So OliveOctopus.Ink created an open call to the stationery community as a whole to take a shot at answering the 12PenpersonQuestions list that she curated. I have to say, this was much harder to sit down and answer than I anticipated, but I think that was good to take a little bit of time to think on some of them before typing out a response.
You can find out the origins on Lisa’s site at https://oliveoctopus.ink/12penpersonquestions.htm
- If you consider the different ways you can engage with pens and stationery—as a user, a collector, a hobbyist, a creator, a maker, a vendor—which roles fit best and what percentage of 100% would you assign to each? Are you happy with the balance?
So this was interesting to sit down and look at for sure. I started as a user with a side of small collection and left it at that for many years. I used what I had and wasn’t really adventurous with inks, ink colors or papers. As I got back into the hobby, I came in a different manner completely. I started by using what I had, and then by happenstance, the invent calendars led me down a different unintended path of the creator space. I quickly learned that I like that part of the hobby, as that helped reinforce the enthusiast and user areas. At this point, many of my personal purchases are now influenced to some extent by what the creator side could do for those items, so that is why it went to 40 over 30 on the other two categories. Having found that not only did we have a local pen club, but it is very active in addition to two local stationery stores, that has allowed me to jump into the Enthusiast category full tilt.
2. What is something you want to understand better or develop more informed opinions about?
I would really like to get more into the larger variety of nib grinds. I love my EF or finer nibs, but I know that there are times when larger nibs have their place, or better utilizing specialty grinds. I think there is a whole new world when it comes to nibs, especially when you get to thinking about the Monoc or the Harmonic nibs that are being made from scratch my members of the community.
3. In the pen community, what’s something someone has said or done that stuck with you?
The thing that comes to mind at first is how supportive Brad ThePenAddict is to other creators, and how when I was close to hitting 1000 subs on Youtube, he stopped his Twitch stream until people who were watching took me over that threshold. I know that he didn’t need to do that, but that kind of support is huge for a newer creator.
4. There are now 25 hours in a day, a bonus hour is available to use however you like as long as pens or stationery are involved—how do you spend your hour?
I think that I would use it to get caught up on all of the various podcasts that I am behind on from the stationery world. I feel like there are so many aspects of the hobby that are discussed in detail in that format that I might not come across otherwise.
5. In the pen community yearbook, what would your superlative be? (i.e. “Best ______”, “Most _______” “Most likely to _______”)
I think my superlative would be something along the lines of mostly likely to own every type of EF nib. The smaller the nib the better to pair with my writing, so I would like to get EF or smaller options from all different nib types and needlepoint or smaller grinds from every nibmeister that I can.
6. How do you feel about your handwriting?
If we are talking print, I like it. Even if I am writing quickly, it is pretty legible. When it comes to cursive, on a scale of 1-10, it would be a 1. That is a skill that has all but vanished due to non use, so I hope to start working on that to bring it back in the future.
7. What is something you are proud of doing, achieving, or overcoming?
I would say that I am proud of starting a Youtube channel. I have never been a person who liked being in front of the camera, so why dive into a medium where that is the cornerstone. I not only started it, I took it to another level of starting a video podcast with no background in podcasting at all that has been I feel successful and I hope that continues well into the future.
8. You’re going on a writing retreat anywhere in the world—where would you go, what would you write, and what would you write with?
I would go with my wife of course, and if the focus is writing, I would have to go somewhere that I have been before, or it would be too tempting to go see a new area vs spending time writing. I really loved when we visited Ireland, so I could see finding a smaller village area to stay in where writing could be done at the house, or at a table in a pub etc.
9. What’s a current or favorite creative outlet?
Obviously, I have really embraced the creating , but the parts I enjoy the most are the livestreams and the podcast interviews. I like being able to make the connections with all of the various creators to learn their stories.
10. What’s something that causes you benign envy—the kind of admiration and desire that leads to inspiration or motivation?
People to have beautiful script writing, or people who are able to make their writing look like works of art by adding in variety and drawing. That has never been something that has been in my wheelhouse due to my handwriting, but I love to see what people are able to create in that medium.
11. What’s a comfort item, material, or color?
Titanium. I have a weakness for all things titanium, and I love the grey and black colorspaces. If I had to only have pens of a single material, as much as I love the colorful materials, all titanium, all the time.
12. What would be a dream collaboration, project, or partnership?
I would love to have the means to just travel around the country and go interview makers, visit stores, and go to all of the pen shows. I would love to be able to partner up with other creators like Independence Mike, The Pen Addict Brad and others as I passed through their areas. As an overall more natural introvert, the pen community has started to bring out a little more of the extroverted side of things which is a nice change of pace.
That finishes up my answers to these questions for now. I think that I will try to remember to revisit this in the future and see if I have any updates to my answers as time goes on.