Iconic Fountain Pen Hospital will be holding its annual Spring Expo Friday and Saturday April 12th & 13th 9am – 5pm both days. Join us to see the full line up of Montegrappa, Aurora & Esterbrook. This will be a great show for hunting down those vintage Esterbrook nibs!
Located downtown at 10 Warren St. New York, NY 10007
Phone. 1-800-253-7367
Loclen Electa
This may be the first time you are viewing the Loclen Electa, with its unique industrial design and metal finishing. Well, it is something new and exciting for Kenro as well. We were fortunate to meet their designer and owner, Carlo Vazzoler at the Paperworld Show in Frankfurt this past January. Carlo had his Loclen pens advertised in vitrines throughout the show and they caught the eyes of our team. We knew we had to visit his exhibt. The pens were so unique that they couldn’t resist meeting with him and learning more about these metal writing tools.
Loclen is a relatively young brand with limited marketing or advertising. They don’t even have an Instagram or Facebook page, but that hasn’t halted their growth. Business has been good and the pens have been selling. Most sales have come from specialty pen retailers outside the US and Canada, so the idea of a partnership for our companies seemed like a good fit. Carlo was encouraged by the possibilities with Loclen but also shared the challenges with manufacturing hand turned pens in a small family business. Patience was a term he shared on several occasions and how turning brass, plating, brushing and assembly takes time. Thankfully we are patient people and his pens are certainly worth the wait!
3 beautiful finishes to choose from.
Loclen, derived from the names of Carlo’s children, is an Italian company based in Venice. The first model introduced from Kenro is the Electa. Electa is available in three finishes, including ruthenium, fine brushed chrome and raw brass. They are all brass based pens and currently available in fountain pen only. The nibs are size 5 from Jowo and each is engraved with the Loclen “duck” symbol and can be purchased in EF, F, M, B and 1.1. The ruthenium and chrome are sold with a chrome plated nib, while the raw brass has a two-tone gold and silver.
Product page HERE
Pictures from the workshop
THE MONTEGRAPPA MINI COPPER MULE
It’s copper, compact and impossibly cute – perfectly suited for any pocket, pencil case, purse or tool roll and available to order in fountain pen, rollerball and ballpoint modes.
The Mini Mule has been engineered to use smaller 5mm steel nibs (F, M, B), taking a standard convertor or cartridges and refills as conventional Fortuna models.
The new Mini Mule shares the same anti-microbial properties as its older sibling, as well as the patina and imperfections unique to copper. Like a Moleskine or a Traveler’s Company notebook, its changing appearance records the places it has been. Owners will thrill as they observe it ageing gracefully with use. A true workhorse!
The Mule program, and the creation of the Montegrappa Mule by Bassano’s own Danieli Bar have provided one of the most warmly received Montegrappa stories of recent years, attracting interest from lifestyle and cuisine editors. The Mini Mule arrives in a standard IKSDASIC case that includes the recipe for the famous cocktail.
As well as bringing a fresh, rootsy finish to the Fortuna silhouette, Mule’s honest rustic charm and gastronomic credentials have resonated with younger, hipster-inclined shoppers. With the arrival of the Mini Mule, we can turn up the charm and offer more to intrepid urban travellers, women and fans of every day carry (EDC).
Digital Brochure HERE
Fountain Pen
Mini Copper Mule Fountain Pen – Model ISFSH_CU – $350
Available in F, M or B nib sizes
Rollerball
Mini Copper Mule Rollerball Pen – Model ISFSHRCU – $295
Ballpoint
Mini Copper Mule Ballpoint Pen – Model ISFSHBCU – $250
The Blueberry Estie arrived!
Are you aware that its Blueberry season? That’s right! The Blueberry Estie arrived this week and they were quickly plucked from the shelves. The unique blue and white blended fountain pens are limited to a total of 600 pieces and are now sold out.
What was an initial concern for Esterbrook is now a great success. If you’re not aware, the Blueberries were supposed to be Lilacs, but when the acrylic supplier delivered the swatches the color was not correct. The material was blue, a beautiful blue, but clearly not purple lilac.
