Five Things I'm Excited About (or, Favorite Things from Atlanta)

As I've fallen deeper into this hobby/obsession, and after five years of writing this blog, pen shows have become more about visiting with friends and hearing about the newest releases/industry developments rather than accumulating more pens. Though the latter still happens, these days I usually come home with one or two. I have to get pretty excited about something before I make a purchase. So what new product releases am I most excited about, that will likely end up on a shopping list sometime this year?

New Releases from Aurora and Montegrappa

From left, the Blue Sigaro, the 88 Urano, and the 88 Satin Black. 

The Kenro table was full of all sorts of exciting new things, but three of them caught my eye. The first (of course) is something that's going to be essentially impossible to get: the Aurora 88 Urano in a turquoise celluloid derivative. Apparently only a small number pens have been allocated for the entire United States. The others hopefully will be more widely available: a blue lacquer version of the Aurora Sigaro, the Aurora Talentum Full Black, and Montegrappa's new Monte Grappa vintage-inspired piston filler. The Blue Sigaro is simply gorgeous to look at, and the Monte Grappa features new JoWo steel nibs, which I understand have far fewer issues than the Bock nibs the company previously used. The blacked out Talentum has been repeatedly delayed but I understand it's on the way.   

Montegrappa Monte-Grappa (three pens in the center)

Red Kaweco AL Sport U.S. Exclusive

Next up is my sole Saturday purchase: the red Kaweco AL Sport, which apparently is a U.S. exclusive for this year. Vanness Pens currently has them in stock, so if you're looking for one, I'm not sure how long they will last. Curiously, I didn't see these pens on any other tables at the show. The color looks great and really pops. As you all know, I don't pass up red pens. 

Faggionato Pens

My Faggionato PKS, next to the AL Sport for scale

I've had the pleasure of visiting with Papier Plume twice this year, once at their New Orleans store and once at the Atlanta Pen Show. Both times, I've walked away with a Faggionato pen. Handmade in France by Fred Faggionato, the pens combine a streamlined, highly functional design with some unique materials, including acrylics and cellulose acetates in some nice color combinations. My two pens (pictured here) are a Petrarque in translucent blue tortoise cellulose acetate, and a larger PKS in Conway Stewart's vintage "Dartmoor" material. The Petrarque is a smaller pen that posts, while the larger PKS feels similar to an unfaceted Newton Shinobi (with a clip), and is meant to be used unposted. 

Krishna Inks 

Krishna Inks are the latest in a series of international brands that have arrived in the United States, courtesy of retailers such as Vanness Pens. While I didn't purchase any Krishna Inks this show (or even manage to get any decent pictures), I did spend a fair bit of time looking at swabs of all the various colors. These inks have crazy sheen - just look at Jungle Volcano and Myrtle. The greens are also exceptionally vibrant.  

The Milano from Osprey Pens

Osprey Milanos in ebonite and acrylic

Osprey Pens launched with several models priced well under $100 (and some sub-$20), though availability has been sporadic at best. Their largest and most expensive pen, the Milano, was originally available only in ebonite, though Osprey recently announced acrylic versions priced at $70. These materials look very nice, and the pens themselves are a good size. I especially like the "Mud Pie" and "Chiaroscuro" pens. Osprey makes a variety of nib units, ranging from standard stainless steel or gold to a Zebra G "flex" nib unit, which allows you to use Zebra G calligraphy nibs in the fountain pen. 

I hope this little Atlanta follow-up has been helpful in providing an idea of what kind of stuff you get to see by attending pen shows. Of all the things I saw, the new Auroras were probably my favorite. I'm hoping to make the Chicago show in a few weeks, but as of right now it seems unlikely and my next pen show trip won't be until DC in August. Until then! 

