Date: Thursday July 17, 2014
Place: Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm ("early birds" welcome at 6:00pm, to chat before the meeting)
Theme: Special Edition & Limited Edition Fountain Pens
If you have any new pen-related stuff to show, please bring it along as New Acquisitions is always our secondary theme. No RSVPs required for regular meetings!
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Orange is the New Black
Some photos of my gorgeous new Delta Dolcevita Slim fountain pen, which I received at our June meeting. This beautiful pen is hand-turned from solid bars of orange and black resin to create a dramatic & bold effect. The cap ring is made of sterling silver, hand-engraved with a decoration that was found in old paintings from Pompeii. I can honestly say that the pen looks even more stunning in person...and it writes like a dream. Many thanks to the Delta Pen Company for this generous gift!
Look at that gorgeous Fusion nib! Patented in 2012 by the Delta Pen Company of Naples, Italy, it was made by fusing a layer of 18K gold to a steel alloy to create a unique nib with enhanced ink-flow properties. The nib on mine is a Fine, but it writes a bit more like a Fine-Medium, which is perfect for me.
~~~~~~ Review by Maja Furlong ~~~~~~
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Photos from June meeting ~ Italian Pens
Twenty-one members attended an excellent & informative talk on Italian Pens by VPC member Glenn Marcus on Thursday June 19th. Glenn spoke at length about his visits to the pen factories of Aurora, Omas, Montegrappa, Visconti, Stipula and Delta and his conversations with the owners & designers at those firms about their past history, current production models, and future plans for their writing instrument lines. To illustrate his presentation, Glenn brought many fine examples of the fountain pens produced by these companies from his own pen collection.
Many of these pens can be seen (beautifully photographed by Glenn) on his personal pen blog ~ "Glenn's Pens". As a matter of fact, Glenn created an excellent blog post about his talk here that nicely summarizes what he spoke about at our meeting.
Thanks to Delta's generosity, we were fortunate to have two examples of their current model, the "Journal" to see and try out. One of the pens came with a steel nib that was a wonderful writer, and the other pen came with a "Fusion" nib, a product unique to (and patented two years ago by) Delta. This innovative design features a steel nib fused with a layer of 18K gold to create a nib with enhanced ink-flow properties. The Fusion nib is gorgeous, so if you are looking for a smooth-writing nib that will elicit compliments on its appearance, treat yourself to a Delta fountain pen with a Fusion nib :) Well done, Delta!
Many thanks to Glenn for his excellent presentation, and to the Delta Pen Company (official site) for providing the pens and literature on their products. Delta posted some of Glenn's own photos from our meeting on their official Facebook site here
And now, some photos from Thursday night's meeting (all photos by Richard Clarke):
(pictured above, counter-clockwise from left: Glenn Marcus (light shirt), Stephanie, Julienne, Peter, Tony, Bruce, Charles, Patti (who came with her husband Aaron, one of our newer members) and Derek
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Click on photos to enlarge ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(pictured above, counter-clockwise around the table: Glenn, Stephanie, Julienne, Peter, Bruce, Tony, Charles, James, Aaron, and Derek. In the row behind Glenn are (L-R) new members Nasya and Sam L, Marey and Brian (light blue shirt). In addition to Nasya and Sam, we had two other brand-new members at Thursday's meeting - Melody and Jeff (who are peeking out of the extreme lower left-hand corner of the photo)
(That's me--Maja--in the navy blue t-shirt behind the Rhodia rotating display, and Stuart in the yellow polo shirt).
(Bill Kempton, one our club's founding members arrived a couple of minutes into Glenn's talk, but was glad he came to the meeting! That's Bill standing between James and Patti above)
A hearty and well-earned round of applause for Glenn!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our next meeting will be on Thursday July 17 at the usual place and time (Perks pen store-5844 Cambie Street in Vancouver, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm or so). Theme/topic: to be announced! Check our website for more details at the end of June. Many thanks to all members who have attended meetings in 2014---your participation & input is greatly appreciated!
