Alabaster and Orange and no Immediate Clarity
It’s ok not to have an immediate clarity about what our collecting impulses mean.
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.
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.
The Gathering and the Menagerie
Over the years, I have gathered quite a few animal figurines; and just as my fountain pens are the Gathering, the animal figurines are the Menagerie.
10 things I’m grateful for, the fountain pen edition
This is a simple gratitude post, featuring ten fountain pen things I’m grateful for.
How pens leave and enter the gathering
It’s easy to see how a person who spends years collecting pens ends up owning many of them - even if you only buy a few a year, the numbers begin to add up. For those of us who own under 20 pens, and yet spend time in the hobby, I’m always curious how this happens. For me personally, it’s some combination of restraint, considering exactly what pens I want to add to the gathering, and letting go of pens that do not rhyme with the collection.