We haven't run a good giveaway in some time, and it's a shame, because we love giving away pen goodies to all of our fans, followers and customers. Let's change that.
10 sexy fountain pens are up for grabs.
Starting today (Sept 17th) and running until Sept 30th, we're gathering entries for our biggest giveaway yet - a collection of pensfrom JinHao, along with Diamine ink and a Rhodia pad. We're raffling off this complete, 10-pen collection to one lucky winner that will be randomly chosen when the official deadline for entries closes.
This set of JinHao pens we're giving away has something for everyone. Ornate, classic, modern and stylish designs. No one pen is the same. Some come with converters, some do not. Chances are, you may not be using all 10 pens at one time, so this may not be an issue. They do take standard international converters or international ink cartridges. The winner will have the ability to choose the color of Diamine ink and whether it will be bottled or cartridges.
We will contact the winner and allow (7) days for them to respond with a shipping address and preference of ink. If we do not receive a response from the winner, we will draw a second time and allow for another (7) days, and so on and so forth.
Entering the giveaway is easy. We're hosting it directly our Goldspot Pens Giveaway Page. Be sure to follow the instructions on how you can earn extra entries.
Sign up to our e-mail newsletter list.
"Like" our page on facebook.
Follow us on Twitter
Tweet a message promoting the giveaway
Follow us on Pinterest
Like I mentioned, all of this is on our official Giveaway page, so click on over to our link below and throw your name into the hat.
1. Rhodiarama Webnotebooks - Mom will love how these notebooks handle her fountain pens with smooth, 90g paper in either blank or lined formats. Available in a wide spectrum of colors to suit any taste. The leatherette cover has a great feel and the elastic band makes sure to keep any of her writing private and intact.
2. Nemosine Singularity Fountain Pens - Mom needs a workhorse of a pen - reliable, durable and lightweight for easy writing. The Singularity is offered in number of fun colors, including a demonstrator and the fun Magenta pictured above. The stainless steel nib is available in a variety of sizes from Extra-Fine through Broad and 0.6mm / 0.8mm calligraphic nib sizes.
3. Pelikan Edelstein Ink of the Year Amethyst - Smooth, gentle on her pens and writes in a vibrant purple hue with shading to boot, Pelikan's new 2015 special edition ink won't be around forever, so be sure to snag a bottle for Mom (and for yourself!)
4. Filofax Saffiano Organizer - We don't know how Mom's do it, but we suspect they're able to keep on top of their to-do's, grocery lists and after-school sports schedules by using one of these handy and fashionable organizers. The fashionable Saffiano is fully supplied with a 2015 diary, address sheets and everything needed to get a modern, hectic-paced life in order.
5. Royce Leather Double Pen Cases - Don't let Mom throw her precious Parkers and Pilots into her purse, to be marked and roughed around by other items. These soft, supple leather pen pouches provide perfect protection from precarious purse predicaments.
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Yesterday was National Librarian's Day. Inspired by these stewards of the printed word, our #writeitwednesday challenge for today is to write a quote from your favorite book.
Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut
Share the pic of your entry on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #writeitwednesday and mention @goldspotpens to make sure we see it! You may also opt to e-mail us the picture at social@goldspot.com.
Deadline for entries will be Thursday at 10:00am Eastern US Time. We will randomly select a winner on Thursday at 12 Noon.
This Week's Prize
Up for grabs this week is a Rhodia 80th Anniversary Limited Edition Notepad and Pencil Set. This No 80 notepad is made in France and contains 70 sheets of 90 gsm ivory paper in grid format. The cover is decorated with a black and copper Rhodia design and so is the accompanying pencil.
About #WriteitWednesday
Each Wednesday, we run a new social giveaway challenge with a different giveaway prize every week. Anyone around the world with an Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or E-mail account can enter. Once the entries have been collected and the deadline has passed, we randomly select one of the entries as the winner of the giveaway and send the prize accordingly.
No purchase is necessary to enter the #writeitwednesday giveaway. Those who enter the contest via social media may have their images shared by Goldspot on this blog or on Goldspot's Social media accounts. The winner will have 1 week to contact us by e-mail to claim their prize. If the prize is unclaimed, it will be used in a future giveaway.
