Joshua Kennon » fountain pens

David Oscarson Releases New Pen Series

Joshua Kennon — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 07:42:23 +0000

David Oscarson Consider the Liles Black Pen

Sweet! David Oscarson released the next installment of his pen series called Consider the Lilies. They were inspired by Luke 12:27 when Christ said, “Consider the lilies, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Here’s the company’s official statement on the pens:

Marking our Tenth Anniversary, the Lily Collection speaks of our gratitude for all that is virtuous, beautiful and pure. In a world full of clouds and error, the Lily Collection reminds us of all that we hold precious, all that we hope for and all that we aspire to be.

The Lily Collection incorporates three levels of Guilloché engraving and six colors of translucent and opaque Hard Enamel on each Collection piece. The entire body of each pen is first cut down to the level of the background, leaving the outer and inner lines of the lilies, pads and leaves in high relief. The backgrounds are then kiln-fired with opaque Hard Enamel in either Black or White. The Lilies are the first Collection pieces to incorporate three colors of Hard Enamel onto one surface without separating each of them with dividing lines in high relief and the three colors of the daylilies graduate and gradate inconsistently, emulating nature’s unique ability to distinguish one lily from another.

I have got to get my hands on both of these. The rollerball version lists for $4,700 with the fountain pens coming in at $4,900 each before sales tax.

Consider the Lilies White Version David Oscarson Pen

The great, eternal question is, of course, whether or not to ink a collector’s edition fountain pen. Personally, I buy them to write. I say ink away, absolutely, positively. These are not just financial investments for me. They are tangible and in that regard, they are different from stocks or bonds. You can see them. At some point, they become emotional attachments, as well. I can still pick up the two Montblanc pens I bought as my first writing instruments when my mom took me to Omaha to visit Warren Buffett’s jewelry store, Borsheim’s.

At the time, I was in college and I spent $500 or $600 on the two pens, which consisted of a black and platinum rollerball Montblanc LeGrand and a black and gold fountain pen Montblanc LeGrand. They still sit in my office at headquarters today. In fact, I used them to sign the papers when I bought my first house, to sign my book contract, and a lot of other important documents. I’ve used them to sign the incorporation papers for some of the businesses we launched this year.

These are not mere excesses or trivialities. They are probably one of the best emotional and financial investments a man (or woman) can make if he knows what he’s doing.

Aurora Talentum Classic Fountain Pen

Joshua Kennon — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:16:40 +0000

Lately, I’ve been writing with a black and gold fountain pen from Aurora. It came as part of the inventory expansion we did at Kennon Home Accessories to launch the pen business this winter, and I’ve got to say, I’ve never written with anything like it. Truth be told, despite it being only $325 retail, it feels far more durable and enjoyable than some of the $850 or $1,200 pens I own.

Aurora Talentum Classic Fountain Pen in Black with Gold Trim

Michel Perchin Pens Really Turn Me On

Joshua Kennon — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:32:58 +0000

When I was a teenager sitting in high school French class, I recall relentlessly mocking my teacher for the idiocy of buying a $200 or $300 pen. Fast forward to today, and not only do I have a massive pen collection, but I’ve fallen completely and totally in love with Michel Perchin pens to the point that when I have the retail store launch it’s full in-store pen department in the fourth quarter of this year, we are going to bring them in and sell them.

The average retail price for most of these works of art ranges somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000, depending upon the specific model, with many going for far more than that. They are actually cored out of a rod of solid, pure silver and built using the finest materials available on earth. When I look at them, my heart rate literally picks up and I feel this incredible urge to acquire. It’s the exact same feeling as when I see a stock that is being given away (like when we put a massive portion of our assets into General Electric at $6 per share and U.S. Bancorp at $8.50 per share back in March, watching them skyrocket between 100% and 300% in less than 90 days).

Some of my friends think I’m nuts for being so passionate about pens. What I find remarkable is that they see nothing unusual about their families smoking a pack of cigarettes per day, at an average cost of $7 per pack, or $2,555 per year. Ten years from now, the smoking left them with no money and lung cancer and my pen is worth $10,000, not the $2,500 I paid for it. They also wouldn’t see a problem with a woman spending the same amount on a diamond necklace. Yet, for men, there is a double standard.

People really underestimate the cumulative cost of their capital allocation decisions. My personality is such that I like having nice things. During college, I bought two gold-rimmed coffee cups with saucers imported from England at a jewelry store in Princeton, NJ at a total cost of $500 to $600. They were what I drank from in my dorm room as I studied opera scores, read stock reports, and played video games. It’s a personality quirk. I only like to buy things that hold value.

I can’t wait to sell these in our store. This isn’t just business. I’m going to build a successful pen company that makes at least a few hundred thousand dollars a year in profit in the Midwest. It’s small by other standards, but this is personal. I love the product. I mean, I really love the product. Nothing else we sell gives me this kind of joy and so it’s a personal objective to make this happen.

Absolutely exquisite works of art ...