What Makes The Stationery Community Great

That time when the Nock Co. party turned into a show and tell.

(Daniel Lemay is an analog tool enthusiast and enjoys pondering over many things. You can find him on Twitter at @dslemay and his blog at Circumspect Reverie)

Less than 18 months ago I was on the outside looking in. I wasn't into pens or stationery, but decided to try out a fountain pen to see if it would help remediate growing RSI issues. I listened to the most recent Pen Addict fountain pen primer episode. Since then I have fallen deep into the pen, and other stationery, rabbit holes. Beyond that I have discovered what an amazing community there is here. As many have mentioned previously, the stationery community has been the best community that I have been a part of.

At the heart of a good community is a focus on the health of the people, the relationships therein, and an empathetic basis. The stationery community has this in spades. The welcoming and inclusive attitude of the community, even to an introverted fledgling such as myself, is one of its shining characteristics. Regardless of your current knowledge of stationery, people in this community have always been ready to help you find out what work best for you and troubleshoot problems. People are open and willing to share their knowledge and experience, and are overall excited to share and spread the love of good writing instruments.

Something that has always struck me as significant about the community is the care people have for each other and how giving they are. This is not a group of people whose connection to each other ends at the discussion of one's latest acquisition. They truly care about the people in it and come alongside both in the positive and more difficult moments. On one such occasion last year the community secretly orchestrated the funding, purchase, and delivery of a Nakaya for Mary Collis after she received news of her MS diagnosis. The accompanying note sums up the heart of this compassionate and caring community: "...This pen doesn't fix anything, but hopefully every time you use it it will put a smile on your face as you tackle all that lies ahead." Such care and support are something to be cherished.

I too experienced the sheer generosity of the people here. After saving up for months fairly early in my pen addiction I finally was able to purchase a Franklin Christoph Model 40. Less than two months into owning it, I somehow lost it (my most expensive pen at the time and the only one I ever lost). After sharing the sad news in the Pen Addict Slack Group I got an unexpected message from Thomas Hall offering to give me his Model 40 because he wasn't using it much. That was something that totally caught me off guard--that I, a nobody in my perspective, would be the recipient of such generosity from someone I didn't even know. The generosity of this community shows itself regularly through freely offering ink samples, picking up and shipping of Field Notes only found locally, etc.

Additionally, the stationery community is a great place where we can challenge each other and disagreements don't devolve into the normal internet vitriol. Conversations include TWSBI's build quality, the temporary transition of Noodler's ink to plastic bottles, Kickstarter snafus, the renewal of the Esterbrook brand, and more. Most recently, Ian Hedley began a great discussion about Pilot's product availability and significant price difference between the USA and the UK. It has continued with an official response from Pilot and Ian sharing some additional thoughts on Pilot's response here. Even amidst disagreement, conversations remain productive and respectful, which is the best we can ask for. A community where everyone agrees lacks diversity and the opportunity for growth.

The stationery community is not just a place where people share their nerdy obsession. Rather, that serves as the societal impetus bringing us all together. The community is much more than that. It is a place that is welcoming and works to cast off the notion of societal cliques. It is a place which avoids myopic behavior, where people care about each other deeply and are giving in spirit. It is a place where disagreement and civil discourse can take place. Ultimately, the stationery community is a place to be welcomed into, to belong, and to call home.

Negotiations

(This is a guest post by Jon Bemis. You can find Jon on Twitter @jtower42.)

One of the most interesting things I've gotten to be a part of in the dozen years I have spent at my company is the biannual contract negotiations with our labor union. Management and labor have had a great working relationship for decades, and while negotiations with them are tough, I enjoy being able to participate in the process. I feel lucky; I read about companies that have an acrimonious relationship with their union, and I imagine that wouldn't be any fun at all.

My role on the team has historically been to negotiate and consult on shop rules, operational issues, and our job posting procedure. I'm not a financial guy or a benefits expert - we have other folks on our team to handle those questions. We've had a pretty cohesive team for a number of years.

But this year, the team was shaken up: Peter, our lead negotiator, passed away after a short battle with cancer. He had sat in the "big chair" since 1979 and was a master at what he did. He had a gift for keeping all the proposals and counter-proposals straight in his head, and he knew what we could and couldn't agree to. He was the lead dog and we all followed him. To say his absence from the negotiations process made us nervous was an understatement. Mike, our vice-president of Human Resources and for six years Peter's wingman, suddenly found himself with a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.

We were sitting in a planning meeting when Mike commented that he was worried about keeping track of everything and having a record of everything we talked about. "I feel like we need someone to take really good notes, so we can refer back to conversations or comments if we need to," he said. I realized as he said it that I was the man for the job. I had worked for a few years in journalism and had gotten good at taking notes on the fly, and I was a relatively experienced member of the team and would know what was important to take down.

