I’m glad fountain pen shows are back, because the best way for me to learn about a new brand is to spend some hands-on time with the product, and talk one-on-one with the maker of said product.
Meeting Jon Tello, of Hello Tello Studios and Tesori Pens, at the 2022 Atlanta Pen Show is a perfect example. Here’s how it goes for me at a typical pen show:
- Walk the entire show floor, getting the lay of the land, and deciding which vendors and tables to check in with on round two.
- With Tesori, I had heard of the brand but didn’t know much about them or their products. I stop back in later in the day and begin to look at the various pen types and materials.
- I strike up a conversation with the maker, in this case Jon Tello. It usually starts with the basics - who, what, when, where, why - and then I’ll ask more product specific questions about things that have caught my eye, such as barrel shapes, or materials.
- Leave without buying anything. This is the most important step. I’ll be repeating this process several times over the course of a weekend, and I need to manage my time, and my budget.
- Have a think. Seriously. At night, back in my room, I unload my bag, and think about what I want to focus on the next day.
- I liked what I saw from Tesori, and what I heard from Jon, so I swing by the table the next day. The idea is to buy a pen if I find something that clicks with me.
- Spoiler alert: I buy a pen.
This is an exceedingly normal process for me, your abnormal pen friend.
With a new-to-me pen brand like Tesori, I want to handle as many of the products as I can to see what works for me. This is obviously the biggest benefit of attending an in-person show.
There were several different models to choose from, but I quickly landed on the Venezia model as the one that suited me best. For a full-sized pen, it was one of the smaller overall options on the table. The “smallest big pen” is a typical sweet spot for me.
Outside of the overall size of the pen, the Venezia asks a very specific question with its design: Are you ok without a defined grip section? I generally prefer a shaped grip section, such as a traditional concave, but I use plenty of pens that don’t have that. The Pilot Vanishing point is a good example, minus the whole clip getting in the way thing.
The grip shape of the Venezia is generally straight, and essentially the widest diameter area of the pen at 14.5 mm. When this is the case in any pen design, I want to be sure there is good distance from where I grip the pen to where the nib hits the page. The Venezia handles this in two ways. One, this pen uses a front-threaded design with a short cap, meaning the cap threads are ahead of where you grip the pen. Two, the Bock #6 nib adds to the distance that is required for a comfortable writing pen. Overall, I think of this design as a brush-style grip and feel, which allows for a comfortable, flowing writing style.
Once the binary decision of “Will this pen comfortable for me to use?” is made, then comes the difficult one. How do I choose a barrel color?
This is what caused me the greatest consternation. First world problem, right? But look at all of the colors available in this pen and tell me what you would choose. In Atlanta, they were all available. I’d pick one up, look at it, hold it under the desk lamp, look at it more, rinse and repeat until a decision was made.
Making that decision tougher is the inclusion of a small piece of Venetian glass, or Millefiori, on the top finial, and sometimes, randomly, on the bottom. This is a fun design element that adds to the overall story of the pen. And it’s downright cool looking!
The color I chose was the directly-named Green Orange Blue Pebble, with a matching yellow barrel band, and daisy-like Millefiori on top of the cap. Choosing this pen was far from an easy decision, and I’ll admit that the standout-color barrel band was the deciding factor between this choice, and several other models.
I had this pen fitted with an extra fine Bock #6 steel nib, which was tuned and smoothed by Jon once purchased. Without hunting down the receipt, I believe the total was $230, which lines up closely to the €210 list price on the Tesori website.
If you want even more reasons to love Tesori, they commit 25% of their total sales in support of charities that focus on ending human trafficking and sexual exploitation. In talking with Jon over my few days at the show, I got the feeling that this is a huge part of why he does what he does. One company Tesori supports even provides employment for survivors of trafficking by having them craft the pen pouches that ship with each pen. Amazing stuff.
If you couldn’t tell by now, I am very pleased with this pen, and the mission of the company. The Venezia 2.0 model is wonderfully crafted, and buying one helps to support great causes. I look forward to learning more from Jon, and about Tesori, in the near future.
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