Something to write in your Christmas cards with...

We'd thought we'd dish out some early festive cheer and give you some ideas of what to use in those upcoming Christmas cards. 

Pilot Iroshizuku - Chiku-Rin
The name Iroshizuku is a combination of the Japanese words Iro (Coloring), expressing high standards and variation of colors, and Shizuku (Droplet), that embodies the very image of dripping water. The whole of the Pilot range is outstanding, if a little on the pricey side, but worth the money for the bottle alone. This Chiku-Rin colour is a vibrant green - translated as Bamboo Forest, the backdrop of a bamboo forest is one of the most iconic of Japanese nature. This green calls to mind the inviting touch of the wind flowing through the stalks of a bamboo forest.

Pelikan Edelstein - Sapphire
The german word Edelstein translates as 'gem stone', and each colour corresponds to be beautiful colouring of a gem. This Sapphire offering is on the lighter side of the blue scale, with a hint of purple as well. Easily could be used on a daily basis. Every 50ml high-value glass flacon is unique, the rich weight and soft curves make it a pleasure to hold in your hands.

Sailor Jentle - Sky High
The bottles contain 50ml of ink, and feature a plastic reservoir inside the bottle, enabling the last drops of ink to be taken from the bottle and protects your pen nib.

Thinking about a first pen?

After the excitement of fountain pen day, maybe you've been introduced to the world of the fountain pen, or perhaps you need some suggestions to pass over to someone who you've got interested.

So here's a little list of some possible introductory pens that may be of help.

So what should you look for in a first fountain pen? and how much do you spend?

All this really is up to you, the best thing to do in our opinion is get into a pen shop and try some pens out, then you'll be able to find out what fits your hand, what nib size suits your handwriting and what you look for in the design of a pen.

If you're stuck for inspiration though, we're here to help.


First up is one of the most widely used pens in the world, the Lamy Safari, inexpensive, nicely designed as with all Lamy pens, a perfect starting point. It takes ink cartridges or you can use a converter with it, and has a handy little window so you can see how much ink is left. For around £15 one of the best around!

(available in all the colours of the rainbow)


Next is a pen that is extremely striking in both it's appearance and the way it operates, certainly impressed me, it is the Pilot Capless Carbonesque. Part of the select few of pens which use a retractable nib, in both cool factor and writing prowess this pen excels, priced at around £125, it's higher up the price scale, but most definitely worth the money, just look at it!




Monteverde is a brand that is relatively new to Write Here, but we're glad we finally got some in as they don't disappoint. Coming it at around the £50 mark, The Prima collection is particularly striking, it's fashioned from European grade Acrylic Resin and accented with chrome, its sleek shape results in a pen that is ergonomically balanced, we'll get a video review up of it as soon as we can so you can see it in action.

(available in 5 more colours)


Moving back over to Japan now, with the Sailor Reglus Fountain Pen, at the lower end of the Sailor price band at £80, the Reglus, Sailor have worked hard to implement features that show off their skills and talent, the resin body has a pearlescent shine complemented with silver trim. On the top of the clip is the famous Sailor logo giving a superb balance to the design - a great looking fountain pen.

( also available in orange, blue or grey)


So there are our thoughts on what the first time fountain pen user might look for, what would you or have you recommended to a friend?

for little hands...

The LAMY abc be­gin­ner’s pencil and fountain pen was de­vel­oped in co­op­er­a­tion with ed­u­ca­tion­al experts for the first steps in learn­ing to write. The special design to meet the needs of chil­dren and the er­gonom­i­cal­ly shaped grip assist natural, relaxed po­si­tion­ing of the fingers. Made of maple wood, tip and cube of blue plastic. With a non-slip, rub­berised plastic grip. With name sticker.

Perfect for kids and the smaller handed among us.





Moving up in price now, but not in size,  although saying that, they are a bit of a extremely well priced when you think you are also getting a 14 carat gold nib for just over £100. In length this little pen only measures 124mm, the Sailor Professional Gear Slim is a terrific pen, finished to a very high standard. The nibs are excellent, extremely smooth although with a slightly finer line than European equivalents.





Next up in this petit lineup is the Pilot Prera, measuring only 120mm in length, and even better, only £50. It has a fresh modern design incorporating traditional Pilot build quality in high-quality resin with polished chrome-plated metal trim and pocket clip. We highly recommend this pen!

 

What pens suit your small hand?

