Inca Workstation Organiser! Made in Australia!

Another New Arrival has hit our humble little warehouse - the Inca Workstation Organiser! A beautiful stainless steel, powder coated desk accessory to tidy and brighten up even the blandest and most dishevelled of work spaces, the Inca is made by Andrew Aloisio Design.

And unlike a lot of our New Arrivals which find us from say, Germany, or France, the Inca only had to travel from Sydney, where it is designed and made by Andrew Aloisio and team. A seriously impressive piece, so bright, shiny, clean and niiice...look at how nice your pens, coffee and sticky notes will look, with thankful eyes anew from their comfy resting spots!

Win A Platignum No. 5 Studio Fountain Pen!

We've already mentioned our determined campaign to get a fine writing pen into every hand and so if you haven't seen our Pen Amnesty yet, you should join us as we Fight For Our Writes!


And as if you needed any extra encouragement, we've got some! Sign up to our Mailing List and you'll go into the draw to win a Platignum No. 5 Studio Fountain Pen!


Platignum is one of Britain's most famous stationery brands and is basically the one name you need to know about pens and writing in England. Click through here to read about this British icon and their many innovations from retractable ball points to secret spy pens!

From the iPad of Inky Pete - Why I am an iPad Fan!

The DODOCase disguises your iPad seamlessly in your bookcase.

Inky Pete is our (pseudo-)resident pen expert and guest blogger. Whenever we're considering a new range of pens or just need some help and advice about writing, we get in touch with Inky Pete and in this instance he got in touch with us and ordered the new DODOCase for iPad. We were keen to hear why Inky Pete was an iPad fan...

No need for guilt with an iPad protected from extinction by a DODOCase

I have to admit it. Sometimes I feel guilty when I embrace new technology to the detriment of my fountain pens. I know, get a life!

The DODOCase is handmade using lightweight bamboo

iPad Case or Book???

But I do have quite a few fountain pens and I love using them. No two are the same although some are technically the same pen. They all have their own personality and there is something about the feel of a fountain pen nib gliding across a quality paper that is very rewarding.

DODOCase is available in 8 interior colours including Dark Blue

Sometimes it is a dilemma for me when writing – do I use a fountain pen and my favourite Clairefontaine notebook or do I resort to my computer? Maybe even pull out my ipad? Yes, I am an ipad fan too. I’m not a total luddite.

Attention to detail is a hallmark of the DODOCase

Now at least I have an ipad that looks more like a traditional black covered note book. I’m the proud owner of a Dodo ipad cover. Hand made in San Francisco, one of my favourite cities, these covers look very much like a moleskin notebook. Traditional book cover material, a bamboo insert sculptured to perfectly hold your concession to modern technology, and an elastic closure strap.

The Dark Blue DODOCase for iPad 1 - Inky Pete's Choice

The first thing I noticed was the attention to detail. The rounded corners (small touch, but classy), the rubber corner inserts that hold the ipad securely and the book cloth lining. This is a quality product that lives up to its’ hype. You know from the minute that you ease your ipad into the cover this is a product made with love. I’ve had a few cases over the last year or so where you spend considerable time trying to get your ipad into the case or it is so loose that it just falls out. Not so with Dodo. Everything fits like a hand in a glove. Just perfect.

Looks just like an A4 notebook - but with a sleek iPad hidden inside

And best of all when you stroll into that wifi hotspot or work meeting with your Dodo case under your arm, it looks like you have an A4 notebook. I can understand why this case won Macworld’s ipad case of the year. It’s a ripper!

Colour Blocking - Purple

So apparently in the fashion world colour blocking is BIG! Then again in the fashion world everything is big for a little while.... until well it's no longer BIG!

Then it is just forgotten, as quickly as it came. Take these parachute tracksuits as an example - big in the 80s, now.... not so attractive!

via Totally Frocked

In the spirit of jumping on the fashion bandwagon we thought we might partake in this frivolous trend of colour blocking!

So readers today's colour blocking trend is all about PURPLE - regal, sitting between red and blue, elite and nobel in meaning and much nicer in stationery than in parachute material!

Archie Grand Celebrities I Met and Liked

Posca Marker - Violet

Noodler's Ink - Purple Martin

DODOCase for iPad 2 - Purple

MT Masking Tape - Purple Tread

Try this trend yourself and colour block your desk with purple, purple and more purple with our shop by colour stationery finder.

Lamy Al Star Ballpoint Pen - Shiraz

Yellow Owl Workshop Ink Pad - Purple

G. Lalo Verge Bordered Boxed Cards - Aubergine

Filofax Adelphi Organiser - Damson

From the Pen of Inky Pete - Why I Use Fountain Pens!

