The Pen Company Blog

50 things to send to your pen pal

February 11, 2016 ♦

♦

Whilst sending and receiving letters themselves is great fun, I often enjoy popping a little something else in the envelope with my outgoing letters, and this is especially true with my international pen pals as we have so much to share in terms of culture. Even the smallest little surprise…

Sailor 1911 brush pen review

February 9, 2016 ♦

Expert Advice & Product Reviews

♦

1 Comment

A brush pen needs to have good flow and good line variation while maintaining a crisp line and allowing lots of control. How does the Sailor Brush Pen stack up? The Sailor 1911 Brush Pen has the same barrel design as Sailor’s 1911 fountain pens. It’s quite a wide barrel…

How to clean your fountain pen nib

February 5, 2016 ♦

Fountain Pens

♦

0 Comments

Your fountain pen’s nib should be regularly cleaned to ensure it’s free from dried ink; once a month is recommended, and certainly at least once every two months, but obviously if you have any problems or issues writing with your fountain pen then it may be that it needs to…

5 reasons you should love your local library

February 4, 2016 ♦

Pens

♦

0 Comments

We couldn’t let Library Month pass without an article dedicated to libraries. My local library thrives, but I know many across the country have closed, and plenty of others are under threat of closure. This saddens me, as libraries have so much to give. I personally visit and use my…

Schneider’s Gelion 39 gel pen refill review

February 2, 2016 ♦

Ballpoint Pens, Expert Advice & Product Reviews, Pens

♦

0 Comments

As you might or might not know: I prefer pencils and fountain pens to ballpoint and similar pens. This means I try to avoid using ballpoint pens if I can. Recently I had a good reason to use one, though. I’ll spare you the details why, but suffice to say…

Graf von Faber-Castell journal and pencil set review

January 27, 2016 ♦

Expert Advice & Product Reviews

♦

0 Comments

Welcome to the 200th post on The Pen Company Blog. Today: a noble notebook and pencil. Graf von Faber-Castell, that’s Faber-Castell’s ‘posher’ product line started in 1993. Back then our favourite count, Anton-Wolfgang Graf von Faber-Castell, introduced this line as part of Faber-Castell’s reorientation. As a pencil enthusiast I am quite…

Travel writer interview: Abigail Blasi (née Hole)

January 22, 2016 ♦

Interviews

♦

0 Comments

This month we had a lovely chat to Abigail Blasi – a very talented freelance travel writer, who has co-written and written Lonely Planet guidebooks for Italy, Portugal, Tunisia, India, and more. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a travel writer? Do you fancy a…

15 letters you could send today

January 18, 2016 ♦

Letter Writing

♦

2 Comments

Everyone loves receiving a handwritten letter in the mail – especially an unexpected one! So why not take ten minutes out of your day, grab your paper and a pen, and get writing! If you’re looking for inspiration, then you’ve come to the right place. Take a look through the…

How to jazz up your snail mail

January 12, 2016 ♦

Art & Crafts, Letter Writing

♦

2 Comments

Letter-writing is wonderful, and nothing beats the feeling of getting home to find a handwritten envelope on your doormat, whatever it looks like. I usually stick the kettle on, then curl up on the sofa with a cuppa to open the envelope and devour the contents (mentally, of course!) When…

How to write a great wedding speech

January 6, 2016 ♦

Writing

♦

0 Comments

They say weddings are stressful events to organise, but I think it is arguable that writing a wedding speech is one of the hardest and most daunting tasks of the big day. This wonderful yet unenviable task is often expected of the Best Man, the Father of the Bride, and…