Pocket Blonde is Hosting the 8th Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper

by TonyB on March 9, 2010

Diane at the Pocket Blonde has done a great, and very thorough, job with the pen carnival this month. No matter what your passion, she’s got a link for you to read, even if you’re into 3D truck art from Germany!

Among our favourites this month:

  • Julie’s review of the clean, classic Esterbrook J Double Jewel fountain pen at Whatever.
  • Mark’s description of his love (and sometimes abuse) of his notebooks at Broadcasting Brain.
  • A review of the kid-friendly Paper Mate Write Bros. mechanical pencils at Kid Sketchings.

Our thanks to Diane for including us in the carnival, and welcome to any new readers who arrived here via her links.

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Uniball Signo Scents: Gel Pens that Smell Like Bubblegum and Blueberries

by TonyB on March 5, 2010

We heard from Uniball this morning that there is a new range of gel pen coming to the UK. The Signo Scents line are rollerball pens with, just like the name says, scented ink.

They will come in 10 distinctive aromas, including Strawberry Pink, Orangey Orange, Blueberry Blue, Pineapple Yellow, Coconut Brown, Cola Black, Soda Blue, Cherryade Red, Bubblegum Pink and Mint Green. Read More –>

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Totally Random Pen Stuff

March 3, 2010

Actually, not quite so random this week.
• Lock up your good pens; there are thieves about. The Herald is reporting that burglars in Plymouth have stolen a collection of jewellery and high-end pens, including a Montblanc Greta Garbo special edition ballpoint.
(Greta Garbo was a classic Hollywood movie star in the ’20s and ’30s. The Montblanc [...]

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A New Life for Old Sharpie Pens

March 1, 2010

American fans of Sharpie pens and recycling have an option to do some good with their used pens – send them in to be recycled and earn 2 cents per pen for a charity of your choice.
Newell Rubbermaid, the company that owns Sharpie, Paper Mate pens and Expo markers, is working with recycler TerraCycle to [...]

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Newhaven has Competition for Parker Pen Archives

February 26, 2010

The town of Janesville, Wisconsin is speaking up about the future of the Parker Pen archives.
You might remember we mentioned last month that the iconic pen company was closing down its Newhaven manufacturing plant and shifting everything to France. Pen collector Tony Fischier, who runs ParkerCollector.com, has launched an online petition to keep the company’s [...]

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Conversations About Handwriting

February 24, 2010

Lots of good stuff for you this week:
• No wonder people in the Victorian era seemed to write so many letters. The New York Times has a very interesting article about how mail was delivered 12 times a day in London back then. You could receive a letter and respond to it the same day.

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Why a Pen is a ‘Biro’ in the UK

February 22, 2010

For our American readers, a pen is usually just a pen. But those of you in the UK know that cheap ballpoints are often referred to as “biros.” If you’ve ever wondered about the reason for that, it’s this:
The first ballpoint pen, utilizing a steel ball bearing held in place by a socket, was developed [...]

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The Uniball Pen Giveaway

February 19, 2010

If you’ve never tried the Uniball Jetstream RT retractable rollerball pen, this is the time to do it. The company is giving away a half-million FREE pens to anyone who asks. Unfortunately, the offer is only open to those living in the U.S., but if you have a mate in the States, maybe he can [...]

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Parker Pen Historian Michael Fultz Has Passed Away

February 19, 2010

We’re a little late on this, but we wanted to mention that L. Michael Fultz, the collector and historian who knew everything there was to know about Parker fountain pens, died Jan. 27 in Janesville, Wisc. He’d moved there, the original hometown of the Parker company, after a career in Illinois state government.

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Conversations About Handwriting

February 17, 2010

• One of the most beloved items of Maswood Khan’s childhood was a red fountain pen, he tells readers in an opinion piece for The Financial Express, waxing nostalgic about the days when he wrote and received handwritten letters.

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