I had all the fountain pens in different smaller cases. I’d swap them about according to how I felt the accessibility mattered. Four italic nibs in a case if I wanted to use that particular style. Favourites in another, ones I wanted to give a chance to settle in another. Some little quirky ones……you guessed….in another. Then the Kaweko pen and mechanical pencil in their own small case. Thought about making a pen roll or wallet for them all. May do as I have an old leather bag now disassembled with two amazingly large pieces of leather ideal for making into either a roll or wallet. Then I remembered!

I grabbed the beautiful leather toilet bag that my wife bought for me 3 Christmases ago. I don’t use it with regular intent as I have two old fashioned Gentleman’s travellers/grooming/shaving kit in vintage leather. Used the amazing Bakelite, stainless metal, glass with silver lids containers in the kits and added my own extra accessories too. So, very condensed, thought about in terms of minimalism and ideal for travelling light.

The idea came to me to use this leather toilet bag above as a wallet style pens and pencil holder. Adding a few other stationery items too. So an hour and a bit spent simply sitting writing, checking out for the suitable fave inclusions ended up with a really nice result. Writing for checking, ‘Yeh! This one. Nah! Not this one!’. Doing this exercise? Found out my beautiful Swan Mabie Todd with the 14CT nib has started dumping ink out of the nib after filling her up though!  

Tap photographs to enlarge.

Back to this new pen/etc. bag. Just pick it up now and have them all in one place. Pens, cartridges (received a beautiful Visconti small Bakelite 7 cartridges red coloured holder today too), bottle of Sheaffer ink housed in this Stephen’s glass bottle and metal traveler container and leather pouch, a few pencils, two mechanical pencils with a long box of Koh-i-Noor numerous H and B selections for interchanging, Kum and small mechanical pencil lead sharpeners, rollerball colour/size choices, two highlighter and four coloured Sharpies, etc.  All in all? Great. Fits in the Musette mle35 bag too if needs be.

Simple pleasures? Matter most.