The fountain pen world knows no bounds when it comes to creativity, and it is evident in the exceptionally inventive and original fountain pen releases that we see from different brands every year. The same goes for fountain pen inks. Just when you thought that all the color combinations and textures that could possibly exist were already out on the market, a new contender steps up and creates something bold, imaginative, and truly new and unique. This is what Troublemaker (TMKR) Inks has offered us. Today, we’ll learn more about the brand’s beginnings, their philosophy, and a little bit about their creative process.
The Who, What, Where of TMKR Inks
We asked TMKR founders Gabriel Arnado and Kaiser Dale Diragos some questions on the who, what, and where of their inks. Here’s what they had to say:
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background? What led you to start TMKR Inks?
It started way back in 2018 when we were just avid fans and collectors of pens and inks. We loved using different inks but we really weren’t satisfied with the options we had. So, for fun, we started making our own inks. Selling them really wasn’t part of the plan, but we thought that it would be nice sharing our passion with people in the community. Everything started with just me and Gab figuring everything out and doing everything by hand. Lots of failed experiments, formulas that worked, some that didn’t, and eventually finding and figuring things out through lots of research.
Fast forward to today, we’re still making inks that we wish existed back then and doing our best to make and innovate where we can.
What is the mission or vision behind TMKR Inks, and where did the idea for TMKR Inks come from? Was there a specific moment or experience that inspired you to start?
Our Mission:
- To explore the possibilities of color
- To offer an economical, art-focused alternative to contemporary fountain pen inks.
Our Vision:
- Honest-to-goodness artisanal inks with a tropical flair.
It really just stemmed from our love for fountain pens. We use them all the time from sketches or random scribbles. It all started with experiments with our own pens for us to use, and eventually we just had the idea of selling them and sharing our ideas. I guess we could say that TMKR grew as we explored our love for fountain pens.
The TMKR Creative Process
We also talked to Kai and Gab about the creative process that makes the wheels of TMKR Inks turn. Here are their thoughts:
What is your creative process like when designing new ink colors or collections? Do you have any specific rituals or methods?
It depends on what we’re currently working on at the moment. If it’s a custom ink, we usually ask the artist or brand we’re collaborating with for inspiration or color ideas and work from there— sort of like a Top-Down approach having an end-point already in mind. However, if we decide to release new inks to add to our current list, it’s more Bottom-Up where we start with an idea and build from it. Sometimes, we end up with colors that are far from what we had planned. Although occasionally, we come up with a color we like but maybe is too similar with an existing color in our line-up, so we keep it in our archives until we decide to maybe tweak it a bit in the future.
How do you balance the demands of business with your artistic vision? Are there any challenges you face in maintaining a creative outlet?
It gets tough sometimes having to balance what people are currently obsessing over and what we want to put out. Like everything else, inks undergo trends and they change from time to time. We don’t regularly release new inks since we want to keep our catalog compact so what we sell are the inks we genuinely like and have poured lots of work into. It’s a hard balancing act deciding what we want to keep and the colors we want to release.
What Else to Expect with TMKR Inks
Kai and Gab have talked us through Troublemaker Inks’ history, mission and vision, and snippets of the creative process that sets them apart. Stay tuned for the next blog, where we go into detail about their inspiration and future plans, as well as some exciting collaborations to look forward to!
Written by EndlessPens Blogger Ramona Kabigting
