“The punishment of luxury is in the air for all to see…”
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, 2017
The Pelikan Ocean Swirl was one of the most exciting and sought after pens of the last decade. Here was a major pen company offering a bespoke limited pen series. Every pen had a unique barrel swirl. Was this the turning point? Were big manufacturers about to get into fountain pen innovation? Was this a corporate response to the recent output from small pen makers? It turns out probably not. Why? Well the big pen brands, such as Mont Blanc, Pilot, Lamy and Pelikan, are part of much larger businesses. Their focus is on brand recognition and reproducible sales for their stable of pens. For example a little recent research reveals that Pelikan is a German company with over $250 million in profit last year. 7% was from so called fine writing instruments, the other 93% was from primary school stationery supplies. #onceanddone #braddowdypenaddict #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 