They're Back!

After a too-long hiatus, the Pear Tree Pen Company's ink sample program is back! The inventory of available inks has grown (although I still have to add Omas and Caran d'Ache to the list). Unfortunately, so has the price. It seems that the cost of everything keeps going up, including ink, postage, supplies and now I have to add labor to the mix. I was faced with a choice of charging for shipping/handling and keeping a nominally lower price posted, or to keep shipping free and increase the price. I opted for the latter, but let me know if you all think it should be otherwise. I do listen to your suggestions.

To offset the price increase somewhat, I have decided to add more ink to the vials, so now there should be about 2 ccs of ink for you to all test and play with. I figured that's more than enough to give you a good idea of how the ink will look on different papers and how it will perform in different pens. Again, I'm open to suggestions on this. Despite the price increase, I still think this is one of the best values around - why bother buying a bottle of ink only to find out it's not what you had hoped for?

On another note, I received word from Private Reserve yesterday. The price on Private Reserve Ink is going up, but they are also introducing a new color, Tropical Blue. I hope to get some in the next few weeks. Pelikan has also just informed me that they've raised wholesale prices as well.

Luckily, the price of Sailor fountain pens has held steady. Perhaps as a result, The Sailor Sapporo seems to be selling faster than I can get them in, and I find myself back-ordered on several different nibs, so if you want one, you'd better act fast or call first to see if I have it in stock.

As you know, the Sailor 1911 and 1911M have long been the workhorse pen in the Sailor line, but they have recently been discontinued. Luckily, I managed to secure a nice supply of full-size 1911s and 1911Ms. I've got them in all colors and size nibs (except zoom - I'm told they're on the way). Unlike most closeouts, I suspect the price on these pens is only going to go up, so get them now because once they're gone, well, you know the rest. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Dollar for dollar, Sailor pens are very possibly the best fountain pen you can buy.

Also, if you're interested in some really special pens from Sailor, I managed to secure three Nagahara Limited Edition pens - the Taishi-Tsu "Black Forest" edition, the Sailor Mosaic and a Dragonfly "Tombo." The nibs on these pens are absolutely unbelievable - the Cross-Emperor (with collector), the Cross-slit nib (same as Cross-Emperor, but with no collector), and the Nagahara Naginata nib in medium. These nibs have to be seen to be believed. Remind your loved ones that Father's Day is coming.

Lastly, I have a number of products available for sale that haven't made it on my website. For example, I have some Lamy Persona rollerballs in black titanium oxide with gold trim, as well as a Lamy Persona fountain pen in titanium. It features gold trim and a gold-colored oblique medium nib. If you're interested, email me for pricing and photos. Lamy ballpoint refills are also in stock. Everyone loves Lamy, and a quality pen makes a great graduation gift!

Jac Zagoory pen stands are also in stock. These are really cool. I need to take some of my own photos of these, because Jac, while being a great designer, doesn't seem to grasp the need for this little marketing aid.

I'll do my best to get my site updated soon.

If you don't see what you want on my site, in most cases, I can get it for you, so please don't hesitate to ask.

Let's see - what's coming? New pads and journals from Rhodia, Exacompta and Clairefontaine. More on this when the stuff gets here. But suffice it to say that the Exaclair line has introduced some promising new products and I'm eager to try them out. Simply put, this is the best paper I've ever used.

Thanks for writing!

Chicago is a No Go!

For personal reasons, I am unable to attend the Chicago Pen Show this weekend as I had originally planned. My feelings about this are mixed. I was really looking forward to the show both to see old friends and, of course, to experience the excitement of the oldest vintage pen show in America. But I admit I am also very eager for a break after the past few weeks - I attended the New England Show a few weeks ago (driving for over 30 hours, much of it in near-blizzard conditions), then worked like a dog to get the Fountain Pen Network Limited Edition pens out this past weekend. All 114 of them!

Undoubtedly, Chicago would have cost me some dough to attend. Since I won't be incurring those expenses, I thought it would be a nice gesture to pass the savings to you, my (hopefully) loyal readers/customers(and those who I hope will become loyal readers/customers).

So I've decided to have a special sale this weekend. For this weekend only, I'm offering a savings of 11.4% off the lowest listed price on my website. A minimum purchase of $20.00 is required to get the discount. Now, 11.4 may seem like an odd amount, but I thought it was fitting given the number of limited edition pens that went out on Monday.

To get yourself this discount, all you have to do is enter NoGo2007 as a coupon code in the appropriate box on my website. Remember, I take PayPal, AmEx, MasterCard, Visa and Discover.

Although I can't go to Chicago, I'll be there in spirit. Now, go and save yourselves some cash at my web store!