Uses

Tools I Use

Date: [28th Jul 2025]

A list of all the tools and tech I use regularly.

Main Technology

iMac: my desktop computer for running design software, cutting stickers, and anything my iPad can't handle.
Rollo Thermal Printer: for receipts and shipping labels
Epson ET-8550 Inkjet Printer: for printing sticker sheets
Silhouette Cameo 5: My main machine for cutting stickers. Bigger than I need but more reliable than the Silhouette Portrait for me.
Brother HL-L3290CDW Laser Printer: for zines, quick mockups, and anything I need to see as a hard copy quickly. Can print in color and double sided. It's a huge printer but it actually gets a lot of use.

Mobile Tech

iPhone 14 Pro: for everything on the go. I don’t love the cameras though.
iPad Pro 12.9”: I use Procreate to design with an Apple Pencil. I also have the Magic Keyboard for more of a laptop experience.
Fitbit Sense 2: for tracking activity and sleep. I also like to read text notifications on it.

Software and Apps

Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop (also occasionally the mobile Illustrator app): Where I pull all of my art into for creating products for the shop. Photoshop gives me the most control over print quality. Illustrator handles cut paths and layout.
Silhouette Connect: I don’t use the Silhouette Studio software if I can avoid it. I find using Illustrators path much more intuitive and familiar to me for manipulating and creating cut lines.
Affinity Designer & Publisher: for designing calendars and other designs involving more data, also zine layouts.
Obsidian: for note taking, record keeping, writing and journaling
RVNC: For using my desktop on the go from my iPad and iPhone.
Google Sheets: social media and inventory tracking
VS Code: for fun programming experiments
Reminders: built in to do app on my phone for groceries, repeating tasks, household tasks, etc. The quick and dirty task app.
Forklift: for FTP.
Procreate: main art and design space. It's just so intuitive and perfect. I wish it did vectors too.
Notion: for more interactive record keeping, project hub for the shop, better organization for data and tables than Obsidian. Also better visually out of the box. Formulas.
Lightroom app: for editing photos quickly for social media or product listings.
PicsArt app: for adding text to pictures, making collages, and other more complex visuals.
CapCut: for editing videos
Spotify: for listening to music I don't own or with a smart speaker around the house.
WaveApps: For business accounting and bookkeeping. I track every single receipt here.
Fitbit: Mostly for tracking sleep but also to keep an eye on my activity levels.
MyFitnessPal: For food tracking. Not something I do rigorously, but helps me make more mindful choices... sometimes.
Yoga app by Down Dog: one of my few paid subscriptions. It creates unique routines based on factors like length, focus, and yoga style. I love it because I can pick the voice and music I like best.

Paper and Pen

Pentel Energel Clena: I like both the needle tip and the conical tip.
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen: I prefer the hard tip for most things.
Esterbrook collab with TheCoffeeMonsterzCo fountain pen: I got the Fine nib and it's just perfect. Love the little etched emoti on the nib.
Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black ink: my daily ink. Nothing special about black but it works well in my pens. It's on the drier side as inks go, so less worry about dry time.
Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pen: my other favorite fountain pen. Small ink capacity can get a little tedious sometimes though.
Hobonichi Planners: The paper works with my fountain pens and is just the right smoothness for me. I've grown to love the A5 size because it was monthly, weekly, and daily pages. It's just the right size. I go for the avec because it splits the year in two. I hate when the paper fights me around the spine because it just makes my handwriting look terrible.
Zebra Mildliners or Tombow Dual Brush Pens: both favorites for adding highlights and marker details to my pages. Can be used for brush lettering also.
Honorable mention: Maruman Mnemosyne paper. It's so smooth!! Love this just for doodling or writing random stuff that doesn't belong in a planner or journal.

List inspired by Aaron Parecki. See also: The Cramped and Anomalily