Author: Laura

Fountain Pen Favorites for September 2016

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This was a great month for fountain pens and ink for me.

1. Kaweco Traveller Case. This little case worked its way into my heart, moving from curiosity to essential. Some prefer large cases, but not me. Sized for Kaweco pens, the Traveller fits small and standard-size fountain pens. It carries six of those, plus extras, but easily slips into purse or briefcase. That meant I started carrying multiple fountains for the first time. The price is a splurge, but the quality seems high.

2.  Platinum Classic Maki-e. I fell for this, too. To keep the cost down, the maki-e on this pen starts with screen-printing, but it didn’t look or feel like a compromise to me or anyone else who tried it. It’s an attractive pen with a great nib at a great price. And it’s a maki-e pen that you don’t need to fuss over.

3.   Pelikan Hub. That was lots of fun, meeting other Pelikan fans and trying other fountain pens and inks. Kudos to Pelikan for bringing people together. And thanks for the Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine. If you get a chance to go next year, I recommend it.
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Photo by Dafne Cholet, Flickr, used under Creative Commons license.

Sheaffer PFM: A Pen For Me

Laura3 Comments

Sheaffer PFM in water

So what’s been going on at the party palace that is Chez Fountain Pen Follies? Well, nothing that I want to share with the authorities, of course. But now that the Great Platinum Maki-e Contest is over, it’s quieter. We’re just hanging. And by “we,” I mean me and that pen up there.

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And the Platinum Classic Maki-e Goes to …

Laura9 Comments

Platinum Classic Maki-e Bush Warbler fountain pen

The random winner of the Platinum Classic Maki-e from Pen Chalet is Gareth19. Congratulations to you, Gareth19, and I know you’ll enjoy this beautiful pen. Please use the Contact menu at the top of the page to send me your full name and address, so I can send you your new pen.

If the pen isn’t claimed by next Monday, I’ll do a new drawing next Tuesday and post that person’s name on the blog instead. Because if this thing stays with me much longer, there’s an excellent chance you’ll next see me hiding with it underground and cooing “my precious.”

But wait, because there’s more to give away. Ron at Pen Chalet and I were so blown away by the rhymes laid down by our commentators, that Pen Chalet is also going to give away two Flash Poetry Prizes. Each Flash Poetry Prize will be a new bottle of J. Herbin 1670 ink of the winner’s choice. I heartily recommend the new Caroube de Chypre, or Emerald of Chivor if you want a bolder color.

With the Flash Poetry prizes, there were so many great choices we just chose 11 of the most outstanding, then had a random number generator pick the two ultimate winners. And those are: Jorge Gomez and Robert Holland.

So Jorge and Robert, please use the Contact menu up there at the top of the page, to give me your names, addresses and choice of ink.

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to all the entrants. Those rhymes for Pen Chalet really did slay.

Music Break

Laura3 Comments

Due to unforeseen circumstances, my surely engrossing, or at least on-topic, fountain pen posts are going to be postponed. I hope not for too long.

But what do we do when the going gets tough? Turn on the radio. Or the turntable. Or Spotify.

Given the month, what could be more appropriate than the song up there, September Gurls by Big Star? This one is from way, way back in the 1900s — 1974. It’s from an album called Radio City, which was the second album from Big Star, and truly it’s a lovely song. Since September Gurls has been covered by other groups, you may have heard it.

So, okay, some trivia. Big Star was a little group and never became big stars. But one of its members, and the principal songwriter, was the late, great Alex Chilton. You may have heard of his earlier group The Box Tops. And Chilton happened to be friends with a guy named William Eggleston. Now, just a few years later, Eggleston would start being recognized as one of the greatest photographers ever. But back then Eggleston wasn’t particularly well-known, and he gave his friend a recent photo for the cover. That photo, The Red Ceiling, is surely the most famous thing about the record today.

But the 1970s ended, and we came to the 1980s. In 1987, the band The Replacements put out a tribute to Alex Chilton, called, appropriately enough, Alex Chilton.

The Replacements were the greatest American band of the 1980s. (I think that’s been scientifically proven). Also, totally wrecked. Fun fact: the band broke up for good during a concert, on stage, in Chicago.

I don’t like old music, but The Replacements are the bomb, even today. Scrolling through their YouTube videos, I’m in heaven. Merry Go Round. Kiss Me on the Bus. Unsatisfied. I’ll Be You. The whole of Let It Be. It does seem that they were never all sober at the same time, so if “on-key” or “well played” are important aspects to music, don’t even click.

But then the next decade came, the 1990s, and everything changed. Again. There was this little band, that became huge, called Nirvana. Back in the 1900s. And it’s very hard to believe this, but tomorrow will be the 25th anniversary of the release of their second album, a little thing called Nevermind.

Actually, if you watch the video, it does seem like 25 years ago. Because that is the most dated video ever. Check out the the hair flips. We could do a drinking game to the hair flips: “He/she flipped his/her hair; drink!” Except we’d all be passed out drunk within the first minute and a half.

So I’m not ruling it out or anything.

Green Thoughts

Laura4 Comments

Sheaffer Snorkel in Fern Green, Sage Green and Pastel Green

Let me just mention that if you are reading this, you should stop for a few seconds. Instead, first read the newest Pen Chalet rhymes in our Most Excellent Pen Giveaway thread. Our blog readers are awesome.

And be sure to post a rhyme or other comment of your own, if you are interested in the Platinum Classic Maki-e.  It’s quite a pen, and quite a generous giveaway by Pen Chalet. Actually, I just found out yesterday that the Classic Maki-e is no longer available with a broad nib, which is sad for me, but that means that whoever gets this pen is doubly lucky. So go click on the Giveaway. No worries; this will wait.

Okay, welcome back. Here are two photos of interesting green pens — not mine. This past weekend the Chicago Pen Club had a green theme for the monthly meeting. Those three pens up there are different green Sheaffer Snorkels.

Vintage pens are interesting. The Snorkel on the bottom of that photo, which I think is a nice, cheerful color, is the very common Pastel Green. The one in the middle, which I also like, is the not-terribly-uncommon Sage Green. The one on top I would pass right on by. It’s not my kind of color.

Except that it’s the really uncommon Fern Green. So, whoops.

Doesn’t it often turn out that the pens no one likes are the ones that down the line are worth more? Because fewer people buy them, fewer are made. And tastes change later. Examples abound, including the Parker 51 in Plum. If only my grandfather had bought his Duofold in the reviled Mandarin Yellow instead of the popular Jade. If only my mother’s Parker 51 had been Nassau Green or Yellowstone. Not that I’d sell them anyway. But in my head, I’d be a pen mogul.

So back to Sheaffer. Here are two green lacquered Sheaffer Targas, also not mine. These are much more recent. I really like them both. The one on the top is the Green Moiré. It’s awesome and wild, and someday, one will be mine. The one on the bottom is the Malachite Ronce. It’s gorgeous.

Sheaffer Targa Laque Green Moiré and Malachite Ronce

I hope the fashion for Targas comes back at some point. Although, if it’s alright, could that be after I’ve found a $5 Green Moiré?

The Targas are from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Yesterday, to me. But technically, that was the last century. I point that out because of something that happened last week. My younger daughter looked at me witheringly, in disbelief at something I had said. (A frequent occurrence.) More in pity than in anger, she said, “Mom, things are different now. You were born in the 1900s.”