Inkvent Anxiety

This one is chatty. I've attempted to verbalize some of the anxiety this Inkvent has triggered during a month that can tend toward mass consumerism. I'm happy to have done the difficult work of digging through the feelings. Thanks for watching.

[@MarcellHobbs]

Perfect statement! “My contribution to myself.”

[@scribblesandinkstains]

Ha ha, thanks for indulging my little rant. I'll feel better once I organize my studio.

[@MariaRosseau]

So glad I found your video through your recent comment on my channel! I have found myself sharing some of your thoughts about acquisition. I have gone through gear acquisition with every hobby I have ever taken up, and at this point I tend to be more mindful of it. I do find myself tending to buy more as either my interest or opportunity wanes. The most difficult things for me to resist are things related to color - ink, fabric, yarn, etc. I didn't get the Inkvent calendar this year. I had it last year, and didn't use most of the inks. I enjoyed the process of opening the bottles and swatching the inks, but the cost didn't make sense to me if that's all I was doing with it. There are a couple of colors that I might buy bottles of, if they're released. But if they're not, I'm sure I'll find something else, or even forget about them later.

[@scribblesandinkstains]

My hackles STAND UP in defense of gluten 🫣🫣… and thoughtful fountain-pen/journal content! Haha. Mostly I love people who are geeks for their own passions. Thanks for your comment. Your little balls of dough were so accomplished, and I loved watching your process scoring and cutting with the bench knife. I also love and originally found you through fountain pens and inks, of course. Intermittent fasting (16:8) allows me to balance the chasm between the nuances of female metabolism and real-world culinary passions (because lots of hiking through amazing landscapes often isn’t enough to keep us heart-healthy). Love you!

[@pleestationeryteahouse]

Mari, thanks for sharing your honest thoughts about this. I have been wrestling with similar feelings as well and actually thinking about what kind of videos I want to make on my little hobby channel for next year. I am really thinking through my collection of stationery (washi tapes, stickers, pens) as well and how it would take me years to use them all. I get so much joy out of watching stationery videos as I don’t have many in-person shops that I can peruse before making a purchase. But as you mentioned, that sometimes make it harder to hear our own thoughts on whether or not we truly need something. I am trying to remember the true transformation is through the process of writing, planning, creating, and finding a community. I am thankful for the community of such kind people bonded over stationery! And now for me to do more creating and less consuming for next year… I decided to not get the ink vent this year as I do not have storage space for the tiny bottles in my home haha. I wish we could just have a fabulous pen meet up and all share our supplies!

[@ramonafirehorse]

I absolutely felt that stress of acquiring too much ink and wondering if I had wasted my money on inks I didn’t like. I have shared this several places, but I opened my calendar as soon as I got it last year and made three advent calendars for friends so we could all open it together. It truly was the most fun thing I’ve done and I have no regrets. But even with that only leaving me with half the amount of ink in each bottle, I still have SO much ink left so I didn’t want to buy the calendar again. Most of those bottles have not been touched beyond my swatching them. Luckily, the only color that I truly disliked from the calendar was my friend’s favorite I am sending her what is left in that bottle and I’ve been able to share more from the calendar in ink swaps etc. I did not grow up in a Christian household so I had never had an advent calendar before and that was another thing I wanted to experience. But the stress of adding so much to my stash will prevent me from doing it again. That plus the addition of scented inks. I’d rather just purchase and use bottles of inks I really love now.

[@scribblesandinkstains]

That's such a great idea... to share out and make it a shared experience with friends. And I feel the weight of all that leftover ink. Not sure how to address that, other than the ink portraits I'm working on will burn through lots of ink in the spirt of experimentation, learning, and necessary fails :). It's clear that I want to be more intentional in 2023 with all things. I'm a packrat/minimalist hybrid, and it's not working! I also want to spend more time sending out satellites to the pen/planner/mail community to develop the (non-commercial) connections I don't seem to have in my local community--our nearest fountain-pen community hubs are an hour or two's drive away. Thanks so much always for your thoughts. I enjoy our conversations :)

[@ramonafirehorse]

Oh my goodness I have never heard the term packrat/minimalist hybrid before and I feel so SEEN! We might have been twins in another life. 😂

[@paulavaden5139]

