April meeting photos

Our April meeting was held on Thursday April 21st at the Community Room of the Terry Salman branch of the Vancouver Public Library (due to Perks being closed). Turnout was uncharacteristically low (10 members) but our enthusiasm wasn't, and we had fun seeing, showing and learning about OMAS fountain pens. Many thanks to all who attended and special thanks to the VPL (esp. Karen at the Terry Salman location) for graciously allowing us to use this room for our meeting. Congratulations to Bruce on winning the door prize---a copy of the PCA (Pen Collectors of America) magazine "The Pennant" (generously donated by Christopher R)!

From L to R: Natasha, Maja, Alejandra, Glenn M, Tony, Jerred, Graham and Mindy (not pictured: Bruce R and Christopher R)

Longtime VPC member (and Italian fountain pen collector extraordinaire) Glenn Marcus got the ball rolling by telling us about his experience visiting the OMAS factory in Bologna, Italy in 2007 (you can read about it on his wonderful pen blog here). Sadly the company closed its doors a few months ago (Glenn posted an eloquent piece on this topic here) so there won't be any new OMAS writing instruments being made in the forseeable future. Glenn brought his extensive OMAS collection to the meeting and spoke about the different models---first and foremost, the 'Arte Italiana' line, the beautiful, faceted (12-sided) fountain pens that immediately spring to mind when one thinks of OMAS (examples shown were: the old- and new-style Paragons and the new-style Milord, beautiful examples in celluloid---Bronze Arco, Green Arco, Royale Blue and 'Wild'---and black vegetal resin), the new Bologna model in the 'Burkina' celluloid, a gorgeous Ogiva limited edition made for the Novelli Pens store in Rome, the lovely 'Extra Lucens' model (the 2013 Limited Edition), an old-style '360' in the 'Magnum' size, along with its new-style counterpart, and several of the 'Vintage 360' models (the clear models that came in a variety of colours). I could have taken photos of Glenn's OMAS fountain pens, but his photography is so much superior to mine and you can see almost all of the pens I mentioned when you click on the individuals links on this page of his pen-related blog.

We went around the table and those who had OMAS fountain pens to show and discuss did so---Graham brought his Milord in Aubergine with beautiful rose gold trim (he forgot to bring his OMAS '90 Italia'), Natasha brought her new-style Milord in that wonderful Bronze Arco celluloid and two Ogiva Alba fountain pens, Bruce (another Italian pen enthusiast and collector) brought two old-style 'Bologna' models (including the version made for MoMA) along with a lovely OMAS in Blue Royale celluloid and a small 'Dama' (the Gentleman's model). Christopher R had an older OMAS fountain pen from 1957/1958, and some very old OMAS ink from 1938, but unfortunately he left them at home.

I wish I'd taken some pen photos that night---my apologies for the oversight--- but when I got home, I snapped a quick photo of my old-style Milord in black vegetal resin and my new-style 'Bologna' in the swirly blue and white cotton "Aqua di Bologna" resin (the colours of the Adriatic sea ,which borders Italy as well as the country of my birth, the former Yugoslavia):

(Click on image to enlarge)

We also saw some of our members' newest fountain pen acquisitions (which is always our secondary topic) including Mindy's cool vintage Pilot Murex, Christopher's very old Caws pencil holder from the 19th century and an Eclipse 'Hooded Knight' model in seafoam green, Alejandra's glossy black Parker '51' set with gold-filled "converging lines" caps (a heck of a bargain for what she paid---well done, Alejandra!)and two new pens that Jerred acquired recently---a Delta 'Unica' and a Pilot 'Seremo' FCM-500. The latter pen can be found (new stock) for $40 USD and sports a 14K gold nib, an amazingly low price point for a gold-nibbed pen.

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday May 19 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm or so, and will almost certainly be held at our usual venue---Perks pen store on Cambie Street in Vancouver---but check our blog for any updates. The topic will be "Extra-Fine Nibs", so bring your examples (both modern and vintage) of fountain pens that have this type of nib. Thanks to Mindy for the theme idea. Hope to see you then!

March meeting report

I was in California for most of March, so I missed our March meeting, but wanted to share some of VPC member Stuart's thoughts on it (with his permission, of course) with those who were also unable to attend. The topic of the month was "Green Pens" (one we've done before, but since the meeting fell on March 17th, it seems apropos).

