In honor of Memorial Day weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate with a giveaway.
This is one of the original prototype Galen Leather Writer’s Media Bag in Crazy Horse Forest Green (retail price $219). The gang at Galen gave this to me at the DC Pen Show a couple years ago. I have been holding on to it for the perfect opportunity and THIS IS IT.
The Writer’s Medic Bag is designed for modern pen folk but is based on vintage medic messenger bags. It was the last design Zeynep created and on Memorial Day weekend, it seemed appropriate to remember not just Zeynep but all the people who gave so much of themselves to the pen community.
The bag features lots of loops for pens, slots for cards and ephemera and the magnetic opening makes it easy to see all the items in your bag when you arrive at your destination.
This bag is all-leather in my favorite Crazy Horse Forest Green. The leather is pre-distressed so there are marks and scratches and tonal variations built into the leather. I love this look and it means you don’t have to worry about scratching the leather — it’s already been done. Rubbing it with a soft cloth or even the pad of you hand will diminish any big scratches easily.
The bag includes a clippable keychain and the Galen signature leather tag.
The strap is long enough to carry the bag crossbody and there is a stud mechanism to adjust the strap length.
This is a prototype and may vary slightly from the final production version. The bag has not been used but has hung around the studio as eye candy so may be sprinkled with a cat hair or two and a dollop of dust. Will be packed well but does not include original Galen packaging.
To enter to win this Galen Leather Writer’s Media Bag in Crazy Horse Forest Green, follow the instructions below.
TO ENTER: Leave a comment below telling us someone in the pen community who means a lot to you. It could be someone you know personally or just someone who makes awesome online content. (Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay?) One entry per person.
If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.
FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Wednesday. ONE winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this post were provided free of charge by Galen Leather for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
SBREBrown and Figboot. Absolutely amazing videos. So much fun to watch.
Hmmm Figboot and Goulet pens really revved up my interests in fountain pens but in all honestly, I was always a pen freak. My friend and I would secretly meet up to compile reports on the best sorting instrument so far … which at the time was Pilot G2. I’m glad to have found other pen enthusiasts. A new YouTuber Spellbound has my wheels thinking that my new investment should be a very nice fountain pen. I didn’t realize stationary would be such an expensive hobby!
I always enjoy the posters of The Well-Appointed Desk.
Would it be too cheesy to say that The Well-Appointed Desk is my go-to site to look up products and reviews? When I was having some financial troubles (I got better) and I couldn’t collect like I wanted to, the regular reviews of new or popular products let me live vicariously until I got back on my feet again. And let me put together a tight wish list for better days. But thankfully that was a while ago, and now the reviews help inform my purchases and make me a better collector and shopper. So thank-you.
I really enjoy watching Newsha on Ferociousnprettypens (YouTube). She is hilarious, talented, fun, and inspiring.
Figboot is one of my favorites! I really enjoy watching his carefully detailed videos.
This is epic! I love the color and the layout of this bag. Someone in the community that means the world to me is my best friend Adam Lolatchy. He got me into fountain pens about 10 years ago and in that time we have grown to be awesome friends. We normally talk to each other 2 or 3 times a week on the phone and at least once a day via text. He is one of the best parts of this community and my world.
Can I name two people? Josh Danley who writes the Pelikan’s Petch because I learned almost everything I know about my beloved birds from him and honestly…. You, Ana. I enjoy your blog more than most any other because of the broad scope of content on TWAD.
I met Ana at an Atlanta pen show. And at a few shows after that. She has always been generous with her time and advice.
I’d say Brad the Pen Addict. His blog was the bridge between my search for the perfect ballpoint and getting into fountain pens.
SBREBrown was one of the ones that got me interested in fountain pens!
SBRE Brown and Azizah Asgarali are so down-to-earth and informative, and a great couple! Great videos and blog posts. (Just wish they’d do more giveaways.)
SBREBrown introduced me to my love of larger pens, especially from Italian makers and Brian Anderson with his knowledge of vintage pens.
My friend Shelley <3 In our letters to each other, we geek over our latest pen and ink purchases, admiring each other’s ink choices and not judging when one us confesses that yes, we’ve purchased more ink or yet another pen.
Oh my!!! That bag is completely AWESOME! Hmmmm. I love all of my pen friends!!! Joel Moline has been especially wonderful in teaching me more and more about pens.
Honestly, I love your blog and learn so much from it.
Mountain of Ink is indispensible for me figuring out the next ink to lust after.
Mike and Audrey Matteson. Their livestream is a great way to spend the weekend.
So many. Mishelleraine/Christene, my fellow purple friend who passed away two years ago. Jesi, John, Em, Holly and more from the Colorado pen posse. Online friends like the Mattesons, David/Yossarian, Kimberly/allthehobbies. A whole host of friends.
I love Well Appointed Desk, and this is my go-to outside of Ravelry. On Ravelry, the Planner Porn group has done so much damage to my wallet over the years. So many great pens and inks! Gorgeous stationery and notebooks. And many ideas that I’ve added to my life that I love.
What an absolutely gorgeous bag! I actually value all of you at The Well-Appointed Desk the most – really love Link Wednesdays, great reviews, and you have generous giveaways.
I am picking Lauren Elliott, flygirlelliot. I was waiting for a flight to NYC telling my coworkers I was going to visit Fountain Pen Hospital and she overheard. When I boarded the plane, she told me to come visit the cockpit. We shared pens and notebooks, passing them up and down the aisle with the flight attendants during the flight. Perfect serendipity I will never forget.
OMG, Ana, this is an awesome giveaway. I love that bag, and it’s my favorite color. I’d like to say thanks to so many people in the pen community who were nice to me and patient when I was just a newbie and had all kinds of dumb questions. Also, thanks to those who are still nice to me and patient when I have all kinds of technical questions! One person I especially miss, who is sadly no longer with us: Jim Rouse, who used to work for Franklin-Christoph. He was super nice to me at a pen show in 2016, when I was still a rank beginner. He set me up with a custom SIG nib, his specialty. He was a very nice, very talented man, and I miss him.