Plus, I thought, this would be an opportunity for a lot of writing with fountain pens. Help the team and feed my addiction at the same time? Sign me up!

I raised my hand. "I'll do it," I said.

Negotiations lasted two weeks. Most days, our first session with the union team would start before 10 a.m. We would discuss issues and concerns back and forth with the union, and then break into separate meeting rooms to "caucus" on what we had just discussed. This process of meet together and then meet separately would continue into the evening, usually until 7 or 8 p.m. There was a lot of discussion, a lot of back-and-forth, and that meant pages and pages of notes. I have medium-to-large handwriting and prefer a medium nib, so I went through paper quickly. I was still a little surprised when, with one day left to go, I finished the last page of an 80-sheet A4 Rhodia Ice pad. I had hoped I would have plenty of opportunity to use fountain pens, and I certainly did.

The most rewarding part was when our corporate attorney asked if I was saving my notes. "Of course," I said. "I'm handing them in to our Document Services person to be typed up."

"That's good, but you should keep the handwritten notes as well," he said.

My notes were full of scratch-outs, misspellings, and the occasional doodle. Why would our lawyer want me to save them?

"Your notes are considered a 'contemporaneous' account of the proceedings," he said. "They have a value in a court or an arbitration because they have not been edited or modified," he said.

I was tickled. To think that my multi-colored chicken scratch had legal standing was almost too funny to comprehend. The likelihood that my notes would ever end up in a courtroom was slim to none, but I was delighted nonetheless that my indulgent hobby could one day be entered into evidence.

We ended up getting a fair contract - both sides felt a little pain, which is the hallmark of a good negotiation. It was one of the more stressful things I'd done in my career. Making a mistake could have meant a strike and a dent in our longstanding labor peace. Losing Peter's leadership meant we had find our own way through this fire swamp, which was difficult.

At the same time, I enjoyed using my pens and trying out inks. I rarely get to write as much as I did during those seven nerve-wracking days. It felt odd, almost scandalous, to have fun during such a serious time. It was like fighting a fire in flip-flops or running a space shuttle launch from a hot tub. It reminded me of the line from "Mary Poppins": "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. Find the fun, and SNAP! The job's a game."

Perhaps that's one of the reasons all of us pen addicts are so passionate about our crazy hobby. Whether we're in foodservice or finance, programming or procurement, creative or corporate, using an excellent pen takes away a little drudgery and adds a little happiness to our days.

Pens I used, in no particular order:

• Modern Conklin Duragraph (medium nib) with J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche – I really enjoyed the medium nib on this pen.
• Pelikan M1000 (medium) with Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite – Conversely, this medium nib was too wet and broad for rapid note taking.
• Delta Unica (medium) with Organics Studios Uranium – I picked up the limited edition of the Unica in the gold-orange celluloid. Looks amazing, writes wonderfully.
• Franklin-Christoph Model 19 (medium) with Sailor Shigure. – I love the feel of this pen in hand, but the nib had some minor skipping issues.
• Bexley Stalwart (medium) with Private Reserve Naples Blue – The Bexley was wonderful, and the grooved barrel provided excellent grip during quick notes. The Naples Blue, on the other hand, dried WAY too slowly on Rhodia paper. Those pages ended up all smeary.
• Pilot Custom 74 (fine) with Sailor Oku-Yama – Love Pilots. Just love ‘em.
• Pilot Prera (medium) with Pilot Blue cartridge – To this day, even against much more expensive pens, the Prera still holds its own. My stone-cold, lead-pipe recommendation for anyone’s second fountain pen.
• Franklin-Christoph Model 3 (medium) with Noodler’s General of the Armies – The Model 3 is a solid writer if not spectacular. The Noodler’s is really nice in finer-nibbed pens, but in this medium, the dry time was a little long for notetaking.
• Pelikan M205 (medium) with Organics Studios F. Scott Fitzgerald – This pen fell way, way down in my personal rankings after negotiations. It took a lot of pressure to get a consistent line, and with the small barrel diameter, my hand got tired quick.
• Pilot Custom Heritage 92 (medium) with Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Ryoku. – The Custom 92 was my first grail pen. It’s an all-time favorite.
• Faber-Castell Ondoro (medium) with Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-Gaki – The Faber-Castell steel nibs are very nice, and that’s about it.
• Lamy 2000 (medium) with Organics Studios Edgar Allen Poe – I feel like the writing experience with the Lamy 2000 is particularly dependent on the ink used. The Poe was a good match and enjoyed using the 2000.

Why I Love Steel Nibs

I wrote a thing for On Fountain Pens about why steel nibs are awesome. Thanks for having me Maybelline, and be sure to check out all of the 12 Days Of Christmas guest posts on her blog while you are there.