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.
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.
Year in Review: What happened with my 2023 Stationery Resolutions?
I’m taking a look at the pen plan I made for 2023 — it’s time to find out what happened.
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.
Pen frustration, pen magic
Our fountain pens and other stationery items are not just tools. They are artifacts, talismans against an overwhelming and cruel world. Pens can represent self-care and purpose, pens can bring delight and wonder. Pens are magic. That magic can come as a freebie gift, or in shape of a cheap, incredible, damaged antique-store pen.
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.
Collecting as a contemplative practice
There is that feeling of joy that moves us beyond acquisition, towards coexisting with rare and curious objects. It is a contemplative practice that encourages us to slow down, to look deeper, to pay attention.