Conway Stewart Cavendish

Conway Stewart is proud to announce the new model in English hallmarked solid sterling silver, the Cavendish. A bold stylish design that brings together a traditional shape with a crisp modern engraving pattern, the Cavendish is a perfect accessory for the discerning connoisseur of fine writing instruments.

Starting with a rod of solid sterling silver, our pen makers shape the Cavendish into a classic flat-top cap and barrel. Each is then engraved with concentric rings in high relief running the full length of the pen. Set off by brightly polished cap top, cap band, and barrel end, the pattern is both elegant and clean.

The Cavendish is available as a fountain pen or roller ball, both writing modes have a smooth sterling silver gripping section that is gently tapered to provide a comfortable hold for a wide variety of hand sizes.

The fountain pen is mounted with an 18 carat solid gold nib with a Rhodium plating mask accenting the Conway Stewart logo in yellow gold and offered in a choice of our eight different nib grades from Extra Fine to Extra Broad, Italic Fine, Italic Medium and Italic Broad.

 

Filling is via a cartridge converter system, allowing the use of convenient ink cartridges, or bottled inks.

Whether purchased for yourself or as a gift for a loved-one, the Cavendish is sure to please. An imposing weight makes this new edition an impressive choice for daily use, and the stunning design means it is certain to garner compliments every time it is used.

Each Cavendish is packaged in an elegant diamond presentation gift box.

Conway Stewart writing instruments are of a traditional, classical design and have been proved to stand the test of time.

All the entries for Fountain Pen Day

Here are all the lovely entries that we had to our little competition!

Email Entries

M lberg
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be proudly signing the bill with my fountain pen having enjoyed my first fondue of the season in Basel, Switzerland.

Kevin Landon
TO CELEBRATE FOUNTAIN PEN DAY 2012 I WILL BE TAKING OUT MY FAVORITES GIVING THEM A SPECIAL CLEANING, FILLING THEM UP WITH THE BEST INK THAT EXISTS AND PUTTING THEM TO PAPER AS I WRITE TO ALL THE PEOPLE THAT I HOLD DEAR. EVERY DAY SHOULD BE A FOUNTAIN PEN DAY!!

John Skoyles
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012, I will try to interest the students in my literature class in pens and inks by writing a letter to them in the style of my favorite writers: Melville, Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen, Hemingway and Joyce, saying: Call me Inkmael; Shall I compare thee to an Omas pen?; It was the best of inks, it was the worst of inks; It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good pen, must be in want of ink; Visconti, light of pen box, fire of my bank account; He was an old man who wrote alone in a room at a desk and he had gone eighty-four days now without running out of ink; and finally, inkruns, past Eve and Adam's, from edge of page to cuff of sleeve…

Dave Hill
To celebrate fountain pen 2012 I will be searching for that long lost colour amoung the cartridges, cleaning my pistons, and giving a gentle squeeze on the fillers. A thoroughly relaxing day!

Ken McQuillian
Rather like a fine wine, a good pen, such as an Omas Art Deco, should be savoured and enjoyed within an atmosphere of appropriate ambiance. In anticipation of this competition, I have moved to a countryside retreat, but have discovered that, like my good lady wife, it requires a little more tender loving care, than I had at first anticipated. Therefore, just as a loving and caring husband must lavish the aforementioned care upon Queen Sheba (or "she who must be obeyed"), fountain pen day will find me rigged in scruffy clothes. The house will be strewn with dust sheets, my head spattered with paint, a paint brush clutched in my hand, while perched precariously upon a ladder. Before you cry in despair, before your good lady rushes for the smelling salts, please, allow me to explain. I must do my best to create that perfect ambiance, in the perfect location, to enjoy the perfect past-time, of writing a proper letter, on proper paper, with the perfect pen, filled with perfect ink, provided by the perfect shop.

John Mignault
Throwing ballpoints at a dartboard and using a fountain pen to keep my score.

Jenny GoodHaving a happy birthday!

M.S Chan

I will be writing to each of my six team members at work to thank them for the teamwork, support and contribution, each note being written with a different pen explaining the occasion of the first Fountain Pen Day and which pen model the note is written with.

Peter Manley

To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be doing nothing except sitting in my favourite chair with my favourite pen (a Pelikan M400 which I bought in 1990, it has had one new barrel and one new nib but is, otherwise, completely original) and I will carry out the annual task of writing my Christmas cards. I now have to face the difficult choice of ink colour! 

