My original goal of $500 has been met! My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined me in supporting St. Jude for a total of $643 raised this year. The overall Relay campaign has surpassed an incredible $1 million raised just this year, and over $4 million total!!
Supporting St. Jude
It's September again, and I'm joining the Relay podcast network community to support the life-saving work of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Since 2019 the Relay Community has raised over 3 million dollars for St. Jude!
I (along with several other community members) have an official sub-campaign that contributes toward the overall Relay goal. For my campaign I am offering several thank-you rewards such as creating a customized group of fountain pen ink swatches on fountain-pen-friendly papers that I will mail as thanks for donations starting at $15, or a thank you postcard or card starting at $5. More details are below under My Campaign Rewards, simply select applicable reward(s) while making a donation to my sub-campaign page.
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Thu, Oct 3rd: 7:30am - 9am
Ink Swatching and SketchingFri, Oct 4th: 7pm - ?
Lego or Game StreamSun, Oct 6th: 9am - 12pm
Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book Paint-along
Background
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. After raising more than $3M since 2019, the Relay community is joining together for a sixth year to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital throughout September.
For the third year, Relay and St. Jude are providing the ability for individual members of the community to run their own sub-campaign with their own milestones and rewards to extend the reach of the campaign beyond the podcast community. I'm running my third campaign this year with Twitch stream milestones, a matching donation, and custom rewards related to my interest in fountain pens and inks. I really appreciate the resources, particularly for streaming, being made available for use by sub-campaigns!
My Campaign Rewards
I'm offering special donation rewards specifically for those interested in fountain pen inks and paper or who would simply enjoy some "happy mail" of handwritten Thank Yous or postcards. Please visit my campaign page for the latest rewards details and availability.
Ink Swatch Reward Details
In thanks for your generous support I'll work with you to pick inks from my FPC.ink profile, papers to swatch on, and I'll create and mail you custom swatches! Are there inks you have been curious about and want to see in person, or compare with an ink you already have? Do you want to see shimmer inks, interesting multi-shaders, or inks that are not readily available as samples before committing to a bottle? Are you on the hunt for the perfect shade of purple or a hue to match a new pen? Are you just curious about fountain pens and inks? I'd love to help you out if I can!
Note: To fulfill these rewards I'll need an address reachable via a USPS First-Class/First-Class International stamp from the U.S. (or digital/online alternatives).
| $15 | $25 | $50 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper Types | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Number of Inks | 3 | 5 | 12 |
| Total Swatches | 6 | 15 | 36 |
Inks can be picked from my Fountain Pen Companion (FPC) profile.
Paper options include:
- Tomoe River
- Cosmo Air Light
- Iroful
- Mnemosyne
- Colorverse Nebula Casual
- Croquis S263/S265
- Rhodia
- Clairefontaine
- Yu-Sari
- Col-o-ring/Col-o-ring Oversize
- Life Bank
- Kokuyo
- TUL Discbound/Notepad
- Colorverse Hubble or Constellation swatch cards
- Wearingeul "Leaf" swatch cards
- or ask about anything not listed!
New Reward Offerings
This year I'm including a larger range of rewards to choose from because every contribution, big or small, adds up to support the life-saving mission of St. Jude. Whether you can support financially or not, helping to spread the word can make a big difference! To incentivize those who may be in a position to support at a higher level, I'm adding these new rewards types to the campaign.
Mailing ink swatches is an economical way to see an ink in person, but ink samples are even better because you can test the real performance of the ink in your own pen(s) so these rewards include some options to receive ink samples from my collection (limited to a U.S. mailing address).
23 Memorable Inks of 2023 (Mailed U.S. Only) | $230 (1 available)
At the start of this year I made a list of 23 fountain pen inks that were memorable to me in 2023, and I've got a set of 3-4mL samples of all 23 that I'll mail to a U.S. address.Video Call Ink Samples/Swatches (Mailed U.S. Only) | $150 (2 available)
I'll schedule an individual video call of up to 30 minutes (Discord, Zoom, Google Meet), or time during a Twitch Stream if preferred, to look at ink swatches and pick out a selection to swatch and/or make samples of from the inks listed in my fpc.ink profile. I'll mail up to 12 samples, 24 swatches, and 10 paper samples to a U.S. mailing address.Video Call Ink Comparison & Swatches (Digital) | $100 (2 available)
I'll schedule an individual video call of up to 30 minutes (Discord, Zoom, Google Meet), or time during a Twitch Stream if preferred, to look at ink swatches and test a selection of inks on different papers. Afterwards I'll do my best to share accurate photos and/or send the test sheets to an address reachable via a USPS First-Class/First-Class International stamp from the U.S. if provided.
Twitch Streams
I started streaming on Twitch as OliveOctopusInk just to support the St. Jude campaign during September last year, but then somehow I kept going. I didn't think I was cut out to be a regular "streamer", but it turns out the enjoyment of sharing what I'm excited about, scheduling regular time for creativity, and spending time with the people who join me outweighs the nerves and social anxiety. My heartfelt thanks for all the support and encouragement, my hope is to maintain a welcoming, companionable, and creative space in my little corner of Twitch. I'll be streaming more than usual throughout September and welcome you to come hang out for:
- fountain pen ink swatching
- painting and sketching with ink
- fountain pens 101
- exploring dip pens, fountain pen nibs, and nib grinds
- comparing fountain-pen-friendly papers
- using shimmer additives (unlocked at $50)
- ink painting collage (unlocked at $100)
- "CMYK" ink mixing (unlocked at $150)
- Lego build (unlocked at $200)
Questions about what I'm working on or general pen, ink, and stationery questions are always welcome on stream!
Regular Twitch Stream Schedule (CDT)
- Tues & Thurs from 7:30 to 9am
- Sundays from 9am to 12pm(ish)
Pen Addict Giveaway for St. Jude
As always there is a huge outpouring of support from the community for the Pen Addict Giveaway for St. Jude. Every $10 donated (and submitted properly within the giveaway timeframe) is a giveaway entry for a growing list of incredible items. Visit the Pen Addict site for the latest information about giveaway items and instructions to submit your donation(s).
Pen Addict St. Jude Latest Updates
Important: Submit entries before 11:59 p.m. Eastern on September 29th, 2024!
St. Jude Posts
There's less than a week left to support St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital during September! I've completed three special Twitch stream topics unlocked by donations so far.
For the sixth year the Relay podcast network community is supporting the life-saving work of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and I've created a sub-campaign with Twitch streams and custom rewards featuring fountain pens and inks!
For the fifth year the Relay FM community is supporting the life-saving work of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Returning this year: Building Hope 2.0, my sub-campaign featuring Lego—now with more fountain pens & inks!