Happy International Fountain Pen Day!
Happy International Fountain Pen Day! The first Friday in November is Fountain Pen Day, where we celebrate all the wonderful things that give our handwriting character and help us to slow down when we write. We sort of celebrate that everyday around here, but it's always nice when it's official. Ideas to celebrate:
I thought I would celebrate by sharing a little about my first fountain pen, which some of you know might already know about. It's actually quite germane, as it is what got the ball rolling to this whole adventure of Wonder Pens. Back when I was a teacher and Jon worked in banking, he was sent on a business trip to New York. At that time, we had been married a year or two and things were still fresh and dramatic and I was on my own with Super pretending like I couldn't survive for four days on my own (good grief). And so on his time off, he bought several souvenirs back from New York for me: a dress, some books, and some stationery. He got me some gel pens, some gel refills, some notebooks, and (gasp!) a fountain pen. I was immediately hooked, without a second's pause; something in me just knew this was something I was going to love. A click, a switch, a light turns on. I sometimes recognize this in customers because I myself was one of these people - people who love stationery and writing and writing tools, but haven't yet discovered the magic of a good fountain pen. But once they do... it's a deep rabbit hole. I knew it as soon as he brought it out, that my life was going to be changed. It sounds a bit crazy, but I just knew. I was not a dip my toe into the water kind of a stationery nut, I was an all-in-hallelujah-conversion kind of nut. After testing my pen out, my first thought was (first stationery hoarder warning) how am I going to get refills for this? Do I need to preserve its ink supply? What happens when I run out? How much ink is enough? Jon had brought back one pack of cartridges (ha! ha! ha! cartridges! one pack!) and obviously that wasn't going to cut it. Shortly after, I discovered bottled ink over the internet, and I was a complete goner. Sailor inks were some of my first and I remain faithful to them to this day, but along the way, I picked up J. Herbin, Noodler's, Rohrer and Klingner and a few more fountain pens, my first Lamy Safari (charcoal), my first Sailor (Pro Gear Slim). And on it went. I used fountain pens to get me through the drudgery of long nights of marking, my students used them as a special treat. I got a fancy pen case from Nock Co.'s predecessor, Alter Manufacturing, was made fun of my fellow teachers when I pulled my fancy fountain pens, I negotiated with Jon about orders from companies in the US and aboard, I tracked shipping notifications religiously from shipping companies that don't seem to understand what tracking means. It was all lovely. A few years down the line and Jon wanted to start a business, he of the entrepreneurial spirit. I loved my teaching job, but I'm always game for a new adventure, so off we went. We threw around a few ideas, including opening a fountain pen shop. I balked, thinking what basically everyone who hears about our business and who isn't already into fountain pens thinks: who's still buying pens? Jon, having had to foot the international bill for many of my pen purchases gave me his now classic look, a look I know very well having run a business with him for the last five years. In a great twist of irony, one of the many in my life, Jon, the budget-keeper of my myriad pen purchases, ended up convincing me to open up a pen shop, allowing me to purchase, essentially, as many pens as we had money for.** I'll take ten of these, and ten of these, and maybe a few of these as well, why not. And it was a crazy leap, but we made it, blindly and with all the optimism of two kids who have never run a business before. I say this all the time to everyone who asks about starting a business: if I had known about all the work, risks, costs, struggles, time, hustle, constant uncertainty, and effort it takes to run a small business, I would probably would've looked at Jon and laughed when he suggested it. That being said, I couldn't imagine any other life, and I also couldn't imagine life without all these people - customers, vendors, artists and creatives, friends in the industry, and of course our team, that I've met through this community of fountain pen users. And I guess this is what is sort of great about Fountain Pen Day, and all of the things people, bloggers, community builders, are doing - letting all us fountain pen nuts know that we're not crazy. Or maybe we're a little crazy, but we're not alone. There are a whole bunch of us crazies out there, and we can all celebrate together. Or maybe, because a lot of us are introverted souls or are far apart from each other, celebrate individually but united in spirit. And so! We're doing a giveaway here on the blog, which we haven't done in ages (sorry!). 
We're giving away an Aurora Duo Cart here on the blog. To enter, leave a comment. You can tell us about your first fountain pen, your favourite fountain pen, a fountain pen disaster, or just say hello. One entry per person. Contest closes Sunday, November 4th, 2018 at 11:59 pm EST. Open internationally. Winner will be announced shortly after. Please bear with me in patience and love.