Many of these pens can be seen (beautifully photographed by Glenn) on his personal pen blog ~ "Glenn's Pens". As a matter of fact, Glenn created an excellent blog post about his talk here that nicely summarizes what he spoke about at our meeting.
Thanks to Delta's generosity, we were fortunate to have two examples of their current model, the "Journal" to see and try out. One of the pens came with a steel nib that was a wonderful writer, and the other pen came with a "Fusion" nib, a product unique to (and patented two years ago by) Delta. This innovative design features a steel nib fused with a layer of 18K gold to create a nib with enhanced ink-flow properties. The Fusion nib is gorgeous, so if you are looking for a smooth-writing nib that will elicit compliments on its appearance, treat yourself to a Delta fountain pen with a Fusion nib :) Well done, Delta!
Many thanks to Glenn for his excellent presentation, and to the Delta Pen Company (official site) for providing the pens and literature on their products. Delta posted some of Glenn's own photos from our meeting on their official Facebook site here
And now, some photos from Thursday night's meeting (all photos by Richard Clarke):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Click on photos to enlarge ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our next meeting will be on Thursday July 17 at the usual place and time (Perks pen store-5844 Cambie Street in Vancouver, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm or so). Theme/topic: to be announced! Check our website for more details at the end of June. Many thanks to all members who have attended meetings in 2014---your participation & input is greatly appreciated!
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Our June meeting topic? Italian Pens!!
Date: Thursday June 19, 2014
Place: the usual place (Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC)
Time: the usual time (6:30pm-8:30pm, but "early birds" welcome at 6:00pm, to chat before the meeting)
Theme: Italian Pens ~ a short talk by Glenn Marcus
Longtime VPC member & pen collector Glenn Marcus of GlennsPens.com has kindly agreed to do a short talk on modern Italian fountain pens and his personal experiences with the companies that produce them. Over the last several years Glenn has had the privilege of visiting several factories in Europe that produce modern writing instruments and we are honoured that he has agreed to do an overview of Italian pens for our June meeting. Please bring your very favourite Italian fountain pen (yes, just one pen!) with you to this meeting.
As a side note, our 2014 summer dinner will be held on Thursday August 21 at the White Spot restaurant inside Oakridge Mall, right across the street from the Perks pen store where we usually meet. This is a members-only, RSVP-required dinner, so I will send out invitations to VPC members in mid-July. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Upcoming out-of-town events in which VPC members may be interested:
Seattle Pen Club meeting will be held in Bellingham, WA this Saturday May 31 at the Bellingham Public Market (1530 Cornwall Ave, in Bellingham, WA) from 10:00am to 1:00pm, and VPC members are invited to attend.
The 2nd Annual Northwest Pen Round-Up! will be held on Saturday July 12th, 2014, at the Lucky Labrador brew pub/restaurant (1945 N.W. Quimby Street) in Portland, Oregon, from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Admission is free and they only charge a nominal fee for vendors who want to set up. If you would like table space, please contact Stuart Hawkinson (s.hawkinson@comcast.net) or Michael McNeil (michael@northwestpenworks.com) directly.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Group photos from May 2014 meeting
Clockwise from lower left: Dexter (wearing glasses), Maja, James (partly hidden), Bill K, Tony, May, Stephanie, Kiyoshi, Marey, Bruce, Sienca, Ken, Beverley, Adrian, Mark, Stuart, Mido and Peter. Missing from photo: Graham, Charles, Dave M and Richard (actually, you can see Dave and Charles--wearing glasses---in the lower right of photo #4 below) (Click on photos to enlarge)
Many thanks to Richard for taking the photos!
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Laban 'Mento'
My Laban Mento fountain pen in the "Pumpkinseed" pattern, one of the everyday carry pens I brought to our May meeting:
The Mento is a lovely oversized fountain pen (apparently, it's larger than a Montblanc 149) that is light in the hand and very comfortable to hold. Many thanks to Bob in our pen club for selling this pen to me a while back! Cheers ~Maja
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Everyday Carry (EDC) writing instruments
From our May meeting (click on photos to enlarge):
Charles' nice leather Libelle pen wrap and his everyday carry (EDC) pens---a blue-striped Pelikan M800, a Montblanc 149 highlighter, a Diplomat Excellence in the Guilloch Rhombus pattern and a Bexley Poseidon in Tortoise. I believe the red/maroon pen on the far left is a British Parker Duofold. All great choices for daily carry pens!
