{"product_id":"noodlers-black-swan-in-english-roses","title":"Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses — 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHue:\u003c\/strong\u003e A deep crimson-burgundy — cool, wine-red, slightly raspberry in the core. Noodler's and most retailers describe it as a burgundy, and a fair number of reviewers report it as brown, brick or terracotta. My swatches sit noticeably redder and cleaner than that: the written line is a dark cherry red with no brown cast, and the olive-brown only appears where the ink pools heavily. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShading:\u003c\/strong\u003e Moderate in normal writing, strong where the line opens up. Heavier applications also break toward a dark khaki-olive at the edges, so you get chromatic separation as well as tonal shading. The bottle label calls it a shading ink for the flex nib, and that matches what I see.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSheen:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes, but only in heavy pooling — a dull greenish-gold\/khaki that bands around the edges of swabs and drops. It isn't visible in ordinary writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShimmer:\u003c\/strong\u003e None.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlow:\u003c\/strong\u003e Wet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe interesting bit:\u003c\/strong\u003e Nathan Tardif has said the ink comes from a childhood memory of a British woman visiting the garden — the first British person he ever met — who kept her eyes on the roses and away from the poppies, which brought back what she'd lost in the First World War. The label carries that through: a black swan on an English pond among pink roses, plus a sea serpent enquiring \"Darjeeling?\" It's the sister ink to Black Swan in Australian Roses, whose original dye was discontinued and whose replacement formula shifted purple — which is partly why this one has kept such a following among red collectors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePhotos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eI'm a collector and I'm always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Noodler's","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57266212438342,"sku":"INK-052","price":2.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1020\/9696\/1862\/files\/Noodlers-Blackswaninenglishroses3.jpg?v=1789163878","url":"https:\/\/thepensmuggler.co.uk\/products\/noodlers-black-swan-in-english-roses","provider":"The Pen Smuggler","version":"1.0","type":"link"}