Pen and Paper

“Wow, you use a fountain pen!?”⁠
⁠
In our writing community, there is a shared understanding of why we love pens and paper so much. The combination of the beautiful and the haptic: the colour of ink, the pen in the hand and the texture of the paper. When I’m asked: why do you use a fountain pen? I reply: do you drive standard? If they say yes, I say- that’s why. (If they say no, I try to explain that it’s because you have more connection and more control…)⁠
⁠
Our customers include students and judges, illustrators and architects, academics and surgeons. Left brains, right brains, polyglots, and average folks: all have a passion for pens, paper and ink. ⁠

⁠
Before the digital age, everyone used pens and paper. People now use fountain pens because they choose to like they do film cameras and turntables and vinyl.⁠
⁠
When technology becomes ‘obsolete’, it isn’t abandoned: it becomes repurposed. Our greeting cards are letter pressed, on antique printing presses once used for business stationery, signage, and pamphlets.⁠

⁠
Our customer base may be not very deep, but it’s wide, thanks to digital technology. This community has found each other across the great expanse, and the depth now comes not from numbers, but from passion.⁠ On Sunday 30 October, our community will come together in person for Scriptus Toronto, the only major pen show with no admission charge!⁠
⁠
Sustainability is important in every industry, and writing culture has a head start. Hundred-year-old pens can still be restored to their original look and function. Paper can survive a century and more or be recycled to serve again. ⁠

⁠
Ink has longevity and the glass bottles can be recycled. We encourage fountain pen users to eschew cartridges whenever possible, to keep plastic out of landfill and money in their wallets! When we can, we subsidize the cost of converters to make the hundreds of colours of bottled ink accessible.⁠
⁠
We have chosen to stop selling single-use pens, no matter how good they write or how well they sell, as a commitment to sustainability. Now we want to work on finding a way to get spent pen refills recycled!⁠