Diplomat Excellence A Fountain Pen

Inky Pete is our (pseudo-)resident pen expert. Whenever we're considering a new range of pens or just need some help and advice about writing, we get in touch with Inky Pete - a man who has used more pens than most people have ever seen! With our recently launched Pen Amnesty, we asked Pete about just why he insists on a fountain pen and the following post betrays his unfailing devotion to the love triangle that is nib, ink and paper.

Omas Arte Italiana Cruise Fountain Pen

When I travel I tend to take more time deciding which fountain pens to take with me rather than clothing. There are a few things that influence my choice.

Diplomat White Pearl Fountain Pen

Am I flying ? That rules out a few of my vintage pens that don’t travel well. How long will I be away? Pen’s ink capacity becomes a consideration.

Cross 23Kt Gold-Plated Nib

Last week I attended a conference out of state. I chose an old Parker 75, a Lamy Studio and a Lamy Safari. Also a couple of Clairefontaine notebooks but that’s another story.

Platignum No. 5 with a hooded nib

At the conference I pulled out my Lamy Studio to start making notes. It soon became the conversation point with two fellow delegates somewhat taken aback that people still use fountain pens. When was the last time someone asked you about the ballpoint you were using? It doesn’t happen.

Faber-Castell Precious Resin Ivory Fountain Pen

We talked about why fountain pens are still made and why I would choose to write with one (several actually).

Platignum No. 5 Studios

Fountain pens really have character. I find that using a fountain pen actually helps me write. It becomes an extension of my hand as you get a response from writing with a nib rather than a small ball that adds nothing to your writing experience.

Omas 360 Fountain Pen

You can feel the nib on the paper – in fact the combination of the two works together to provide the writing experience. I find a ballpoint just rolls over the paper. It’s a boring experience for me. Try a fountain pen and you will soon understand what I mean.

Cross ATX Basalt Black

You can’t just write any old way with a fountain pen. You need to have the pen on the right writing angle to get that smooth flow of ink to paper. A ballpoint just lets you write anyway you want. No character, no feeling.

Lamy Safari with Medium Nib

If you haven’t tried a fountain pen since you were at school (showing my age now), or maybe you have never had the experience at all, then now is the time to take that step.

The NoteMaker Pen Amnesty!

It's time to get excited! As Sam Cooke foretold us all those decades ago, 'A Change is Gonna Come' and we at NoteMaker are happy, eager, proud and adamant to be the bearers of this change! Hyperbole aside, indeed civil rights is a little beyond our scope, but civil writes? We can do that!

Faber-Castell Wood ballpoint pens

We have a mission this June to bring smooth stylish pens to the masses. A beautiful pen in every hand! A fine writing instrument in every pencil case! A second-drawer full not of shabby pens that stop working after a few sentences. Nay, a second drawer full of pens which always work all the time! Or even better, just one pen - the cleanliness, order and harmony that one solitary, capable, quality pen delivers.

Platignum No. 5 Studio Fountain Pen

So here is our Amnesty. A chance for redemption, rePENtence (there are so many more pen puns where that came from...), forgiveness. A pardon for past sins, for using and putting up with those cheap and nasty ballpoints...

Diplomat Excellence A Rhombus Ballpoint

Instead we offer the olive branch that is a Lamy pen, or a Cross Pen, or something by those precision obsessed folks at Diplomat. Here's the deal: simply ditch your old pen...put it away, get rid of it...send us a pic showing just how shabby it was and we reply with a FREE delfonics ballpoint pen or a 25% cash rebate on any pen purchase from NoteMaker...PLUS a free notebook to try your new pen out on!

Tombow Object Rollerball Pens

To show that we're serious, that our crest of honour above is only 99% dorky fun, we're also taking this to your office in the name of mass conversion! Set-up an entry box in your workplace and at the end of the month, tally up all of the pens that have been ditched and if your office submits either the MOST pens or the MOST AWFUL pens, you'll win a prize pack of $1000 worth of design office stationery!

Fisher Space Pens!

And of course, all of your happy co-workers will receive the freebies and rebates already mentioned...and they'll be writing with something nice and ridiculously good looking...sighing and under the breath expletives will plummet!

Omas Arte Italiana Cruise Fountain Pen

So please join us. It's hard to say just how much of a positive difference a really nice pen makes, how enjoyable writing can be...but it is easy to find out. Gather up your instrument of choice, come to the front line of fine writing and Fight For Your Writes!