It normally doesn’t take me long to make up my mind about a pen. But the Conid Minimalistica is so different to anything I’ve owned before that it’s left me confused.
I bought this pen, the special edition “Monarch” Minimalistica, through a lucky accident that I’ll spare you from hearing.
The Monarch is a limited… Continue reading
Tag: europe
Let’s get the name out of the way first: the pen I’m reviewing here is the Montegrappa Extra 1930 Colori del Mare ‘The Sea’, a limited edition of 27 pens produced for Chatterley Luxuries (there are six other colours too, each in an edition of 15 pens). I’m going to call it the ‘Extra’ from… Continue reading
I spent the past week in Austria, surrounded by mountains, forests and lakes.
It was a proper family holiday, but that didn’t mean I left my pens behind. As usual before a trip, I spent more time planning which pens to take than anything else. These five made the cut.
Left to right:
Pelikan M400… Continue reading
This week I had the luck of travelling to Madrid on business. In case you didn’t know, Madrid is home to Iguanasell, the improbably named pen/watch/lighter/accessories store from which I bought my Dialog 3 and various inks.
I trekked my way down through the beautiful city in 25-degree heat to check out the showroom that… Continue reading
I often write about American or Japanese brands, or the big familiar European companies like Pelikan, Lamy and Montblanc.
But in Europe we’re blessed with many wonderful makers producing innovative and beautiful (and often expensive) pens in small numbers. They don’t advertise; word spreads only at pen shows, on FPN, and on Instagram — so… Continue reading