Writing with a fountain pen has become a resurrected art. With mobile technology enveloping our modern culture in almost every facet, many of our writing needs have been replaced by the keyboard or the touch screen. In recent years, many of you (especially followers of our blog), have heeded a call to return back to a more personal form of expression using pen and paper. Much like the phoenix arising from the ashes, the almighty pen has made a comeback and continues to grow in popularity.
The Bexley Phoenix collection is a new release of 2015 for the Ohio based manufacturer of fountain pens. The Phoenix is aimed to recapitulate the essence of the fountain pen's return to relevance. Each feature of this edition answers the questions of why the fountain pen has experienced a resurgence.
The Pen Details
Proudly made in the USA, the Bexley Phoenix is crafted from acrylic resin and features an internal piston-filling ink system with a clear or translucent barrel to view the ink that it holds. Part-demonstrator, part-acrylic resin pen, the Phoenix marries the two concepts of having an eye-catching acrylic used in the cap with the transparency of a demonstrator barrel. Part of what has made pens a modern luxury accessory is the wide array of beautiful acrylic resin materials that they are made from. There's a color design for every personality here - Solid black for the classical purist, Cappuccino for the latte-lover, Red for those who have a fiery passion for writing, and Blue Velvet for those who fine serenity and calm in handwriting.
The demonstrator barrel with ink window is a feature that has become such a staple in pen designs across all brands. Writers love watching the ink be sucked up into the pen and seeing the ink slosh around in the barrel as they write. Also, it's easy to see when a new fill up is needed.
And you won't need to worry about filling this pen very often. The internal piston mechanism has a capacity of almost a full 1 mL of ink.
Bexley Phoenix Demensions
Length Capped : 5.35"
Length Open without Cap : 5.125"
Length Posted : 6.45"
Diameter at Section : 0.43"
Weight : 0.92 oz.
The Writing Experience
Uncapping and filling the Bexley Phoenix is much like your standard Pelikan piston-filler model. However, it is noticeable that the finishing on the cap threads and the piston mechanism are not very smooth. In fact, they take a more encouraged twist to operate. Possibly, over time and use, the "stiffness" of unscrewing the blind cap will become looser and smoother. Right out of the box, it isn't so.
The pen filled right up on the first turn without any hesitation. I used J Herbin Cafe des Iles, since it has a lovely coffee bean on the bottle label and it goes well thematically with the Bexley Phoenix Cappuccino finish.
The medium, stainless steel nib on this pen wrote wet and juicy with a feather-light touch. I was surprised by how smooth this stainless steel nib performed without any adjustment. Writing on a Rhodia Ice 80gsm notepad, the pen effortlessly gave a rich, wet line.
Writing for an extended period of time was easier with the cap in-hand than posted on the back-end. The cap does post on the back, but not very securely. The writer would have to firmly fit the cap on the back-end in order to get it to post well enough. The black, front end section is a pleasure to comfortably hold while writing. From an aesthetic point of view, I would have wanted it to match the acrylic resin color of the cap.
A Few Choice Words
Writing Quality : The stainless steel nib performs exceptionally well as a wet writer right out of the box. One of the smoothest steel nibs that I've experienced. The pen's size and weight is decent enough for a man or woman. (grade A)
Aesthetic Quality : The resin caps are quite appealing and the novelty of an ink window is always fun and useful. The clear window could be polished more and the "frosted" white part that hides the piston mechanism is not very flattering. Really would have been more impressive if more of the pen was made out of the cap material. (grade B-)
Utility : Piston-Fill system has a large thirst for writing fluid. Writers who prefer the cap posted may not be happy with the loose posting of this pen's cap. Tight cap & blind cap operation. (grade B)
Price : Drawing another comparison to Pelikan, the Bexley Phoenix $219 MSRP price point is similar to a Pelikan Tradition Series M200 with a steel nib. The money is better spent with the Pelikan. (grade C+)
Final Grade : B
While the Bexley Phoenix does provide a fountain pen that stores a large amount of ink and writes exceptionally well with a steel nib, the fit and finishing of this pen leaves something to be desired at this price level.
