Tariffs, a vibe
Many people wrote about going on a buying hiatus, or starting a low buy. I don’t know if people will actually slow down or stop buying, but the vibe has definitely soured.
A Year of Curiosities
It’s been a full year since I started this blog. I published 26 essays during this period, and this one is the twenty-seventh. That’s a lot of writing for a small audience. I'm happy :)
Alabaster and Orange and no Immediate Clarity
It’s ok not to have an immediate clarity about what our collecting impulses mean.
Wanting and having
Pens are tools, but wanting them is about the life of emotions, the ebb and flow of mood and absence, the keen unspeakable discrepancy between the internal music and the cacophony of everyday. But what if that perfect depth of feeling is already in the pen box?
A Portable Sanctuary
When I leave home, even for a short while, the five or six fountain pens in their case become my portable sanctuary, a physical manifestation of respite, endeavor, and dream.
Reconnecting with my Scribo Feel A Riveder Le Stelle
This post is about reconnecting with my Scribo Feel A Riveder Le Stelle. This was my first grail. At various points since March 2021, I said that I should sell it; yet I did not. There is no other pen in the Gathering which I wanted as much, which has meant as much, which caused me this much trouble. Kind of like my writing career.
What are we looking for?
What are we looking for? I am infinitely curious about what collecting reveals about the humans we are, what makes us feel deeply the way nothing else can. For this post, I discuss some broad categories of experience that lead us to collect writing instruments.
2024 Stationery Intentions
My 2024 stationery intentions focus on process and discovery. I’m entering the new year with the feeling that my pen cup is full. I don’t feel like actively pursuing pen acquisition, and I want to spend time with my collection before I expand or reduce it.
Grail Feeling: Aurora Internazionale Orange
This post offers a review of the Aurora Internazionale Arancio / Orange, and it is also about grail pens in general.
What separates a merely expensive and well-executed pen from a grail is not the price point so much — it’s a feeling.