In Stuart's words: The St. Patrick’s Day meeting went well - smaller turnout but a good array of green pens. Glenn Marcus showed some beauties, including a three-piece Pelikan set, and he confirmed the sad news that Omas is gone. Louise had a gorgeous Mabie Todd Swan in a wonderful iridescent celluloid, apparently very rare.

Sorry, no photos for the March meeting, but I'll post a couple from the April meeting in a day or so.

Venue change for April meeting!

Richard (owner of Perks) informed me this afternoon that, unfortunately, he can't host our meeting this Thursday. I tried to book a room at the Oakridge VPL branch (where we met in July 2011---time flies!) but it was all booked up...however, I did manage to book an alternate venue that I think will please everyone.


Our meeting on April 21st, therefore, will be held at the TERRY SALMAN branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 4575 Clancy Loranger Way (on the lower level of the Hillcrest Community Center) in Vancouver, BC. The meeting will take place in their Community Room. The library is located by Queen Elizabeth Park, so it's not that far away from our original venue. There is parking at the Center, but I'm not sure if it's pay parking or not, so it might be wise to bring some change, just in case.
For those of you taking transit, there is a #33 Bus (29th Avenue Station) that leaves from the SW corner of Cambie & King Edward (right across the street from the Canada Line "King Edward" Skytrain station).... and that bus will take you right to Hillcrest Park, where the Hillcrest Community Center (and library) is located.

The meeting will be from 6:30pm to 8:30pm, but we have to make sure we're out of there by 8:45pm in case we run over our allotted time, because the library closes at 9:00pm. There will be tables and chairs provided, so I'll arrive a bit early to arrange them so we can hear each other talk while seated; we did that last time, and I think it worked out well (the library's a lot quieter than a restaurant ;) Make sure you eat beforehand, because I believe the library doesn't allow food or drink.
No need to RSVP for this event, but make sure you bring your OMAS fountain pens (if you have any) for our April theme.....and/or your Newest Acquisitions (new pens/ink/paper/accessories) to the meeting.
Hope to see you there!
Cheers, ~Maja

April meeting info (and Seattle Pen Club meeting in Bellingham)

Info re: the next Vancouver Pen Club meeting:

Date: Thursday April 21, 2016

Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm (members may arrive a little bit early--at -6:00pm---to chat beforehand)

Place: Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie St, Vancouver (the usual meeting place)
The TERRY SALMAN branch of the Vancouver Public Library, 4575 Clancy Loranger Way (the library is on the lower level of the Hillcrest Community Center) in Vancouver, BC. The meeting will take place in their Community Room. No need to RSVP.

Topic: OMAS Fountain Pens

As many of you know, sadly, OMAS has gone out of business so please bring your OMAS fountain pens for us to see, since they won't be making any new ones (unless someone takes over the company)
Our secondary topic is always Newest Acquisitions so if you've received any new pen-related items, please bring them for us to see.

Many thanks to Richard of Perks pen store for hosting our meetings. Please note Perks' new store hours are Wed - Sun : Noon to 5PM (changed from 11am to 5pm). The store is still closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Seattle Pen Club meeting: Saturday April 16th from 10:00am to 2:00pm at the Bellingham Public Market, located at 1530 Cornwall Avenue in Bellingham, Washington, USA. This meeting will take place in the conference room, located diagonally from the market entrance.

Twice a year, the SPC has meetings in Bellingham to make it easier for members who live farther from Seattle and Vancouver Pen Club members to attend. Attendance is completely voluntary, and if you are interested in attending, there is no need to RSVP--just show up, if you're interested. Some vendors at the Market do not take credit/debit cards, so bring U.S. cash if you plan to buy food/drink at the food fair. The SPC meetings in Bellingham usually don't have a theme--just bring pens to show/trade/sell and have fun chatting with the friendly members of the SPC.

Hope you can make it to the meeting this month! No need to RSVP for any meeting held at Perks. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at vancouverpenclub@gmail.com
Cheers, ~Maja

February meeting photos

(from L-R): Charles, Stuart, Christopher, Tony, Leo, Greg and Jerred (photo by guest Chris Tucker)

Many thanks to Tony (center) for this meeting's excellent theme! Looking on are (from L-R) Jerred, Bill K, Graham and Mindy.

