Tuesday 25 February 2014

We’ve been busy on Pinterest





I recently noticed that as well as this blog, our Pinterest boards were looking a little neglected. This just wouldn’t do….

Cue revamp!




As well as adding some of the best snaps we’ve taken in the shop, I’ve snuck in some shots of out-of-edition Conway Stewarts, some of the Omas limited editions, as well as some pen gift recommendations for her and for him if you were looking for some gift inspiration… 

And a lot of Stationery envy.

If you have ideas for boards that you’d like to see, let me know. And of course, if you have any of your own Pinterest boards (and especially pictures of pens, we like those) that you’d like to share!

Friday 21 February 2014

PenAgain and Yoropen & Ergonomic Writing



Being primarily in the business of fountain pens, we tend to be traditionalists, but this week we have some strange looking pens to show you. If you shut some people who had never seen a pen before in a room and asked them to design something to write with, well… I’m still not sure if they would have arrived at the design for PenAgain and Yoropen, at least until the coffee had dried up for a good few days.




"Write the Future"... I think it also came from the future



Yoropen were founded by Mr. Bao-shen Liu, a father from Taiwan, who sought to improve pen design and produce something more ergonomic. And to teach good writing habits to children who traditional pens might not suit. It worked, and the Yoropen has won many international design awards for innovation including the Geneva Salon 2002 International Invention Gold Medal Award.  It can be twisted to suit lefties and righties. It is now spreading worldwide, finding its way into classrooms, offices and homes – and into our Shrewsbury shop.  

 PenAgain



The PenAgain pen, I think is even more peculiar looking, and approaches pen design from the other side of the board. I tried it, a just a little sceptically, and it is possible to write with, and very strange. Here is a good demonstration of how it’s done:



 

Though it looks like trying to write vertically, it’s actually quite normal when you’ve gotten used to it. A conversation starting pen, at £8.25. The PenAgain encouranges a healthy, natural wrist posture, and minimises writing cramp. And it’s also good if you want to give that gnarly bit of skin on your middle finger a bit of a break from your other pens. 

All the Yoropens and PenAgains, on our website together.

Tuesday 11 February 2014

New Lamy Pens



New Lamy Pens



Since the Scala Piano Black, we have been waiting for what seems like forever for some new Lamy pens to add to the shop collection. Well it turns out what they say about buses is true about pens too – we waited for even one, and now have three to show you. Here they are:

The Lamy Safari Pink






Originally Lamy released a pink Safari as a limited edition pen. They were very popular, and have been released for a second round to give more people the chance to snap one up. Available in all four writing systems. You can find them all in the Safari section of our website.

The Al Star Blue Green




Like the Safari, but the surface of the Lamy Al Star is cooler to the touch and also weighs a little more. I really love this colour, more green than blue especially in this product shot, but in the hand the blue is more visible.



The Nexx neon orange special edition.



One of the heftier Lamy pens in size, but surprisingly light. The special edition orange Lamy Nexx reminds me of a pen from the future.





Which design do you like the most?