Who says a (very) limited edition pen can't be an ED carry? This is Bruce's impressive CONID Bulk-filler, limited to 60 pieces worldwide. Bruce says he loves using his TWSBI Vac 700 when he needs a "casual" pen, and his OMAS Dama on more "dressy" occasions.
I forgot to photograph my own EDC, but I took a quick shot at home after the meeting. From L to R: Pentel retractable eraser, Paper Mate Precision pencil, Romet Americana ballpoint, Cross Bailey ballpoint, Online Academy fountain pen and Laban Mento fountain pen (I carry these in a leather Signum multi-pen pouch).
All in all, the topic of EDC writing instruments was well-represented at our May meeting. In addition to fountain pens, other types of writing instruments were brought in---mechanical pencils (e.g. Dave's Parker '51' and Dexter's Staedtler 925 25 2mm pencil), ballpoints (Bill K's Parker Jotter, Dexter's Rotring, and others), multi-pens (Bill's Cross Tech3) and even some brush pens & other art pens used for sketching (brought in by Adrian).
Fountain pens, however, were (by far) the most popular EDC writing instrument (seeing as how we're primarily a fountain pen club, that should come as no surprise!) with examples by Lamy (Bill's Nexx & Safari), Parker (Mark & Dave's '51's and Graham's '21'), Sailor (Peter's '1911'), Pilot (Sienca's Petit collection, James' Prera and Peter's Vanishing Point), Platinum (a '3776' belonging to Peter), Pelikan (Stuart's M200, among others), Noodler's (a 'Nib Creaper' model owned by Stephanie), Montblanc (Graham's '14') and Sheaffer (Stuart's Sagaris). VPC member Tony brought in his everyday pen---a nice-looking black no-name fountain pen with his name engraved. Newer member Kiyoshi brought in a couple of nice Chinese-made fountain pens and Mido brought in an assortment of wonderful vintage fountain pens from the "Big Four"----Waterman, Wahl-Eversharp, Parker & Sheaffer.
Speaking of Sheaffer, here is a group shot of Stuart's ever-growing Lady Sheaffer Skripsert collection. My poor photo doesn't do the lovely patterns justice, but they are gorgeous vintage pens:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to all 22 VPC members who came to the May meeting, including our two newest members---Marey and Peter! Next VPC meeting will be held on Thursday June 19 at the usual meeting place (Perks pen store on Cambie Street in Vancouver). Meeting time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm (approx.) Theme: to be announced!
All in all, the topic of EDC writing instruments was well-represented at our May meeting. In addition to fountain pens, other types of writing instruments were brought in---mechanical pencils (e.g. Dave's Parker '51' and Dexter's Staedtler 925 25 2mm pencil), ballpoints (Bill K's Parker Jotter, Dexter's Rotring, and others), multi-pens (Bill's Cross Tech3) and even some brush pens & other art pens used for sketching (brought in by Adrian).
Fountain pens, however, were (by far) the most popular EDC writing instrument (seeing as how we're primarily a fountain pen club, that should come as no surprise!) with examples by Lamy (Bill's Nexx & Safari), Parker (Mark & Dave's '51's and Graham's '21'), Sailor (Peter's '1911'), Pilot (Sienca's Petit collection, James' Prera and Peter's Vanishing Point), Platinum (a '3776' belonging to Peter), Pelikan (Stuart's M200, among others), Noodler's (a 'Nib Creaper' model owned by Stephanie), Montblanc (Graham's '14') and Sheaffer (Stuart's Sagaris). VPC member Tony brought in his everyday pen---a nice-looking black no-name fountain pen with his name engraved. Newer member Kiyoshi brought in a couple of nice Chinese-made fountain pens and Mido brought in an assortment of wonderful vintage fountain pens from the "Big Four"----Waterman, Wahl-Eversharp, Parker & Sheaffer.
