Designer Introduces Refillable Glass Pen Built to Write with Wine, Juice and Tea
An industrial designer in Portland, Ore., developed a prototype of a pen built to write with raw inks, such as dark beer, berry juice and soy sauce. The startup, WINKpens, is running a Kickstarter campaign from April 27 through May 30, 2015 to fund production. WINKpens will be sold in wineries, travel companies, art supply stores and specialty gift shops, as well as via e-commerce (winkpens.com).
Startup founder Jessica Chan became interested in biodegradable inks while working on a concept for a sustainable home printer. Then, looking for ways to reduce throwaway, her focus shifted from printers to pens. After a year of prototyping, Chan developed WINKpens. Engineered for varying viscosities of alternative inks, the prototypes perform beautifully, are easy to use and can be refilled with any fluid that has a staining property.
“Imagine writing with your favorite wine, or sketching with a Russian imperial stout,” Chan said. “You can mix your own inks for staining, sketching, underlays, and make it your own.”
WINKpens use a two-sided, spiraled glass nib to feed ink to the paper. One tip is angled for calligraphy; the other is conical for finer penmanship. The pen intuitively twists apart for emptying or refilling. All the components fit together snugly with rubber O-rings, and can be easily pulled apart and pushed back together for cleaning.
While writing implements have been in play throughout history, Chan believes WINKpens open a new avenue of creative expression by making it easy for artists to experiment with raw inks, making their process more personal and situational. “Creativity extends beyond the grid of conventional boundaries,” Chan said. “Design is story. It’s history, and it’s progression.”
Future development of WINKpens will include custom sleeves made of wood, metal or other materials, with names, custom images or business logos printed or engraved on them.
Jessica Chan is an artist and industrial designer who believes that design is solution and utility. She strives to create products that demonstrate quality, sustainability and self-expression.
Wine Pairings For Football Foods
The Superbowl is right around the corner. But, on this beer drinking game day, have you considered adding wine to your refreshment options?
Add A Bit of Wine to your Super Bowl festivities. Check out some of these recipes that you can easily whip up for your Super Bowl wine party...and the wine we recommend for each.
1. Beef Queso Dip - With the heat from the cheese, stay away from any serious, high-alcohol, low-acid wines. Try a white from a cooler growing area such as this floral-edged Pinot Grigio from the Alto Adige region of Italy.
2. Turkey White Bean Chili - Balance this lighter version of chili with a hearty glass of Zinfandel. It will offer the right balance of red fruit and spice that will kick up your white bean chili for all the football fans.
3. Twice Baked Loaded Potatoes - This finger-friendly version of an American favorite goes well with a big glass of Cabernet to offset the smoky bacon and cheddar.
4. Mini Buffalo Chicken Meatballs - Change up the game with these perfect appetizers for your football fans. With this recipe you should grab a bottle of semi-sweet Reisling. The low alcohol and honey notes will keep your taste buds cooled down and wanting more!
5. Wine Brownie Bites - I love to bake some wine brownies. Cut them into smaller pieces and lay them out on a serving tray of your choice. The berry flavors from the recipe are a perfect combination with any Pinot Noir. The recipe is simple and the red wine is a lighter fair so you can make it to the 4th quarter.
What will you be serving at your Super Bowl Wine Party?
Cheers!
Katie
With the New Year well underway, we, at A Bit of Wine, like to spend the first month of the year organizing our wine collection after all the holiday celebrations. This means taking a look at our current storage options and filling in empty holes. Plus, we need to make sure we have enough room for all the new additions we received last year.
That’s why, this January, all wine racks, wine fridges, and wine cabinets are on sale for 15% off. You can save big when you tackle your resolution to get organized.
Featured Wine Cabinet – Howard Miller is a premier manufacturer of high quality, solid wood wine cabinets. They offer a variety of wine cabinet options and colors to fit any home wine .
A popular wine cabinet at A Bit of Wine is the Howard Miller Piedmont Corner Wine Bar. This traditional style wine bar fits perfectly in the corner of any room. Finished in a distressed Rustic Cherry, the Piedmont Corner Wine Bar has tons of storage, a 13-bottle wine rack, 2 fixed shelves for spirits and mixers, plus a glass shelf that can be adjusted.
Featured Wine Rack – The right wine rack can add a bit of flair and function to your wine collection. Depending on the type of space you are trying to fill, there are many styles of wine racks to choose from.
One classic design that we are fans of at A Bit of Wine are the Vertical Wall-Mounted Wine Rack. With minimalist design features, this modern wine rack holds up to 9 wine bottles in a space-efficient design. You can simply mount it to any wall and immediately store your wine while adding some wine style to your home décor. This wine rack is the perfect balance of form and function.
Featured Wine Fridge – The right wine fridge for you really depends on how many bottles of wine you want to be serve-ready or set for long-term maturing. The best size mini-cellar for ready-to-pour bottles of wine will hold 30-50 bottles of wine. For longer term storage, consider wine fridges that hold up to 90 bottles.
We like Avanti wine fridges for their practical approach to holding wine at the right temperature. The Avanti 46 Bottle Dual Zone Mini Cellar wine fridge allows you to hold red wines and white wines at the right temperature for their varietal all in one fridge. You set the temperature for each zone, and your wines are ready to serve whenever you are. Plus, this fridge is an ideal fit for under a kitchen cabinet or behind your home bar.
Want to store more than 90 bottles, contact us for custom home storage options to fit your needs.
There is more to storing wine than, setting it on the shelf for a few years. Finding the right wine storage options depends on your goals as a collector of wines or an Every Day Wine Lover.
Regardless of your goals, A Bit of Wine has the right configuration of wine storage options to fit your needs.
How many different wine racks do you own? Are they full?
Cheers!
Katie
