(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)
You may recall that Brad and Myke recently celebrated 500 episodes of The Pen Addict Podcast and Brad got an Elbwood pen to mark the occasion. He said that he doesn’t really buy pens/stationery to celebrate milestones or events, but that was worthy of a celebration purchase. I, on the other hand, am the polar opposite. I was so excited to be in this hobby that I found any reason I could to buy a pen. First pen show? Yes, definitely pen time. A few weeks later, birthday time, so duh, birthday pen. Not long after was Christmas and another pen for that. And of course, Valentine’s Day, Handwriting Day, pretty much any excuse I could use to get a new pen. And of course, there’s my Penversary. Wait, what? Did you say “Penversary”? Yes, I did. “What the heck is that, Kimberly?” Lemme explain.
In 2017, I got into fountain pens by way of bullet journaling and one of the spreads that I kept was a “Things I Bought” spread, which tracked when I ordered stuff, from which vendors, what I bought and the date I received them. One of those dates happened to be when I received my first shipments of fountain pens from Goulet Pens and Amazon. I got my Lamy Safari gift set and a Pilot Metropolitan (Turquoise!) from Goulet and a 7-pack of Platinum Preppies from Amazon (because I couldn’t pick a color even though it felt a bit excessive to buy SEVEN fountain pens in one fell swoop). And I got both orders on May 31, 2017. And ever since then, I’ve celebrated May 31st as my Penversary date, with this year being the 5th Penversary!
But why? I know birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and such make sense to celebrate with a pen or other stationery gift (or any gift, amirite?), but why celebrate the date I got my first fountain pens? Because if it wasn’t for this rabbit hole, I would not be sitting here writing this, I wouldn’t have an incredible community of fellow enthusiasts from all around the country and the world to share our love of fountain pens, inks and paper. I wouldn’t have people I call Pops, Uncle, Sister or Brother at pen shows. I wouldn’t be speaking Italian to favorite vendors/brands about upcoming releases, or be as well-versed in various foreign exchange rates, lol. Anyway, you get the picture.
Now you may be a normal pen addict that doesn’t care about or even have a Penversary and that’s totally fine, but I’m sure you also have an event, occasion, date or something that you want to commemorate. Or maybe it’s just time for an “I want to buy something special” or you got an unexpected bonus, a raise or a tax refund. Whatever the reason, you want to get something a little more special than the usual pens you’ve been looking at. Maybe you already have something picked out, or you may be like me and wondering what that special pen would be. So I thought I’d walk you through some of the thoughts and questions that are floating around my head.
Budget? - This can be easier said than done because you want to make sure it’s a “special” item, which usually means more expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Maybe it’s a “silly” thing that you normally wouldn’t have gotten but it’s just the right thing for the occasion. Maybe it’s not expensive per se, but not as “worth the price tag” as other items. You don’t necessarily have to have a number, though it does help narrow the search down a bit. Right now, I’m not sure I have a budget other than not wanting to get anywhere near the “comma club”, lol ($1,000 and up).
More of the same or something different? - I have been building little collections within my pen collection. I love the Leonardo Momento Zero, so I have several of them. Ditto TWSBI, Pelikan and Platinums. Do I want another one of those pens or maybe one of their Limited Editions to expand the collection? Or should I get something completely different? Does it have to be different from what you already have? Or does it also have to be different from what everyone else has as well?
Custom or Stock? - With the Penversary just weeks away, it is probably too late for me to get a custom pen which can take anywhere from several weeks to several months or years, so factor that in when going the custom route. Even if you can get the custom item done in time, it may arrive a lot earlier or later than the actual event date - ask yourself if that’s ok. I will have another Bokumondoh pen coming my way but I won’t be getting them until later this year; too late for a Penversary, but not too late for a birthday, right?!
Beautiful work by Hiroko of Bokumondoh - can’t wait until birthday time!
Theme? - Maybe you just got accepted into college/grad school or are celebrating graduation. Or you want to celebrate a new job/position with a pen with the company’s colors. Or you like books by a certain author (Montblanc Agatha Christie?) or artist (Visconti Van Gogh? Rembrandt?). Sometimes having a theme or certain colors can help you find something special.
Not a pen? - I am going to look for a pen for my penversary (duh!) but maybe you’d rather get a writing box like this adorable one from Blue Star Crafts or a set of Wizard of Oz inks from Wearingul or go nuts with a washi tape and sticker shopping spree from InkyConverters or a brand new pen case from Galen Leather or Girologio or Rickshaw Bagworks. The point is that there are so many non-pen things that you can get too!
Time for a Girologio pen binder?
“Upgrading” what you already have? - Maybe instead of a whole new purchase, you can upgrade an existing pen into something that truly makes it special. After-market urushi and maki-e work is available from artisans like Hiroko of Bokumondoh, or you can get specialty nib work by folks like Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio or Mark Bacas of Nib Grinder, or upgrade your steel nib to a gold one from vendors like Franklin-Christoph or Pablo from FPNibs or gold Pelikan nib (not all model’s nibs are interchangeable, so ask your favorite Pelikan vendor which nib you need).
I had Mark Bacas grind this Visconti nib to a Predator Extreme and it is so good!
“Grail” pen time? - Maybe it is time to finally pull the trigger on your grail pen, whatever that means to you. Whether it is just a pen that is so far out of your usual budget, or an incredibly difficult-to-find pen that was discontinued years ago, only you can decide if this event is significant enough to pull all the stops and go for it.
Grail-worthy Montblanc Around the World in 80 Days, anyone?
Well, after all these questions, I’m not sure I’m any closer to figuring out what my 5th Penversary pen will be. Maybe I’ll find it at the Chicago Pen Show this weekend? And if I don’t, come find me anyway and give me your suggestions on what I should get!