I’m a big fan of Pencil Revolution (he uses pens too) and Writing at Large, their focus on the practical everyday carry of writing utensils and notebooks has been very helpful to me as a newbie.
Do I have to pick just one? And in picking just one, there are so many that I would not be be choosing. There are the people who invited me into the various online spaces in which we gather, there are the people who have sold me amazing pens, there are the people who have created content that has shown me what is out there, there are the makers who have allowed me to purchase their works.
It may be a cop out, but I do not think I can pick just one, or at least not right now.
There are so many people in the pen world…I can’t pick just one! I love Well-Appointed Desk and the team…great blog, great give-aways (!), and wonderful shop full of unique items. Brad and Myke with a Y are always fun to listen to. Alex at Shigure Inks has always given me super service for his nice array of merchandise (yay, ink samples!). And, I agree with everyone else’s choices in these comments.
First to spring to mind is Visker & Scrivener, an utterly charming shop I stumbled upon in Galveston; inkwells, pens of all sorts, vintage nibs, handmade journals, inks & inkwells & bottles!…… Oh, and a pair of dapper shop cats who had apparently nibbled on the taxidermy two-headed duckling, as cats will do.
Love that bag and Well AppointedDesk
The team at Yoseka Stationery has been really helpful to me, as well as here at Well Appointed Desk!
I have recently come across the Yoseka Shop and I have come to enjoy their videos and the advice, and have been able to up my PenPal game due to them!
George Long, the man who started, presided over and grew my local pen club for 13 years is my pen hero! We have an awesome club today thanks to him.
The person in the pen community who meant the world to me & started me collecting pens was my dad. And he started me off big- with a Montblanc.
My father introduced me to pens, mechanical pencils, Filofaxes and crossbody bags. When he was quite elderly he used to call his small messenger bag “my brain bag”, because he needed reminders to manage his day.. He wrote them in his Filofax with a fountain pen. He would have loved this bag, as will I.
One of the few good things that happened during the pandemic was randomly discovering an old friend was getting into fountain pens, which made me get my pen out of the drawer it had been in for too many years — and then I found out there were all these cool fountain pen blogs and sites and things??? That’s of course led to pen and ink orders, etc. Anyway, the Well-Appointed Desk is my favorite blog that covers fountain pen stuff (thank you!).
I love all the content you provide here on Well Appointed Desk, as well as all the new info. I also love the people on Ravelry who have destashed awesome fountain pens to me! The color of this planner is my favorite color, and I’ve been looking for the perfect planner and pen holder…
I love this color!!!!! And I need a pen case so bad!!! Okay, so believe it or not, I do not have any IRL pen friends!!! So I watch several YouTube channels, and I love mountainofink.com , and my new favorite person to watch and be inspired by is Nusha on youtube, FerociousnPrettyPens – she has beautiful handwriting, she does lots of artsy stuff with her pens, and she is very silly and very funny and reminds me a lot of myself when she’s goofy. Thank you for the opportunity!!
My pen pal is someone who has introduced me to several fountain pens through her letters.
As far as I know, she’s not a fountain pen enthusiast but Lindsey Bugbee of the Postman’s Knock has inspired me to try dip pens and calligraphy.
My person is my friend Alan Shutko, who sent me a link to this giveaway. He was my original ‘penabler’ and has introduced me to such an amazing community of people!
Awwww!
It’s gotta be all the contributors at The Pen Addict, Well Appointed Desk, & Mountain of Ink for turning an interest in pens and stationary to a life love of them.
Brad Dowdy
The person who had the biggest influence on me was Susan Wirth. She was so passionate about pens and writing. Her mission was to find the right pen for every hand. I had the good fortune to work for her for several years at the LA Pen Show. Also the Philly Show when I happened to be in town visiting family, went to the show and was pressed into service. I sure do miss her.
I enjoy the videos by Doug Rathbun, they have a consistent format and some nice “funny” moments. It was his videos that turned me on to Leonardo and Moonman pens.
Like so many here, there is no way for me to choose only one. The Well-Appointed Desk has been one of the delightful coping mechanisms for me during the pandemic. I love the Link-Love posts and the reviews, the fun stamps in the shop, and the little notes Ana writes on the invoices.
The …' Friday YouTube chats have also helped me feel connected to the world and people that are rumoured to be out there. I also frequent SBREBrown, Mountain of Ink, Pelikan Perch, Goldspot… And now after reading through the other responses, I see there are other sites I need to check out.But I should also mention Mia Semingson at Two Hands Paperie in Boulder, Colorado, who is one of the warm and wonderful people of this planet, and the amazing folks of Colorado Pen Posse who are fun, fascinating, and never say "Do you really need another bottle of ink?" nor "I can't believe you bought a new pen. Didn't you just buy one recently?"
I confess that I would really. like to win this bag. I've been rather lusting after one of these bags for some time now and would be psyched to have this one land in my lap. I'd probably have to celebrate with a new pen or bottle of ink…
Mountain of Ink and you here at the Well Appointed Desk are my favorite pen people!
Honestly, it’s hard for me to name just ONE person in the fountain pen community who’s important to me. The guys from Thompson pens – when I had a question about a pen, Steve called me and we chatted, and laughed, for 30 minutes. @meejasouarusrex writes beautiful letters. @urban_von_inkster is always down for a late-night pen chat. I used to just write with fountain pens – collecting, and tinkering, and trying inks, and being part of a pen aficionado COMMUNITY, is all new for me, and started during the pandemic. Being a part of this welcoming, opinionated, super-helpful, idiosyncratic pen community has sustained me through the year of social isolation and I am grateful every day.
I love love love this bag!!!