When I see a notebook, I think of the stories that have yet to be told.
The notes that have yet to become ideas fully manifest.
An unrequited love, a terrible shame to bear.
Loops, swoops and curls. Writing for writing's sake.
Some thoughts that barely make it out of the pen, only to be erased.
Proud moments in our lives that remind ourselves the struggle is worthy.
I see the quiet, contemplative thoughts that surface after a day of turmoil.
The to-do's, plans well laid that never go as planned.
The cursing, dark thoughts that have their place on pages instead of the internet.
A roller coaster with peaks of optimism, followed by troughs of pessimism.
An appreciation of beauty in all of its amorphousness.
It's life as a human being, inside of a human being.
--This ode to the notebook has been brought to you by the wonderfully colorful Rhodiarama notebooks, which just arrived at the office this afternoon. I can't help myself when I see such a beautiful cover, full of silky smooth ivory paper.
Last week, we held our first giveaway of 2013 when we asked folks to write their "writing" resolutions for 2013. We received over a dozen responses and have picked one lucky winner for the Rhodia webnotebook and $10 Goldspot Gift Card. Thank you to everyone that took the time to write a response!
And the winner is :
Congrats, Maggie! Please send us an e-mail through our Goldspot Helpdesk with your address and preference of Rhodia webnotebook and we'll get it to you right away!
We'll be talking more about accomplishing your writing goals for 2013 this month. If anyone needs help getting their resolution off on the right foot, feel free to comment below.
The crowd was wildly untamed that late March afternoon. Preparations were made earlier that day for a celebration that would be remembered through the ages. Balloons were netted, confetti corked, the champagne put on ice. The police could hardly hold the barricades up as the climax of the event was about to take place.
I was about to write my final words in this God-forsaken Moleskine journal.
It was an event that was over two years in the making. You could blame a lack of daily writing for the sluggish pace. When I bought the Moleskine back in January of 2010, I didn't know any better, I swear. I was convinced, as many of the uninitiated are, that if Picasso, Chopin and other famous artistic minds had used this journal, then I should have one as well.
I was very wrong.
As a nearly-exclusive fountain pen user, I found out pretty quickly that the "1-ply" paper quality that Moleskine affords (don't you have another square to spare?) just doesn't cut it for most pen & ink combinations. Part of the fun in owning fountain pens is to write with the entire gamut of the visible spectrum, and the journal I chose to write in is color-blind. It would only "accept" lighter, less saturated colors. All other inks had a fair amount of bleed-through to the other side of the page. I'm not a wasteful person, so only using one side of the page was not an agreeable solution.
Making sure that there was always a pen loaded with Moleskine-friendly ink around, I drudged on through the journal. It wasn't until after doing some homework on the internet that I found many like-minded FP users to be complaining of the same issues with the paper. The ultimate solution - we started carrying Rhodia!
After my pen tasted the promise land of 90 gsm, French-milled, ivory silkiness that is the Webbie, the Moleskine's days became numbered. There was much unrest about how long it would take to finish the last 30 or 40 pages that remain in that wretched Mole, but it had to be done. There were principles to uphold.
Sensing the imminent transition, the citizens ordered the new Rhodia Webnotebook into the presence of the writer to push him to write more and faster. The new journal, wrapped in its thin layer of clear plastic and packaging, taunted him, made his hand quiver in regret as the last few pages were being written. The crowd became cross, frustrated and impatient.
5 sheets to go. 7 pages left. 2 pages. 1 more entry.
As the last word was laid to rest, the crowd erupted into relief and jubilation. The writer collapsed in tears and raised his arms to embrace the sky. It was done. That chapter is over.
Here are the pages that were used to catalog the ink & pen combinations that were used over the 2+ years. They are in order from the very last page of the journal going inward (in reverse).
Take my life lesson seriously folks - if you are an avid fountain pen user, you would be doing yourself a disservice by using a Moleskine journal. Go Rhodia and never look back.
