Blog – Page 27 – Pen Vibe

Laptops Banned – Pens Only Classrooms At University

May 13, 2020October 12, 2015 by Tony Bridges

With everyone back in school, I thought it might be a good time to revisit a topic that pops up in university classrooms every year: the banning of laptops.

The Globe and Mail reported in August that it’s becoming standard practice in Canadian universities to prohibit laptops from lecture halls. American universities are also getting on board with no-laptop policies, as the campus newspaper of the University of North Carolina explained earlier this year. In the UK and Europe, while banning laptops seems to be less widespread, it isn’t entirely uncommon.

Interview: Pen-And-Ink Illustrator Rob Turpin

May 23, 2019October 5, 2015 by Tony Bridges

While we all love pens in their various incarnations, ultimately, they’re just the tools that channel the creativity of craftsmen, both artistic and practical.

Here at The Pen Vibe, we’re all about those craftsmen, the pens they use, and what they choose to do with them. So it’s always exciting for us when one chooses to share his story with our readers.

Today, it’s Rob Turpin, an illustrator known for his sci-fi and fantasy-inspired drawings done in pen and ink.

This is our interview with him.

Please tell us a little about you.

Originally from Yorkshire, but now living in the suburbs of southwest London, I trained and worked as a graphic designer before making the leap in to illustration. I’ve just completed my first book illustration project, and I’m working on another about robots.

Sharpie Nail Art

October 14, 2024September 29, 2015 by Tony Bridges

I’m forever amazed at the things that people can do with Sharpie markers. So I was fascinated when I stumbled …

Artist Turns Rocks Into Doodlestones

December 11, 2019September 22, 2015 by Tony Bridges

(Update: Bryan Payne’s mother Barb just let us know that there is a DoodlestonesUK community on Facebook.)

OK, this is a project that should go global. We’re going to say right up front, we’d love to see this happening in the UK.

What “this” do we mean?

Doodlestones, a project created by a man in St. Louis, Missouri named Bryan Payne. He uses markers to draw faces and other features on small, flat stones, then hides them in places around town. Sometimes, he lays them flat in an unobtrusive spot, other times he uses Scotch mounting putty to attach them to surfaces.

Pilot G2 + Potato Message = Money

November 5, 2020September 17, 2015 by Tony Bridges

I thought this was a joke when I first heard it that someone is making money with nothing more than a Pilot G2 Gel Pen and some Potatoes. Actually, I’m still not convinced that it isn’t a big hoax.

But it was on TV, so it has to be true, right?

A man in Texas – it would have to be Texas, wouldn’t it – has created a business out of writing on potatoes with a Pilot G2 and sending them to people.