Sunday, February 19, 2012

A Hawaii Option Well Worth Considering


A pen store review from one of our members.....

A HAWAII OPTION WELL WORTH CONSIDERING

On a recent visit to Hawaii, my wife Chris and I visited the Pele Signature Pen shop, which is located on the Waikiki strip in the Outrigger Mall (2335 Kalakaua Ave.). We actually had visited the store previously, when it first opened and met the wife of the Pele Signature Pen designer. She was most accommodating and gave us a complete history and rundown on her husband’s fine pens. These impressive and most attractive writing instruments are crafted from fine rich woods, re the barrels and caps. To these wooden parts, he adds fittings, nibs and fillers, to make up stunning fountain and ball point pens, in a wide variety of finishes. The store is well stocked and a treat for any pen collector to check out. The staff seemed most eager to relate all points of interest about the their pens and the prices are well within market reality. If you are visiting Hawaii, and in particular Waikiki, don’t miss this option. I believe Pele Pens can also be ordered and there is a great utube video, which will give you a good idea of what is available. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrZL2UYA2yE

Aloha

Christopher M. Robertson


(I added a quick photo--click on photo to enlarge--of the store's business card to Christopher's review as it gives the store's current website, at www.pelesignatures.com/ . The old website mentioned in the YouTube video is out-of-date)

Some pics from our February meeting

We had a good turnout for our Feb 16th meeting---18 VPC members came to see & talk about their pen collections. Many thanks to Richard of Perks pen store for the photos!


(From L to R) Michael, Ian, Glenn C. and David S. looking at some of the pens brought in for our meeting's theme-"Complete the Set". Michael spoke about his current collecting interest---the stylish Esterbrook 'Scribe' ballpoint. In the foreground of this photo, you can see my brightly-coloured Sheaffer NoNonsense collection in the large pen case.


Glenn C. talking about his current collecting focus, Pelikan pens. Glenn brought along his lovely Pelikan 101N Tortoise reissue for us to see---a gorgeous fountain pen!


Bruce R. (red shirt) brought his amazing collection of Visconti limited edition pens. That's me in the black Parker '51' T-shirt I recently got from www.asimpledaisy.com. To my right are Greg, Dexter and Tristan. Greg is currently collecting blue and orange pens, as well as Lamy Al-Star fountain pens.


Wai and Glenn M. both seemed to enjoy the presentations. Glenn brought his
great Waterman Edson and modern Waterman Patrician collections.


Christopher R. (tan jacket) and Mark H. (to his left) both talked about their pen collections. Mark has recently focused his collecting on Wahl-Eversharp pens.


Newer member Sam (black jacket) brought some very cool pens, including his old-style Rotring 600 collection. Bill K. (to Sam's right) and Julienne (in foreground with yellow shirt) don't have a current collecting focus, but enjoyed the meeting. Bill says he only buys pens that write well---a wise approach!


David S. (wearing glasses) talked about the pens he used to collect; nowdays, he mostly buys and sells pens, but has a special interest in the ever-popular Parker '51'.


Ian (brown sweater) and Graham (light blue T-shirt) listening to a presentation during the "Show & Tell" portion of our meeting.

Many thanks to all who attended our meeting--see you on March 15th at Perks (usual place) when our topic will be "Waterman Pens ~ Vintage & Modern"!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Something to listen to on your daily commute.....

Trying to find something interesting to listen to on the commute to work or school?

Look no further than the podcasts at Fountain Pen Geeks!

Eric & Dan's weekly podcasts are an informative and entertaining way to learn about new pens and pen-related products... and it's completely free. You can listen to their podcasts directly from the site, or you can download the podcasts from iTunes and listen to them on the bus or in your car.

A special shout-out to the guys for featuring my "Geek Note" pen photo on the Show Notes for podcast # 11 here. In my note, I neglected to mention that the pen used was my awesome Faber-Castell E-Motion Ivory "Crocodile" (Precious Resin) fountain pen that I bought from Kim at PenQuest.com (filled with Noodler’s # 41 Brown ink purchased from the Perks pen store on Cambie St. where our club meets).

I am looking forward to more interesting content in future podcasts, as well as great pen reviews & pen-related news on their website. Kudos to Dan & Eric on a job well done!

Late addition to my post above---- Here's the (unedited) photo of my Faber-Castell that I sent in to FPGeeks:

(please excuse the poor quality of my unedited photo above; the guys at FPGeeks obviously adjusted the colours before they put it on their site :)