Speaking of Sheaffer, here is a group shot of Stuart's ever-growing Lady Sheaffer Skripsert collection. My poor photo doesn't do the lovely patterns justice, but they are gorgeous vintage pens:
Friday, May 2, 2014
May meeting info
Date: Thursday May 15, 2014
Place: Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm ("early birds" welcome at 6:00pm, to chat before the meeting)
Theme: "Everyday Carry Pens" (EDC Pens) & Ink Swap!
EDC pens are the writing instruments that you carry with you on an everyday basis (thus the name ;) and can include a mixture of fountain pens, ballpoints and rollerballs (or pencils). Please bring the pen case(s) you use with these writing instruments, as well. We will also be having our twice annual Ink Swap at the May meeting, so if you have any unwanted inks (or ink samples) to trade with other VPC members, please bring them with you. Trading can be done before the meeting starts or at the end of the meeting---it's up to you. Inks can be in full or partially-full bottles, ink cartridges or small plastic sample vials. Our Ink Swap is 100% voluntary, so don't feel obligated to bring any ink(s) if you like the all the ones you own!
No RSVPs required for any meetings held at Perks. Questions? Please contact us at vancouverpenclub@gmail.com
Place: Perks pen store, 5844 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm ("early birds" welcome at 6:00pm, to chat before the meeting)
Theme: "Everyday Carry Pens" (EDC Pens) & Ink Swap!
EDC pens are the writing instruments that you carry with you on an everyday basis (thus the name ;) and can include a mixture of fountain pens, ballpoints and rollerballs (or pencils). Please bring the pen case(s) you use with these writing instruments, as well. We will also be having our twice annual Ink Swap at the May meeting, so if you have any unwanted inks (or ink samples) to trade with other VPC members, please bring them with you. Trading can be done before the meeting starts or at the end of the meeting---it's up to you. Inks can be in full or partially-full bottles, ink cartridges or small plastic sample vials. Our Ink Swap is 100% voluntary, so don't feel obligated to bring any ink(s) if you like the all the ones you own!
No RSVPs required for any meetings held at Perks. Questions? Please contact us at vancouverpenclub@gmail.com
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Postcard from Paris
One of our longtime VPC members (and ink connoisseur), Glenn Marcus, emailed me this photo of an ink he just purchased in Paris while on vacation---the new Caran d'Ache Chromatics INKredible Colours ink in Magnetic Blue.
(click on photo to enlarge)
Glenn was impressed with the colours of these inks, saying they were "intense colours in an interesting bottle". He paid €31 for one bottle, making it one of (if not *the*) most expensive fountain pen inks around, but I know Glenn is very particular about ink, so if he likes it, it must be good :)
According to their website, the Caran d'Ache Chromatics line is "a new collection of ink bottles with 12 colours inspired by the prism. The new Caran d’Ache ink bottles synthesize a unique expertise: the science of colours. Named Chromatics INKredible Colours, the collection uses Caran d’Ache’s colour experience to master the most intense pigments across a spectrum of 12 vibrant, deep shades. From ultramarine blue to luxuriant green, from shimmering orange to passionate red, they give the words a soul and the text a uniquely vibrant style."
Glenn was impressed with the colours of these inks, saying they were "intense colours in an interesting bottle". He paid €31 for one bottle, making it one of (if not *the*) most expensive fountain pen inks around, but I know Glenn is very particular about ink, so if he likes it, it must be good :)
According to their website, the Caran d'Ache Chromatics line is "a new collection of ink bottles with 12 colours inspired by the prism. The new Caran d’Ache ink bottles synthesize a unique expertise: the science of colours. Named Chromatics INKredible Colours, the collection uses Caran d’Ache’s colour experience to master the most intense pigments across a spectrum of 12 vibrant, deep shades. From ultramarine blue to luxuriant green, from shimmering orange to passionate red, they give the words a soul and the text a uniquely vibrant style."
Friday, April 18, 2014
April Showers Redux (with photos this time!)
