First scribblings

In Honour of Talk Like a Pirate Day…

It is a written greeting, so you’ll have to imagine the talking part. I hope that, like me, you find it impossible to read 'thar' in a non-pirate accent, and so it will still count as part of the celebration.

For this blogpost, I have been trying out and experimenting with a selection of fountain pens and have taken a few pictures of the results to share with you. All pictures are taken on my phone camera which is why they don’t quite capture the detail I’d like, 100%. Before today, I hadn’t written with a fountain pen since school (I'm Jade, and I'm new here).  My handwriting tends to be scribbley, even with the ballpoints, and below is a picture to compare with the writing done with the fountain pens.

 

Fountain pens weren’t scratchy as I expected – actually scratch that, they were just as smooth on the page as ballpoints are, and the ink soaked into the paper in a way that gave my letters shape and character which they typically lack. I like ballpoints; they're convenient, but they're not as fun. The novelty of writing in ink soon had me swooping letters, dotting I’s and crossing t’s, and thinking up a reason to write a letter to someone. If only it was Christmas already…

Because I’ve found the perfect pine green ink (that’s Lamy green). My relations won't know who’s sent the card until they read the signature… but would they recognise my usual scrawl through the extra curls and flicks I add to letters as soon as I have a fountain pen in my hand? 

Literary Personality in Pens – who next?

People in Pens

Literary heroes are a popular source of inspiration for special edition pens. From Omas we have an Alexander Pushkin pen – made from simple and yet striking enamel engraved with subtle silver, representative of the great Russian poet’s noble background, and of the style that sparkles in the details that are laced like deep veins throughout his work. The personal nature of his writing is also acknowledged: on the top of the cap, the poet himself is depicted using diamond engraving techniques.

(Alexander Pushkin inspired pen from Omas)

As well as their classically designed Wordsworth selection, Conway Stewart chose Rudyard Kipling as inspiration for a very special edition pen (below) – look closely and you can read two poems printed in minute detail on the cap and the barrel.

The solid black design is representative of the solemn ‘stiff upper lip’ and reserved approach to life endorsed in If, and in Victorian society. The new Gatsby pen from Conway Stewart, in stark contrast, is gleaming with the art deco and decadence of the 1920s.

Gatsby pen

And of course while we're on the subject of great novelists and literary inspired pens, no blog post would be complete without mentioning the Charles Dickens series of pens, designed by Onoto: Pickwick, Copperfield, Nickleby and Chuzzlewit. Each of these pens has the personality of the writer, and the time they lived in.

Copperfield

And so, with this selection already on the writing desk, what new editions can we look forward to in the future? Will we be treated to Roald Dahl editions? I think these would have to have an element of novelty, and of playfulness. Perhaps there could be a Chocolate Factory design available in both edible and non-edible versions. Or a Twits ‘upside down’ pen with a decorative nib on the cap, and a concealed nib for writing and bemusing our friends.  If previous trends of honouring the most popular writers of the time continue, we can undoubtedly look forward to a Rowling pen. I imagine that pen to be transparent, with silvery hues like a pensive, a patronus, and the milky fogs of Hogwarts. There’s already invisible ink. The Poe collection? Spindly, and crafted in black resin, with the details etched as indents... and Murakami pen would be beautiful, patterned with maki-e art - maybe pictures of tiny little birds. I just asked Pete what he’d like to see, and he said a Steinbeck pen dotted with tiny pearls.

Which of your writing heroes do you think should be transfigured into fountain pen form, and how would you go about representing them?

Conway Stewart Fresian

The latest offering from Conway Stewart, hand made resin featuring predominant shades of white and light grey hues offset by rich marbled black. The iridescent pearl lights up the light gray, giving this new edition a glimmering life of its own. The Fresian is further accented by gleaming black resin cap top, section, and barrel end, adorned with solid 18 carat gold bands. 

Remember its a special edition, so only 50 pieces available! - Find out more about it here...