Here at Goldspot, we love to encourage any action that puts pen to paper. Whether it comes in the form of journaling, writing poetry, note-taking, drawing, and doodling, etc., any excuse to take out your beautiful writing instrument is worthwhile. In honor of National Poetry Month, we would like to run a little giveaway to foster some creativity amongst our readers, who are mostly very creative (whether or not they know it).
Now's the time to let your inner Shakespeare shine...
The Prize : A Rhodia Webnotebook (5.5" x 8.5" size) with your choice of grid, lined or blank pages to capture your writing, thoughts and anything in between.
How Do I Enter? : Leave a comment on this post with a poem that is original and uniquely written by you. The Topic - PENS, of course. Write about your love of writing instruments, the deep feeling of regret in losing your favorite pen, the need to restore sanity with ink and paper. The poem should at least be 3 lines, but is not required to rhyme. You have until Friday, April 13th at 2pm (Eastern US Time) to enter.
The Winner : Since poetry is very subjective in judging, the lucky recipient of the Rhodia Webbie will be randomly selected from the entries that we receive. If there are a few that really stand out, we may also send out honorable mention prizes as well. Winner will be announced Friday afternoon, April 13th.
As the entries come rolling in, we may share them with our Facebook and Twitter followers to encourage more people to enter. Please share with as many pen-lovers and creative writers as you can! Thanks for reading!
Goldspot works with dozens of brands and manufacturers every year that roll out their newest styles and colors to captivate the fine writing market. Some ideas tend to overlap when a need has been discovered for a particular type of pen. Here are the hottest pen trends that we have found in 2010 (in no particular order):
Always Bet on Black - The style of black on black has been a hot one replicated by several prominent brands. For example, Monteverde has their Invincia Stealth Black, Retro 51 made a Tornado Stealth and Parker released their Premier Special Edition in all black.
More Special Editions - Speaking of the Premier Special Edition, more manufacturers are leaning toward producing limited runs (in the neighborhood of 50 pieces) of pens that use a specific material or design that is exclusive to the production. Conway Stewart has been offering a special edition finish every month that usually sells out. Just recently, Visconti developed a few Opera Club special colors that are in short supply.
A Rollerball that Writes Like a Fountain - Both Visconti and Monteverde have jockeyed for the claim to fame that they are producing a rollerball pen that refills like a fountain pen. On one side, you have the Monteverde Invincia Ink Ball, which is a current iteration of the Mega Ink Ball pens that were once popular a few years ago, but have sizzled after the economy tanked. In the opposing corner, you have the Visconti Rembrandt Eco Roller, which promotes eco-friendly writing, despite needing a new replacement front end every 15 fills.
Paper is Important, Too - With a resurgence in idea notebooks like the Moleskine, writers and creatives across the world are now toting a little black book to dump all ideas, sketches and brilliant (or not-so-brilliant schemes) that may come to mind. However, fountain pen users have quickly responded to the sub quality paper for their nibs. In comes Rhodia, who has filled the market demand for high-quality, affordable notebooks that work like a dream with any fountain pen. Rhodia has worked out so well that Levenger decided to offer their infamous Circa notebook system with Rhodia paper.
Yes, this is a "pen spotlight" post, but I just happened to find a few blogs that were talking about notebooks in the last few weeks that I found interesting to share with our pen crowd. Most notably, Notebook Stories sparked a discussion about the importance of having a crap notebook. Especially check out the comments below the post. Seems that most people have both nice & crap notebooks, each with their own intended uses.
I nearly squee'd when I saw that Moleskine was coming out with new covers for the iPhone and iPad that have notebooks attached to them. These hybrid tools are fantastic for those who straddle the line of tech and old-fashioned pen & paper tasking. They are taking pre-orders on Amazon, but one would assume that the covers will hit the US market shortly before the Holiday Season in the next month or so.
For our long-term Filofax fans out there who stumble across their beat up, old leather cover organizer, there is still hope yet to restore it! Philofaxy has a great how-to article on restoring a leather Filofax cover. Pictures included.