Edit: If your comment doesn't appear right away, don't worry! All comments need to be approved as the blog seems to attract a lot of spam. We will surely do a thorough check of the comments periodically through the weekend and before the end of the contest. *Not fountain pen related, but I mean what is celebration without good food? **To sell to other people.
- Clean out some pens that need it, and ink up some up fresh
- Head to a cafe with a fountain pen and journal or letters, and spend some time writing
- Give away a pen or two to people you know who do a lot of writing
- Give a kid in your life a Preppy or a Petit1 (who knows the road they could get started on!)
- Treat yourself to a favourite meal*
We're giving away an Aurora Duo Cart here on the blog. To enter, leave a comment. You can tell us about your first fountain pen, your favourite fountain pen, a fountain pen disaster, or just say hello. One entry per person. Contest closes Sunday, November 4th, 2018 at 11:59 pm EST. Open internationally. Winner will be announced shortly after. Please bear with me in patience and love.
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Comments
Xiaotang Gao said:
Forcefully took a fountain pen from my friend out of curiosity but never continued to use eventually went dry… Randomly developed an interest in calligraphy and bought a speedball oblique pen set. Still not satisfied, then purchased my first lamy calligraphy pen set followed by a pilot kakuno extra fine. I hope I can fill my superior labour pen roll with various fountain pens one day
Ged Alangui said:
My favorite fountain pen is a Parker 21. A pen I found inside an old tin chocolate box along with two others, a Flighter 25 and a Sheaffer 904. Also there was an old bottle of ink, a Pilot blue black that was still good. Suddenly everything came back to me. These were the very pens I was in charge of inking some 38 years ago, as a kid of ten. They were my mother’s pens. Only the Parker 21 was good to go. The other two needs mending. Their sections have gone brittle. Thank you for the chance. Happy Fountain Pen Day!
Michael said:
Hello wonderpens!
My first pen was a (somewhat leaky) Noodler’s ahab after I got into dip pen calligraphy.
Happy Fountain Pen Day!
Jennifer D. said:
What a great giveaway – thank you! I live your posts and imagine being able to buy a beautiful pen and ink. Happy International Fountain Pen Day!
Richard Farmer said:
Interesting journey. Best of luck for the future.
Simon said:
Fountain pens are amazing~
Bob Ostwald said:
Hello!
I loved spending last Saturday for the meetup in your beautiful shop. Thank you for hosting us. I had a great time. See you at Scriptus 2019!
Dakota B said:
My first was an all black lamy safari and its still probably my favorite, I take it everywhere! No disasters yet thankfully. Love your store <3
Sharon A. said:
My first fountain pen was a yellow Lamy Safari and my favorite fountain pen is a Namiki Nippon Art Crane and Turtle. Love your blog. Wish I lived in Canada so I could visit your store.
Ginette Doiron said:
It’s wonderful to see how many of us still love fountain pens in this digital era ! Can’t see a day without writing with one of mine ~
Linus said:
Hello all! My favourite fountain pen is my black Vanishing Point that my girlfriend got me for Christmas last year. It’s written hundreds of pages of lecture notes and continues to get smoother and smoother. Hoping to have it for years to come!
Geoffrey Dunn said:
What a story! So glad for you and your family that you are doing something you love. Much respect for your courage and hard work.
My first fountain pen (other than whe a kid in school) was a Parker back in 1968. Then I stopped using them for 40 years. Four years ago I bought a Parker Sonnet and have been using nothing but fountain pens since. Rabbit hole is sooooooo deep!
Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity.
Sarah Wilkie said:
My first fountain pen was a Lamy Safari (red) with cartridges. I, too, quickly fell down the rabbit hole, and now have a Lamy Logo, Pelikan Twist, TWSBI 580 AL, Kaweco Sport, and a Platinum Preppy. Surprisingly, I don’t have that much ink: only 3 bottles and a few samples.
Jason Tucker said:
Here is hoping I win. Oh, and hello everyone.
