By Jessica Coles Each year, Lamy announces a new color of their best selling Safari (plastic) and AL-Star (aluminum) pens. From the moment I first heard the colors for the 2019 special editions, I started counting down until I could get them in my hands. 2019 was the first year that not one but three…
I have been waiting to do this review for WAY TOO long. Hinze Pens are such a unique and under-recognized pen maker on the scene right now. Jim Hinze is creating oversized acrylic/resin pens in amazing colors, some even include diamond dust for a stunning effect. The larger pens are made to be comfortable for…
Review by Laura Cameron You may or may not remember that in my first post on The Desk I talked about how my Retro 51 Tornado in Black Cherry (and truly Retro 51) was my gateway drug into the fountain pen world. My love for Retro 51s hasn’t abated, so I was intrigued to hear…
Review by Laura Cameron During Inkmas, Ana shared a special ink from the Ferris Wheel Press Kickstarter campaign. You can see her Sunshine Yellow Brush Fountain Pen ($138 USD) in some of her photos, but she didn’t specifically review the pen. However, she brought it to a knit night for me to try and I…
I was so honored to receive an Aurora Optima Fine Flex LE as a gift in New York from the fine folks at Fountain Pen Hospital. It is a beautiful candy apple red which looks lovely with my favorite make-up from Bésame (no, I am not getting kickbacks for endorsing them. I just really like…
There are not a lot of new, entry-level pens appearing on the market so its always worth taking a good look. The Faber-Castell Grip 2011 ($20) is definitely a contender. Especially in light of recent price increase on the Pilot Metropolitan (now MSRP $29.99, street price $23.99), there is definitely room for a new entry-level…
The second release from the new, improved relaunch of Esterbrook is the Phaeton 300R (MSRP $85, street price $68). While the Estie was designed to be a modern fountain pen that could also use the original Esterbrook screw-in nib units, the Phaeton is a retro-styled fountain pen with a semi-hooded nib reminiscent of mid-century pen…
