I’ve used a PageKeeper bookmark for several years and love it. Once in place it stays put. You don’t have to do anything until you’ve finished reading whatever book you’ve put it in. It keeps your place for you without you having to move it, or dog-ear the page. Best of all it won’t fall out of your book, so no more flipping through trying to find where you were when stopped reading.

I’ve never seen anything similar to PageKeeper, and being a life long bookworm I’ve seen and used A LOT of bookmarks. I actually have two that I use, as it’s not uncommon for me to be reading multiple books at once. When I’m not using both, I keep one in my purse in case I pick up a book to read while I’m out.

Japanese pens are simply the coolest pens on the planet. Whether for writing notes, manga, or drawing, Japanese pens are the best. The finest are .18mm while the widest are brush pens that will allow you to practice your kanji. They also come in colors that will never see the inside of a Staples or and Office Depot.

The best place to get them is a web site called Jetpens.com. Given the exotic character of the merchandise, the prices are fine, but the extras, such as Japanese stationary, erasers, pen holders, and notebooks are simply amazing. Where else can you buy erasers that are also a game of balancing the erasers in an ark on your desk? And the colors, ranging from yellows and pinks to the office standards, are just awesome.

In the end, it is a very cheap way to gain a bit of understanding of a very different culture, while also getting some really cool pens.

–Michael Aaron Dennis

Like many others I have an unhealthy obsession with office supplies, especially mechanical pencils. I’m always looking for the perfect pencil. JetPens.com offers a great selection of mostly Japanese pens, pencils, highlighters and supplies. Many of the name brands they offer are familiar in the U.S. (Pilot, Pentel) but you won’t find any of these at your local office supply store. JetPens also carries the hard-to-find Uniball Paper Clipper and Clips – a reusable paper binding system.

– Amy Kahle

This is the only pen I have owned that is suitable for writing technical notes. It has a .5mm point, which allows me to write small details such as subscripts and fractions. It is a ballpoint so it doesn’t bleed which is an annoyance I’ve encountered when writing small details with other pens. It doesn’t gum up as my Zebra ballpoints tended to do and so is suitable for drawing diagrams. It can write continuously without drying up and flows well over the paper. Most .5mm pens I’ve used dry up after writing for a while and are so sharp that they end up scratching the paper.

It’s also affordable. Unfortunately, while it only costs $1 a pen there is only one supplier in the US (that I’m aware of) and you have to buy twelve pens at a time.

You can buy it in black, blue, red, purple, or green with a .5mm point. You can also get it in black with a .7mm point.

The Livescribe is a digital pen that writes normally while simultaneously digitizing what is being written and recording audio. What this pen allows me to do is to synchronize the taking of notes with the audio of the event. As I go through a brain storming session with a customer I can pay attention to the interaction at hand, draw on paper, record the audio, and then at a later time go back and review the notes in-sync with the audio. It also frees me up to take fewer notes at the time of the initial meeting. This allows me to concentrate on the meeting at hand and then go back and review the audio while filling in the blanks as needed or create a list of follow up questions.

When you dock your pen with a computer (Windows / Mac), it transfers the recordings (audio and writing) to the computer thereby making a digitized backup of your handwritten notes as well as the audio of the meeting. This content is searchable and printable (in PDF). After meetings I sometimes spend 5 minutes docking the pen, “PDF-ing” out my notes and emailing them to folks for immediate action.

I’ve been using this pen for about 8+ months now and I believe it’s a very cool tool. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to capture information without a computer, but who still needs the added flexibility, beauty and brilliance of being able to port the data to a computer for expanded use.

The Livescribe uses special “dot paper” and pen cartridges that can be a little pricey, but no more so than Moleskine quality notebooks. The special “dot paper” is needed for the pen to digitize what has been written in ink into a digital format. Livescribe offers “college ruled” 8 x 11 notebooks, and Moleskine style notepads. So no matter what you want to write on, you’re pretty much covered.

[Note: You can now print your own Livescribe "dot paper" at home. Instructions can be found here. Also, a cool demo from BoingBoing can be found here. --OH]

Before I start a new painting, I usually draw what I want in Adobe Illustrator, and then transfer a printout of that drawing to canvas or board to paint. I’ve tried opaque projectors, but the image is faint (at least on the el-cheapo version I use) and I don’t really have room to set it up. I’ve also tried using a piece of paper that I’ve rubbed pencil or charcoal on, but that produces a blurry line.

Like an idiot, it wasn’t until a couple of days ago that I considered the possibility that there might be a transfer paper for artists. Of course, there is one. It’s called Saral Wax-Free Transfer Paper, and it works like a dream. It comes in five different colors, but I can get away with blue and white. It leaves a clear, thin line that erases easily and doesn’t mess up the color of the paint I use. I’m already hooked on it for life.

If you send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Saral, they’ll send you free samples in all five colors.

Copic markers are Japanese-made markers that have been used for years by Manga and other artists in Japan. Though generally relegated to that purpose, they’re a very functional medium, an alcohol-based, refillable marker that can also be used with an airbrush. They are initially expensive to buy, but because they are refillable and so versatile, over time they prove to be less expensive than Prismacolor markers. Because they are alcohol based, they are also blendable; similar to watercolor in application, but much more convenient.