Being fairly new to FP's and inks (this year) I knew I had no business buying into Inkvent. I would rather pick and choose the colors I love to write with and experiment along the way. So only sample vials now and maybe always. I've had to set buying rules for myself and caps when pondering pens. So far I've only purchased pens on sale, with some form of discount code or like pens number two and three which were used. I've been rather aghast at the amount of pens people have and the money that's been sunk into them. No judgement, to each their own and I love seeing them. Watching my reactions to their collections guided me more towards who I am and want to be as someone who is loving the FP world. I'm going slow. With this new endeavor I've had to trust myself and my intuition and heavily rely on my experience of owning different businesses buying and selling. I've recently retired from my retail shop of eighteen years where I had to really stick to my budget, ignore FOMO, listen to my customer (now myself), and practice discipline in everything. So I'm carrying that into this new love. I literally have visceral reactions to staring at certain pens like a Kaweco Iguana or Violet AL Sport but can't justify spending the money on it or any other pens I salivate over! Mari with your sketching and drawing talents I would like to see more of what you can do with inks through art. I'm no artist but want to use ink to doodle and noodle with. I like Zentangles and am practicing a little sketching. What you show us doesn't have to be involved but I would enjoy simple ideas to play more with our inks. Sorry this was so long. Can you tell I'm deprived of talking to people about this in person?!

[@scribblesandinkstains]

I don't know how I missed replying to this; you've brought up so many good points. I'm challenging myself to not buy any bottles before trying samples this year, and to do a series on "stationery empties" to shift my focus from acquiring to enjoying supplies. I'm also journalling a weekly "want" spread and challenging myself to explore the pros/cons, the nuances of the desire, in order to ad "-ed" to the word want. So far it's working in that it's showing me how irrational and impulsive those purchases have been in the past. Happy New Year :]

[@seemownay]

I'm not sure you watched any of my two latest videos but I'm talking about the same sentiments and how I want to be more intentional with my consumption. I find that's even a better word than spending because I wouldn't buy if I couldn't afford it but the question is do I spend it on the right things. I had the InkVent last year and it was a nice experience overall as I love advent calendars but I started to feel that stress quite soon too: I am amassing so much ink! And I wasn't really in love with all of them, so I decided to skip this year and I'm very glad I did.

[@scribblesandinkstains]

Yes, I watch and thoroughly LOVE all your videos because they resonate with my own (less articulated) experience and reflection. I loved your recent fountain-pen collection post, particularly considering the necessity of goal-setting and the sense of shame we seem to crash against due to the imbalance between our desires and our consumption. My goal for 2023 is to address the adage that “the best goals are the ones that scare you”. And I am sending mail. Not because it’s reciprocal, or because my overextended holiday travel plans fell through due to Covid, but because it is heartfelt.

[@littleoldemeartistry-marieehi]

I resisted the temptation of the Inkvent but I wanted it though. I imagine there's much more pressure as a content creator. I have retreated from Instagram and Facebook (not that I was really active) due to FOMO. KZbin engagement with my favorite pen and ink enthusiasts (in which you are one) is where I get a sense of connection. In December I try and set aside little pockets of time for reflection and intention setting for the upcoming year. I wish to be more mindful in using what I have.

[@thepedanticplanner]

I bought the Inkvent this year since I thought this would be a fun way to get some ink samples. I like to change colours a lot and this way I won´t be stuck with so many big bottles. I am also sure that I won´t buy another one next year even though I am enjoying it this year. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Greetings from Germany, Kendra

[@ChrisSaenz13]

I thoroughly enjoyed and related to this video! This year I had decided not to purchase the Inkvent but then an awesome pen friend sent me samples from it and I did end up enjoying and completing the calendar ... daily ink explorations, journaling, daily Instagram comparisons, and 4 videos + now I've sent the tiles off to Matt at Ink Swatch for inclusion on the website. I had a lot of thoughts during both this year and last year. Last year, I divided the set in 3 and did a giveaway for 2 sets keeping one set for myself and I did very poorly with enjoying it last year .. I didn't even complete daily the inks (lat year) and I felt a lot of regret about that. December is typically a very busy time here and I know that so going forward I will be sure to enjoy the Inkvent vicariously by watching/listening to those who participate. I have too much ink and have been dealing with feelings of shame over fears my samples may eventually become wasted since there are so many and I have difficulty doing giveaways due to the cost and stress. At the core of everything is me wanting to enjoy the things I have and share what I discover on YT at my own pace and slowly .... while at the same time I have been putting off having a policy about incoming inks. One time I separated all the samples I already had reviewed. So many. LOL Anyway, this is a timely video for me to watch as I am determined to create positive change in 2023 ... I write daily and I super enjoy journaling, writing letters, and note-taking with my fountain pens + using a water brush for highlighting and decorating. Inkvent is such a temptation and really a nice product ... and there are more factors than the cost but for me the cost is a huge part of it too .... I'm glad I only had samples this year and still I have a lot of ink leftover. Still quite a lot of planning and organizing to do here. :) So glad you shared your thoughts!