In this case, Esterbrook turned lemons to lemonade and made some very happy fountain pen enthusiasts. Also noteworthy is that the many Blueberries were shipped with 1.1 Stub nibs.
As mentioned, Esterbrook is sold out, but limited stock is available at your authorized Esterbrook retailer.
The Arkansas Pen Show 2019
My whirlwind U.S. Pen Show spring tour is almost at a close, with the Atlanta Pen Show up next for the first weekend of April, and then a long break until D.C. in August. This past weekend I was on the road again, to Little Rock
Read the full article HERE
The Baltimore/Washington International Pen Show 2019
You often hear people saying: “It was good, but it could have been great” when discussing a recent pen show (or any other large public event, for that matter). What’s less common is attending a pen show that should have been “good,” or maybe even “meh,” but turned out to be fabulous. This year’s Baltimore Pen Show was one such event.
Read the full article HERE
The Northern Hemisphere winter is ending, but for millions of fans eagerly awaiting the final season of Game of Thrones (screening on HBO from 14 April), you now have a product certain to knock them cold.
Winter is Here is a new, Cult Series limited-edition FP/RB made under license to HBO, available to ship from April 2019. As well as being our latest design under the Game of Thrones imprint, it is unquestionably the most spectacular. And the most timely.
The HBO series and George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series represent the pinnacle of current pop culture. The anticipation and secrecy around the final series make it one of the most feverishly anticipated releases of the century. Compared to many other cult shows, a very high representation of mature, affluent consumers make up its most avid aficionados.
Winter is Here is available as piston-fill FP and RB in sterling silver (300 pieces each) and 18k gold (7 pieces each). All variants use a precious metal superstructure to clad a body of shiny lines celluloid. Highlight materials include ice-blue Apatite gems and 3D handcrafted enamel. The FP variant uses an 18k gold nib engraved with the sigil (emblem) of the Night King. All variants are delivered in a deluxe, black-lacquer wooden case with custom booklet.
The Night King, White Walker and ice-breathing dragon Viserion lead a mysterious, banished army understood to be the greatest threat to life – and climate – in the kingdoms of Westeros. They are widely expected to play a pivotal role in the eighth and final series of Game of Thrones.
Digital Brochure HERE
Fountain Pen
Gold Edition
Winter is Coming Gold Fountain Pen – ISGOT_GW – $
Limited to 7 pieces
Winter is Coming Gold Rollerball Pen – ISGOTRGW – $
Limited to 7 pieces
For its 100-years Anniversary Aurora Pens launches “Cento Italia”
Aurora introduces the line “Cento Italia”: 10 “Iconic pens” from the history of Aurora, symbolizing the 10 decades, every one revised and realized in 100 numbered pieces only for the whole world (100 for Italy and 100 for the foreign countries).
Aurora will launch monthly the pens of the line “Cento Italia”, beginning from February, every 19th of the month, to recall the foundation year of the Manufacture in the 1919.
Every pen will be packed in an elegant box in black leatherette with black interior dressed by a special commemorative red sleeve with the new logo Aurora Cento!realized in cooperation with Italdesign – Giugiaro.
All the pens will be FOUNTAIN Pens.
The first pen introduced will be Aurora Edo in black resin, chrome plated trims and 14 kt solid gold nib, rhodium-treated, embellished by an exclusive shiny red bottom.
Available in EF, F, M, B or Italic 14k nib. This pen is cartridge or converter fill.
See the brochure HERE
EDO Cento Fountain Pen – Model: 011-10OE – $495
A Well-Appointed Review of the Phaeton
In writing, I wasn’t sure I was going to like the Phaeton because I don’t usually write with medium nib pens but the Phaeton has a crisp, almost italic-like grind on the nib making it a pleasant writing experience. I find most medium nib pens to be rather flat and round creating a rather uninspired writing experience — like writing with a ballpoint pen. So, the more crisp, flat medium angle on this nib (and it could just be the nib I received) is a pleasant surprise.
Read the full article HERE