Inspiring Discovery

There’s a pen show in Atlanta – a small regional one. However, since I’ll be home for a week or two and there are no major shows coming up, I’ll go there.

Actually, I cut a deal with Aaron Svabik of Pentiques to work on a whole lotta pens I’ve been buying unrestored off Ebay. Most importantly (for me) is that I’ll sit with him and pretend that I’m picking up tricks of the trade.

Then I’ll go home and butcher a few pens in the name of “fixing” them.

Pens have become a big deal for me in the past couple of years. Curiosity was always there, but in January 2006, on a trip to Milan my wife bought me what I thought was the most beautiful pen I’ve ever seen – a Limited Edition Mont Blanc Cervantes Writers Series fountain pen.

After I got it back to work in Jordan, I realized that it was too nice (!) to bring to work, and that I really needed another fountain pen for day-day use. There weren’t too many to choose from in Jordan, but I settled on a Waterman Charleston.

Next stop for me was Ebay, where I saw a Monteverde Invincia from a seller in Israel.

“Need another pen” + Ebay = addiction. I believe I have close to 100 fountain pens, although in the past 6 months I’ve switched from new to old vintage pens and many of my pens are old pens in various states of disrepair.

So far Atlanta has cost me $800: Drive to the airport and park, plus airfare, plus shuttle to the hotel, plus hotel expense, plus shuttle back to the airport plus driving home… plus money committed for repairing pens. $800 gone and I don’t have a single “other pen” yet.