Surprise Gift Becomes My Fave: Parker Pen Review

Hi there. How are you?

If you’ve really been paying attention to the drawings I’ve been posting for the past 3 months, you might have noticed that I’ve been using the same pen for all of them.

The Parker Jotter has become my absolute favorite pen.

Sketchbook drawings made with a Parker Jotter ballpoint pen.

I’ve never felt the need to purchase expensive ballpoints.

Until just now, Bic ballpoints (some of the most inexpensive pens out there) were my faves and what I recommended to my e-course students.

Things changed in January, when I got an Instagram DM from Jackie at Office Depot. She asked if she could send me a “surprise” in the mail. Of course I said yes, and a few days later I got a package in the mail.

Here’s what I got:

I was smitten as soon as I pulled this handmade envelope out of the mailer.

Inside was this card and a Parker Jotter Pen!

How nice was this note? I was so flattered.

It was a fantastic surprise.

There was no expectation that I blog or post about it on social media. It was just a straight up gift! And I love it. Thank you Office Depot!

Ebb & Flow 7 , and all 10 drawings in the series were drawn with the Parker Jotter pen pictured here.

My honest review of the Parker Jotter:

(Other than receiving a free pen from Office Depot, I was not compensated for this review. It’s entirely my own opinion!)

I really don’t know why I didn’t try out a “luxury” ballpoint pen sooner. It’s the best and I’m obsessed. All of my recent Ebb & Flow drawing series was made with my Parker.

The ink is totally smooth and there is absolutely none of the “throwing up” of ink that happens with every other ballpoint I’ve tried. It’s easy to achieve the lightest of lights and darks with this lovely hunk of metal. I also appreciate that it is refillable. (It always pains me to throw out a plastic pen when I’ve run it out of ink.)

My one complaint:

I wish I there were other ink colors available besides blue and black. If there were, I would never use any other pen.

Here’s a few other “Ebb & Flow” drawings for you to peruse. I don’t think I’d have achieved the delicacy of mark with a cheapo ballpoint, even my beloved Bics.

Ebb & Flow 8, 8” x 10”, acrylic ink and ballpoint on graph paper. Framed and available for purchase.

Ebb & Flow 9, 8” x 10”, acrylic ink and ballpoint on graph paper. Framed and available for purchase.

Ebb & Flow 10, SOLD!

If you’d like to learn more about the Ebb & Flow drawing series, click HERE.

If you want to pick yourself up a Parker Jotter, head to your nearest Office Depot/Office Max or other office supply store. They are well worth the price and you can use this pen for years to come! Thanks again Office Depot.

Is there a pen you’d like me to review?

Leave a comment and let me know. I am always on the hunt for new pens.

That’s all for now.

Ciao, Jen

My First Podcast Appearance!

Hi there. How are you?

Me. I’m so excited!

My first ever appearance on a podcast is now live!

Click to hear the interview!

Let me tell you how this cool opportunity came to be……

Back in February, I saw that Tara McMullin, creator of the What Works Podcast was looking for guests for her upcoming “By the Numbers” series.

As Tara states,

“Numbers give us a lot of information about what’s working and what’s not in a business.

They can tell us a pretty interesting story… if we’re willing to listen to it. Numbers might not tell us everything we need to know but they certainly help us ask better questions and point to new possibilities.

Throughout May, we’ll be featuring candid conversations with small business owners who have changed course because they paid attention to the numbers—everything from profit margin to time management to website traffic from Pinterest.”

I had a story that I knew would fit this theme.

I sent her a DM and threw my hat in the ring. A few weeks later, I was in front of my computer recording an interview with Tara over Skype.

This is a big, cool deal.

Tara is a small business rock star.

I have been following and learning from Tara McMullin for years. I can’t tell you how honored (and cool) I feel to have been a guest on her stellar What Works podcast. If you’re in the small business world, and you want real, down to earth business talk, give it a listen.

Here’s the whole episode:

In this interview we discuss:

• How I started promoting my art on Pinterest. (Shout out to Megan Auman and her Pinterest course for getting me started!)

• What happened when one of my pins was repinned over 50,000 times—and why it created a spike in traffic but not in sales.

• How and why I regrouped and decided to make an online drawing course.

• My very simple process for filming, producing and hosting my online course.  (Shout out to Kerstin Martin and her Squarespace Classroom for helping get this course off the ground.)

• How my online courses have impacted my business as a whole and what’s in store for the future of my business.

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Find What Works on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Go listen to my interview and let me know what you think!

Ciao, Jen

Celebrating Home with State Prints

Hi there. How are you?

Celebrating your home is big in design right now. Sporting zip codes, area codes, and state shapes on t-shirts, pillow, prints, mugs, etc. is all the rage.

Personalization is big too. People enjoy having their name and place on their things.

I’m always a tad leery of hopping on design trends. By the time I’m recognizing this trend, is it too late to capitalize on it? But this trend, I really like, so I went for it.

I started with this drawing….

My Illinois state print started as this drawing in my sketchbook.

….And turned it into this!

Carbondale, Illinois print featuring a ballpoint drawing from my sketchbook. Click through to purchase.

Carbondale Love

Last spring, I started making state prints with my ballpoint sketchbook drawings. I started with my own state of Illinois. Using a really nifty Illustrator feature, I was able to “cut” my rectangular drawing into the shape of the state. I added a heart over my home in Carbondale and voila!

I printed and framed these cuties for a spring time market I did last year. As Carbondale is a college town, I thought it would make a good graduation gift. They went over really well, so I decided to make more states.

As it is the Bluegrass State, the Kentucky print had to be in blue.

The Bluegrass State

When my Kentucky friends saw my Illinois prints, they wanted in on the fun too. Of course this one had to be blue. Fun fact: I lived in Edgewood, Kentucky (across the river from Cincinnati) for a couple of years as a child.

Here’s the drawing that served as the backdrop for my Kentucky state print.

My Wisconsin state print had to be Badger red.

On Wisconsin

Next was Wisconsin which had to be in “Badger” red. Growing up on right on the state line, I’ve spent a lot of time in Wisconsin. We used to vacation every summer at a Wisconsin lake house, I attended University of Wisconsin-Madison for my undergrad and spent 3 summers working at a summer camp in Northern Wisconsin.

This sketchbook drawing that was the basis for the Wisconsin state print.

This California print marks San Diego with a heart.

Cali Love

This Christmas, I made California for my brother and sister-in-law who live in San Diego. I cut the California state silhouette out of the same drawing that I used for Illinois. Why reinvent the wheel, right?

Showing some south Florida love with this new state print.

The Sunshine State

This spring I decided to add a few more states to my repertoire. It seemed logical to make Florida next as my in-laws spend half their year living in Naples, Florida and one of my good buddies is about to move to Florida.

For my Iowa State friends, I made this Iowa print with the heart over Ames.

And lastly, Iowa

Even though, Iowa borders my home state of Illinois, I have never really been there. (Weird but true.) I have a lot of friends with Iowa connections, so that’s where I went next.

A custom Wisconsin print for a Beloit College grad.

All of these prints are customizable.

The heart can be moved to mark any location within the state. I’ve started to dabble with state color changes too.

I just made this custom Wisconsin print for a graduation gift. I swapped Badger red and a heart for Beloit College blue and a star.

All of the existing state prints are available for sale in my shop.

They make lovely graduation, wedding and housewarming gifts.

What state next?

I’ve had a lot of fun making these and they’ve been selling well, so I’ll keep going with them. What state should I tackle next? Do tell!

That’s all for now.

Ciao, Jen