Alessa at Inky.Rocks means a lot to me. Her videos are so calming and she has a really
Lovely sense of humor and a pretty clear kindness to her way of being.
I really love Mountain of Ink for having such great swatches and helping me add to my ink collection and wishlist. I really have to shout out my spouse for getting me into fountain pens in the first place and setting me down this deep down path.
I’ve listened to so many Pen Addict podcasts, I’m gonna go with Brad… He’s down to earth and a true pen nerd.
I LOVE The Well Appointed Desk and can’t wait to read Link Love every week!
What a beautiful bag! Thanks for the giveaway! I would have to say Brad and Myke have been the most important people in the pen community for me. A couple years ago I wanted to try a fountain pen for sketching and when I wandered into their podcast I found so much joy! I wasn’t looking for a community, and even though I don’t have anyone physically close to me and have never been to a pen show, I do feel part of something special now. That means a lot to me.
My favorite would be this site the Well Appointed Desk. I’ve learned so much from the blogs.
I would love the case to house my pens and green is a favorite color
Several years ago I connected with another pen enthusiast on facebook and we became penpals. I live in the US and he lives in Australia. Over the years we have traded pens, inks and many, many letters. He even sent me some Vegemite and a 3 page letter detailing the proper use instructions. Too many think it will be like Nutella and get turned off by it. My beloved Raymond is a great penpal. I adore his letters and his penmanship is swoon-worthy. He means very much to me.
Wow, there are so many. Janine (@janinescribnles) is a truly lovely person and I love watch her write the alphabet. Alesa (@inky.rocks) mesmerizes me with ink in water and she’s just a really nice person. Ana patiently helped me buy a pen from Vanessa at a DC pen show. Her blog is always informative and interesting.
There are just so many people who are so generous with their knowledge. I always hope I can help a pen newbie when I meet one.
Matt Armstrong from The Pen Habit. He was the first reviewer I followed and enjoyed all of his posts.
Myke Hurley. The Pen Addict podcast is what really got me into this world and I came to that through Myke.
VittaR of YouTube first introduced me the the wonderful variety of inks available for fountain pens. There have been many other great people too. Sadly, she seems to have stopped her ink reviews.
I want to appreciate CY ,Jacob and Alesa aka InkyRocks from Tokyo Inklings. They do such a deep and fascinating dive into the world of Japanese stationary.
I really enjoy the videos from Goulet Pens. The videos are helpful, informative and fun.
When I first started getting into modern fountain pens, the staff at the University of Oregon bookstore were so kind about letting me see and try out different brands. I also love reading Mountain of Ink these days, each time I’m looking for a new ink color.
My grandpa used to buy Parker Jotters with a window customized to promote his business. Those jotters were my introduction to pens. When I started getting interested in pens as an adult, a couple of vintage jotters were my first buys. So thanks to Poppy.
When I first started down the fountain pen rabbit hole it was from Brian and Rachel Goulet’s website and videos that I learned so much. So thanks to gouletpens.com.
I really enjoy the pen work of Liz Steel and all of her fountain pens! I’ve learned a lot from her!
My favorite would have to be Ana Reinert over at The Well Appointed Desk. So Good!
I have to shout out to Susan at Goulet Pens. Her videos make me and my hands feel welcome in the fountain pen community.
There are a few generous souls in the stationery world that I remember well. All of them are through Facebook, and almost all of them were hosting a giveaway. I got a Gardenour Leather Field Notes cover from Patty Calendra years ago and I still carry it every day in my pants. Sometimes I post it on the Field Nuts Facebook group and Patty is overjoyed to see that her gift is still being used and appreciated. I’ve gotten Field Notes notebooks too and one time I was asking about a very specific Daiso grid pad that I could not find a replacement for at work and a nice lady just bought 6 of them and shipped them to me for free! To this day I no longer see those pads at Daiso and cant really find that tiny 1mm grid spacing anywhere else on Amazon. The stationery community is so cool in general. Who needs friends when you got people who love staionery online? ha ha.
I really like Neil Gaiman’s idea of using two different colored inks when writing his manuscripts to show his day-to-day progress (or lack thereof). I keep meaning to borrow a page from his book, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten so far; I have yet to actually put that into action. But one of these days…
The Pen Addict, both the podcast and the blog was my gateway. I always loved pens and looked for stuff that I enjoyed writing with, but I thought nobody else was like that. Then I found the blog and the whole community.
Brian Goulet. His online content gave me the confidence to revisit vintage VP I had stored away never to have been used, because I was intimidated by them. Watching the instructional videos gave me the confidence to begin useing them and begin journaling. I am grateful fir his work. I finally met him in person at a Pen Show and he is humble as well.
Dear staff, for me it would have to be penboyroy. Im a doctor and have after 10yrs of practicing within various fields within the profession, recently and finally qualified as a consultant! And then I got into fountain pens. I started watching penboyroy’s vids on YouTube initially and then found his podcast. I started listening from episode 1 and he has been the biggest inspiration for me to start my own blog on medium.
For yrs I’ve written blogs and made websites with an expectation of perfection just like medicine teaches you. It has to look good first time, it has to be successful, it has to cure the problems for the patient. But it was always this “perfectionism” that lead me to failure when writing. Penboyroy’s podcast has given me a huge boost in confidence n the nudge I needed to just start! It doesn’t matter if my camera isn’t perfect or my content is small, everyone starts somewhere is the message I got from listening to his first episodes. I love his humor, I love his eye for detail, he’s a bit of a goof and doesn’t take himself too seriously but drops wisdom when its needed too. I have a lot of respect for the guy.
I think the person in the fountain pen community who means the most to me is my friend Michelle. She’s the one who got me started by giving me a pen and having ink parties with me to test all her inks. She’s also the one who pointed me to this blog.
