Recently I enjoyed a post by Laura at The Well-Appointed Desk on 16 September 2025, Laura Answers the #12 PenPersonQuestions List, posed by Lisa at the Olive Octopus blog in her post, #12PenPersonQuestions, on 22 August 2025. I thought I would add my own replies.

1. If you consider the different ways you can engage with pens and stationery—as a user, a collector, a hobbyist, a creator, a maker, a vendor—which roles fit best and what percentage of 100% would you assign to each? Are you happy with the balance.

I think we can rule out “creator, maker and vendor.” I am someone who loves using fountain pens, along with stationery in general. I clearly have a weakness for pens, inks, enticing notebooks, mechanical pencils, colourful gel pens, pen pouches, rulers, art materials and other useful items. Where we draw the line between a passion and an obsession is a moot point.

A consequence of this obsession has been that I have accumulated more of these than I can realistically use, let alone need. I don’t think this entitles me to call myself a “collector”; an accumulator (if not, hoarder) is a more honest assessment. But having acquired a large number of fountain pens which represent a good cross-section of what is available, I think some percentage of “accidental collector” is in order. Putting percentages on these is difficult. Perhaps “hobbyist” covers it all. How about 100% hobbyist, comprised as to 75% user and 25% collector? I am happy with this.

2. What is something you want to understand better or develop more informed opinions about?

There are vast areas of knowledge on which I am ignorant, because my curiosity has not led me down those paths, or rabbit holes. Having retired after a working life in an office, I am not particularly practical but enjoyed taking the Writing Equipment Society’s Pen Repair Course last year, a side-effect of which was to learn how to use various tools of the trade. Also, a receiving an Ashera Aeon fountain pen for review this year, with its wood cap and barrel lacquered and polished eight times – led me to an interest in varnishing wooden bowls, boxes and furniture. There is no limit to acquiring knowledge, but I need to be more disciplined and methodical in how to allocate time.

3. In the pen community, what’s something someone has said or done that stuck with you?

There must have been thousands of comments heard or read over the years with snippets of wisdom which I have filed away and absorbed but it is surprisingly difficult to call them back to mind. I remember a sales lady in a pen shop in my village, over 50 years ago, gently explaining to me why a gold nib was good, as its softness gave expression to your handwriting. I had asked what the purpose was, given that the writing tip was a ball of iridium, not the gold itself.  

Another memorable comment came, not from a member of the pen community but from an actress, Nerys Hughes, who was meeting the public after attending a church carol service. Someone near me had asked her for an autograph but neither of them had a pen to hand. I passed her my Waterman Expert from my suit pocket. She exclaimed “Ooh that’s a posh pen, this must be a posh man!”

4. There are now 25 hours in a day, a bonus hour is available to use however you like as long as pens or stationery are involved—how do you spend your hour?

I often like the idea of doing something, more than actually doing the thing itself. The extra hour would be perfect although there is no reason why I could not allocate one of the existing hours! I would like to spend it in writing, with a fountain pen in a nice journal, to capture happy memories before they are lost.

5. In the pen community yearbook, what would your superlative be? (i.e. “Best ______”, “Most _______” “Most likely to _______”)

Although the pens I have accumulated include a fair selection of more up-market pens I sometimes think that my “superpower” amongst the pen community characters, is being the person “Most Likely to Enjoy an Entry Level Fountain Pen”. For the movie, I will need someone to come up with a snappier name for me.

6. How do you feel about your handwriting?

First off, as a lefty, I have two different styles of handwriting – depending upon the pen to hand and the amount of elbow room and space available to rotate the paper! I grew up as a lefty over-writer, with my paper turned well to the left so that I would be writing “uphill” away from my body and my hand would be kept away from the writing to avoid smudges. The writing itself was not too bad, with a slant to the right. With my current knowledge, it turns out that this is best suited to oblique nibs. I am conscious that the tails on my letters g and y, for example, are not parallel to my upstrokes but rather, billow outwards, which I would like to change.

My other style uses an underwriter grip, and produces an upright script, not slanting. This seems more legible yet it feels slower and less natural to me and my verticals are not uniform but lean a bit to the left or right.

Coincidentally I have just become a member of The Society for Italic Handwriting and so I hope to gain an  improving awareness and adjustment of my writing.

7. What is something you are proud of doing, achieving, or overcoming?

At the risk of being boastful, I am pleased to have set up this Fountain pen blog, in November 2016 and for it to have continued now for almost nine years, with over 290 posts and approaching 900,000 views. It has been a wonderful gateway to interacting with the friendly pen community that we all know and enjoy.

8. You’re going on a writing retreat anywhere in the world—where would you go, what would you write, and what would you write with?

My immediate reaction is to think of a chalet in the Swiss alps with views of snow-covered peaks. Or perhaps a lakeside cabin in Canada with a rowing boat hitched to the quay ready for a peaceful row in the silence and splendour, surrounded by forests and trails. As to the writing tool, it would be something simple, reliable, comfortable and easy to use and not distracting and attention-seeking. Perhaps, for example, my Caran d’Ache 849 if we are in Switzerland or the Cross Bailey Light if we are in North America. (I don’t think I have a Canadian pen although I could re-check my vintage Parker stash). A Parker 45 would be a good choice. But I could spend a long time choosing what to bring, as I do on any trip or even a day out.

This is the dream although in practice, I wonder if a writing retreat in seclusion would suit me or whether I would just nod off in a comfy chair. Sometimes a bit of stress is needed and some time pressure.

[Edit: I forget to say what I would write, but it would likely be autobiographical; see also replies to questions 4 and 9].

9. What’s a current or favorite creative outlet?

I love fountain pens and I also love exploring a lifetime of memories. Sitting with a nice pen and notebook to write “from life” is an opportunity to indulge both at the same time.

Also I enjoy sketching. This is a bit like problem solving: how to reproduce the image in front of you, or in your memory, in the confines of a sketch pad? As soon as you have made one stroke of the pen, or brush, the positions and scale of all the rest are determined and it is then a question of putting them in their respective places. I am very poor at this but get a disproportionate amount of joy from it.

10. What’s something that causes you benign envy—the kind of admiration and desire that leads to inspiration or motivation?

In pen terms, I admire the posts on Instagram showing different pen and ink combinations and different handwriting styles, such as by Kimberly Lau at @allthehobbies or Eli, at @eli.weisz. Scrolling Instagram also throws up musicians who I much admire for their amazing talent and proficiency, such as Joshua Lee Turner, Elle Cordova and Toni Lundgren, and Nathaniel Murphy at @zeppelinbarnatra – to name just a few.

11. What’s a comfort item, material, or color?

Definitely dark or Navy blue. It was the colour of my school uniform pullover (a Guernsey at ages 11-13) and I now favour this for clothing, back-pack and shoulder bag, and even a dressing gown. (“Do you have this in a pilot iroshizuku shin-kai?”)

12. What would be a dream collaboration, project, or partnership?

Despite 9 years of blogging, I have largely resisted collaborations, with the exception of Ashera pens for whom I provided a review and am soon to have another. I have not sought out collaborations, projects or ventures and haven’t given thought to what might be a dream one. Knowing me, I will probably think of one right after publishing this post.