Year in Review: What happened with my 2024 Stationery Intentions?
2024 is wrapping up, and it’s time for my end-of-year summaries. The first was the 2024 Stationery Highlights, the second is What Happened with my 2024 Stationery Intentions? (this post), and it will be followed in early 2025 with my 2025 Stationery Intentions.
Welcome to the annual “What happened with my stationery intentions?” :) I’m linking my Stationery Intentions 2024 post, but you don’t need to read it - I’ll summarize it below.
One thing I need to say right away about 2024: this was a year of FOMO. I used to say that I’m not much affected by FOMO, and 2024 proved me wrong. I fell for a number of special editions, I wanted them, and in three cases, I went though with acquisition; two were successful, one I’m on the fence about. I wrestled with temptation endlessly.
Three FOMO pens of 2024: two Kilks and the Conid Tiger.
Like in previous years, I also passed on numerous pens that I wanted for a while. I passed on great deals and great pens, including both Stilo e Stile special editions (the Radius and the Leonardo), the Pelikan Glauco Cambon, some Montblanc Heritage beauties, and many others. With great difficulty, I let go of the idea of buying the urushi Scribo Piuma. That one made me sad. I was saving up for a special Scribo, but this one was very expensive and I would have needed to sell other pens to fund it. But it was announced very close to launch, and sold out in three hours. I did not have time to prepare for the purchase. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. I need time to think about my pen wishlist. I don’t like rapidfire sales. But they’ve become so common and work so well for retailers that I’m sure we will continue to see them in the future.
The year of FOMO (but I love my pens). Out of the 8 pens I bought this year, three were special editions that I had to make quick decisions on (two Kilks, and the Conid); three, including the Conid, were bought second hand; and only two of my purchases happened after a lot of lead time and thinking, which I prefer.
I thought 2024 might be the year I finally exceed my 20 pen ceiling, which I maintained for many years. This happened, even though only barely and only in December: I’m at 21 pens, with one more incoming. Numbers are arbitrary, but the creep represents something very real in my life: my fountain pen tastes have matured, I know what I like and what works for me, and so more pens enter than leave. Only the last bit of this is an issue. I like to be balanced.
At the same time, I think it’s been an especially good year for the Gathering; I added some marvelous pens and have gotten joy out of all of them. I prefer to buy a pen after a lot of contemplation, rather than urgent clicking and a feeling of dread. Yet I do not know how to deal with the fact that many interesting and Gatheringy pen designs are LEs with rapid-fire FOMO-heavy marketing. I’ll write more about this next year.
Franklin Christoph EF SIG flex nib with ebonite feed, in my Kilk Yggdrasil.
Let’s take a look at my stationery intentions for 2024.
(Bolded are the intentions; regular writing - what happened with them).
Spend time with my collection - YES. I did spend a lot of time with my existing collection; every pen that remains in the Gathering was used at some point or another in 2024, most of them extensively. Spending time with my collection also allowed me to determine which pens should leave the Gathering.
Continue to streamline the collection - YES. I let go, returned or sold a total of seven pens. One was a gift to a child of one of my wonderful readers. Two were catch and release situations. Four were sales. In terms of ink, however, not a single bottle left the Gathering - it is harder to sell ink, and I did not prioritize this. I am still counting the streamlining goal as a yes. My streamlining process was not cutthroat. That felt good this year.
Explore unique nibs/nib units in 2024 - YES. I did some of this, but not excessively. I added two #8 nib pens (neither of which might stay forever, but I do enjoy the size). I acquired an EF Flex SIG nib with an ebonite feed from Franklin Christoph. It is an incredible writer and I will sing its praises forevermore. I also asked an artist about making a special nib for me - we’ll see how this shakes out in 2025.
Buy 6 pens or fewer in 2024 - NO. I bought 8 pens total, not counting two catch and release situations. I only have seven in hand, one is en route to me right now. And, honestly, I like all the pens I acquired in 2024. I might let two or three of these go, or I might keep them all; my tastes have evolved to the point where my acquisitions are usually great matches and so it’s harder to let them go. I exceeded my goal by two pens. The problematic part of this is that I don’t need such a large number of pens, even if they are all beautiful and a great fit with the Gathering. If fewer pens leave, then more pens stay as I keep adding, and I simply cannot use this many pens. I need to think about this more.
In terms of ink, I opened things up, with no ink guardrails. I also wanted to try new ink brands. - YES. Well, it was definitely a yes — I wanted to experiment to see what would happen if I had no guardrails. MAYHEM ENSUED. I added 17 bottles (usually my yearly maximum is 10, and I don’t get there). Another one might be on the way to me at the very end of the year, which would raise my total to 18. This inky year was off the rails. I got ink as gifts, I got ink used, I got ink as add-on to other purchases, I got ink because I wanted to, etc, etc. I did try brands new to me - I added two The Wet Pen bottles and two Dominant Industry special editions, and I liked both of these quite a bit. My downfall in 2024 was Montblanc. I got some really amazing Montblanc inks as gifts, I will cherish them for as long as they will last, and I am also counting them. I bought a few for special occasions, and I loved them all. And I added two Herbin shimmers, one for my birthday, also as a gift. Folks were very generous this year, and ink was wonderful this year, and I definitely went overboard and I don’t want to ever do this again.