I agree with all of the love for the Goulet’s; however, I have to give a shout-out to Michael at Dromgoole’s. His videos during the pandemic were a breath of fresh air! Same with Lisa over at Vaness Pens! Love her videos! I also love the customer service at both Dromgoole’s and Vaness Pens. Great people!
So many people. Brian Goulet and David Parker guided me into this hobby with their videos. Brad Dowdy, TOKYO pen shop, and Jasmine at Studyquill got me to branch out beyond Fountain pens with their amazing passion. Lately I’ve been enjoying watching Peter Draws learn and become well known.
I’m a fan of The Birmingham Pen Company in Pittsburgh, PA! They offer fountain pens turned and finished in house, and a stunning array of gorgeous inks. I’ll be heading to Pittsburgh soon and will be planning to visit them. Thanks so much for your generosity! I’ve been wishing for a Galen bag and this would fit the bill perfectly.
Joshua Danley of The Pelikan’s Perch for going all out on researching my favorite brand.
For me, it’s Joe at the Gentleman Stationer. His recommendations have never done me wrong and I’ve picked up some great accessories at his shop.
The pen addict, mr. Brad Dowdy!
I have got to go for my namesake, Tom Otto. He seems to have a personality and he actually has conversations with his customers. I have gotten his opinion and a few subjects, ink-related.
My mother had a Parker fountain pen that she cherished. So I’d say she introduced me to fountain pens. Once it was damaged and she sent it to Janesville, WI for repair. She’s be shocked to see where her influence has lead.
So honestly and not for kissing up purposes, my favorite pen content comes from The Well Appointed Desk. I follow other folks, but the post here are my favorite, especially Link Love. I learn about a variety of things, including beautiful pens and inks! ☺
Well, you mean a lot to me, of course! I look forward to the Link Love every week. 🙂
In terms of influence, Brad Dowdy ran a giveaway yeeeears ago when I was just getting back into fountain pens (after a brief fling with Levenger in the early 2000s), and I won. I still have the gorgeous Retro Tornado fountain pen that was part of the giveaway, and it’s inspired a lifelong (and expensive) habit. 🙂
Shinah at Crooked Calligraphy is such a talented, straightforward source of encouragement. I really enjoy her work and teaching.
Happy to have found MNML Scholar online. Check him out!
My friend Robyn, she was my first IRL friend who also discovered fountain pens and it has been so wonderful discovering things with her. Especially since she and I have very different tastes in ink so we aren’t tempted by the same bottles and there’s no potential fights. Not that we would because she and I are both grown, sensible adults buuuut you know… temptation is real.
Ana, I honestly don’t think I could have made it through this last year-plus without you and your crew at The Well Appointed Desk. While sharing love for pens, inks, pencils, paper, knitting, sweet ginger tabby cats, and much more, you helped us navigate a pandemic, social justice movements, and your own employment travails and eventual triumphs – and you did it with tremendous grace. Thank you!
I got into fountain pens around 2012. My first pen was a Pilot Varsity that I picked-up on a whim from an art supply store. This early experience and YouTube videos from Stephen Brown and Brian Goulet solidified my interest in pens. Well Appointed Desk has also been a great resource. I’m grateful to all those that share and teach in the community.
Inky.Rocks’ video are my favorite not watch! She has a very soothing voice and the content that produces are fun! Especially when she goes all out and redoes a travellers cover or plays with ink. They are so much fun!
The amazing community at /r/fountain pens and /r/pen_swap have made this whole hobby wonderful – when I was a newbie to fountain pens, a woman from /r/pen_swap sent me a basic eyedropper pen that took #6 nibs, a set of three #6 Jinhao nibs she’d been practicing grinding on, and a detailed handwritten note with an explanation of each and how to try them out. It wasn’t expensive monetarily but it was an extraordinarily generous thing to do effort-wise, and that spirit of generosity and sharing in this hobby community has proven consistent and heartwarming throughout.
You all for general knowledge. Pelikans Perch for the deep dive into the World of Bird.
My mom, who bought me my first fountain pen as a surprise gift.
I love watching the funny videos at Jet Pens, and I love this site for the great info. But the one who means the most to me is in my own personal community – my daughter. We got into fountain pens together. She has been living with me for the past few years post-graduation, and is about to embark on a new adventure as a law school student. Would love to send her off with this bag!
Nick Stewart and Fountain Pen Inks and Bleach for his stunning calligrahy and showing us how truly gorgeous ink can be.
Alicia (AdventureDenali on Instagram). Her content and reviews are amazing.
I’d have to say my mother, who is in the pen community even if not the social media aspect of it. She got me into fountain pens way back when I was a kid and we still share a love of them, stationery, and letter-writing even if we live 30 minutes from each other. I wouldn’t be here, appreciating the many pens and inks I have, were if not for her!
This is amazing!!!! I have always been a pen and paper lover and really paid attention to fountain pens after finding this blog and Figboot. Thank you!!!!
For me, The Pen Addict is what got me interested in writing by hand with quality pens after getting into Bullet Journaling.
My pen people I look up to are my pen-pals. We use our tools of the trade to keep each other sane, informed/educated, and even entertained. Its amazing how everyone can have their own perspective and how it brings something different to the conversation. The amount of detail put into the letters and also the envelope decorations, really make it a joy to discover a letter in the box.
This bag tho. Man I have have been eyeing this, but that cost has just made it unobtainium.
Thanks for another great giveaway
Brad Dowdy and Brian Goulet. They were my first penablers and I still rely on them to keep me up to date now that my collection has grown.
Wow, too many to name! My Instagram friend L. who has become a dear real life friend, Mountain of Ink for her amazing ink reviews, Newsha at @ferociousnprettypens, Brian Goulet for all the content when I was getting back into pens, and many more!
The pen community has been so amazing to be apart of for the last few years. I never knew that there were so many people just like me that get excited about pens and paper. The one person that means a lot to me is Brad Dowdy a.k.a The Pen Addict. Brad doesn’t know the profound impact that he had on me when I got back into fountain pens and writing. It is a pure joy to be able to have conversation about pens and paper each week for a few hours a day. I am grateful to have meet Brad. He really is what this community is all about. Kindness, Joy, and friendship.
