November 2008
Weddings and the such bring the family together, and this weekend one of my nephews stayed with us. His comments on pens, brought on a startling thought: what are the future of pens?
I have some of the "new generation" working with me at my office. As a generalization, they are always interested in the pen that I am using, but typically "they" don't arrive at work with a fountain pen. There are exceptions, but their main interest seems to be how fast will their Blackberry be delivered and will the portable PC have wireless internet capability.
But this weekend my nephew was in my home office and was looking at my pens. He tried one out, seemed impressed with the weight and feel of the pen. He wrote his name and said that was probably the best it ever looked. As we talked he explained that he and his friends hardly use uses any type of pen. They don't write anything.
In schools he attends classes with his PC - some notes are taken but he has never written an essay or report, never wrote out an outline, nope. Everything is done on the computer.
What about sending a card? That seems to be a bit of a fading institution also. There is text messaging and for longer ramblings there is always email. Of course, the cell phone is just there and always in use.
I showed him a box of pens that an individual had sent me. Old pens from the 50s and 60s the person had come across when clearing out an estate. The pens were older than my nephew. They did spark some interest but I got the idea that carrying around the iPod was not an option, it was a given; carrying around a fountain pen is an option, and not one he would be making.
So the future of fountain pens is clearly not for the new masses. It is going to be restricted for a specialized niche of the market.
I know the positive response I get when I send a hand-written card to express my thanks or to note a special event such as a birthday or anniversary. I think these kinds of cards are going to be much rarer in the future, but I am sure they will be appreciated.
The fountain pen is kind of moving along with the wave. We even found a number of videos on the You Tube site on how to fill up a fountain pen etc. Kind of a special skill now..