(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)
You know what's better than New Orleans? Artists in New Orleans. And what's even better than that? Artists in stationery shops in New Orleans. So this Tony Hollums inky collaboration with Papier Plume is obviously fabulous.
Brown inks with a vintage vibe are my favorites, so I was very excited to give ReBirth a try. This color tone skews more orange, giving it a very warm tone. It's giving copper or rusted iron, it's giving cinnamon, and where it shades, it's giving leather.
And it shades brilliantly. This can really be seen in Tony's artwork, which is used for the bottle's label, but it shows up even in writing with an extra fine nib. There is no sheen or shimmer to this ink. In fact, its dried state almost seems to have a matte finish to it, so it looks like terra cotta or dry clay.
The ink does feel a little bit dry when writing with it, and it dries quickly on the page, between 15 and 20 seconds.
Water drop tests show some water resistance. The coppery color washes away, but faint lines remain. This shows up in the chromatography, too, where a grey line stays put on the filter paper, while the orange tones travel up the sheet and split into a yellow and pink.
The ink comes in a blown glass bottle with Papier Plume's signature wax-sealed lid. Arguably my favorite ink bottle style available. The bottle holds 30ml of ink and it sells for $10. That's an "of course I want it" reasonable price. It is a limited edition, however, and bottles are becoming scarce.
This is a color I think I'll use often. The orangey-brown is perfect for autumn, while the whole effect sill makes me think of New Orleans, which is one of my favorite places on Earth.
(Brad purchased this ink from Papier Plume at the 2023 Washington D.C. Pen Show.)
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