Come Hell Or High Water, Traveling Inkwell

June 5, 2019

Insurance and a bit more for proper packing.....of course I've not moved since I was a kid and that was by car.....
Here in Germany....of course it was a long distance move of near abouts two miles. From our old home to our new one....We did use a moving company with a good local reputation, that didn't break any thing. But we don't have U-Haul over here.....could have rented a big van, but having professionals coming in and doing that was much better............and we had two very thick dance on them, oak Gelsenkirchener Barock.sideboards...a good meter deep, where half the world could be stored.....took six men to get it up to the first floor balcony and down in the old place.
Actually I was glad to have others run up and down stairs or shove stuff in our 'new' elevator, than do it my self.
It is amazing what sort of junk one can accumulate in 20 years. I thought it better for professionals to pack it, than spend weeks doing it our selfs.

Unfortunately any double pult desk I can find, are all 80cm...not the minimum 90 needed for a monitor screen.

Consider yourself lucky, to have avoided the logistical nightmare of moving from the U.S west coast to the U.S east coast and to various other U.S states, after that.

Even with insurance, a lot of research, and a company with a good reputation and ratings. One careless or more likely, exhausted packers/movers/drivers can ruin things very easily.

During the extensive online searches I made about moving companies, I came across many, many example of people having their heirloom furniture, ruined.

Because the U.S is a magnet for many disastrous natural phenomenon, the very high and narrow moving trucks can be swept off the road by a very strong gust of wind, end up in a flooded, collapsed, asphalt melted or black ice covered stretch of road with disastrous consequences for the cargo.

In truth the cargo doesn't matter much, if that means ,the driver comes out with no injuries.

One run of the mill light fixture and one major piece of furniture I owned, were ruined by moving hazards.

I replaced the major piece of furniture with another made of easy to assemble/disassemble solid steel.

I always personally pack all my fountain pens and handwriting related items.

June 6, 2019

Bo Bo, I still haven't figured out the answer to the Art Nouveau/Art Deco mystery.. But I'm haven't given up yet.

Anne-Sophie: that's terrible luck you had with the moving experiences, I know many people who have been in your shoes at some point. It's such a terrible feeling losing pieces to a moving van issue (whether that's weather related or the fault of lax movers). It is so frustrating to lose things you've worked hard to invest in, and that you've developed emotional ties to.

During my time as a student, I had to move across Canada and the US every four months, and after a while I got tired of moving and I developed a habit of leaving my biggest pieces of furniture. By the time I was done with my degrees, I'd ended up "donating" the complete contents of two fully furnished one-bedroom apartments: three beds, two sofas, three wingbacks, a dining room table... shelving, a desk or two... miscellaneous chairs... you name it. As the poet says "I have scattered myself in bits across this country." Eventually I managed to whittle myself down to a life that could be transported within (on top of) one standard sized SUV. Ten years after completing my final degree, I still find it difficult to commit to buying furniture. Most of my early rentals came furnished, and when I bought my first home, that was partially furnished too. I'm currently on the road again, living in three different cities and four different houses/condos, and these days, I only travel with what I can carry in a suitcase.

(My pens, sadly, don't all travel with me, but those that do are rolled into my garments in the suitcase, or in my briefcase. Or a breast pocket).

June 13, 2019

Bo Bo, I still haven't figured out the answer to the Art Nouveau/Art Deco mystery.. But I'm haven't given up yet.

Anne-Sophie: that's terrible luck you had with the moving experiences, I know many people who have been in your shoes at some point. It's such a terrible feeling losing pieces to a moving van issue (whether that's weather related or the fault of lax movers). It is so frustrating to lose things you've worked hard to invest in, and that you've developed emotional ties to.

During my time as a student, I had to move across Canada and the US every four months, and after a while I got tired of moving and I developed a habit of leaving my biggest pieces of furniture. By the time I was done with my degrees, I'd ended up "donating" the complete contents of two fully furnished one-bedroom apartments: three beds, two sofas, three wingbacks, a dining room table... shelving, a desk or two... miscellaneous chairs... you name it. As the poet says "I have scattered myself in bits across this country." Eventually I managed to whittle myself down to a life that could be transported within (on top of) one standard sized SUV. Ten years after completing my final degree, I still find it difficult to commit to buying furniture. Most of my early rentals came furnished, and when I bought my first home, that was partially furnished too. I'm currently on the road again, living in three different cities and four different houses/condos, and these days, I only travel with what I can carry in a suitcase.

(My pens, sadly, don't all travel with me, but those that do are rolled into my garments in the suitcase, or in my briefcase. Or a breast pocket).

I think the inkwell is more probably Arts and Craft, I was sure there was nothing between Art Nouveau and Art Deco, but, in the U.S, there was the Art and Craft movement.

It was incorporated in the design of a luxury cottage made for the Gamble family, when I first saw pictures of the house, I was very confused. Many of the designs looked Art Nouveau but there was a crafty, down to earth feeling to the house.

The interiors, including the custom furniture, was made of wood, Art Nouveau has a lot more brass and other metals in its designs.

Before it was fashionable, I chose portable furniture as well as a minimalist look.

As a result I didn't lose any heirloom or custom furniture, like many who have shared their experiences on various forum and social media.

All this travel! Take care of yourself on the road.

Having to choose between favorite fountain pens to take on the road, is a bother. Do you have ink bottles in all 4 of your dwellings?

I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that we don't have to travel with dip pens, portable desks with inkwells inside bumpy horse draw carriages.

Edited June 13, 2019 by Anne-Sophie