A Visit to Retro 51

(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!.)

Before I headed home after the 2025 Dallas Pen Show, I asked Jeff Velker of Retro 51 if I could pop by for a short visit, and he said yes, so here goes!

Situated in an office complex, the Retro 51 headquarters is located in Richardson, Texas, about 15 minutes from the Dallas Pen Show hotel, the Doubletree Hotel Dallas Galleria.

Behind this unassuming door is all the hard work that goes into creating and shipping Retro 51 pens out to their fans.

Just inside the entrance, this etched glass reminds us all that “Life is too short to carry an Ugly Pen!”

On the other side of the glass are the Retro 51 archives. Jeff Velker is standing in front of drawers filled with most of the Retro 51s ever made!

One of the archive drawers. See those empty slots? Those are some of the ones they don’t have in their archive yet.

Opposite the window is a display of awards, pens, and various Retro 51 products/memorabilia.

A big Retro nib and airplane displays.

Rudy, the Tiki Tissue Box Holder, is one of my favorite Retro 51 products.

Jeff is working hard to keep everything running smoothly.

That’s one nice display of Retro 51 pens sitting on Jeff’s desk!

Retro 51 is part of the Writeside Holdings portfolio of brands, which also includes Fahney’s Pens, and Write USA, which is now the distributor for Waterman, Parker, Rotring, and more. Along with business partners Adam Finer and Joe Corona, Jeff oversees operations for Retro 51, Fahrney’s and Write USA.

Jeff (left), Adam Finer (center), and Joe Corona (right) - the three partners behind Retro 51 and Writeside Holdings.

In addition to the offices for accounting, marketing, sales, etc., they have space filled with Retro 51s (and other products) ready to be shipped out to customers or to their authorized retailers.

There was something in this room that I was not allowed to photograph – you’ll have to ask Jeff about it when you visit! (Hint: it’s not in this picture so don’t bother zooming, lol.)

This room is packed with tools and engraving machines to personalize your Retro 51, or for adding special designs/logos for events.

Earlier this year, Retro 51 added some more space next door so they can expand the warehouse, as well as provide more room for the creative team, and a small space for retail sales and possibly meetups. Maybe it’ll be ready by next year’s Dallas show?

The creative team has a lot of space to come up with and design future releases.

After a quick tour of the Retro 51 HQ, we headed out to lunch where I asked both Jeff and Richard Koehler ((long time employee and Creative Director for Retro 51) a few Rapid Fire Questions:

What are your favorite Retro 51s?

Jeff: With so many new pens being released, it’s hard to pick a favorite because favorites rotate all the time. Right now, probably Dr. Jekyll and an exclusive that was made for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival VIP attendees.

Jeff’s current faves - Dr. Jekyll (left) and Kentucky Bourbon Festival (right.)

Richard: Lift Off and Flying Tiger

Richard’s faves: Lift Off (left) and Flying Tiger (right.)

Favorite color?

Jeff: Blue/Cyan

Richard: Bright Green

Most used non-Retro 51 pens?

Jeff: Pilot Vanishing Point

Richard: Kaweco Sport, Pigma Micron, and Fineliners

Coffee or Tea?

Jeff: Coffee, black with a little Stevia

Richard: Coffee, little cream and sugar

Favorite place to visit/travel?

Jeff: I’d love to go to Germany, Italy, and Japan

Richard: Kauai

Here are some of my favorite Retro 51s:

I own several of the Fahrney’s Cherry Blossom exclusives, but this 2025 one marked a new chapter for Retro 51, Fahrney’s, and Drew Brown, whom I affectionately refer to as “Mr. President”.

The first 10 on the left are various “drinks” exclusives from Goldspot, then NYC Skyline, The System, Ice-O-Metric, and Sprinkle Ops, Zodiac, Ombre Blue fountain pens. And the two on top are “PEN” and “2025 PEN”. (I swear I’m not kissing up to the Bossman!)

A huge Thank You to Jeff Velker, who accommodated my visit on short notice, and also to Richard Koehler who spent some extra time showing me the archives. I had a great time!

(Disclaimer: Retro 51 isn’t open to the public, so please don’t just show up. You can contact them by phone, email, or chat.)

---

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Retro 51 2024 Spooky Season Editions

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

Every year I look forward to the Halloween themed Retro 51 drops and I've collected them faithfully--only missing one years ago, the elusive glowing zombies. I won't ever let that happen again. Which means I jumped on both spooky releases this month!

First up, I picked up the Dracula Rollerball Tornado Popper from Anderson Pens. This might be a top five edition for me. Maybe even top three. I love it. The pen body is, of course, blood red, with the illustration laid over it in black. The illustration shows our buddy Dracula surrounded by a swarm of bats. To the side, a gothic castle, graveyard, and a man with a fatal stake raised in his hand (could be Van Helsing, could be Jonathan), and to the other side, a lovely lady with a mysterious smile (Mina or Lucy?). The hardware is all in glossy black, and the finial is blessed with a fabulous image of fangs.

