Pen Wrap | Ania M

So, a couple of months back, just when I was making my first foray into the world of fountain pens, my seamstress friend, Ania Marczyk, suggested making wraps for fountain pens.

I offered to gather details of fountain pen lovers' pet hates and desires when it comes to a wrap for transporting the li'l inky darlings.  Inside my head, I went totally Dame Edna Everage there for some reason ...... Anyway,  Mark Porter was out of the traps very early - a new wrap was desperately needed and he even had the very design that he was after!  He got in touch with Ania and lo! she set to work creating the ultimate gorgeous wrap.

Of course, it was my birthday around that time and it seemed only sensible that I begged for a pen wrap as my birthday pressie.

With a sumptuous selection of coloured skins and kimono brocades, it was pretty difficult to make a selection, but in the end I went for this combo:

 The brocade on the left and the suede on the right.  Ain't it purty?

And TADAAAAAH! this arrived forthwith!

I absolutely adore it!  At the moment, she's making the pen wraps on a commission basis, but she will have some in her online store in the next week or so.

The suede/brocade combo is, I believe, about £35.00 but you needn't have suede - you can have fancy brocade and plain brocade.  I think that the non-suede options start at £25.00.  And, believe me, she's a demon with the embroidery skills if you wanted your fabric customised in some way - initials, name, li'l picture etc.

https://www.facebook.com/AniaM.page/ to see the combinations that she has at the moment.  But, the world is your lobster when it comes to personalisation!

I love mine to BITS and carry it with me in my bag.  I feel very swish swapping out my empty pens.

Little things that give great pleasure - that's what life's about!

Got any little pen pleasures you want to share?

Romus Demonstrator | Piston Filler

Well, it had to happen eventually - an ebay purchase too far.  A pen turned up from India this morning and after checking to see whether it was a late birthday pressie (last week - am still accepting gifts right up until third week in December) it seemed to be a fortuitous Gift From The Universe.

Upon checking my paypal, it would seem, however, that it was a slightly inebriated late-night purchase from ebay.

I *think* it was under a tenner and gosh, I am very enamoured of its gold-coloured trim against the transparent body.

It is also my first piston-filler and FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY will someone tell me how to fill it without the end result being this?

Lovely ink.  When it's not all over everything that you own.

I have turned into Shrek. Apart from the bad language: there I've turned into Billy Connolly.

My ironing board is ruined, RUINED I tell you!

I'm a bit partial to a demonstrator, I like seeing all the innards, and this one, with the gold trim instead of a silver-trim is easy on the eye.

There's nothing that I can see on the nib to indicate its size, but it gives a nice fine line, so I'm going for FINE being the nib of choice that fateful night on ebay.  It's marked 'iridium point' and, if I'm being honest, feels a bit scratchy.

God, listen to me - two months ago I couldn't tell scratchy nibs from any other kind of nib! It's not a very wet writer - despite the ink carnage shown above.   I'm also not convinced that a piston-filler is for me.  But am hoping that someone will come up with the goods when it comes to hints and tips for filling it.  Think my mistake was to try to fill it right up instead of quitting while I was ahead (and not drenched in Diamine).

I'll need to play with it a bit more to see whether I love it, but have to say that so far, it's a nice little pen and I have no regrets about buying it.

Who am I kidding? I don't even remember buying it! :D