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Monday Post-Atlanta Pen Show Reading for April 16, 2018

1. Edison Pearlette Fountain Pen Review (via Pencilcase Blog). The Edison Pearlette is one of the smaller Edison models, making it a popular production-line pen. I love the new colors.
2. When Fountain Pens Appear in Books: John Irving's A Widow for One Year (via Wonder Pens). I'm glad that I'm not the only one who geeks out over things like this. 
3. First Look: Krishna Inks (via Well-Appointed Desk). I'll have a more detailed post later this week discussing some of my favorite new and upcoming products that I saw in Atlanta, but let's just say I'll be placing a Krishna Ink order in the near future.  
4. Double Ink Review: Colorverse String and Brane (via Macchiato Man). Yagan reviews what is probably the most unique color combination out of all the Colorverse "Season Three" inks. I agree that Colorverse shimmer inks are MUCH more subtle than others out there. 
5. Montblanc Golden Yellow (via Mountain of Ink). There were several bottles of this ink laying around the Atlanta Pen Show, even though it was a limited edition. If the color appeals to you, many stores still have it in stock.
6. Ti Pocket Pro Video Review (via Nib & Ink). Matthew does a video review of the Ti Pocket Pro, which accepts 80+ refills.
7. 22 Design Studio Contour Concrete Ballpoint Pen (via Clicky Post). Mike reviews a really interesting looking pen from a brand I've personally never heard of. A concrete pen?
8. Architect vs. Stub Nib (via Pen Addict). Brad compares two of my favorite grinds. I use them both regularly, though I do think architect nibs work a bit better on cheaper paper, as they don't lay as much ink on the page as a stub (generally speaking).
9. A Blast from the Past (via FP Quest). What a great find. This is why I save my notebooks, though I don't think I have anything going back to 2004.
10. Franklin-Christoph New Model 451 (via Inkdependence). I didn't get a chance to spend too much time at the Franklin-Christoph table this weekend (it was always pretty busy), but apparently they released a new model!    

Please Visit My Sponsors and Affiliates! 

Please take a moment to visit these fine folks who help keep this blog going! It's next to impossible to keep up a steady stream of fresh review content without some form of sponsorship. I'm grateful to everyone who's helped me out along the way.    

1. Pen Chalet. Pen Chalet has a wide variety of available pens and offers unbeatable value on pens, inks, pen cases, etc. 
2. Anderson Pens. In addition to having one of the largest offerings of bottled ink in the world, Anderson Pens is an authorized retailer of a wide range of brands, including Sailor, Aurora and Faber-Castell. Check out the sponsor profile I published here.  
3. Appelboom. Please check out Appelboom's extensive selection and excellent pricing on a wide range of brands, including Montblanc pens such as this Classique 145 I reviewed.  
4. Vanness Pens. Vanness Pens carries rare and hard-to-find inks from all over the world, including Callifolio, Akkerman, and the full line of DeAtramentis. Also, Vanness carries a wide array of pens, including now the full range of BENU pens. You can check out my recap of a visit to Vanness here. 
5. Goldspot Pens. Goldspot regularly offers excellent promotions and specials! Check out their "Weekly Dip" section for details. 
6. Paul's Paper & Pens. A big welcome to Paul's Paper & Pens as a regular sponsor of the blog. Paul features a well-curated selection of fountain pens, multi pens, notebooks, and more, including some very uncommon Pilot Vanishing Points and Decimos that we don't see here in the States.  
7. Pokka Pens. Pokka Pens makes high quality, portable ballpoints that make for a great EDC option. Check out my review here, and don't forget to use the code GENTSTA to get 10% off your purchase!
8. TGS Amazon Page. I run across many more items (pens, pencils, books, accessories, etc.) in my online "travels." I can't feature them all on TGS, but Amazon has an option where I can set up an affiliate page to host product recommendations, etc. This also provides a way for me to earn a referral fees to help support the site. Thanks everyone!

In Case You Missed It ... 

The big news this week was the Atlanta Pen Show, and you can check out my full recap here. Earlier in the week, I reviewed two special edition inks from Papier Plume that will be released for the Chicago Pen Show next month: Bootlegger's Sacrament (a dark purple) and Da Blue (a Chicago Bears-themed steel blue). Deals & Drops for this week was a sort of Atlanta Pen Show shopping list (which of course I didn't stick to, except for the Faggionato pen I picked up at Papier Plume). 

Happy Monday everyone! As always, thanks for reading. 

Disclaimer: This post contains links to paid sponsors and affiliates. 

