Dudek Modern Goods "The Groove" Giveaway Bundle!

Well, we're coming up on four years of The Clicky Post and my Dudek Modern Goods brand, and I thought it was high time we did a nice giveaway! Sound ok?

First and foremost, thanks to everyone who has been a reader over the years or is a new reader, and to those that have supported my small business. It means a lot! And, makes continuing to create a post new things fun and meaningful.

As a thanks, I thought a bundle of goods would be fun so I'm giving away:

- The Groove, a walnut pen and notebook stand from Dudek Modern Goods

- A sample pack of notebooks from Doane Paper, Field Notes, and Public Supply

- Some pencils: The Editor from CW Pencils, a rare (limited edition) Blackwing 211, and a metal lead holder from Penxo 

GIVEAWAY RULES (the "fine print"):

- Giveaway will run through Saturday, May 13th and will end at 11:59pm Arizona Time, USA.

- To enter, leave a comment below and answer the following question (limited to one entry per person; no cheating!):

What is the biggest thing on your stationery wishlist right now, or what is the next thing you want to buy?

- I will arrange the entries in numerical order and randomly select a winner.  The winner will be announced on the blog on Sunday, May 14th and will need to connect with me within a week to claim their prize. 

- This giveaway is open to both US and International readers.

Good luck and thanks again!

New Nock Co DotDash Notecards - Gigante and Petite

The fellas over at Nock Co have released some new-ish (well, recently) notecards to their line of unique DotDash notecard series and they were kind enough to send me over some packs to check out.

If you are unfamiliar with Nock Co, it is a small business based in Atlanta, GA run by product designer and master seamster Jeff Bruckwicki and Brad Dowdy of The Pen Addict. They found a need in the market for durable, quality pen cases that were ultra portable (and fun!). Along with their pen cases they've expanded their line into other related stationery goods/accessories.

They sent me a pack each of their new Petite (the really small one) and Gigante (the really big one) in the new purple DotDash. These cards are a bright white which I hope my pics can represent well enough.

The paper products they've released over the last few years have evolved and progressively gotten better to use with a wider variety of writing tools and they have it pretty well nailed down at this point.

I tested the cards with a variety of tools from vintage pencils, fineliners, rollerballs, ballpoints, as well as fountain pens and they all performed well. Super cheap notecards could get you by, but with high standards of performance like most of us have here in the writing community (luckily shared by our pals at Nock Co), these cards held up to all of my favorites with great results. I mean, c'mon, nobody likes feathering.

Paper is a funny thing as it needs to be the right thickness for the job. Like a notecard should be durable and easy to hold. I can't say for certain, but the Nock cards feel a bit thinner than your standard cheap-o cards, but maybe that is due to a slightly slicker feel.

The Petite size is very small. At only 2" x 3.5" these probably aren't a product I would see myself using a lot of personally as I tend to write a little bigger, but if you wanted to write a nice little note to slip into someone's lunch, leave in their keyboard, or a little card to put in a wallet with important info I could see these as handy.

The Gigante is a large notecard with a ton of real estate. And, it unfolds! Closed they are 3.5" x 5.5" which is already a generous writing space, but they expand into 5.5" x 7" which is almost as big as many small notebook pages.

Both versions are printed edge to edge and double sided with their DotDash pattern.

Also, I'd be amiss not to mention the newest collaborative product we did under my Dudek Modern Goods brand, the Idea Dock V2 which is a solid walnut desk stand designed specifically for notecard lovers in mind. Now, even though we have a product together doesn't mean I can't provide an objective review of their notecards... deal?

Compared to other cards these will run a premium, but I feel like the guys at Nock have done a great job at trying to find the best possible paper to serve the needs of those that love to use notecards in their daily to-do lists and want to use their nice fountain pens (or others) while doing it. And, they use a small business printer which increased costs, but supports the "small" economy. 

Special thanks to the guys at Nock for sending these my way!   

Retro 51 Rollerball Classic Desk Set - Turquoise

Retro 51 is one of the favorite brands in this community. They have fun, quirky, quality, and accessible (mainly price) products that are beloved by people all along the pen hobby spectrum. One of their pens could easily be the first "nice pen" (mine was!) someone buys, but the seasoned veterans of the hobby keep coming back to them as well.

"Life is too short to carry an Ugly Pen!" Or, in the case of this review, perhaps to even have on your desk!

When you think of Retro 51 our minds quickly go to their flagship product, the Tornado, in all its various editions. But, Retro has a few pieces that live a bit on the fringes, and this Classic Desk Set is one of those such products.

Retro 51 was kind enough to send this set over to me for review, so special thanks to them for providing it.

The first thing that stood out to me was the presentation. It comes in a smartly decorated box (sort of a vintage, Art Deco feel) about the size of a small shoebox. If giving something like this as a gift, they've certainly got you covered!

Nestled into foam slots are all of the components of the desk set: the base, pen, and refill/spring.

The color I requested is the turquoise as I felt it gave off the most vintage vibe of the bunch. The sets also come in black, white, black cherry, and stainless (also a contender). The finish on the metal is clean, shiny, and near perfect. Nothing about it was marked, chipped, overlooked, or left amiss which was nice to see.

The base is about a hefty 10oz which should keep it from flying unexpectedly off the desk or tipping over. One thing that surprised me was that the construction is all metal, even the base pen "holder" and pen components.

Branding on the piece is apparent, but tastefully done on the chromed beauty ring rather than being broadcast on the side in ink/vinyl. I really, really like this element about it as it is a bit more reminiscent of how vintage products tended to be.

The pen takes the popular Schmidt Capless rollerball refill which is found in the Tornado, so writing notes with it was a pleasure. Not super great on glossy paper, but for normal journals and paper it is enjoyable to use and lays down wet, dark lines.

Although the pen is almost 7.5" in length, it is fairly lightweight all things considered and not cumbersome to use. The pen does weigh around 1 oz, so for some people it might be a bit on the heavy side. 

The barrel is painted (or enameled?) in the same turquoise color as the base while the grip section is a matte black metal. There is a small chrome beauty ring towards the end which is a nice accent.

For practicality purposes, this set is obviously a stationary stationery (see what I did there?...)... but that is what its designed for. Products like this are so rare nowadays and seemingly unnecessary, but that is what makes it unique and fun. It'll give you something to look forward to when doing monthly bills, or I could easily see one of these at the front desk of a business or office rather than cheap bic stics with fake flowers taped to them so they don't get stolen...

Thanks again to Retro 51 for sending this set for review!