My new baby!....

I can't believe I waited so long to try out a stub nib fountain pen!

Below are pictures of my new baby delivered this past Saturday, 9:25 am EST.  Mom and "baby" are doing more than fine.  The baby is thriving on a delicious diet of Diamine Syrah ink.

Louisville Nib Nerd Herd -- Autumn Quarterly Meeting Coming Up!

When: October 23, 2010 from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm
Where: Louisville Free Public Library Meeting Room (Highlands/Shelby Branch) / 1250 Bardstown Road / Louisville KY 40204 (in the Midcity Mall, lots of free parking).

Do You Have an Ink Swab Book?

My inner nib nerd would not be happy unless I tracked all the various inks I own (or sample when the secret society of local nib nerds meet) in a little handy booklet.  OK, we're not that secret.

Format: I do try to lump colors together if possible, although some days I don't know what inks I will meet -- or spill.  Chaos may ensue.  I use a small Clairefontaine cloth-bound journal (11 x 17 cm size).

When sampling, I use do a cotton swab for the larger ink splat.  In my imagination, I have enough fountain pens for all my inks.  In reality, I keep a glass dip pen around to do sample writing with the ink -- it's not the same as a fountain pen nib but will provide a good sense of how the ink appears on paper.

I also paste ink swab cards I get from Brian Goulet of Goulet Pens when I place orders through him.  Yes, um, lots of little paper samples....  No, no ink addiction here.  Move along, folks!  (No affiliation, just a happy customer).

So how do you track your inks -- favorite or otherwise?

Louisville Nib Nerd Herd -- Next Quarterly Meeting!

When: July 17, 2010 from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm
Where: Louisville Free Public Library Meeting Room (Highlands/Shelby Branch) / 1250 Bardstown Road / Louisville KY 40204 (in the Midcity Mall, lots of free parking).

Hope to see you there!

Yes, Virginia, there is a fountain pen store in Louisville, KY....

When I first heard that there is a store in Louisville that carries quality fountain pen products in Louisville, I was thrilled.  Someone had posted an FYI on the Fountain Pen Network bulletin board about a men's clothing store that carries a few brands of fountain pens and inks.

All I heard was that there is a fountain pen store that happens to also carry men's clothing and accessories -- that's how my mind works, folks.

While some local department and art supply stores carry some calligraphy pens and inks, I have not -- up until now -- found any local stores carrying fountain pens.  And since today is National Handwriting Day, I thought I would share the good news (and avoid procrastination).

I first visited them January 15 and again today.  On my first visit, I asked them earlier if I could take some photos for a blog post, but my camera was out of juice on my first visit.  And, of course, I can and will take any excuse to make a return visit for my stationery addiction.

About the Store
The store is called Edgar's and is located on the Southern Baptist seminary campus in the Honeycutt Building.  It has been open for slightly less than one year.  Their regular hours are 11pm -5:30 pm Monday through Friday and 12 pm - 3 pm on Saturdays.  On both visits, I found the staff friendly, helpful, and informative.  I was able to practice writing with some fountain pens before purchasing (something you can't do with mail-order/online fountain pen retailers).

Currently, the store carries some pens from the following brands: Lamy, Sailor, and Waterman.  (For those new to fountain pens, the Lamy Safari fountain pen is a great starter pen in terms of cost and quality; I used Lamy Safari fountain pens for about ten years before sampling other brands).  According to the associate on my January 23 visit, Edgar's might expand to include Pilot pens.  They also carry Private Reserve, Lamy, Waterman, and Sailor brands of inks -- in both bottles and cartridges.  Other products include converter cartridges and alternative-size nibs.  They will also do special product orders by request.

About Pairing with Paper
While Edgar's does not currently carry much in the way of FP-friendly paper, you can often find some of these FP-friendly papers (including Rhodia, Paperblanks, Miquelruis, and Moleskine brands) at local Target, Borders, and Barnes & Noble stores.

Disclaimer/Note
I did not receive compensation in any form for this blog entry from Edgar's or any other organization.  Simply put, I care about quality pen (and paper) products, and I want to share the news of this local retail source.  Happy Writing!