There is a ton of detail in this design. Every time I look at it, which is a lot because I can't stop looking at it, I see even more. It's a great homage to Stoker's novel and an excellent addition to my spooky Retro collection.

The pen comes in the classic pen tube, with the name and design in red foil on the outside. This edition is limited to 1031 pens, so grab it while you can!

Next, I grabbed the Goldspot exclusive Boo-roque Fright Night Rollerball. The fun thing about this edition is that it comes in three colors, and you don't know which you'll get till you open it. Great Pumpkin Orange is the most common, with 505 pens or a 50% chance. Paranormal Purple has 313 pens, a 30% chance. And Poisoned Apple Green, which glows in the dark, has 213 pens, or a 20% chance. While the underlying color varies, the black overlay is the same for each. As you can see, I got the Paranormal Purple! I'd have been happy with any of them--they all look great.

The black overlay design is an opulent Halloween theme, with jack o' lanterns, bats, spiders, webs, ghosts, and skulls. Be still my heart. All are interspersed with gothic flourishes. This one also has black hardware, and the finial has a grinning Jack-o-lantern. The pen tube is black with a preview of the design on the label.

This pen really screams Halloween, so I've been keeping it clipped to my shirt collar as a seasonal accessory.

It's pretty exciting to get two Retro 51 Halloween releases this year. Having two did hurt the budget a bit, as they're costing around $59 these days. That's steep for a rollerball, but these are exceptional. Not only do they look amazing, they have that classic Retro 51 refill that writes a sturdy, thick line of saturated black ink. They write so smoothly that they're a joy to use, and when you're not writing, you can just stare at them.

Someday I hope I'll be able to complete my spooky retro collection and find the one I missed, but until then, I'll keep making sure I don't miss any more. And if you feel the same, be sure to grab these ones while you can!

---

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Pairings Party: Retro 51 Coffee House Tornado Fountain Pen and Kobe Kitano Antique Sepia

What kind of party features a coffee-themed pen and Brown ink? My kind of party! The pairing of the Retro 51 Coffee House Tornado Fountain Pen with Kobe Kitano Antique Sepia has been my most used writing combo over the last month, and has taken the clubhouse lead early into September.

The Retro 51 Coffee House is a Goldpsot exclusive, which they kindly sent me earlier this Summer to try out. The black-based pen features chalkboard-style graphics you can find at a coffeehouse - beans, mugs, presses, cups, steam - the works. It’s a cool design for coffee lovers like myself, and I especially like the all-black hardware.

That includes the nib, which is coated black to match the rest of the pen. Retro 51 switched over to Jowo nibs years ago, and this #6 Fine nib writes nicely. The black coating may add the slightest bit of line width compared to a standard uncoated steel nib, or it could be a placebo effect. There are so many variables to take into account beside nib width - ink properties and paper, for starters. Regardless, this one writes smoothly, and the ink flows well.

This pen also fits my hand well. The underlying barrel is stainless steel, but it’s not heavy. There is some weight to it, but it is well-balanced throughout the tapered barrel. The metal section has a slight concave toward the nib for a solid gripping surface. The cap is threaded, taking two turns to remove or replace, and the clip provides a strong attachment.

In choosing an ink, there was no chance I was inking this pen up with anything but Brown. This shade has been edging towards the top of my usage list for the past year, after years of avoiding it. Antique Sepia was recommended to me by a friend after bemoaning the limited nature of Sailor Tea Time Series Fika Coffee Ink, one of my favorites.

This ink is a rich, dark brown that could easily pass a “normal” ink in a business setting. Some lines lean black, and some of the thinner areas of shading bring in the brown. Let’s keep it on theme here and call it a nice Medium Roast. There is a hint of green sheen with the right amount of ink on the right type of paper, but I rarely see it from my standard writing on Bank paper, PLOTTER paper, or Kokuyo paper - all of which I’ve used this combination with heavily.

The Retro 51 Coffee House Tornado Fountain Pen is $119 from Goldspot, and Kobe Kitano Antique Sepia is $30 at Vanness Pens. The Retro 51 is at a premium from their standard offerings, primarily due to the store exclusive/limited edition nature of the pen, plus the awesome artwork and finishes. Standard Retro 51 fountain pens start around $65 if you are looking to try out a great pen, but don’t need a full caffeine fix. $30 for 50 ml of Kobe (ie. Sailor,) ink is fine by me. Yes, it is still expensive/ml but at least the multiplier is 50, instead of the smaller bottles Sailor loves so much.

I drink coffee every day, often many times a day, so this pen and ink combo has been a blast to use. I just had to make sure I had the real thing flowing through my veins before attempting to write with the pen and ink version.

(Goldspot provided this pen at no charge, and Vanness Pens provided the ink at a discount, to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

---

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!