Liz said:
Ah, fountain pens. My primary school desk had a space for fountain pen ink. Regrettably I was not taught penmanship with a fountain pen, but my interest was piqued then! It wasn’t until University that I discovered the joys of writing with a fountain pen. A basic Schaeffer got me through hours of note taking. Peacock blue ink was my favourite, and my index finger was permanently stained. I have a Lamy pen now. I used the violet ink at first (and yes the pen matched), but it seems the ink is hard to find now (ahem). Nothing is quite as evocative as the sound of a fountain pen on fine stationery.
Brendan said:
I remember pretty well my own fall into the fountain pen rabbit hole… I’d used them for a bit as a kid (I think some non-descript cheap red plastic pen that took international cartridges), but they never worked super well on cheap foolscap.
Fast forward a bunch more years to grad school, and I bought a Cross at Staples on a whim. Cheap pen, super uncomfortable, but I was hooked. Lamy Safari from Vancouver Pen Shop (yellow F nib – still amazing), and then my first good pen, a Vanishing Point. What a cool technology!? Brassed beyond belief now.
Various TWSBIs (from WonderPens!), another Safari somewhere, some misc. FPR flex pens, dabbling in dip pens (those are not for me…).
Most recently, a Pilot Custom Heritage 92 in smoke grey (also from here), filled right now with iroshizuku kiri-same.
It’s a deep hole and I’m still digging!
Happy a fountain Pen Day :)
Cathy said:
Thanks for being such a great Canadian pen store, and congratulations on your success. My favorite pen at the moment is my Faber Castell Ambition in pearwood, purchased from Wonder Pens. Wonderful EF nib.
Bridget said:
Happy FPD!
Eddy L said:
First fountain pen was over 40 years ago as a teenager. Have not really got back to fountain pens until my uncle gifted his Montblanc 146 to me a few year back and really went down the “rabbit hole” when I wanted to improve my handwriting and researched fountain pens, ink, paper and bags…. still have little written, sigh…
Peter Fitzgerald said:
Love the blog and your store. Only wish I lived closer and could visit in person. Best of luck in the new location!
L. Jones said:
My first pen from you guys was a Noodler’s Ahab flex pen and I picked Noodler’s Baystate Blue ink to go with it. I leave to your imaginations the amount of mess a beginner can make with a massive eye dropper, staining ink and a twitchy nib. I managed to melt that original pen trying to clean it in rubbing alcohol, but I’ve learned a lot since then. Most of my mishaps can be cleaned up with immediate applications of soap and water.
Still loving this journey…..
L. Jones
Mark Baker said:
Enjoy your Instagram and hope to visit from Wisconsin one summer day.
Paula Tee said:
What a great giveaway! My first pen was a LAMY Safari but I am now a Pilot girl! Love me my E95s!
Daniel Bezalel Richardsen said:
I first used fountain pens in school in India, because at that time, they were still the only legitimate writing instruments. It wasn’t until this past Christmas when I got a Lamy Safari from my now fiancée that I rediscovered the joy of what it means to truly write. Like the bicycle, I think fountain pens are a perfect human invention. Then I discovered Wonder Pens on a visit to Toronto from Ottawa, and have since gotten a Sailor Pro Gear Slim and a Kaweco Student — both of which I enjoy using immensely. I am a bit scared of this deep rabbit hole of notebooks and fountain pens, but along with real books by a warm desk lamp on a sturdy table, this way lies happiness.
Julie-Anne Mendoza said:
My first fountain pen was a lime green safari, purchased at WonderPens!
Debra Nousek said:
The funny thing for me is that I’ve been a tech fangirl for such a long time (hello, and welcome to my personal Apple Store) and also that I’ve been a stationery nerd for just about as long, fascinated by the tools of writing from (especially) the early 20th century or so — you know how it is with all those Merchant Ivory Edwardian Oxbridge dramas. Of course, life back then would only have been lovely if we were all wealthy and privileged aristocrats and not our regular (mostly) middle-class selves. Anyway, as an academic, I loved the idea of freely-flowing liquid ink in a fountain pen rather than rollerballs or gel pens, and so I bought what looked to me like a classic fountain pen from the Deco era, a 1990s Aurora Ipsilon in chrome and black resin, to make myself feel more “scholarly”. Oh so serious in my youth, I resolved to use only serious ink colours — standard Waterman blue, or black. Ah, youth. A far cry from the 8-10 bottles of turquoise inks in my collection, not to mention just about one of every other colour! Oh, and a dozen or so pens ranging from an orange Diplomat Aero to the Sailor PGS Purple Cosmos (and a few more sedate colours as well). I’m so happy that you and Jon took this leap, because it’s SO wonder-pens-ful to be able to order from Canada, or to stop by the shop when I’m in town. Happy FPD to you and everyone, and thanks for the chance to win! :)
Tyler K said:
I stumbled on The Pen Addict podcast and realized I had been one for many years! Decided to run with it and glad I did. Started with a Lamy Vista.