Andrea Kirby

I'm tempted to celebrate by getting round to a re-saccing job on one of my vintage fixer-uppers, or sniping for a couple of early Bayards on eBay, but what I actually will do is clear my desk, and get down to some serious calligraphy with my Lamy Joys and Rotring Artpens.

Mavis Nicholson

I will be buying fountain pens for my grand children so that the art of handwriting won't die out!

Nicola Hunter

To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will have my 3 Lamy Calligraphy fountain pens in 3 ink colours with me all day and use them interchangeably. It always grabs people's attention and boosts their interest in fountain pens.

Spencer
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be hosting the first fountain pen meetup in my city!

Linda Hervieux

To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012, I, along with my Lamy Demonstrator, smartly outfitted with a fine nib from a fine UK pen shop, will be heading to our favorite Paris café, a purple journal tucked under our arm and a little white dog along on a lead, to record our thoughts on this special day.

Christopher Angliolini

To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be scouring Ebay for bargains, teaching my three children basic pen anatomy and other useful life-skills, patiently explaining to my wife the pros and cons of flex nibs over stub nibs, posting on Fountain Pen Network and generally getting my fingers inky.

Mike GordonTo celebrate Fountain Pen day 2012 I will be writing a letter to my wife, telling her how much she means to me after having just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.

Tim Poole
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be writing up my physics lecture notes in a vivid Waterman Purple Ink with my five year old, much loved Lamy cp1; what could be better than beautiful equations in a beautiful ink.

Sarah Moore
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be handwriting a memoir, "Life with the naked Webmaster

Gary Linn
Spending more money than I can afford on pens and ink and paper!  What better way to celebrate Fountain Pen Day than to skirt the shoals of bankruptcy!

Glenn TenneyTo celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be cleaning, inking, flushing, and writing with several of my favourite fountain pens.

Earnest Ward

To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be creating illustrations of quotes that have inspired me… and the fountain pen lovers who wrote them.

Ruth Morrisson
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be giving a Pilot Varsity to my therapist -- he mentioned a while back that he used to use Varsities and didn't realize that they were still being made.  I have an unopened three pack I picked up at an office supply store a while back (blue, black and purple) and will give him a choice of which color he wants tomorrow at our next appointment -- which conveniently happens to be *on* Fountain Pen Day!
I very likely will be cleaning out some pens as well (nothing overly exciting) for some of the rest of the day.  Which of course means I will have to be spending some time today using up the fills in them!  Those pens are: Parker Vector with Pharmicist's Terra Incinerata, Noodler's Flex Piston with Diamine Indigo, Guanleming Accountant with De Atramentis Tchaikowsky (Silver Grey) and maybe Platinum Plaisir with Private Reserve Rose Rage.

Facebook entries

Ira F. Stone
I will contemplate the miracle of communication, the marvel of words, the symbolism of alphabets, and the sheer joy of shaping those letters into words by which to send a message across the very heavens. In other words, I'll grab my pen and mindfully write!

Melanie Purple-Harding
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day I will practice some Calligraphy!

Brock Staskawicz
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day I will be attempting to teach my fellow high school students about Fountain Pens

Attila Sultis
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012, I will be hunting for my first flex fountain pen
Most of the time I'm too late to catch a nice one...
And I'll let everyone around me know what day it is! And what a fountain pen is, and why is it so great to use

Nicolas Gold
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012, I'll review all my pens and then ink them and delve, into how many pens one mere mortal can use, to write words of support for the people whose news, of most recent disaster has cut to the heart, but I'm certain that words will at least be a start.

Mel Key
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012, I will be writing letters to my penpals. Because of them, I use fountain pens to write more.

Ben Patton
writing a haiku on my cousin's face... eg -
A pen in my hand
Pausing to collect my thoughts
Ink upon his face

Leanna Cymbala
To celebrate I will be writing letters to my family using my Waterman Carene Broad nib. What a joy it is to write with! And prayerfully they each will find it a joy to receive hand written letter from me!

Tom Bottinga
I will be using Jane Austen ink to mark my students' essays

Fredric Pitts

To celebrate fountain pen day 2012 I will use my newest fountain pen, a TWSBI mini with an extra fine nib, to make a drawing of my oldest fountain pen, a lovely green ebonite Eclipse with a gold filled overlay, the broken barrel, and the new section I'd like to have made to repair it.