Fontoplumo, a pen shop in the Netherlands, has influenced me greatly. The owner posts photos of carefully arranged pens, notebooks and paper that come with a quote of some sort that relates to the photo. Often times there’s a Kaweco with way more expensive pens. I’m a Kaweco hoarder so any little glimpse of them makes me happy.
Gena at Custom Nib Studio is a star.
There was a kind old fellow who passed away and left behind a wonderful grey Parker 51 fountain pen and pencil set that was bought by me at their estate sale. It was a $2 kick in the pants that sent me down the rabbit hole.
My friend Linel was the first person I knew who used fountain pens and really turned me on to it – and one of my favorite Instagram follows, pentulant, has shared tons of inspiration for inks to try and interesting creators to follow.
Mark Cohen
I see a lot of love for Brad Dowdy, and I’ll echo that love. Brad has been a wonderful ringleader of this terrific community, and he’s been kind and generous to me, personally, both online and during the few times we’ve had the pleasure to meet.
Beautiful bag. Actually, my favorite pen community person is my son Spencer! He shares my love of writing, pens, pencils and all things paper. Warms my heart to share this passion with him!
Funnily enough, Ana is my pen-spiration 🙂 A few years ago I was looking for desk accessories and discovered her site, then discovered fountain pens – I’ve not looked back; they have improved my life and expanded by inky horizons.
It’s hard to pick! Brian Goulet’s how-to videos really helped me when I was starting out, and the ongoing pen review channels (Penboyroy, SBREBrown, Figboot) help me figure out which pens I want and which I don’t.
But today I want to call out Tom Oddo of Goldspot, I was WAITINGANDWAITINGANDWAITING last fall for the Furore Grande in Smeraldo to arrive with a steel nib and finally I PMed him and asked if he could pull a steel nib out of a purple one and swap it for the gold one in the Smeraldo, and he did it, and I got my Christmas present to myself. That was above and beyond customer service!
I know I’m not the only one to say this, but it’s you Ana. We met in person at the 2019 KC Pelikan Hub after I’d been reading here for years. Talking with you and your husband was great and, after so much great content online, it was excellent to put an in-person experience alongside. Two days ago I was buying a car and one of the finance guys starting talking about pens with me. I specifically mentioned your blog as something he should check out because I know just how good it is.
The video creators, narrators, and writers of the JetPens videos that I wait for eagerly every Tuesday — these feed my hunger not just for buying more pens, more paper, more things I don’t need, but also trying more with the ones that I have. And also all the bloggers, like you, in my Feedly lineup that I read everyday!
I want to thank Ana for everything you do for the own community! These posts have brought color and beauty in my life during a dull and colorless time! Thank you!
Honestly chatting with you, Laura, Jesi, Lisa and Mario at my first pen show! Was such a delight for newbies like my husband and I, and you guys were all very welcoming and informative! Also, itsrainingpens on Instagram!
What a wonderful and generous giveaway!
After 20 years of dormancy, I got back into the pen hobby due to the pandemic and a furlough–and discovered how generous, giving, informed and kind the hobby is! So many great blogs, podcasts, and videos. I have to say, Mountain of Ink is such a tremendous resource–and the time and effort it takes to do each of those reviews blows my mind! I have bought a lot of ink because of MoI.
I can’t nominate just one, so here are two more: UK Fountain Pens–I have learned a lot even if the pens are out of my price range. And, Well-Appointed Desk, for being so approachable and informative. I only have 4 sets of David Bowie notecards . . . the Col-o-Ring products are so fun and helpful!
I’ve always been interested in fountain pens, my dad used them all the time when I was growing up. But it was my brother who ignited my passion and enjoyment of fountain pens. He’s my pen show partner, ink sample swapper, and link sharing pen-abler.
I have many thanks to give, but the two I’ll highlight most are Brian Goulet and SBRE Brown. Both have so much knowledge and so much generosity to share their love of pens with the community. I’ve definitely been the person at 4 am watching pen comparison videos!
Beautiful bag just perfect to carry all my snail mail supplies on an adventure! I usually have writing pads, pens, and stamps at the ready wherever I go! Have to keep in touch with my snail mail buddies, especially @annette4snailmail who has become a real life friend as well! VIVA LA POSTE!
Oooo this is a tough question to answer as there are so many…I’ll just pick the Mountain of Ink blog. The wonderful photos of ink swatches and writing samples have been very helpful to me over the years (as my ink collection can attest!).
Fig boot is my fav
I would like to thank Brian Goulet for his Pens 101 videos, They have been a great help to me.
No doubt in my mind: Matt Armstrong. Even though he no longer produces his videos, he is still a part of the pen community in my mind. His videos were the most well-produced and thoughtful pen-related content I have ever seen.
I know it sounds like I’m kissing up to y’all, but Ana was one of the first women in the hobby who I met. Knowing there was such a fun, cool, person who likes some of the same things I do (go knitters) is comforting. Thanks Ana and all your crew for all you do.
My grandmother. She isn’t necessarily a pen person herself, but she has always supported my love of writing instruments and stationery. She never told me no if I asked for a pen or pencil or book.
Eric Aycock (PenGeek13) has been such a huge source of support and encouragement for everything that I’ve endeavored to do in the pen world. I still remember randomly running in to him at the DC pen show in 2018 and mentioning offhand that I was thinking of starting a blog, expecting him to maybe be a little protective of the space, or at the least lay out a list of barriers I should be aware of standing in my way. Instead what I received was unbridled encouragement and an invitation to reach out to him any time. Over the years since he has made a point of introducing me to people around the pen scene and become a good friend in general. I wouldn’t be doing what I am right now if it’s weren’t for Eric’s generosity of spirit.