Mindy gave a nice talk on her use of fountain pens in her artwork.

An assortment of stationery. notebooks, and journals that our members brought in.

A nice group shot (thanks, Richard!) taken during the meeting. From left to right: Leo, Tony, Graham, Bill K, Ralph, Bruce, Peter (foreground), Chris Tucker, Bill M, Alejandra, Maja , Stuart, Jerred, Penny, Aaron, Christopher and Charles (partly out of shot). Not pictured but present were: Richard, Charles, Mark, Ben R, Greg, Mindy, James and new VPC member Bob.

We had a grand total of 24 VPC members at our February meeting, and one guest---Chris Tucker from the Ottawa Fountain Pen Society.

Our topic was "What do you write?" and we heard a variety of uses for our fountain pens, as well as some interesting choices for paper. Thanks again to Tony for the topic!

Here is what those members who participated brought in for the topic:
--Tony uses his fountain pen for journalling and taking notes at work. He likes using a Rhodia Webnotebook.
--Jerred takes interview notes at work and uses Staples Bagasse looseleaf paper and Xerox 24 lb copy paper.
--Peter uses his fountain pens for journalling and marking exams, and he uses various journals and the Rhodia Webnotebook.
--Leo also journals and uses a Filodex.
--Ben R. uses his fountain pens for calligraphy, which he does at his friends' request.
--Christopher R. has been journalling since 1960, and also uses fountain pens for illustrations (something he did professionally).
--Charles does calligraphy with his fountain pens, and also writes in journals. He brought in a lovely leather-bound journal made in Florence, Italy (he bought it at Barnes & Noble)
--Stuart likes to send notes and likes Crane notecards. For other writing purposes, he uses Clairefontaine and Rhodia paper.
--Aaron uses his fountain pen for work-related notes and uses Rhodia and Clairefontaine paper.
--Alejandra is a big paper fan! She uses her fountain pen to jot down ideas and notes. Her preferred paper is G. Lalo (Verge de France), Notelets for journalling, Clairefontaine (she bought their Frida Kahlo edition) and her Midori Travelers Notebook.
--Penny also jots down thoughts with her pens, but she also does quick drawings with them. She uses Quo Vadis' looped notebook and Leuchtturm (thin paper)
--Bruce uses his fountain pens for meeting notes and likes Rhodia paper, and especially his Rhodia Meetings Book.
--Ralph only uses his fountain pens for letter-writing and he likes using bond paper.
---Maja also likes writing letters with her pens, as well as doing crossword puzzles with them.
---Graham likes using his Rhodia XE book.
--Bill K uses his fountain pens at work to write down orders, and he also loves journalling (having done it since 1961) in looseleaf lined paper.
--Mindy brought in some really cool drawings she did with her fountain pens.
--James K. uses his fountain pens for writing down formulas.
--Chris Tucker (from the Ottawa-area pen club) showed us some of his fountain pens and an interesting notebook called the “Decomposition Book” made by Michael Roger of Brooklyn, NY (info here), which he purchased at WonderPens in Toronto.

March meeting info

Date: Thursday March 17, 2016
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm (members may arrive a bit early---at 6:00pm---to chat beforehand)
Place: Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie St, Vancouver (the usual meeting place)
Topic: Green Pens!

Our secondary topic is always Newest Acquisitions so if you've received any new pen-related items, please bring them for us to see.

Many thanks to Richard of Perks pen store for hosting our meetings since November 2007! Please note Perks' new store hours are Wed - Sun : Noon to 5PM (changed from 11am to 5pm). The store is still closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

February meeting deets!

Many thanks to all who attended our January meeting; we had 27 members in total, including 6 new members (which I think is a record for our club). A warm welcome to newcomers Andrew, David R, Jerred, Patrick, Natasha & Richard W.

Many thanks to VPCer Bob Morgan for his generosity re: the door prizes he brought for the meeting. Lucky winners were: Bruce R, Mindy, and newcomers Andrew, Patrick & Richard W!

And now, here's some info re: our upcoming meeting:
Date: Thursday February 18, 2016
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm (members may arrive a little bit early--at -6:00pm---to chat beforehand)
Place: Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie St, Vancouver (the usual meeting place)
Topic: "What do you write?"

