Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Inventory Reduction Sale at the Chicago Pen Show

Hello everyone!

Once again, the Pear Tree Pen Company will have a couple of tables at the Chicago Pen Show. This year, however, will be bittersweet as it's most likely the last year we will be vending there. As many of you know, we ceased operations last October and have been liquidating our inventory ever since. With luck, we'll be able to get rid of just about everything at Chicago. And I'm prepared to make some pretty spectacular deals on what remains.

I couldn't figure out how to include a spreadsheet or properly formatted list of what I'm bringing, so instead, I am including a link to the Fountain Pen Network post that has a downloadable file (in .PDF format) that lists our new writing instrument inventory, along with its MSRP, along with our heavily discounted pen show pricing. We can take credit cards, but additional discounts will be offered for cash purchases.  (And if anyone knows how to add spreadsheet that's properly formatted to Blogger, please let me know!).

Obviously, I'm happy to deliver anything to the Chicago Pen Show in person, but if you can't attend and would like to claim one of these pens, let me know and I will work with you.  Inventory is moving fast already, so if you want to claim anything, please send me a note. 

Oh, and this is a list only of NEW pens I have; I will also be bringing several vintage pens, over 300 bottles of ink, Jac Zagoory pen holders (these are amazing!), hundreds of ink samples, and quite a few other things, too.

See you in Chicago!



http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/220473-pear-tree-pen-company-at-the-chicago-pen-show/



Thanks for Stopping By!

James Partridge
The Pear Tree Pen Company
www.PearTreePens.com

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Monday, January 09, 2012

In the Beginning

Even though the Pear Tree Pen Company is not an active pen seller, my love for all things pen, paper and ink continues to grow. One of the questions I get asked most often is what ignited my passion for fountain pens. As I reviewed the contents of this blog recently, I realized that I have not explained how my interest began - what attracted me to fountain pens in the first place, and how long it took for the interest to grow into an addiction.

It began innocently enough when my wife gave me a fountain pen for a gift many years ago. It was a Waterman Hemisphere that she had purchased from eBay. She had received her very own fountain pen (a Waterman Gentleman) from her father as a graduation gift and enjoyed it. She also thought that every lawyer ought to have at least one nice pen - and I didn't have one. (In case you didn't know - I'm a U.S. based attorney). I remember opening the box and, upon viewing the pen, thought, "what a stupid gift!" (Of course, that sentiment was never voiced out loud.) Like many of the uninitiated, I figured pens were free from my office supply closet, so why would I want to carry this around, especially since I'd probably lose it anyway. Graciously, I said thank you, and brought the pen to my office where it sat on my desk, barely used.

A few months later, my father's birthday rolled around and I was planning to send him a birthday card. Seeing the pen on my desk, I re-inked it, wrote a nice note on the inside of the card and addressed the envelope. I wrote more slowly than usual because I was generally unfamiliar with fountain pens and didn't want to smear ink. My father phoned me a few days later to thank me for the card. To my surprise, he asked me who addressed the envelope and wrote in the card, because the handwriting was too neat for it to have come from me (I have always had notoriously poor handwriting - in elementary school, I consistently got "Ns" (for "needs improvement") in handwriting).

Upon reflection, I realized that the fountain pen had improved my handwriting - probably because I slowed down to write more legibly. This epiphany led me to research pens. Soon, as they say, the hook was set. The more I learned about the effect nib size and shape has on writing, I began to covet different pens with a variety of different nibs. From there, it progressed to learning about inks - different colors, different consistencies, different properties. Within a year, I was full-fledged pen geek.

Now you know my story. What's yours? I'd love to hear what caused you to fall in love with your favorite writing instrument.

Thanks for stopping by.


James