Copic markers are somewhat limited in application, and not something generally as versatile as acrylic- or oil-based media. The advantage in my case is mostly portability. For anything larger than an 8 1/2X11″ page, they wouldn’t be practical. Think of them as more for cartooning than fine art. I do a lot of caricaturing and figure drawing, for which they work well.

[Check out the COPIC Marker Flickr pool for some stunning examples of what can be done with these markers. -- cc]

I do a lot of sketching and art of various kinds and in various mediums, such as pencil, chalk, Copic markers and ink. For this I need a good quality paper, but don’t want to spend a lot of money; I don’t want to feel guilty doing throwaway work. The best buy I’ve found is Mead’s Academie 70-sheet Spiral Bound notebook, and I’ve been using it for the past two years.

These sketchbooks are ideal for several reasons. First are cost and availability: They’re inexpensive and can be purchased practically anywhere, from office supply stores to Walmart and Target. The paper quality is good enough for frameable art. The sturdy notebooks have a solid pressboard back, so I generally don’t need an easel, and the pages are perforated for easy removal. There’s a two-sided pocket, so I can remove and stow keepers. I find the pocket helps me keep track of specific renderings, too. Because these sketchbooks are inexpensive, I can use a few concurrently and switch back and forth between different mediums. The paper quality is great for the price, too. It works well for Copic markers, especially, giving a true color rendering. The pages are non-yellowing (acid-free), as well.

For comparison, Strathmore drawing pads have more size options, but at 40 to 50 sheets per book, the cost per sheet is higher, and the Strathmore’s pages aren’t perforated for easy removal.

Keith Smith published Non-Adhesive Binding in 1990. At the time there were few other bookbinding manuals in print (and in comparison with other crafts, there still aren’t many). Books by Arthur Johnson, Edith Diehl and Douglas Cockerell offered instruction according to specific craft tradition. These manuals told how to bind a book with very little room for creativity other than decorative choices (what color would you like the leather on the spine to be?). The books were hard to find and contained long lists of tools and desirable equipment that a bookbinder should have.

Keith Smith’s book is completely different. He illustrates basic techniques that can be used to create a wide variety of bindings. He encourages the binder to explore how books move, how structural variations influence that movement, and how both movement and structure can lead the binder to fully engage the creative intent of the author’s work. He is even more enthusiastic about the possibilities for binders who are the creators of content or those who we now call book artists.

I started bookbinding in 1991 and Keith Smith’s Non-Adhesive Bookbinding was the first manual I ever bought. As Smith required very few tools and almost no equipment, I was able immediately to start making dozens of books based on his instructions. His drawings of often complex sewing patterns sometimes confused me (and sometimes still do!), but after having now tried to illustrate bookbinding or repair techniques of my own, I’m amazed at how much he conveys so clearly.

It has become more apparent to me with time and experience that his book is a deeper resource than it may first appear. While his methods are simple and often result in astonishingly modern looking bindings, his book is profoundly informed by historical methods and models. Unlike a bookbinding manual that represents a defined tradition, he uses the knowledge of earlier binders to encourage new binders to create their own paths.

Smith’s Non-Adhesive Binding may be almost 20 years old, but it remains a vital resource for bookbinders, book artists, and anyone who wants to creatively understand the book form.

I like to have a few essential tools with me at all times: my Swiss Army knife, a keychain LED flashlight, a pocket notebook and a pen for scribbling notes whenever inspiration strikes.

I’d searched a long time for a pen that was small enough to carry around in my pocket, yet comfortable to write with and reliable enough to work every time I needed it. I finally found it with the Fisher Space Pen.

Everyone has heard of the legendary Space Pen, which was developed for the space program and writes upside down, under water and in extreme temperatures. They make many different varieties of the Space Pen, but the most useful and elegant is the Bullet (pictured alongside Uniball).

The Fisher Bullet is in two pieces: the actual pen, and a cap that fits on the back of the pen to make a full-size writing instrument. When closed, it makes a compact, tight-fitting, gasket-sealed capsule that easily fits in your pocket. It comes with a shirt pocket clip that can be removed, so it’s less obtrusive in your pants pocket.

You can get it in chrome, but the matte black finish is so much cooler.

– Curtis Galloway

I needed a pen that would fit comfortably with my pocket-sized Moleskine. I tried a few different things, but this was the one that worked best. It’s compact, durable, writes well, doubles in size for writing, looks stylish and even writes upside down.

– Scott Berkun

Fisher Stowaway Space Pen

After losing two (expensive) Fisher Bullet Space Pens, I stumbled across their significantly less expensive Stowaway. They’re small, available in three styles, with or without a clip on the cap, and with a stylus on the opposite end of the tip. Three colors, too: black, red and blue.

–Eric Rosenberg

I always liked the idea of Paul Fisher’s bullet-shaped Space Pens but at around $20 always felt they were not worth the benefits (writing anywhere, upside down, any temperature, under water, over grease, etc.). Now they sell a tiny (4 x 0.4 x 0.4 in.; 5.1 in. in writing mode) pretty-much-weightless tube pen called the Stowaway with the famous ink refill, for about half the price of the Bullet. I bought a mess of them and threw one in every jacket.

– Vince Crisci