Atlanta Pen Show 2018: Friday and Saturday Recap

So I'm reporting live from my fifth Atlanta Pen Show! Atlanta has become quite the stop on the pen show circuit, due both to timing (it's the first show in a warm location at the beginning of spring) and the fact that it's the venue for the annual live recording of the Pen Addict podcast. Did I mention it's also a great pen show? Despite it's relatively small size, Atlanta always draws a wide range of vendors, including Vanness Pens, Anderson Pens, and Papier Plume, as well as makers (Jonathan Brooks, Franklin-Christoph, Nock Co.) and nib grinders (Mike Masuyama and Mark Bacas). So you can pretty much find anything you can possibly think of. 

Thursday/Friday Recap

I arrived Thursday night, and hung out at the hotel bar with a small group of early birds. We were all pretty tired, so it wasn't a super late night, but it was fun to catch up with people I hadn't seen in several months, and in a couple cases, even a few years. 

Dromgoole's from Houston, Texas attended the Atlanta Pen Show for the first time, and brought a full line of TWSBI pens with them. 

Friday morning was the first full "show day," and where I did most of my shopping. I always purchase the weekend pass, which gets you into the show an hour early and lets you make a run at the super-popular inks or the rare and hard to find pens. I immediately ran over to the Papier Plume table and picked up a new Faggionato PKS, since I've enjoyed the Petrarque I purchased in New Orleans. The rest of my Friday got a bit derailed by some conference calls I had to take for work, but I managed to pick up some limited edition Montblanc Inks, a Seed A5 case from Nock Co., and a Story Supply Co. Exposition Notebook in Burnt Orange.  

Two new pens from Aurora that are sure to be successful: on the left, the Sigaro in blue, and in the middle, the 88 Urano, which I understand will be extremely limited and hard to get. If you're interested, place a pre-order now! 

Saturday Recap

Saturday appeared to be crazy-busy at times. The crowds were lined-up three deep at most of the vendor tables during the 10-2 rush, which is fairly typical for Saturday at a pen show. I spent most of the morning taking pictures and chatting with vendors, and most people seemed to be having a very good show, though a few vendors observed that this year's crowd skewed younger and that the purchases being made tended to be at the entry-level end of the price spectrum. Personally, I think that's great for the long-term health of pen shows, and the pen industry in general. I met over a dozen people who were attending their first show, and a few who were purchasing their first pen.  

I made one pen purchase: the 2018 U.S. limited edition Kaweco AL-Sport in red. I haven't had an AL-Sport or AC-Sport in quite some time, and I wasn't going to pass this one up when I saw it sitting on the Vanness table. Otherwise, I didn't purchase much else on Saturday. I had Mike Masuyama grind two nibs to .4mm cursive italics (what's become my preferred grind), and I had Mark Bacas grind another cursive italic and tune another pen that was writing dry. 

Mike Masuyama was, as always, busy from open to close. I managed to get my name on his list three minutes after the show opened and I was already number 10! 

Saturday night, of course, was the live recording of the Pen Addict podcast, featuring guest appearances by both Jim Rouse of Franklin-Christoph and Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens. You can listen for yourself here, if you haven't downloaded already!

Brad looking serious and preparing to get down to business. 

Other Cool Stuff I Saw at the Atlanta Pen Show

In addition to their ink selection, Papier Plume arrived with a large array of wax seals, pens, and pen boxes. 

Papier Plume also launched a new ink in Atlanta: House of the Rising Sun, a reddish orange! If there's any left I'll pick up a bottle on Sunday morning. 

Vanness Pens had the new Osprey Milanos in stock! The acrylics came out really well, especially the white flecked versions. 

Jim Rouse was at the Franklin-Christoph table grinding away, right after the color prototypes were unveiled. 

The Pay-it-Forward Table was in full swing with starter packs and the Give a Pen/Take a Pen box. 

Luxury Brands USA was in attendance with a full display of Noodler's Pens and Inks, as well as Stifflexible notebooks, newly updated with more fountain-pen-friendly paper. 

Brian Anderson of Anderson Pens was hard at work selling pens on Saturday morning! 

