It’s that time again, when we’re all socially pressured to publish our “New Year’s Resolutions,” or otherwise publicly declare why we’re opposed to doing so. I’m taking a bit of a middle ground for 2022, throwing five out there but using the term “intentions” as opposed to “resolutions.” A resolution, at least to me, implies a concrete goal, and failure if it’s not realized. Also, certain things just aren’t subject to being measured or quantified, so “intention” fits better, especially where I don’t necessarily want to make wholesale changes, but rather expand on certain things I’m already doing. This post will focus more on the personal, and later this week I’ll have a follow-up post on things I’d like to see from the community and industry at large.
Write More Fulfilling Content. Of course there will still be reviews and industry trends, but I want to continue to expand the scope of what we talk about here at The Gentleman Stationer, including a greater focus on the reasons people are drawn to analog tools and how we use them, not just the acquisition of stuff. Accumulating things for the purpose of social media posturing is not what this site has ever been about. (At least, it’s not what this site is supposed to be about, yet I admit I’m prone to falling into the same traps as everyone else.) I’ll talk about this a bit further below, but my main motivation in getting into this hobby and starting this blog has always been to discover new tools to help me do the “real” work in my everyday life. While T.G.S. has evolved into a bit more than a casual hobby, it’s still a small fraction of what I do on a daily basis, and I can still say that I’m not into pens for the sake of pens.
Travel More and Reconnect. Community is important, and in-person interaction is crucial (even for this proud introvert). This might be a controversial topic to discuss right now, but here goes. Heading into year three of the pandemic, it doesn’t seem like COVID is going anywhere anytime soon, if ever. More people are deciding what level of risk they are willing or able to tolerate, and carrying on the best they can, mostly taking reasonable precautions. Personally, since I’m vaccinated and willing to take common-sense health precautions in my everyday life, I want to re-engage with family and friends in the coming year, including attending as many in-person events such as pen shows that I can. After much consideration, I currently have no plans to attend shows as a vendor, and would prefer to focus on helping to expand the range of non-consumption-centered experiences at these shows. Sure, it’s fun to shop, but as I noticed at some of the shows this year, without classes and social events they lose their luster and excitement fairly quickly. I’m increasingly intrigued by the idea of a PenCon/StationeryCon-type event that does NOT revolve around buying and selling, and maybe even prohibits it entirely. If you’re interested in helping to organize or facilitate something like this, hit me up.
Minimize/Stash Reduction. You may have noticed an overarching theme here: FOCUS. I want to further refine my already-reduced collection of pens and inks to those that I regularly use for real writing. Those that don’t work for me personally are still great pens, and I need to find them homes where they will get used.
Bring Other Interests Together. One of the many things I find fascinating about this community is the diversity of not only backgrounds but interests. If you’re into pens and stationery as a hobby, chances are you have a range of other interests (or obsessions) as well, including many that overlap with other members of the community. I’d love to find a way to better connect with people beyond the “pen world.” One aspect of the T.G.S. Patreon that I’ve enjoyed is getting to know readers during our face-to-face zoom calls and learning about what brought them here.
Enjoy the Journey. 2022 will mark ten years of serious engagement as a user of fountain pens and stationery on a community level. As with any hobby, there’s a tendency to get so wrapped up in drama, such as quality control controversies, the “superiority” of certain brands, models, or (gag) limited edition releases, and petty personal conflict, that we tend to lose track of why and how we got here in the first place. Case in point. Every couple of months I get asked some version of the following question: “How do you use your pens/pencils/notebooks, is it solely to write reviews/make ink swatches/instagram posts?” The answer to that is “no,” and honestly it’s sometimes hard to get my head around the fact that such a thing (owning and writing with pens solely for the sake of reviewing pens and posting pictures on social media) could even exist, though I know it does and many people are quite happy with it and if they are there’s nothing wrong with that. That said, while I certainly enjoy exploring the world of well-made writing instruments, fine stationery, and related “stuff,” the testing/reviews I do here online represent a small fraction of the writing and work I do in my everyday life, and questions like this one makes me worry that this aspect of things gets lost. For as long as I can remember, writing things down by hand is how I’ve processed thoughts, emotions, and strategies; analyzed books I’m reading or ideas I’m studying; and started the initial draft of basically every piece of personal and professional writing I’ve ever done. I honestly don’t know how to do it any other way and it’s a fundamental part of who I am and how I operate. I want that to come through in the work I do here, and need to remind myself of it regularly, especially when I’m feeling burned out by the constant pressure to consume.
Anyway, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed 2021 with you all, regardless of whether it turned out exactly the way we all hoped, and I’m genuinely excited for 2022. I still plan to be here writing and hopefully will get to meet many of you in person. (Is the Philly Pen Show really in two weeks!?!)
Perhaps my most important intention: Focus on the things that should be getting used but for whatever reason aren’t, like my Lamy 2000s.
Last year I decided to cut the cord on paid advertising and third-party sponsorship, and move T.G.S. in the direction of becoming self-sustaining so that I have more control over the direction of my content and the practices I’m encouraging. To that end, I launched the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which allows readers to support and engage with T.G.S. and other readers in a more direct way, as well as the T.G.S. Curated Shop, which lets me directly promote a select group of products that I believe dovetails with my core mission statement. Any support you can give us is greatly appreciated!