Esther said:
Hi!
So happy to read about your first fountain pen adventures!! I received my first at a Christmas party in 2016. We played White Elephant and Derrick submitted a pilot pen with a few cartridges; I was lucky enough to be the last to steal it :)
Happy writing!
Alexander Tsang said:
I picked up my first fountain pen on a whim while browsing the local university bookstore during my first year at university. It was a Parker Classic GT. I ended up using it for notetaking all the way until I graduated!
Jas said:
In just started using fountains and will never go back to a “regular” pen!! Thank you for carrying such a great variety.
Sarah said:
My first pen was a pilot metropolitan. My current favourite is my twsbi eco (I have two of those now). Looking forward to Christmas maybe bringing me some new goodies.
Dan said:
What a great giveaway! Thanks for the chance to win and good luck to all. Today I am remembering my first fountain pen, which was gifted to me as a University graduation present. I got to choose and ended up with a burgundy Waterman Expert with two-tone medium nib. It went missing for about 20 years but mysteriously resurfaced again about two months ago. Still writes like a dream. Happy FP day everyone.
H.T. Leung said:
Hello,
My first fountain pen is a Pelikan M205 Transparent Blue Demonstrator given to me as a birthday present. I loved it by the first glance and used it every day at work. I first didn’t notice fountain pen inks were mostly water-soluble and writing on one of my documents faded away as there was some water inching from a cold drink to wards it. Yes, it was written by my M205. My boss was so mad at me but it couldn’t put out my love to fountain pens. Yet, another mistake did ruin my M205…. I was trying to have a “thorough” cleaning of the pen and leave all parts soaked in water the whole night. When I get back to it, the nib was corroded….I was so so so sad. The M205 is no sitting on my desk, reminding me to use all lovely pens carefully…
Beth H said:
I still love my first fountain pen, a teal Pilot Metropolitan with a fine nib.
Travis Stuart said:
My first fountain pen was an impulse buy from a Chinese website. When it came I was excited to use but didn’t buy any ink! It took almost a year before I got up the guts to buy a bottle of ink. Been using fountain pens every day since…
Kristiane Polido said:
My first fp is a stainless parker vector. My mom gave it to me during a time that a lot of changes are happening in our lives. It was a source of comfort, to have something that will stay with you forever. ❤️
Tim Draude said:
My first fountain pen was a Pilot Varsity. This was quite a few years ago. shortly after, I ordered an FPR Dilly from a website selling fountain pens in Toronto. I’m pretty sure they didn’t have a physical shop way back then…..
Celina said:
My first fountain was purchased from the wonderpens online store! I bought a Lamy Safari Petrol and some ink samples to experiment with. Thank you for helping me start my fountain pen and ink collection!
Virginia said:
My first fountain pen was a faber castle ambition. My then boyfriend now husband bought it for me for my birthday and had our initials engraved in the clip. I love that pen and it started my small collection. Writing with a fountain pen is the best feeling and I swear it naturally puts more feeling into your writing!
Charles said:
Happy Fountain Pen Day ? I love your products and how you run your company!!
Geneva Lawrence said:
Ive always loved stationary so when i discovered fountain pens it was a whole new level to fuel my addiction. My first pen was a Lamy safari,which i chose after careful reaserch, and I immediatly ordered a ton of different ink samples and notebooks. Living in canada its a little harder to find vendors which is why i was so excited upon finding you guys ! Thanks so much .
Jennifer Cranfield said:
Loved hearing how you got started. What a great story! My first fountain pen was a cheap-o Sheaffer that I used to take notes at university and I still have it. My current favourite is the TWSBI Diamond demonstrator filled with a Sailor blue/black ink.
Rosie Pittas said:
My very first Fountain pen is the Twsbi Precision Fountain pen Gunmetal. I love this pen so much and use it every single day to write in my daily journal and to write class notes.