I really enjoy the posts “From the Pen Cup”. I especially like the lined paper on the page and the photographs of her handwriting of what us in print.
My brother is my pen-abler in crime! I’ve been interested in fountain pens since childhood, my dad always used fountain pens. My brother is my pen show partner and ink swab swapper.
John Fishman @justsayingso on IG has offered a daily dose of hope, wisdom, ink, and fountain pens all through the pandemic.
I follow several pen/ink/stationery blogs, and have learnt much about fountain pens – both “ancient and modern”. Hard to pick one above the rest, but I think I’ll go with Kelli at Mountain Of Ink for the well structured and cross-referenced ink reviews.
Alicia Arias really has been a go-to person for me in the pen world. When I first joined fountain pen pages on face book she answered questions I posted, pointing me in directions I needed to go, and is a wretched penabler who helped me purchase many a pen I did or didn’t know I needed, lol. She is very knowledgeable and generously shared knowledge on and off line. She has made the pen world fun and opened a lot of doors to knowledge I wouldn’t have known about so I am eternally grateful and much more broke thanks to Alicia 🙂
Newsha has been my pandemic pen buddy. ❤️
SBRE Brown is the man.
Liz at Wonderpens in Toronto, Canada. Such great, good humor, even in the most trying of times
I am lucky enough to have a film photography store in my area and have spent may hours there talking with the owner Art, during one of our conversations i mentioned that I had rebuilt a vintage fountain pen, he looked surprised and took me back to his office where he had the most incredible display of fountain pens from the early part of the 1900s to modern Sailors. Turns out I’m not the only one who writes with fountain pens, shoots on film and listens to vinyl
I’m going to say Myke Hurley — I’ve been listening to the Pen Addict since Brad appeared on the Enough podcast with Myke and Patrick Rhone, and I’m grateful for all the Myke did and does to bring the Pen Addict podcast to life — its a a huge part of what brought me deeper into this hobby and community.
One of my favorite pen friends, and one of the most generous, I found on Facebook was Keith aka Randomthinks in Instagram. He was one of the first penablers I began following when I dropped through the pen world’s rabbit hole. The pen community is truly amazing and so generous and I’m happy to be a part of it with you.
I really like the content made by jet pens! The guides are useful and their videos are fun to watch
My brother introduced me to the wonderful world of fountain pens a few years ago. He and I used to be pretty close when we were in grade school but went our separate ways after I’d moved away for college. I had been trying to find ways to reconnect with him again throughout the years, but our general interests are just so different so it was hard to bond over anything. We would only really see each other during the holidays, along with the rest of our more distant relatives. I had never knew fountain pens were “a thing” anymore until he got me a TWSBI Eco and a bottle of ink for Christmas one year, and since then, we’ve gotten to reconnect, and a lot of it has been due to this new hobby. It’s been great getting to share a mutual interest with each other, and it’s special because neither of us have close friends who understand why either of us are really into fountain pens (or spend so much time talking about ink and paper quality), so it’s been extra special being able to share this with him.
Brian Goulet and Figboot gave me a lot of inspiration.
Sbre brown. The videos are just pure fun!
I love this bag and would be thrilled to win it! My favorite pen and paper blogger is Tina Koyama, whose drawings and descriptions in her reviews are always a delight.
April Wu is both someone I know personally and someone whose content I enjoy. She co-hosts the Stationery Cafe podcast (YouTube, Instagram, web page, etc).
Brad Dowdy always inspires. So thankful for all he has taught me!
Having learned of my pen habit from Brad Dowdy’s Friend of the Show (who is someone that I appreciate in the community) a gentleman reached out to me and we have become good penpals. I appreciate him because he gives me both an excuse to use my pens, ink, and paper, but he also gives me someone to converse with about them.
Lisa and Mike Vanness. It’s great having a renowned Pen store in Central Arkansas, and Lisa’s enthusiasm is infectious!
A co-worker named Liz (who can sometimes be found working at Crazy Alan’s table at pen shows) opened up the pen world to me. Told me about the Triangle Pen Show and when I timidly showed up on my first time, she took me around pointing out the important folks (like Brad, and Jonathan Brooks). Like most pen folks she was more than willing to get me hooked on the hobby and super helpful if I needed help or answers.
Ana was such a friendly face and so kind to me at my very first pen show – it kept me from being totally intimidated!
Brad and Myke have been weekly companions throughout the pandemic, and watching Brad’s streams on Twitch has saved me from being totally isolated!
Got to be Mr Kirk Speer of Pen Realm. Every single nib I’ve gotten from him has been exceptional!
Joe from The Gentleman Stationer. I’ve learned an enormous amount from his posts and reviews, and the philosophy he brings to the hobby resonates with me.
That said, I can’t agree more with so many other commenters here: There are too many good contributors to count. This really is a vibrant community, full of wonderful people who are driven not by profit or self-interest, but the love of the game (so to speak).
That would be one of my best friends. She understands my love for good paper and shared my penchant for ink and fountain pens.
The good people at nanami paper. Got my first Tomoe River notebook there and never looked back!
I love Azizah over at Gourmet Pens, both her blog and her YouTube channel: it was my gateway into the world of fountain pens and stationery!
My dad. One of the areas he focused on in his antique collecting was fountain pens. The ines that were not marketable i got to keep and mess around with. Started a love of all kinds of writing instruments and art. That bag ties in beautifully and is a work of art
Oh SO beautiful! I had to ponder whether she is considered in the pen community, because Tina Koyama is so associated with pencils! And Fieldnotes. But, I was first “introduced” to her over 2 years ago when I googled for a review on an ink I wanted and was led to her review here on The Well Appointed Desk. That led me to her blog. I was just getting reinterested in sketching and turned on to fountain pens, so I started at the beginning of her blog (Fueled by Clouds and Coffee, http://www.tina-koyama.blogspot.com) and learned so much, SO MUCH, about sketching. My life has been enriched in so many ways by her knowledge and encouragement.
