Happy Pride 2025!

(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!.)

June marks the start of Pride Month, a time to celebrate love, diversity, and the ongoing fight for LGBTQIA+ rights. While I’m not a member of that community, I try to be an ally by learning, being supportive and encouraging. In that spirit of love and celebration, I’m sharing some quotes that really spoke to me.

So many wonderful quotes to choose from, but these really spoke to me.

“Do not allow people to dim your shine before they are blinded. Tell them to put on some sunglasses, because we were born this way.” - Lady Gaga

“How can people change their minds about us if they don’t know who we are?” - Harvey Milk

“We deserve to experience love fully, equally, without shame, and without compromise.” - Elliot Page

“All human beings deserve equal treatment, no matter their gender identity or sexuality.” - Andreja Pejic

“Love takes off the masks we feature we cannot live without and know we cannot live within." - James Baldwin

"We are not what other people say we are. We are who we know ourselves to be, and we are what we love.” - Laverne Cox

“We should indeed keep calm in the face of difference, and live our lives in a state of inclusion and wonder at the diversity of humanity." - George Takei

I’m known for primarily being a fountain pen user, but I specifically picked a variety of writing implements because it is a small example of how we are all different, enjoy different things, have different styles, and there isn’t a right or wrong (not even for pencils 🙂).

Top to bottom:

• Spoke Design Spoke Pen, Red, Uniball Signo UMR-1-05 Red gel refill
• Pilot Custom 823, Clear, FA nib, Robert Oster x Fire on Fire on Fire
• Kaweco Clutch Pencil with Kakimori steel dip nib, Colorverse Project 008 Ornament Yellow (it’s brighter irl)
• Pelikan M200 Pastel Green, Masuyama Broad Cursive Italic, Wearingeul x Pen Chalet The Taming of the Shrew
• Pilot G-2 07, Turquoise
• Tombow ABT brush marker, #565, Deep Blue
• Franklin-Christoph 66, Purpuratum, Fine SIG; De Atramentis Alexander Hamilton
• Pencil: Rainbow wood pencil (unknown brand)
• Paper: Air Mail Bond White 61.7 gsm from the Yamamoto Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Collection No. 7

Whether you use pens, pencils, crayons, or are taking some time off from stationery to celebrate Pride, I hope you have a safe and wonderful Pride month and all year long! Happy Pride!

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 668 - Sans Remorse

Strato-cruising. (via CNN)

It wasn’t our best decision to spend two hours building LEGO before this episode, but we survived. Maybe even thrived! We talked about some new products on our radar, and I tried to nail down what would make me buy my next fountain pen.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PENADDICT.

Pen Chalet: Check out this week's special offer, and to get your code for 10% off.

Writing Around the Block

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

Last weekend I made another escape to the lake to write. It was less of a writing retreat this year, and more of a writing battle. I've been fighting my way through some gnarly writer's block for a while now, but the deadlines can only be pushed so far before they break, and some of my projects are testing the strength of those limits.

There was very little handwriting this time. Most of my projects are in the digital phase of their existence. My ideal time at the lake is spent with no screens at all, just me, my pen and paper, and the sound of the waves. This time it was the clack of the keyboard as I frantically typed out and added scenes to an existing project.

I still brought my notebook, though. Just in case. This time, my travel companions were my Pebble Stationery Co. notebook in the Hobonichi Tragen case and the Leonardo Momento Zero Grande 2.0 Guilloche I just reviewed last week. While I didn't really get the chance to use them this time, it was a comfort just having them there, just in case inspiration struck and a new story demanded to be written, deadlines be damned.

That didn't happen, though, and that hasn't happened in a long time.

I've gone through these droughts before, and there will be others in the future. Every time, the way out remains the same: momentum begets momentum. Writing begets writing. The best way to bring on a hearty rainfall is to water your lawn.

So, through my block, I wrote about 13,000 words that weekend. I didn't feel inspired, I wasn't "in the flow," and it felt more like wringing water from a stone than spinning straw into gold. But words were made. Not enough of them--I still missed my deadline--but it was progress, and I hope that progress will beget progress.

Now I'm packing my bags for a trip to a writing conference. I'm packing my pen and my notebook and some optimism, and hoping to soak in some inspiration. What's great about the tools we use is that they can always be with us, ready when we are, or when we're not.

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