When I first got it I had never filled a fountain pen so I accidentally release the pressure and got ink everywhere! After that little disaster, I learned quickly how to fill my new pen ^^||.
In the end, I love my pen and hope you enjoyed my little story about my first fountain pen :)
John (Cubz) said:
I had my “affair” with fountain pens rekindled this year by the gift of a Faber Castell (from Wonder Pens:) by a friend recently. That then ignited the fire for the purchase of a gorgeous, peacock blue Lechtturm1917 dot note pad for daily inspiration and organization. Not to be satisfied there, I also discovered the bliss of careening my stylus along the texture of a handsome bound Clairefontaine journal for recording, as inscribed in the cover, my “thoughts, dreams, aspirations, doubts, fears, contemplations, solutions, inspirations and stuff ?”
I am undone and will never be the same. Thank God!
Michael McKinley said:
My first fountain pen was a Zebra bought at Office Max. It was less than $10 and still in my collection. Since then my to splurges have been a Pilot Decimo and Platinum 3776. I live in Brazil so these took more effort than money to obtain.
Ariane said:
I’m recent to the fountain pen world but have been using a Lamy Joy to learn calligraphy and draw with. I’ve made Wednesday no TV night and am using this time to practice and be creative!
Brahm Sanger said:
Hello! My first fountain pen was a Pilot Varsity with black ink. For years I used my trusty Pilot G2s and Precise V7 RTs – I’ve always appreciated the smooth feeling of a rollerball over ball point pens. One day a friend of mine showed off his grandfather’s vintage fountain pen and I was absolutely blown away. I had to get one after that, and the Varsity was the most accessible. It made writing not just effortless, but enjoyable.
My favourite fountain pen is the only one I currently own, a Lamy Safari (Petrol). It’s triangular grip section forced me to correct the way I hold pens! My fingers thank it.
My disaster was filling my Safari for the first time. I dunked my converter into a sample vial of Diamine Blue Velvet and ended up with a table full of (fantastic) blue ink.
Alex said:
Personally, I use the pilot metropolitan fountain pen for the price. Great for a starter pen, but it really digs into paper.
Melissa Mask said:
I have always been somewhat of a stationery aficionado. My father was a an elementary school principal. Every August he was tasked with ordering stationery for the school. My sister and I would go with him to the stationery store in our small city. While he attended to his task, we kept busy by testing all the pens and pencils to determine which one we could purchase with a small notebook at the end of Dad’s business. We were 8 and 6 years of age. It was the beginning of many years of this stationery pilgrimage. We both now have extensive fine writing pen collections. Our love of fine point pens lead us to Pilot pens and several years ago, the Pilot fountain pen as first fountain pen since the Schaeffer fountain pen of our youth. Much like the blog account, this Pilot experience lead to many international purchases and experimenting with inks, and papers for fountain pen ink. It’s a whole new world and gives me wonderful options for gifts for my sister. It brings back the childlike wonder from our early days of pen testing, a warm excitement of a new tool that made writing more fun. Stationery is now a hobby. We often discuss opening a small pen store in retirement. Maybe pens and wine, lol.
Greg F-N said:
My first recollection of Fountain pens was via my mother and father. I don’t remember pen brands etc, except that my mom used “Peacock Blue” Sheaffer Ink. I loved that colour. Can’t find it anymore. Maybe in the Sheaffer Calligraphy pen sets?
That was 50+ years ago. I have had a number of mostly entry level fountain pens since then. I also did some calligraphy for a while with a Speedball nib and nib holder set. In 1984 I received an inscribed, gold nibbed, and gold plated Sheaffer as a Christmas gift from my sister who was then in Germany. Sadly I lost that within a year . Sigh… Now I am a regular user of my TWSBI ECO EF in blue, Oh, the ink it holds! I have a few Platinum preppys in F/EF which I am using to for different colour inks and a Purple Aluminum Lamy Safari, also a gift, plus a few older Parkers and Sheaffer’s picked up at various garage sales and thrift shops. Some of which work well. Suffice to say I enjoy my fountain pens! Though I have lost a few shirts by absentmindedly putting uncapped pens in the pocket. Oops…
Have a great International Fountain Pen Day! Who Knew?!
GPFN