Honorable mention to Brian Goulet because, well, watch any of his videos! The Goulet Pencast is the best!
Ana,
I’d really like to win that bag and will petition Tyche’s favor in this manner. As for someone in the pen community who means a lot to me is a rather tricky question; I don’t have any friends who have obsessed over pen/pencils (not to mention paper and other related stationery) the way I have. Long before I got into all of this though I was collecting machined pens. I just liked the the fact that I could abuse the hell out of them without a care and they look cool.
Right before the pandemic started I went to the Baltimore Show. I had picked up my first fountain pen that week and was in the market for ink. But the real reason I went was in the cape of picking up a Baron Fig Squire. After walking the whole show and finding none I talked with a very nice young woman who was kind enough to sell me her personal Squire from the Erasable Podcast. A very cool version that looks like a #2 pencil.
Though I don’t really know her personally she did me a solid and I appreciated it very much. Plus she has the same name as my favorite Great Aunt (though she spelled her name Anna). Since then, thanks to too much pandemic time online, I have greatly increased my collection (even added another Squire-the copper).
Hope this answer works for you. And thanks for selling me that pen.
Jeremiah
My mom! We enable each other with ink gifts and samples and writing projects.
Brian and Rachel Goulet are the first pen people I started following (6 yrs ago). I was intrigued by their story of starting a small business at home and it’s growth into a major provider of writing materials, and above all, information. All the time I was only spending modestly I was still able to learn so much from their work.
Brad Dowdy and his wonderful blog, podcast, & Twitch stream and SBREbrown and his thorough and informative video reviews. I just fell into the fountain pen and stationery world in late 2019 and only discovered the existence of pen shows and meetups around the time that they all got cancelled due to the pandemic, so I haven’t had a chance to meet any of the wonderful people in the stationery and fountain pen community in person yet but am looking forward to it in 2022. I also want to give a shout out to Kelly at Oblation Papers & Press in Portland, OR who is probably the only human being I’ve been able to geek out about fountain pens and stationery with in person since I became fully absorbed.
I really enjoy Mountain of Inks (Kelli’s) blog! I love how thorough with testing the inks on different paper, testing the water resistance, and how the ink looks on different types of papers. I especially love sheening inks so I really love being able to look up an ink on her blog! Thanks for doing this giveaway!
My sister is always my stationery enabler and I’m eternally grateful to her for that, lol
I like the reddit community! Can’t point to one specific person, there are so many. Everyone is so welcoming
My grandmother, who had such beautiful handwriting and always wrote with a Parker fountain pen.
I began following Patrick Rhône’s writings after he appeared on an eaaaarly episode of the Pen Addict. His views on life and writing and humanity and art give me hope that seems to be harder to find on the Internet some days. And I feel the larger Pen Addict community also deserves a shoutout. The people found in the Slack group or on Brad’s streams are so genuinely nice (and penabling) and have been a great source for comfort and recs on the stationary world as a whole.
Every single person I encounter who inquires about one of my pens or shows me their own, they all inspire me
There are so many helpful people in this community but I learned so much of what I know from Brad Dowdy (Pen Addict).
My friends Sheila and Iris make the fountain pen community for me—I penabled them and got them down this rabbit hole, and it’s nice to be able to speak about pens with people I know in person!
My two favorite pen community resources (I don’t know anybody personally) are you/this blog and the Goldspot pen YouTube channel. There are lots of other great resources, but those are my “go to”.
Although the person in the pen community who has been most influential to me is (no surprise here) Brad Dowdy, I think the more important person on this day (Memorial Day) is my father. As a young boy, I remember my father using a gold Parker fountain pen to work at his desk and pay the bills. He was a Marine, and and he died four months ago (February 2, 2021), so he is on my mind today. And that Parker (a model 65?) is now one of my favorite fountain pens; I use it every day.
l have 3 favorite sites I visit almost daily This site, Pen Addict and Mail Me Some Art. I have learned so much for these sites and every February I joint the InCoWriMo. Now I have several pen pals with interests in pens and books. A lot to write about.
You!!! I dabble in the pen community, ie don’t follow a lot of blogs, so you are my connection <3
I’m going to have to say John Bosley over at Fountain Pen Love. It’s there I learned that the paper you use with your pen is just as important as the pen.
Mine would be Michael Jecks (aka writerlywitterings). He is a British author of crime novels who does YouTube video reviews on fountain pens, inks, and other tools he uses everyday. I absolutely love his quaint videos and his charisma and unique review style. I have been motivated to buy a Conway Stewart pen and a few inks just from his videos. Of course there is always Brad and Myke, Mike M., SBRRE, and so on, but Michael has given me the most joy in viewing and a respite at the end of my busy days.
I’m actually not super involved in the pen community, so this blog and jetpens are my most frequented. Both are amazing for different reasons. 🙂
I need to be honest and say The Well Appointed Desk is truly one of my most enjoyed places to simply lose oneself in a day dream. Although I cannot afford many of the things and I have only but a small simple collection. To simply look, dream and learn about all that is out there is just a wonderful escape. Thank you for this.
The person in the pen community who means a lot to me is Will Nash. He is a friend and pen pal who has been of immense help to me throughout the pandemic. His epistolary friendship truly made 2020 more bearable. It’s wild how you can build strong bonds without even meeting a person face-to-face.
Link Love is the post I look forward to every week–and I miss the “Fashion Fridays” posts (which may not be the correct name, but it was something like that). I’ve found some great knitting stuff on here as well as pen stuff–this checks all of my boxes. (Plus cats! A cat named Lucy who resembles my late cat, also Lucy.)
Thank you for this giveaway.
Jet pens! Just recently found them and omg!!