Maintain a low-buy until Fall 2024 - SORT OF. The low buy lasted until the end of June, and it went quite well. But it did not help in the context of my overall yearly buying. I’m a Fall shopper. If I’m doing a low buy again, it needs to be a yearlong commitment.
Continue to focus on seasonality and consider (and write) about my seasonal use of stationary - YES. My usage of pens and inks is very seasonal, and I was more mindful about filling out my Spring/Summer situation, since Fall/Winter is where my heart is and having Fall/Winter stationery is effortless. I could have written more about it, but I did some recaps, which I was happy with.
Find a better way to document my currently inked - SORT OF. I used a Travelers Passport insert to document my currently inked in the first part of the year. This was great! Then I misplaced the insert, and missed a few months. I am now doing a Currently Inked insert in a chart grid in my Plotter. For transparency, I feel that I do not have an established way to document my currently inked despite attempts over the years, and I wonder if it’s simply something that does not interest me all that much. I’m not sure if this will be a goal in 2025.
Focus on process - A RESOUNDING YES. I found so many uses for my stationery to improve various aspects of my life. My detailed health tracking lead to a few breakthroughs and despite setbacks, I feel that I made progress in my Long COVID recovery. I published a number of essays about process, and I used my stationery to organize manuscripts.
Do some fountain pen-related art - YES. I did some. I doodled mythical creatures for my ink reviews, I did ink creatures on the fiction side, and I made an inky Hanukkah garland. I’d like to do more art, but this was not a failure.
Enjoy the blog, and track how blogging interacts with my acquisition patterns - YES. After more than a year of blogging, I do have to say that I’m definitely acquiring more than before. It’s not awful, but it’s also not amazing. I want to modulate this in 2025 by writing less about acquisitions and more about process. I’m still very much enjoying the blog. I plan to continue being independent in how and what I write; I know people are reading, and that is making me happy. I’ve been wondering if I could get a bit of support for this blog so at least the Squarespace hosting is covered. (more on this at the very end of this post).
Aurora 88 with Menagerie friends.
In terms of Stationery of Interest for 2024, my list was:
Aurora 88 with an F nib. YES. This was a priority for me, and I did get the Aurora 88 I wanted in the nib grade I wanted. It’s the Aurora 88 Volterra, which I feel is a spring/summer pen; it’s currently uninked. I’ll return to it in 2025.
Aurora Dante Inferno. NO. Too pricey. Maybe luck will strike in the future?
A Montblanc Heritage pen. NO. Almost bought a used one a few times, passed, no regrets.
Another pen for shimmer inks. YES. Got two Kilks this year, using them with shimmer inks, I’m a happy camper :)
Pelikan M600 Glauco Cambon. NO. Another almost. Let it go. No regrets.
Schon DSGN Monoc nib in F - just the nib unit. NO.
A carved nib with an unusual grind. NO, but working on it.
Try Wearingeul and/or Dominant Industry inks. YES. I tried Dominant Industry; I like it, but it did not entirely wow me, even though I am enjoying the two Wonderpens exclusives I got this year. Did not try Wearingeul.
Montblanc inks - unless something perfect comes along, I need to stay strong :)) Hahaha NO. I did not stay strong. Or is it a YES because I got new Montblanc inks and I love them? I have no idea.
Toyooka Craft pen case — NO.
A currently inked pen tray for my desk - YES, got two small pen trays from Toyooka, they are perfect.
An antique carved fob for wax seal. NO. I’d love to, but the astronomical prices for them made this not a possibility.
It’s useful for me to write a Stationery of Interest list. Every year, I find out that I am deterred from random buying by saying “it’s not on my list.” On the other hand, I am not really interested in buying most things on my list. If something stays on my wishlist for more than a year, it’s a good indicator that I do want it; this was the case with the Aurora 88 Volterra.
Living my best life with the Tower of Stationery Babylon of 2024 — and, to the right, my the beloved Aurora Internazionale Arancione (2023) inked with Montblanc Moctezuma Pierced Sky. With menagerie friends Dave, alabaster rabbit, roadrunner, tiny badger, beadcat and raven.
This is my last year planning post of the year, but I hope to see you in 2025 for my new stationery intentions, FOMO musings, and more. I put together a ko-fi account that lets you do a one-time donation or a monthly donation if you feel like it; I hope the blog brings you some joy, and you’d consider pitching in a few dollars to pay for my hosting. <3