Many thanks to all 18 VPC members (including newcomers Stephanie, Aaron, Adrian, Mavis & Steve) who braved the rain (and traffic tie-ups) to attend last night's meeting. Our theme for April was 'Constant Comment'- Pens that evoke interest/comments whenever you pull them out (which, Bruce explained, was inspired by this tea) .
Bruce started the informal show & tell by showing us his Waterman Charleston, Retro 51 'Double Eight' green marbled special edition and Pelikan M800 fountain pens, which have elicited comments from both pen people & non-pen people alike (bonus points to Bruce for the latter!). Sienca brought a perennial favourite - the fabulous Parker '51', Bob brought a lovely urushi lacquered Dani Trio fountain pen, Anne brought her Cross 'Matrix'- a cool old-style stylus & fountain pen combo, Julienne brought her Platinum President, a very large pen with an incongruously-fine (but very smooth-writing) needlepoint nib, and Joie brought her adorable Sailor Sapporo "Hello Kitty" fountain pen, as well a Waterman Exception Slim in the gorgeous Raspberry colour.
For new acquisitions, Mark brought a stunning vintage OMAS desk set he recently picked up, James showed us his new "sumgai" find---a Montblanc StarWalker pen he found in a pawn shop overseas, and Stuart displayed the newest additions to his budding collection of Lady Sheaffers, as well as a Kaweco "Student" fountain pen. In addition to his oft-commented-on Lamy '2000', Greg brought along some brand-new nylon pen cases by NOCK he recently acquired, including this zippered roll case which had everyone oohing & aahing (because it's such an awesome idea):
NOCK started a Kickstarter campaign and have produced several styles of pen cases. For more info, take a peek at this page.
I brought a few pens (my tiny Sailor Chalana, a Pilot M90 & Pilot Vanishing Point, a Sheaffer Snorkel), including this love-it-or-hate-it Rotring "Core" fountain pen, which is actually a nice writer...it just looks weird :
Our May meeting will be held on Thursday May 15 at our usual venue (Perks pen store at 5844 Cambie Street in Vancouver, BC) from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Theme: To Be Announced. We will be having our twice-annual Ink Swap (bottled ink , ink cartridges and ink samples, too) during our May meeting, so please bring any ink(s) you'd like to trade.
Bruce started the informal show & tell by showing us his Waterman Charleston, Retro 51 'Double Eight' green marbled special edition and Pelikan M800 fountain pens, which have elicited comments from both pen people & non-pen people alike (bonus points to Bruce for the latter!). Sienca brought a perennial favourite - the fabulous Parker '51', Bob brought a lovely urushi lacquered Dani Trio fountain pen, Anne brought her Cross 'Matrix'- a cool old-style stylus & fountain pen combo, Julienne brought her Platinum President, a very large pen with an incongruously-fine (but very smooth-writing) needlepoint nib, and Joie brought her adorable Sailor Sapporo "Hello Kitty" fountain pen, as well a Waterman Exception Slim in the gorgeous Raspberry colour.
For new acquisitions, Mark brought a stunning vintage OMAS desk set he recently picked up, James showed us his new "sumgai" find---a Montblanc StarWalker pen he found in a pawn shop overseas, and Stuart displayed the newest additions to his budding collection of Lady Sheaffers, as well as a Kaweco "Student" fountain pen. In addition to his oft-commented-on Lamy '2000', Greg brought along some brand-new nylon pen cases by NOCK he recently acquired, including this zippered roll case which had everyone oohing & aahing (because it's such an awesome idea):
NOCK started a Kickstarter campaign and have produced several styles of pen cases. For more info, take a peek at this page.
I brought a few pens (my tiny Sailor Chalana, a Pilot M90 & Pilot Vanishing Point, a Sheaffer Snorkel), including this love-it-or-hate-it Rotring "Core" fountain pen, which is actually a nice writer...it just looks weird :
Our May meeting will be held on Thursday May 15 at our usual venue (Perks pen store at 5844 Cambie Street in Vancouver, BC) from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Theme: To Be Announced. We will be having our twice-annual Ink Swap (bottled ink , ink cartridges and ink samples, too) during our May meeting, so please bring any ink(s) you'd like to trade.
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