Mishelle Reine was her screen name, but Christene was her actual name. She was very loving, warm, and helpful. If there was a purple pen, she owned it. Sadly she passed away a few years ago due to surgery complications, but I think of her often.
My local community is really great – SF Pen Posse! It’s hard to name a particular person because there’s so many wonderful ppl who’ve influenced and penabled.
1857 and Gentleman Stationer are my go tos.
There were a number of bloggers (now no longer active, alas) who I enjoyed reading five or ten years ago. Then my computer crashed catastrophically and I lost all the links. Of the ones I was able to rediscover, I particularly enjoy mountainofink, for the lovely regular ink reviews and the occasional “themed” posts.
Shout-out to the Komai sisters of Anthology in Madison, WI – my favorite little pen-and-paper-and-quirky-stickers store, which survived the pandemic by selling mystery gift bags of Wisconsin swag that kept me company while I was stranded in Illinois. (Not in the pen community exactly, but adjacent, for sure.)
Goulet’s YT videos got me into fountain pens, but I’ve definitely come to appreciate them more and the stationary community as a whole because of Brad & Myke on the Pen Addict podcast.
One person who means more than a lot to me is Miroslav Tishler, of Penkala Pens in Zagreb, Croatia. I have purchased quite a few restored collectible pens from him and have never been disappointed. His attention, service, packaging, and delivery are impeccable. I have had the pleasure of speaking with him and Miro is gracious, humorous, knowledgeable, and a wonderful person, embodying what I have always aspired to be.
I’d have to pick my friend Sam. When I mentioned to her that I was unhappy with the fact that I literally couldn’t write out an index card any more (long-time IT professional; utterly lost my ability to write with anything but a keyboard), she immediately offered to be my pen pal so I could get more practice with a pen. And then sent me letters using such beautiful paper and inks that I absolutely needed to find a way to get fountain pens to work for me. And did. =)
Someone who means a lot to me in the pen community… I’d have to pick my friend Cheri. We started out as pen pals through the Fountain Pen Friends site, and we still correspond regularly. But we’ve become closer through our correspondence over the last few years. Cheri went through some hardship and I went through a series of medical issues, and our empathy for and support of one another has made our friendship grow. I hope to meet her in person someday.
Gotta be Pens and Tea! Or adventure Denali! I also like the pen nook but they’re newer 🙂
Both my dad, who has collected fountain pens as long as I can remember, and my sister, Shivaun (who runs the YT channel Just Scribble) really inspired me to get into fountain pens. Shivaun and I went to our first pen show in Dallas a few years ago and I have been addicted ever since! I’ve always been a writer so I love a good pen and I am such a magpie that I love getting all the inks (the more sparkle the better). And what’s more, I have found a great community of people that share the same passion (including Ana and so many others).
My wife means the world to me. We spent the first 4.5 years of our relationship in a long distance relationship (international) but talked every day until we could be together. She’s a persistent, beautiful person and I’m the luckiest thing alive to have her.
I don’t know many people as obsessed with pens and stationery as I am. A former co-worker named Sara D. was a kindred spirit but we no longer work together. So now, frankly, you and Brad Dowdy at The Pen Addict have been my virtual go-to people in the pen community and have been for years. I’m not a fountain pen user, but y’all post such a variety of information and links related to other pens, notebooks, and stationery that I’m always learning (and acquiring) new things. Plus, Brad is a homeboy, so I appreciate that.
I miss Matt Armstrong. A kind gentleman.
Definetly it would be CY from TokyoStationPens, he’s very knowledgable about rare Japanese pens and always sends more detailed pictures upon request and it really fills me with joy. Saddly I don’t know many people who are as obsessed with pens as I am.
I really miss Matt from the Pen Habit. I love that I can still watch his videos, but sometimes I see a new pen come out and wonder what he would say about it. Normally, I’m much more of a reader than a video-watcher, but his videos really opened up a whole new aspect of the pen reviewing world to me.
I’m lucky to have found some people at work and in my online writing group that also use fountain pens, but they’re all in the Lamy camp! (just joking, we still get along fine).
I am grateful for my Dad, who was constantly bringing me to art and stationery stores, and letting me try out new pens, pencils, and notebooks. And then to everyone at Well Appointed Desk– I stumbled upon the blog a couple of years ago, and it was eye opening to find that there was a whole community of people who are as interested in these materials as much as I am!
I am not brownnosing when I say I love the Well Appointed Desk. I also love the attitude of the folks at Goulet. They make you seem like part of a community.
A former co-worker, David Foe, helped me understand the simple pleasure of a nice pen.
I love the wonderpens instagram account. Thank you!
My friends and pen pals C and S. They both appreciate pens and stationery and we have had lovely outings poking around stationery stores and testing pens on our very rare visits.
All the facebook friends in my pen groups making my life much brighter!
I miss the company of pen-people from the in-person pen shows. All of them. Even the smelly ones.
That being said, my friend Lynn would bring me bags of pens and pencils from the estate sales she worked and visited. She’s been gone for more than a few years now and I miss her company and bad jokes more than I miss the pencils and pens.
Of people I don’t know, probably you, Ana – I read nearly everything listed in Link Love. It’s a great list of resources, especially when it’s things I didn’t know I was even interested in. Got to also shout-out to Mountain of Ink. Their reviews are phenomenal.
But of course it’s nice to have friends where you show each other can new inks and new pens and test nibs and admire the colours, too.
New here, but the pen addict and this website have done a lot to help me get oriented!
Figboot does such amazing review videos. He has helped me make up my mind on a pen multiple times when trying pens in person isn’t possible.
The folks at VanNess in Little Rock. Their pen samples are great, customer service is top notch and the Instagram live talks have taught me so much. Plus I love supporting small businesses!!
I would like to win this Writer Medic Green Bag for the love of journaling and to keep my journaling tools organized. I am sure by winning this bag I would promote Galen Leather’s Medic Bag to my audience on Instagram. Thank you for this opportunity.