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.

What Should I Get Her?

You might have noticed that Christmas is fast approaching, it was the mince pies I saw in August that gave it away for me...

Anyway, we'd thought we'd give you some pointers as to some suitable things for people of the female persuasion, or maybe you could add them to your Christmas list and leave some subtle hints...


First up is the Omas Arte Italiana Milady Ballpoint,  using exotic mother of pearl cotton resin, a natural product, and semi precious stones, Omas have crafted a luxurious pen of real quality. Dedicated to the beauty of women, the Milady is a classic piece of jewellery to be admired and envied by all who see it, and loved by those who use it. Is it going on your Christmas list?

The Omas Milady also comes in this
rather swish suede wrap.

Moving a little down the price list now and onto the Diplomat Excellence B Fountain Pen in White Pearl, this features all-metal casing and superb polished chrome fittings the high quality, multi-layered brilliant lacquer finish makes it a joy to hold. It also a finely chiselled and polished 14 carat bi-colour available in Medium or stainless steel nib available in Fine, Medium or Bold sizes.




The Conway Stewart Silver Duro fountain pen is crafted from solid silver, with a sumptuous resin overlay giving depth and beauty to the pen.

Under the bright glowing acrylic overlays, the Silver Duro pen is a carefully constructed fine writing instrument. Cap and barrel are crafted from solid sterling silver rod stock, adding perfectly balanced weight to the pen itself. The cap top, cap band, and barrel end are left in gleaming bright polished silver, further accented by a silver pocket clip in the classic and stately design that has graced Conway Stewart writing instruments since the 1930s.

Conway Stewart produce the Silver Duro Pen in Classic Green, Blue Stardust, Red Stardust, Honey Noire, Graphite, Meteor, Nebula, Sapphire Blue. The images to the left show Sapphire Blue, Meteor and Graphite.

 



So these are what we recommend, but what's on your Christmas list?

How we are celebrating Fountain Pen Day

This Friday, 2^nd November, is Fountain Pen Day.  It is being celebrated around the world – look at http://www.fountainpenday.org/. 

We like fountain pens a lot, and to celebrate this important day we’re giving away one of the best and most interesting pens we’ve seen recently – the Omas Arte Italiana Art Deco.  It’s a resin pen, piston filler, and with a Titanium nib offering an introduction to the joy of flex.  It is worth £330.00.

For details, look at our Facebook page or our website.

All you have to do is tell us what you’re going to do to celebrate Fountain Pen Day.  Be sincere, witty, imaginative, artistic, factual, fantastic, whatever you like!  The best reply, in our opinion, will win!

The winner will be announced on Friday at 4.00  - get your entry in by midday, Shrewsbury time.

The Pen Room Museum, Birmingham

A few weeks ago I came across this rather interesting website of a museum in Birmingham called The Pen Room.

The museum itself is situated in the old pen factory of Victorian writing instrument maker, W.E. Wiley. The building, Grade II* listed is located in Frederick Street, part of Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter. It's run by the Birmingham Pen Trade Heritage Association and staffed entirely by volunteers and enthusiasts. Inside there are more displays than you can shake a pen at, showing 100,000 varieties of pen nibs made by a some of the most prolific Birmingham manufacturers at the height of the industry.

There are also extensive collections of memorabilia and ephemera, including display material, ink wells and ink bottles, Braille embossers, pen making machines, and of course fountain pens. Will have to take a trip there sometime and give you a more in depth report!



This is when it's open where you can find it...

Open every day (Free Entry)
(Except 25th and 26th December)
Monday to Saturday 11am to 4pm
Sunday 1pm to 4pm

Unit 3, The Argent Centre
60 Frederick Street
Hockley
Birmingham
West Midlands
B1 3HS
Telephone: 0121 236 9834

If one just isn't enough...

This post introduces you to the set of 12 Visconti Van Gogh, if one just isn't enough then you can get your hands on the entire range in either Fountain or Rollerball Pen. Here's the run down of what each of the coloured pens are named and the colours which are incorporated into them.

1) Starry Night - blue with light blue, yellow and orange veins

2) Portrait Blue - light blue-turquoise, with reddish streaks

3) Dr. Gachet - gray and blue, melted with light blue and brown

4) Orchard in Blossom - view of Arles - pale blue lavender blue with rosy shadings

5) Irises - light bright green, with yellow and violet brushstrokes

6) Sunflowers - yellow with orange and green sprinkles

7) Pollard Willows - brown and green with multicolor streaks, from blue to rust red

8) Vincent Chair - acid yellow with greenish and bluish streaks

9) Room in Arles - brown with orange and rust red shades

10) Gauguin's Chair - dark blue-green with beige and burgundy veins

11) Van Gogh Shoes - beige with black and grey sprinkles

12) Pine Trees - mixed deep green orange and yellow


The range comes in a rather snazzy glass topped wooden case.

Sailor Profit Pens

The Sailor Special Calligraphy pen is a special script pen that allows the writer to alter the thickness of the written line by changing the angle of the nib on the paper. A steep angle produces fine strokes, whereas a shallower angle with produce broader strokes. This pen is fitted with the special Sailor gold plated calligraphy nib.










 




Sailor Profit Brush Pen. The Sailor Fountain pens begins with the nib, it has successfully maintained this heritage quality and technical. The Sailor Profit Brush pen is fitted with a very flexible brush tip that goes from narrow to sweeping broad strokes with just the lightest bit of pressure.

This model comes with the lovely rounded top seemingly more blending with the entire fountain pen and the weight balance is at it optimum.