Barring something unexpected that happens Sunday morning, that's likely it for Atlanta this year! Since this was a show weekend, I'm posting my recap on Sunday and will move links to Monday morning. This week's schedule should otherwise be normal. 

Disclaimer: This post contains links to affiliates and paid sponsors. 

Deals & Drops: Atlanta Pen Show Shopping List

So what's on my list for this weekend's Atlanta Pen Show? Since I haven't been to a show in quite a while, there are several things I really want to see, including this year's new Pelikan releases and the Sailor North American exclusives. Pen Chalet is also running some specials this weekend, including some fairly steep markdowns on the Visconti Rembrandt and the Conklin Mark Twain Demonstrator. 

Disclaimer: This post contains links to paid sponsors and affiliates. 

1. Conklin Mark Twain Demonstrator (via Pen Chalet). A pen that flies under the radar, but sports a unique filling system and a lot of history. Pen Chalet periodically has them at a great price.  My review here.
2. Visconti Rembrandt (via Pen Chalet). A great price on Visconti's entry-level offering. I like Visconti's steel nibs (at least the uncoated ones), and the Rembrandt / Van Gogh series is a good place to start if you like the brand's aesthetics but don't want to spend hundreds of dollars. My prior review here. 
3. Visconti Van Gogh (via Pen Chalet). I had a really positive experience with the "Vincent's Chair" edition I had on loan and reviewed a while back, and I finally picked one up. The Van Gogh series is getting a bit hard to find, and I hope they're not being discontinued. My prior review here.  
4. Krishna Ink (via Vanness Pens). Last night at the "early bird arrivals" party here at the Atlanta show, I had the chance to look at some of Ana's swabs of Krishna inks, and the greens really jumped out at me. 
5. Colorverse Ink Voyager I Special Edition (via Pen Chalet). Colorverse has released a new special edition set of four inks with a theme centered around the 1977 launch of the Voyager I probe. I've become a fan of Colorverse Inks and have reviewed three of them so far. 
6. Waterman Charleston Fountain Pen (via Amazon). Is this the year I finally add one of these to my collection? I've been tempted before but have never followed through. I've always loved the art deco styling on this pen. 
7. TWSBI Eco-T Fountain Pen (via Anderson Pens). I like the TWSBI Eco, and the colorful "Eco-T" has been getting great reviews. I'm sad I missed the blue version. My prior review of the Eco here.
8. Desiderata Pens (via Desiderata Pen Company). I've had the opportunity to test out some of Pierre's pens in the past, and have come away impressed. For those of you unfamiliar with Desiderata, they make fountain pens capable of holding a Zebra G calligraphy nib, providing vintage-style flex.
9. Montblanc Petit Prince & Fox Ink (via Appelboom). I've fallen behind on my Montblanc ink collection/accumulation, and there are a bunch of new colors I'd like to see in person, this being one of them.   
10. Laban Taroko (via Goldspot). Goldspot sent me one of Laban's new Taroko fountain pens to review, and I've been really impressed with this pen, especially at the $100 price point.
11. Pilot Vanishing Point "Stormtrooper White" (via Paul's Paper & Pens). At some point, I will add this white stormtrooper VP to my collection. 
12. Wing Sung 698 Piston Filler (via Amazon). These are starting to appear at vendors in the U.S., and I'd like to pick up some of these in the colors other than clear. My prior review here. 
13. Faggionato Pens (via Papier Plume). Papier Plume will be attending the Atlanta Show, from what I understand, and they will be bringing some show special inks and Faggionato Pens. Maybe I'll pick up another? I'm really enjoying the one I bought last month.
14. Cases from Nock Co. (via Nock Co.). Brad and Jeff always have something special for the Atlanta Pen Show, and I'm looking forward to seeing the Seed A5 in person. 
15. The TGS Amazon Page (via Amazon). I run across many more items (pens, pencils, books, accessories, etc.) in my online "travels." I can't feature them all on TGS, but Amazon has an option where I can set up an affiliate page to host product recommendations, etc. This also provides a way for me to earn a referral fees and helps me support the site. Thanks everyone!