This topic is courtesy of Tony, who described it to me thusly: "Since we all collect lots of pens and ink, what do we do with them? What do we write and what do we write in? What different types of entries do we do with our pens? Do you use certain pens as EDCs (note: these refer to Everyday Carries--ie. those fountain pens you carry with you on a day-to-day basis), as journal entries, as drawing pens, or just work/school related note taking pens? Also, what do you write in? What paper or notebooks do you use? Is it different for different uses?
The topic is one that we've never done before, so I'm looking forward to seeing what members bring in as examples. Please bring examples of the things with which you use your fountain pen....be it journal entries, handwritten letters, artwork, whatever.... and show us what paper you prefer for this purpose---.e.g. a favourite stationery/journal/notepaper, etc. Thank you, Tony, for the topic idea :)

Our secondary topic is always Newest Acquisitions so if you've received any new pen-related items, please bring them for us to see.

Many thanks, as always, to Richard Clarke of Perks, for his gracious hospitality in hosting our pen club meetings for the last 8+ years! We couldn't do it without you, Richard! :)

Hope you can make it to the meeting this month! No need to RSVP for any meeting held at Perks.

January 2016 meeting info

Date: Thursday January 21, 2016
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm (members may arrive a little bit early--at -6:00pm---to chat beforehand)
Place: Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie St, Vancouver (the usual meeting place)
Topic: "3-5 pens (fountain, ballpoint, rollerball) that you would sell or trade" (and if you'd like to sell them at the meeting, please come with an asking price in mind). Many thanks to Charles for the topic idea!

Our secondary topic is always Newest Acquisitions so if you've received any new pen-related items (for Christmas/birthday/bought them for yourself), please bring them for us to see.

Hope you can make it to the meeting this month! No need to RSVP for any meeting held at Perks!

November meeting photos (finally!)

Happy New Year! A grand total of 16 VPC members showed up for our November meeting, which was held at Perks pen store in central Vancouver. Our theme was "'Tis better to give than receive!" and members were asked to bring a fountain pen received as a gift, as well as a fountain pen that they would recommend others buy as a gift.
Here's what our members brought (G = pen received as a gift; R = pen one would recommend as a gift)

Back row (Left to Right): Maja's red & chrome Sheaffer '100'(R) and Elysee 'Damascene Globetrotter'(G), and Charles' koa wood fountain pen (G).

Front row (L to R): Glenn M's OMAS Lucens 2013 LE (G), Visconti Novelli August LE (new acquistion)& his new-style OMAS Paragon in the Milord size (R); Bethany's TWSBI 580 in green(R); Glenn C's Pilot Vanishing Point(R), Faber-Castell Ambition(G) & Pilot-Namiki Falcon (R); Christopher's Parker prototype Jotter ballpoint (R) & Waterman '54' (G); Bob W's Lamy Al-Star (R) & Sheaffer Imperial (G); Leo's Laban 'Sceptre'(G) & TWSBI Vac 700 (G); Peter's bullet-antler ballpoint (G) & Pilot Custom 74 (R); Tony's Platinum 'Riviere'(G) & Pilot 78G (R); Peter's Platinum 3776 & Sailor 'Profit' (Peter brought these in to show us their relative size in relation to the Pilot Custom 74).

Photo above: another shot of the three Japanese fountain pens Peter brought in (see above), as well as his bullet-antler ballpoint .

Photo above: Charles' Laban "Mento", the pen model he would recommend as a fountain pen gift.

Missing from photos: Bruce's Bexley 'Americana' (G) and his Visconti 'Van Gogh' in the Maxi size (R)...and Aaron's Parker Duofold 'Big Red' (G) and his Parker 'Vacumatic'(G). Catherine meant to bring a Sheaffer fountain pen she won as a door prize but left it at home, and she said she'd recommend the Lamy Safari/Al-Star as a pen gift.

Photo credits: Maja (photo 1), Christopher (photos 2 & 3), Richard (photos 4 & 5).

Season's Greetings!

(fountain pen pictured is a Sheaffer 'NoNonsense' from my California cousins :)
Next meeting: Thursday January 21, 2016 at 6:30pm at Perks pen store (5844 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC).
Theme : to be announced!