Art and Earth Science by Grass
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist The market for pocket fountain pens is often dominated by familiar names and higher price tags. It is therefore pleasantly surprising to encounter a model that costs less than five US dollars, yet performs well enough to merit serious consideration. The Jinhao 82 Mini is one such pen. Compact,… Continue reading Jinhao 82 Mini: Affordable Pocket Fountain Pen Review
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist Pocket fountain pens are a dangerous rabbit hole. You start with “I just want something small for my pocket,” and suddenly you’re comparing faceted caps and arguing with strangers on the internet about converters. You also end up collecting so many in different colors like I did with Wancai… Continue reading Discover the Hongdian M2: A Pocket Pen Review
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist In the lab, we obsess over our equipment. We calibrate our equipments, we make sure the connection between computer and equipment is uninterrupted, and we panic if one part acts up. Yet, when it comes to the tool we use to actually process the information inside our heads, most… Continue reading Why I Stopped Typing My Notes
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist Just over two weeks ago, I proudly declared that I was decluttering our home, starting with the obvious space invaders—furniture, storage boxes, unused art materials and other large items that had quietly claimed permanent residency in our living space. Friends generously adopted many of them, and I felt victorious.… Continue reading I’m Destashing My Fountain Pens – Please Send Help (or Ink)!
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist Some fountain pens enter our lives by chance. Others arrive after a long season of quiet wanting. The Asvine C80 belongs to the second kind. I started reading and watching about this pen last year on Reddit, YoutTube, and in fountain pen groups, where people described it as a… Continue reading Asvine C80: A Pen Worth Waiting For
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist As 2025 comes to a close, I like to look back at the things I’ve added to my lifestyle — those that didn’t just sit on a shelf, but that got real use, day in and day out. This year, a handful of purchases stood out for their practicality,… Continue reading Best Lifestyle Purchases of 2025: My Top Picks
Disclaimer: I was not paid or sponsored by Sailor or any retailer to write this review. I purchased these pens myself, and everything I’ve shared reflects my own honest experience and personal opinions. I do not earn any commission from any purchases made based on this review. Please buy at your own discretion and assess… Continue reading Sailor TUZU Adjust Fountain Pen: A Beginner-Friendly Pen with Clever Engineering
Grass Padrique | The Fabulous Scientist Before GPS and tablets, every strike and dip was inked by hand by geologists. It is a ritual of observation and artistry. There is a certain romance in geology that isn’t always captured by equations, satellite images, or the neat layers of a GIS map. Long before digital mapping… Continue reading Writing Like a Geologist: Field Notes, Maps, and the Fountain Pen Tradition
The passion for fine writing instruments often begins in solitude—a quiet ritual of pen, ink, and paper. But the annual Pelikan Hubs event reminds us that this singular obsession is, in fact, a thriving, global community. For this week, fountain pen enthusiasts all over the world met up in a gathering called Pelikan Hubs to share about… Continue reading I attended my first Pelikan Hub!
I missed a few events this year—like the Manila Pen Show, the Phuket Asian Urban Sketchwalk I wrote about recently, and the Manila International Book Festival (MIBF). Sadly, I also missed the Malaysia International Pen Show (MIPS). Between work, motherhood, and the fact that I’m still new in my workplace (which means no vacation leaves… Continue reading When You Can’t Go to the Pen Show But the Pen Show Comes to You
The Fabulous Scientist 