As I was drafting out my answers to the #21penquestions challenge from earlier this week, I found myself really enjoying the exercise but also wanting to take it a step further. The original questions, while thought-provoking, focus a lot on stuff and the tools we use. After reading everyone else’s answers, I'm especially interested in hearing more "behind the scenes" backstories! I'll start.
1. Why do pens and stationery continue to play such an important role in your life, especially in an age when everything is supposed to be going paperless and digital? The "why" of things might not be as important to some people as it is to me, but because I've devoted a now-significant portion of my life to running this site and have since decided to go even bigger, it's worth my time to think hard on this. For me, it's always gone beyond the things themselves. Sure, it's fun to shop and track limited editions and even design my own stuff, but the act of writing things down - regardless of what I'm using - has far more significance to me than any specific pen or piece of stationery. Stretching back as far as I can remember, writing has been what centers me when I need to focus (or refocus), such as trying to understand difficult, increasingly complex concepts as I made my way through school or worked through thorny personal and professional relationships. I think I value it even more today because thoughtfulness and introspection weren't just disregarded in my home growing up - I would say they were actively devalued, even denigrated, in 1980s and 1990s go-getter America, and my family was no exception. Being labeled an "introvert" was quite possibly the worst “insult” you could hurl at someone. From talking to many of you, this experience isn't at all unique even today: despite countless studies and books about the immense value of quiet reflection, mindfulness, and, yes, introverts in the world, our culture - especially here in the states - seemingly stops at nothing to destroy any attempt to build a peaceful inner life, either through intrusive technology or office workspaces designed to destroy any opportunity for independent thinking. As I’ll discuss a bit more below, this is more than a bit ironic given the benefits. Moreover, writing things down, in a medium I alone control, is to me the purest form of independence and freedom. You own your own thoughts, if nothing else.
2. What do you view as the key benefit of writing by hand? Writing by hand forces you to focus your thoughts and attention, and enables you to distill your ideas into more usable form. Another personal anecdote: I attended an all-boys middle and high school that taught according to an educational model (since updated) that hadn't changed much since the 1920s. We didn't have regular computer access until the mid-to-late 1990s, so all of our writing was done by hand in a strict five-section format: Introduction, Three-Part Analysis, and Conclusion. While I hated this forced methodology at the time, it’s an invaluable part of my life today. As a practicing litigator (trial/arbitration/appellate attorney), I always outline (and usually draft) every single written or oral legal argument by hand. If I had to name my single core strength and professional advantage, it would be my ability to quickly identify key issues and develop targeted responses. You can't do this without an ability to focus on what’s important, and I track this skill - which I find in short supply in a world of constant distraction information overwhelm - directly to my handwriting practice. There may be other solutions for other people, but writing by hand serves as my failsafe and my brain doesn't really work any other way.
3. What is your favorite thing about the pen/stationery hobby? The realization that there is a LARGE community of people who care about this stuff as much as I do. It's been fulfilling to watch not just my own readership grow, but pens and stationery as a whole become far more mainstream as people look to escape from their digital devices and carve out reflective time for themselves. I also love the extent to which this hobby builds connections and friendships between people who otherwise never would have met, simply because their paths wouldn’t have crossed or, if they did, they would have have assumed nothing in common. It's a common complaint that your circle of friends shrinks as you get older, and I've been blessed to have experienced the opposite. Even where acquaintances begin online, traveling to shows and other events to meet people in person confirmed for me that these are genuine friendships that have endured over the years, and that even much-maligned social media apps can be a force for good if they're used in the right way.
4. What is your least favorite thing about the pen/stationery hobby? Easily the FOMO and hype-driven marketing that occasionally rears its head on stationery social media, typically driven by those manufacturers and retailers who don't really engage in the community and value it in the same way that many of us do, seeing it only as an opportunity to profit. In the same vein, like many hobbies, there exists a level of toxic fanboyism that can devolve into trolling and pointless sh*t-stirring, such as, for example, attempting to get people worked up by pressuring them to "choose sides" over largely meaningless controversies and business conflicts involving corporate brands. I have no interest in this and generally choose to ignore it.
5. If you could choose one combination of stationery items to use for the rest of your life, exclusively, what would those be and why? A Lamy 2000 fountain pen with either an extra-fine or fine nib; Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo ink, and Midori MD Cotton Paper in either pad or notebook form. No surprises here. The Lamy 2000 has long been my favorite fountain pen, and the EF and F nibs usually feature a subtle architect-like grind. Tsuki-Yo is a reliably good blue-black ink with a touch of reddish undertones/sheen to keep it interesting; and Midori MD Cotton paper is all-around excellent.
Will this catch on? Who knows, but I always enjoy sharing my personal backstory from time to time, especially as it adds context to why I do what I do here at T.G.S. Feel free to "steal" these questions for your own blog, social media, or even to answer here in the comments!
The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.
