Before I left for Japan, my friends showed me this store in Tokyo that allows clients to customize their ink as well as notebooks! Being the huge dork that I am, I immediately put it on my list of places that I wanted to go, and Ayla was kind enough to support me.

• Pigment ink
• Mini beakers
• Glass stirring rod
• Glass writing pen

Process by Ink Stand

I felt like a little chemist as I mixed away in the pursuit of my dream colour. I wanted to create a colour that could be used in day-to-day life, while still being unique, so I was aiming for a silvery-grey. They have little mixing guides and suggestions so that you can get an idea of what colours you might want to mix, and in what ratio, but the forty-five minute session actually goes by quite quickly.

If you want to do your own ink mixing, you do have to book ahead of time, as the studio space only allows for five customers at a time. They’ve recently started doing a service where you bring in a picture of your desired colour and a staff member will help you make the ink, but you don’t get to experiment for yourself. If you have the assistance of the staff member, they actually accept walk-ins!

I won’t lie, I absolutely loved this. Yes, it is on the expensive side for a vial of ink (approximately $30 CAD), but the fun I had mixing and playing around with the colours was totally worth it. While Ayla didn’t pay to customize her own ink, the staff were kind enough to let her stay with me and work together on the mixing, and in the end, Ayla said that she actually ended up enjoying the time a lot too! So if you’re planning on travelling to Tokyo with someone who isn’t quite as inclined to pens and paper as you are, have hope. They just might fall in love with it too.

Until next time, happy crafting!