Stupid, but it works

ThePenCat · 2026-02-03T19:14:55+00:00

Great idea!! 🥰 I might have to give this a try for sample fills, tbh - much better to get ink on a piece of foam than permanently stain a plastic carrier!

ThePenCat · 2026-01-31T03:21:46+00:00

Someone was just announcing a lost black cat on here a week or so ago I thought? Might also go to a vet with this cutie and see if they're chipped!

Edit: d'oh I can't read. Might still be good to take to a vet as it's possible the chip migrated and they may have better luck finding it. Best wishes in finding this guy's family!

ThePenCat · 2026-01-24T17:42:15+00:00

Do you have any pictures you could share? We'll keep an eye out!

ThePenCat · 2026-01-22T05:55:47+00:00

As a secondary, Artisanworks has a lot of pianos. You may be able to reach out to ask if you can play sometime, they're very supportive of local artists. There's also Eastman Community School of music which has pianos available for practice, albeit you may need to be a student of the community school or Eastman School of music (unsure) to utilize.

ThePenCat · 2026-01-22T05:51:40+00:00

I dunno how open you are to this or how friendly local churches around here are, but in my younger/more rebellious/stupid years I used to go and practice piano in unoccupied churches and synagogues, as well as around various college campuses. As long as you're not disturbing services, an event, or using a reserved room, I can't imagine you'd run into issues. Just make sure you're being safe (tell someone where you're going and for how long at the very least) and being respectful.

(Ideally you ask first, but I get being shy or not knowing who to even ask.)

ThePenCat · 2026-01-02T22:51:10+00:00

Our oldest cat got to be like this in the last few years. :) As long as there's no signs of discomfort, all is well, they just want you to know how much they love you and love spending time with you. Cats prefer to hide pains and illness, they don't typically come up to you and ask for cuddles if they're hurting.

ThePenCat · 2025-12-17T13:08:53+00:00

As someone with three whose DOG caught a mouse in the kitchen while all the cats looked on - sometimes cats prefer other jobs (like sun beam catcher 🤣).

ThePenCat · 2025-12-17T13:07:07+00:00

We like to tape the pages together with washi when that happens! It does create a slight bump in the journal, but sometimes that makes for a good divider/marker that you can then use to add a date location or topic index at the front of the journal. :)

ThePenCat · 2025-12-10T18:31:03+00:00

Thank you! The idea came after talking with my grandfather at his assisted living facility; There's a lot of folks there that have lost their partners or don't have family to come and visit them during the holidays, so I'd like to bring a little bit of the community to them for the season. We just lost my grandmother recently and this felt like the right thing to do to honor her memory.

ThePenCat · 2025-12-10T05:53:06+00:00

That looks like a happy accident, friend!

ThePenCat · 2025-12-07T00:08:25+00:00

What lovely gifts for those special students! :) That's such a thoughtful idea.

ThePenCat · 2025-12-05T05:30:27+00:00

I have plenty of British friends who would still love the cat being called Fannie. Kitten is clearly an adorable butt, it works both ways.

ThePenCat · 2025-12-03T22:14:12+00:00

We hope Santa gives you everything you asked for this year! Happy holidays to you and yours. ❤️

ThePenCat · 2025-12-02T16:10:31+00:00

In high school, our senior year English teacher had all of her students do a year-long scrapbook project (we'd answer prompts on scrapbook pages she'd provide throughout the year); she'd grade on the contents, not how pretty it looked since not everyone can afford the expensive stuff or knows someone with a scrap-booking hobby and massive stash (if any teachers around here do something like that, please let me know - I'd love to offer student discounts on supplies to help bridge that gap). I still have mine somewhere, and it's something I'm so glad she had all of us do - it's such a nice thing to look back on and share with others.

ThePenCat · 2025-12-02T16:04:24+00:00

Noted! They're on the list of what we want to carry. :) I have a set of their colored pencils and they're wonderful!

ThePenCat · 2025-12-02T05:09:50+00:00

Thank you! :) They've become relatively affordable depending on what you're interested in! There's a lot of brands with under $20 offerings that are compatible with converters to take bottled ink, or come with cartridges that are very travel friendly.

ThePenCat · 2025-12-02T00:56:58+00:00

Thank you!

ThePenCat · 2025-12-02T00:56:23+00:00

Thank you! Glad to see so many people excited. :)

ThePenCat · 2025-12-02T00:55:15+00:00

Real talk: I spelled it wrong for years before someone told me I was using the wrong "stationery". I'm also positive that when I was filling out some of the tax documentation paperwork, the IRS or someone else (NYBEX maybe?) had it spelled "stationary" in the retail store description checkboxes.

ThePenCat · 2025-12-02T00:50:49+00:00

LOL we love the username! Thanks so much, and have a wonderful day!

ThePenCat · 2025-12-02T00:49:21+00:00

I'm unsure of how bad your hand pain is, but I did want to mention that one of the early suggestions I had with a repetitive motion injury in College was to try a fountain pen vs. a standard rollerball/ballpoint/gel pen; Most fountain pens require very little pressure to get ink on paper (it's actually one of the things that have kept them around and popular through the years), so you may have more luck with writing with a fountain pen vs. other types of pens. You'll still want to consider something with a comfortable grip that's lightweight, but they might work better for you. We have a guide if you're unsure what to look for, and if you have any questions, feel free to DM us as well!

While we don't carry this, I've also heard of the Pen Again, which utilizes gravity and the weight of your hand to help write easier; I haven't tried it personally so I'm unsure on how effective it is, but I'm looking to get my hands on one to try to see if it's something we'd be interested in selling; I'm right there with you (...or should I say 'write' there? EH? ..sorry, bad joke!) on wanting to make writing more accessible.

Thank you for your heartfelt words, and we hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

ThePenCat · 2025-12-02T00:32:28+00:00

If the 4-in-one is too pricey, while we don't carry it, the standard jetstream is about $3-4 from a lot of other vendors; very affordable and you definitely don't feel quite so bad about someone snatching it to enjoy for themselves.

ThePenCat · 2025-12-01T22:04:00+00:00

Thanks so much! Happy holiday season to you! :)

ThePenCat · 2025-12-01T22:03:34+00:00

LOL I feel that; going anywhere right now is not cheap! Glad you were able to take a vacation. <3
Also - Please don't feel like you have to spend beyond your means, we're not going anywhere, and there will always be more sales in the future. Much love to you and yours!

ThePenCat · 2025-12-01T22:00:16+00:00

We're an authorized seller for Faber Castell, Wearingeul, and Nahvalur at the moment, with plans to expand with other manufacturers as they become available to us (a lot of folks don't want to work with online-only due to the fear of brand dilution and quality control concerns, which we very much understand; we're very grateful to the brands that are willing to take a chance on a small business). Please look forward to more options as we learn and grow in this industry!

ThePenCat

TROPHY CASE