[@scribblesandinkstains]

Hi, Chris! I still have so many of your videos I'd like to comment on--so appreciative for your thoughts on intermittent fasting, books, cats, and of course pens and inks. December is a terrible time for an inkvent (it tends to be the busiest month for schools, families, businesses). It has been an unnaturally cold month as well, which drives me indoors and keeps me haunting my own mental spaces. I like what you wrote about the core of everything, wanting to enjoy what you have and share what you discover. Synchronistically, I wonder if you're going to do Benjamin McEvoy's Hardcore Literature 2023 Book Club? His first three selections are among my most beloved novels, but if it requires Patreon, I'll have to pass. I'm not sure I could polish off those three novels (even though they're re-reads) from January through May. I'm going to be better off selecting new-to-me novels. Thank you so much for your kind words. Your comment was read like a warm letter, and it was much appreciated!

[@beccacarrillo]

One thing I know about myself is that I am TOO picky to let someone else choose things for me...especially if I have to pay for them. Last year was the first time I watched anyone open their InkVent calendar on KZbin. I had thought it was a cool idea...but I only liked about 25% of the ink colors. I certainly wouldn't want to pay so much for inks I wouldn't use (and I don't have any community near me where I could share them; the inks I didn't like would either cost me money to ship them to someone or they would be sitting gathering dust in my craft room). Consequently, I had no desire to purchase the calendar this year. I did enjoy watching KZbin videos of swatching...but no regrets not having a calendar of my own. Out of the 25 inks I've seen swatched...there are four that I would like to buy. I should probably say I do have a bit of anxiety over the amount of pens and inks I've acquired since I took up the fountain pen hobby four years ago...but at least they are all choices I made on my own so I know I liked them when I bought them. :)

[@scribblesandinkstains]

I think it would be much more fun to do this sort of thing in a larger metropolitan area where you could meet up and swap those you don't care for. Of course I think people do that online as well, so perhaps I'll poke around to see if anyone on fountainpencompanion might like to swap... Or I could put together a giveaway with those I'm not interested in storing. Do you share your pens/inks on Instagram?

[@tortagialla]

I also avoided the ink vent because it was just a fomo thing… I don’t need more things and I’m definitely concerned about balance of acquiring versus creating. Been trying to clean my space and it’s all so overwhelming and things I have that I forgot 😅 yet it’s so weird that I still have that tendency to buy more 😬 - love the explorations of the ink - so very cool!

[@scribblesandinkstains]

Hi, Linda! I love your advent coffee project 💕. Can't wait to see your December flip-throughs when you're able to post them :) :)

[@tortagialla]

@@scribblesandinkstains oh thank you! Yes, I still have to finish them up. Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it!

[@BoiseShan]

Love the idea of an ink advent, but I really like to try different brands of ink. I don't participate in Inkvent (but I love watching the videos), but I would be the first in line for an advent calendar with smaller samples of all kinds of different inks.

[@scribblesandinkstains]

That's a more interesting idea to me as well, but maybe it just feels like too many ink samples. I'm starting to appreciate the smaller size of the Goulet samples because I can finish them in a reasonable amount of time. 2 oz is also plenty for me to explore the ink characteristics fully. Happy New Year!

[@addicted2analogue]

I have avoided Inkvent. Not knowing what I am getting is too high risk for me; and, I can do without the stress of figuring out what to do with what I don’t want and the feelings of being wasteful.

[@scribblesandinkstains]

Totally agree on paper; I struggle with impulse-control. Journalling is helping me with that, at least on day 19 of January :]. It's a significant mindset shift, but small habits are helping.

[@MaikeOatley]

I was tempted to get the Inkvent, as I love advent calendars. But I realized that I have so many inks still on my wishlist that I wanna try that I decided not to buy one. I think this is great for someone who either has lots of experience with inks and is excited to try something new or someone new to the hobby that would enjoy the premade selection. I am somewhat new to fountain pen inks, but I have really specific colors I‘m interested in.

[@scribblesandinkstains]

Yes--excellent point about "wish-list" inks. I never thought of that. :)

[@michellealdrich]

As a lifelong stationery devotee, I’ve resisted the fountain pen rabbit hole until this year … since I like to think myself older and wiser 😉 I’m proceeding with baby steps and a few “rules.” In the meantime, I live vicariously through social media 💫 TFS your take on things

[@scribblesandinkstains]

I’m working on the wiser part 😜. A list of rules sounds good. I could challenge myself to empty a sample vial every month of 2023… or have a month where I send out more samples than I bring in. What are some of your rules?

[@gracevillwrites]

hi! I hear you-am so familiar with anxiety, too… 🪴…And it’s only bec. I can’t afford it that I’m not participating in/with Inkvent.😅 Fine arts and teaching!! That is so cool!! Happy holidays. ⭐️✨❄️☺️✨

[@scribblesandinkstains]

Hi, Grace; thanks for your kind words. Happy holidays to you, too! 🖋🌸🤗