How to Celebrate Fountain Pen Day 2020
Looking for a quality pen? With so many styles and nib options, it can be hard to choose just one! Pictured here from left to right: Parker Sonnet Fountain Pen in Black Lacquer With Chrome Trim, Waterman Perspective Fountain Pen in Black and Gold, ystudio Brassing Portable Fountain Pen, Lamy Safari Fountain Pen in Black, and Kaweco Classic Sport Fountain Pen in Bordeaux.
Fountain Pen Day is almost here! Fountain Pen Day happens yearly on the first Friday of November, which falls on November 6 this year. The day was first celebrated in 2012, and the celebrations have only grown since then. Now, thousands of people across the globe celebrate the day in lots of different ways!
Essentially, the day is just a celebration of our favourite inky and smooth writing instruments — and the people that love them! Pen collectors and beginners alike can usually geek out with other stationery enthusiasts at the Fountain Pen Day booths at various pen shows, like Scriptus Toronto Pen Show, but this year is a little different.
With many of us sheltered in our homes this year, how can we celebrate? Easy! There are lots of ways to get involved and celebrate a great writing experience:
Write a letter
Especially with many of us being away from our loved ones for almost eight full months now, it’s even more important than ever to stay in contact and show that we care. Something as simple as a handwritten card or letter can really make someone’s day, and it’s a fun way to get involved with the celebrations. Do you have a family member in another province that could use a smile? What about a former teacher that you’ve lost contact with? If you have a university student in your life, now is a stressful time of year. You can use your pens to get some writing in, but also let someone know that you care!
Faber Castell pens have some of the smoothest steel nibs on the market, and many of the pens are under $100! Pictured here is the Faber Castell Essentio in Aluminum Rose, Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same, and an Apica 6B-50 Basic (B5) notebook.
Join a club
One way to get together for Fountain Pen Day is to see if your local fountain pen club or community is having a video chat to share the love! You can do a little research to see if your area has a pen social club, and many of the clubs would be overjoyed to have a fresh face and new people to penable. If you’re looking for something a little broader, you could always join the Canadian Fountain Pen Enthusiasts Facebook page and celebrate as a group there!
Send a pen
Another way to celebrate fountain pen day is to send a new pen to someone you care about. Whether it’s their first fountain pen or their twentieth, receiving something out of the blue is such a special feeling, and Fountain Pen Day is a great excuse to treat someone to great writing. We recently added some new starter fountain pen packages to our website, which we detail here. These are a great place to start for a new fountain pen for a friend!
Write a story
Remember that you can get in contact with us about sharing your own story of using and loving fountain pens, too! We post “Phidon Stories” on our blog, and we absolutely love seeing how you use your stationery. If you’d like to write one of these stories, you can reach us by email at phidonpens@bellnet.ca and we can give you the next steps.
Clean and ink your pens
Sending a card to a loved one is a great way to celebrate Fountain Pen Day — and so is posting a photo of one of your favourite pens! Pictured here is GOTAMAGO Greeting Card in Thank You (Chrysanthemum), the Graf von Faber Castell Classic Fountain Pen in Makassar, and Graf von Faber Castell Hazelnut Brown bottled ink.
If you have a collection, you might be guilty of leaving at least one or two pens out to dry. Fountain Pen Day is the perfect time to clean out your pens and give them a fresh fill of ink! For really stubborn ink, you could always try using a pen flush like the varieties from Monteverde to make sure that your pens are squeaky clean before you ink them again.
Post a picture of your favourite fountain pens
Whether you’re a user of Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, or somewhere else, there are plenty of options for sharing photos on social media for Fountain Pen Day! Whether you’re bragging about a new Graf von Faber Castell or you’re reminiscing about your first Lamy Safari, show your love for fountain pens by putting it online for all your friends and followers to see. Also be sure to tag any photos with #fpd and #fountainpenday2020 to share your pens with lovers around the world!
Simply — Use your pens!
No matter how you celebrate Fountain Pen Day, be sure to take some time to use your pens this Friday. Whether you’re writing in a journal or a notebook at a job site, a grocery list or a quote page, simply enjoying your fountain pens is the best way to celebrate Fountain Pen Day!
What was your first fountain pen, or which pen would you recommend to a new user? Let us know in the comments, and we hope you enjoy Fountain Pen Day!