia product.
Fabriano Classic Artists Journal - The large version is one of my favorites for drawing pen & ink mandalas.
Myndology Disc Bound Journal - Love the size and the ability to rearrange the pages is priceless.
In Fountain Pens:Lamy Safari Fountain Pen - What can I say? I have 6. I love them.
Sailor Sapporo Fountain Pen - The Sapporo is the perfect weight and balance for my hand.
Lamy Accent Fountain Pen - A few $ more than the Safari, the Accent is a slightly heavier pen with grown up looks. Though the nib is the same as the Safari, the extra weight on this pen creates an even smoother ride.
Late to the Game: 1942 Parker 51 Vacumatic Fountain Pen. The nib has that special "character" that I love so much. (A slight variance between the vertical & the horizontal.)
In Fountain Pen Ink:J. Herbin Perle Noire Ink - Between all 3 Diamine black inks, Sailor Black, Sailor Nano Black, Pelikan Black & Noodler's Bulletproof Black, this is the darkest & blackest ink.
Diamine Onyx Black Ink - Very close to the Perle Noire but slightly better behaved.
Diamine Poppy Red Ink - After trying bottle after bottle of red ink, (too pink, too orange, too light...) I have found my all-time favorite red ink.
In Art SuppliesAlbrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils - Seriously pigmented and extremely versatile, these were a very good investment.
Pitt Artist Brush Pens - Flexible nibbed markers using a permanent India ink. The colors match beautifully to my artist grade watercolors.
Uniball Signo Broad White Gel Pen - The most perfect white gel pen I've yet to find.
Uniball Signo .7 Gel Pens - If I'm not using a fountain pen, I reach for one of these. Very smooth and they come in lots of cool colors.
Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints - Highly saturated artist grade paints.
If I had to do it all over again, I'd buy all DS paints.
(Image below does not contain ALL DS paints.)
Caran D'Ache Neocolor II Watersoluble Crayons - Crayons for grown ups. Great on colored paper, can also use with water.
Late to the Game: Tombow Calligraphy Pen - This pen has a short firm brush nib that works perfectly on my typically smaller pieces.

And that's it for 2009! See you next year!