Theresa Morgen
Fountain Pen Day !!! Yessss !!! To celebrate fountain pen day 2012, I will be giving special attention to my fountain pens, of course! I'll clean them and fill them with lovely (that means Noodler's) inks, and write some letters, and sketch .. hmmm .. a wizard! Yes, a wizard, I think. Holding a fountain pen.

Tamara Fox

I will pen a letter to an old friend about the good times we have shared and the simple joys still to come.

Colin Rowland
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be... treating myself to some funky coloured Diamine ink.

Paul Flood
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be giving my two closest friends two of my favourite collection: a Sailor KOP and an Omas Arco Celuloid, both of which have only been dipped. Not forgetting myself - well it has to be the Kuji Kuhaku - the last in Sailor UKs possession - can't wait! The next best thing to collecting fountain pens is giving them away to people you value above all others!

Nigel Strachan
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day I'll write a 'thank you' on that day because I stopped smoking on 2nd November 2004.

Augusto Juvenal Peltzer
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will tempt all my biros out hiding and create a human-like effigy out of them, burning them (ala wicker man) to appease the heathen fountain pen gods of old.

Aaron Zeller
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be writing letters to and giving "fountain pen introduction packs' to some of my friends and family who I think would be interested in or benefit from fountain pens. The packs include a fountain pen, a few ink cartridges, a converter and some ink samples, and a pad of paper or a notebook.

Alison Donohoe
I will be writing letters to friends and filling out change of address cards!

Phil Clubley
I will be helping my 7 year old with his handwriting using our trusty Parkers.

Mike Grove
I will be urging friends and workmates to try a Fountain Pen so they too can experience the sensual pleasure of a smooth pen nib gliding effortlessly over paper. Oooh...

Marie Zee Johansen
To celebrate fountain pen day 2012 I will take out the very first fountain pen that I ever purchased for myself (aged 16-a Pelikan 120 with a factory stub nib) and write some overdue letters to some fountain pen loving friends! Thanks for this chance - I'd be so thrilled to win!!

Helen Cooper
To celebrate fountain pen day, I will be using my favourite pen, paper and ink combination (a TWSBI 540 Amber with Diamine Ancient Copper ink, Rhodia grid paper) to handwrite my NaNoWriMo efforts

Terry Holt
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I shall use the occasion as the spur to write to old friends with whom I have had a contact hiatus. I shall use my vintage Osmoroid Calligraphy pen with an Italic nib, and Crown Mill quality paper. Ink is yet to be decided but with 70 bottles to choose from I am spoilt for choice.

Hui Jun Chew
writing out all emails by long hand, scanning them into the computer and then emailing them. I haven't made up my mind which pen-ink-paper combination I will use.

Will Platt
On this new day, I will be staying away from the thing that we all use, the thing that out dates our hobby--the computer. I will lend my TWSBI mini out to anybody who asks, hoping to inspire those with interest in the better way to write!

Finlay Costello
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be doing what I do every year - visiting my local pen shop to try out the fabulous range of pens on offer, appreciating the craftsmanship, quality and beauty of each precision instrument, all the time secretly knowing in my heart that I will never be able to afford any of them; yearning for that amazing day when I may finally get to own my first quality fountain pen, sitting down at my own desk in my own little office to write something more meaningful than 'this is a test'... one can dream I suppose - I dream that one day my dream will come true!

John Newton
I will be preying to the god of nibs for a fat wet one in glowing gold !

Larisa Briggs
To celebrate I will fold back the well worn leather of my writing journal, feel the solid weight of the barrel between my fingers as I move the nib over the textured pages. Writing with a fountain pen Is tactile, melodious and sensual. These sensations are heightened further if accompanied by high quality laid paper (pun unintentional). The written word is my mistress. Without thy trusty fountain pen, no love letters can there be.

Abigail LaLonde
To celebrate fountain pen day i will be doing all my writing and drawing with my only two fountain pens.

Twitter Entries

Zeynep F. – writetomeoften
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012, I will be giving away fountain pens just to remind the joy of handwriting.

Arielle Gabriel - @last_wizard4
To celebrate the fountain pen day today, I will use all my working pens to practice calligraphy. Time to appreciate every single pen of mine. :)

Gary Price - @gdprice28
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 i will be using all 3 Lamy Pens I've brought from @WriteHerePens in Shrewsbury.

Liz Butcher - @frizzychick
To celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2012 I will be writing a long-overdue letter to my grandma, on lovely paper. A joy to do.