Rhodia recently sponsored an event called Two Night Stand, which according to Rhodia Drive :
[Two Night Stand] was planned as a weekend-long collaborative event where 20 creatives (designers, bloggers, photographers, coders, illustrators, video artists, etc.) would converge to tackle a mystery project together. The entire creative process was to be cataloged online via the website and through social media.
You can see it here at http://www.thetwonightstand.com/feed
Creative collaboration, especially when done under a time constraint, is always a fun time, provided there is enough caffeine (or beer, in this case) to go around. The Rhodia pads they used were probably a great asset as they needed to sketch, design and draw out their concept from start to completion. One other writing escapade that will commence shortly is NaNoWriMo, which is a yearly event that takes place the entire month of November. The goal is to write an entire draft of a novel during the span of the month. Having tried and failed last year, I can tell you that it is no small feat.
An article by Clive Thompson in the most recent issue of Wired Magazine inspired this post. In his article, titled "Think Visual," he explains that our society hangs its hat on using words to describe complex topics and decisions when it really should be drawing pictures.
He writes that "dynamic, complicated problems - like global warming and economic reform - often can't be boiled down to simple narratives." Since there are so many factors that effect / may effect the system, the explanation of the problem is not as simple as putting two dots and drawing a line between them. For someone to comprehend such a multi-faceted issue, the fastest way is a picture.
First thing that came to mind after reading the article was the expression, "should I draw you a picture?" I imagine someone turning around in frustration after verbally explaining a dire situation to the dolt walking behind them and berating them with that facetious, condescending question. Yes, drawing pictures is addressing the lowest common denominator. Think of airports. How many pictures do you see there that point you in the right direction of the baggage claim, taxis and to the nearest Starbucks?
True, it does seem childish to be drawing your ideas on paper. Example: Jay & Silent Bob's plan to take down the stage in Mallrats (left). The example that Thompson used in his article shows how visual thinking can be applied in a much broader sense. He cites President Obama's inability to effectively communicate his ideas in the health care debate. I remember in the election, one of his criticisms was that he sounded too "professorial." Dan Roam, author of The Back of the Napkin, drew a series of napkin pictures that visually explained the proposed models of healthcare. These pictures were wildly popular on the 'Net and he was even tapped by the Obama administration for help with their future public communications.
So, how does this apply to writing and pens? Well, the keyboard is still quite a "wordy" device, only capable of expressing ideas through prose and ASCII character art, if need be. Pen and paper is still the standard. After all, how did Dan write on all those napkins? I really enjoy Levenger's annotation notepaper because they give you ruled paper covering 3/4's of the page while the other part is plain, giving you scratch room for small sketches, notes and other nebulous ideas that don't fit in with the narrative structure next door. Notebook companies are also early adopters of this idea, offering not only lined, but gridded and plain versions of Moleskine and Rhodia papers in order to give the flexibility of describing your idea.
So, next time you have a big decision or a project to undertake, get yourself a plain piece of paper, a pen, a cup of joe and go for it. Get visual. See the final outcome you'd like to achieve and conceive all the steps to get there. Anyone out there have a similar process for planning and explaining things?
The Art of Manliness talks about pocket notebooks and their deep-rooted tradition in many walks of life. Ignoring the current "Cult of Moleskine" fad, keeping a pocket notebook has always been an essential part of the productive, artistic and intellectual mind.
Speaking of notebooks, much ado has been made of the Webbie 3.0. Karen and the folks of Exaclair, the distributors of Rhodia, have done an excellent job of getting the word out on the internet by putting their great products into hands of pen & paper fans and bloggers alike. Check out Webbie reviews on "Whatever,"Peaceable Writer, and Pocket Blonde to name a few.
Take a look at these reviews:
Lady Dandelion gets a hold of a Pelikan m205 duo highlighter fountain pen before any of us did in the US. Beautiful photography and some great examples of handwriting to aspire you.
I spotted this neat "Embassy" pen on Uncrate. As if the black, anodized aluminum wasn't alluring enough, the pen uses a Fisher pressurized refill (SPR4) and writes in every direction in any condition. If you check out the manufacturer's website for the pen, you'll see a video demonstration that will reveal a hidden talent of this "convertible" pen.
