Posted on May 24th, 2012 at 10:19 am by 
In today’s world of e-mail, text and the internet how refreshing to read yesterday that the fountain pen is making a comeback. Sales are well up on previous years, and retailers put this down to the return to traditional values in times of economic uncertainty. Whether your budget stretches to a Montblanc or a Graf von Faber-Castell is another matter, you heard it here first, a fountain pen is the cool and classy girl’s must have accessory of the moment.
It’s ironic highlighting this trend on a blog, brought to you via cyberspace, but I bet there isn’t a single one of you who doesn’t enjoy receiving a hand written envelope without any evidence of it being from a bank, insurance company, solicitor or utility company - or the dreaded junk mail. If you value the spoken word and the wonders of literature, seeing such creativity in fabulous script brings it alive. Ancient manuscripts, faded through years of heat, damp and light have a mystery and romance through the knowledge that they were painstakingly written by someone’s hand. Autographs are today as valued as ever, especially as we are increasingly drawn into a fame celebrity circus, and handwriting experts are regularly used now to profile prospective candidates at interview.  And how much nicer to receive a beautifully hand written note from a friend than a quick e-mail or text? So we readily acknowledge it matters that we write – so lets make our writing materials the best and most beautiful, rather than the cheapest and least characterful.
My earliest memories of fountain pens were probably like most people, at school. Forcing an ink cartridge into the pen midst essay, causing leaking and unsightly blots was a regular occurrance. My work always appeared the messiest and would be marked down accordingly – can you imagine that happening today in schools where spelling and layout of work seem to count for little?! But I soon realised that investing in a proper fountain pen was the way to go – dipping the nib in a bottle of ink was therapy in itself and would help me in more ways than one – it raised my game, raised my marks, and definitely raised my awareness of the beauty of the written word.
And where would we be without that?
marigold x
