Be warned, this post might get a little navel-gazing. I’ve already written up my observations about the industry in 2021, now here’s a state of the nation for ukfountainpens.com, which first said ‘hello world’ way back on 1st January 2017.
By the numbers
I published around 65 posts (so far) in 2021, totalling 65,000 words,… Continue reading
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As I head towards the end of another crazy year in the world of fountain pens, it’s time for reflection and to heap a little praise where praise is due. So here is my attempt to sort chaos into order and bring some highlights to the fore.
1. Colour comes to life
2021 was the… Continue reading
Pocket pens are a sneaky little side hobby for me. I enjoy the creativity of the designs and how they overcome the constraints of the pocket pen brief. It’s remarkable how many different solutions there are to the same problems. And as a result I’ve ended up with quite a few over the years, several… Continue reading
I talked a bit about this pen on Instagram and in some previous posts, so it won’t surprise you folks that the Santini Italia Giant has got me all excited the past few months.
As you’ll gather from the video, this is a very special pen. If you’re in a box-ticking mood, try this: handmade,… Continue reading
As I mentioned in my Black Friday post, I took a chance on a Radius pen from Appelboom during the sale. It arrived today, and I took a few minutes to record a video with some of my early thoughts.
I also shared a few photos on Instagram:
View this post on Instagram A post… Continue reading
Hot on the heels of the pen show season and Fountain Pen Day came this weekend’s Black Friday. It may just be my personal perception, but I felt that this year the mood on the forums and on social media was a little frenzied.
The industry-wide frenzy
Stilo e Stile’s website crashed after news of… Continue reading
It’s been a busy couple of weeks on the pen front, again.
First, in case you missed it, I reviewed the Christmas limited edition Benu Mistletoe. I really liked it. How could you not?
And at the risk of Benu overload, I have another model coming in in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned.… Continue reading
I recorded a quick video review of this pen a couple of days ago and made a blooper in it. I misremembered the RRP as being $150-160, (when in fact it’s $139), and in my head I expected it to be showing up at £120-130 in UK stores after our usual punishing conversion rate. In… Continue reading
This is not a Christmas gift guide, although it could serve as one if you were so minded. No, what I wanted to do here was shine a spotlight on a few makers and models that might not be on your radar, that I think are bringing a breath of fresh air to the world… Continue reading
Yes, it’s November. Yes, it’s 40-something days until Christmas. But heaven knows the global supply chain is screwed up, and I wanted to give you folks and our poor long-suffering pen retailers as much time as possible to sort out Christmas. So: something a little different for this year’s holiday season. Instead of me just… Continue reading