M Halid Aktas - @HalidAktas
To celebrate FPD'12 I'll use a ballpoint, for the first time since my childhood, to remember why I started using #fountainpen

Rob Maguire – @MaguireBob
I am planning to get all my fountain pens inked and in use for Nov 2nd. I am a walking promoter for fountain pen use!

@pansipotter999

Fountain Pen Day @FountainPenDay
Breaking out my vintage stationary to send out some letters & actually using it!

JanMaarten - @JMvanderPutten

 

@Penanddesign
ink up all my pens, and lend them out to my friends for par of the day!

Aziah A. @GourmetPens
To celebrate FountainPenDay 2012, I will be writing about WHY I love fountain pens in my journal, with a 100-year old pen!

Mary Collis @mscollis
I'll write a letter to a friend using the pen and ink that fits HER personality so that words flow easily.

Freddie Ligerwood @dfaligertwood
For #FountainPenDay I shall be sitting in Durham Cathedral Library writing letters to friends with my Visconti Homo Sapiens.

Sara Anderson @DIYSara
I will take some time to reorganize my inks and refill a couple pens. I'll likely write in my journal.

Alice - @45AdS
spend time to properly clean them all, fill them with fresh ink, and then write a journal entree using all of them!

"To celebrate 'Fountain Pen Day' 2012, following a highly contentious case, I will be writing to the Judicial Standards Board with my legendary Conway Stewart pen, in prussian blue ink, to report and ask for there to be a review and guidance in relation to a senior Advocate who possibly abused his position as Queen's Counsel, when he advocated in the same Court, where he also occasionally sits as a Judge.

The Circuit Judge hearing the case, was junior in rank to the Silk, and all involved in the case felt awkward and uncomfortable about it. Yet no one was prepared to speak out for fear of seeming disagreeable, or stepping out of line, and going against the proverbial grain.

In this situation, the pen is mightier than the sword. Natural Laws of Justice dictate that justice should be done, and must be seen to be done.

Sometimes, true justice requires the courage to stand by all that is good or ought to be good and just in this World. There is an altruistic tenet that is quoted by many great leaders:

'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing'.

I may be committing career suicide by making such a report. I hate injustice. part of the raison d'etre to become a Lawyer was to stand up to injustice. Approaching my 40th birthday later this month, I have thought long and hard about what matters.

A hand-written letter is what is required. It is a mark of sincerity in a dishonest World. The recipient will know that proper time has been taken to construct it. The fact that it is written on 'Fountain Pen Day', will be meaningless to the recipient, but rather apt and meaningful to me, and to those who value the good and finer things in life."

And the winner is....

If you can't quite figure out John's handwriting, and you wouldn't be there first, let me explain...

So as you may have seen, throughout the week we've been holding a little competition in celebration of Fountain Pen Day which is today! And every year hence on the first Friday of November.

The question that everyone had to answer was simple...How are you going to celebrate fountain pen day?

With the chance to win a lovely Omas Art Deco Certified Edition Fountain Pen.

We've had many many many great answers, I'll collate them all into a nice reading list in the next blog post for everyone to see.

But unfortunately we only had one pen to give away! So there had to be a winner.

And that lucky person was 

Hui Jun ChewAnd today to celebrate fountain pen day, he has been...
"Writing out all emails by long hand, scanning them into the computer and then emailing them. I haven't made up my mind which pen-ink-paper combination I will use."

Well done! Thanks to everyone that entered and it's only 12 Months til the next Fountain Pen Day!

The Sailor Yosegi

Hakone Yosegi-Zaiku originated over 250 years ago and is still an exclusive traditional woodwork craft. Hakone Yusegi-Zaiku is made combining fine geometric patterns using various colours and wood grains. This special Yosegi pen has four kinds of wood, combined with ingenuity and warmth in the same tradition of Yosegi-Zaiku craftsmanship.

Hakone Yoseg-Zaiku was approved by the government as a traditional Japanese art work in 1984. It is popular with old traditional art craft techniques.

Available on in Fountain Pen form with a reliable Cartridge/ Converter system, and with a 14 Carat Solid Gold Nib in Fine or Medium sizes. It weighs in at 18.4 grammes and is 136mm long. You also get an ink cartridge case supplied with this pen, which is also made of Yoesgi material and can store up to 5 ink cartridges, and a very stylish way to do so.