Blog - Pen Boutique

Ever since I met TACCIA Founder Shu-Jen Lin at the Baltimore/Washington International Pen Show in March, I've been excited about TACCIA and wanted to write about it. TACCIA (pronounced "Ta-ssha") is a smaller Japanese-American  brand that you may not be familiar with, but they make beautiful inks, lovely pen wraps featuring traditional kimono designs, and very high quality unique fountain pens that use Sailor nibs.  I stayed in touch with Shu-Jen after the show, and she graciously agreed to an interview over Zoom, so I was able to ask her some of the questions I've been wondering about the brand and her role in it.  We spoke for...

 THE ULTIMATE TWSBI FOUNTAIN PEN GUIDE. TWSBI Passion and TWSBI Trepidation I know this sounds weird, but I have never owned a TWSBI before, and was actually kind of scared of them. It's hard to explain why. TWSBIs are very well-loved at Pen Boutique, both by customers and among my colleagues, and the Eco (short for "eco-nomical") model in particular is a popular entry-level fountain pen and collector pen. Every time a new color is released, TWSBI fans get excited and come into the store asking to see it. The Eco is only $32.99, and the interesting colors and transparent barrels inspire ink lovers to get creative with mixing and matching their...

Discovering Waldmann The moment I found out that Pen Boutique was going to be carrying Waldmann pens, I knew I wanted to write a blog article about them. I had never heard of Waldmann until early March, when Joy brought the Jubilee 105 fountain pen up to the store for me to display in our limited edition case. She told me it was designed to celebrate the German brand's 105th birthday and is an edition of only 105 pens. Intrigued, I opened the packaging and gently removed the hinged cherry wood  gift box inside. Right away, I was stunned by its restrained elegance. Many of the pens in our limited edition case are...

I hardly know where to begin this blog article. The Baltimore Pen Show was one of the most wonderful experiences I have had in my entire life. And no, I haven't led a boring life. It was just so, so amazing to immerse myself and be surrounded by people who share my love of pens and to feel that I could fully be myself and be accepted, welcomed, and at ease. Pen people are some of the nicest and most interesting people I have ever met, and I love being a part of this world! I'll do my best to put into words and...

It's been a while since I've written a Staff Picks article (last time, I featured Retro 51's Buzz Tornado), but I've been wanting to focus on the Waterman Carène since summer, and now is the time! Just to recap, to write my Staff Picks, I interview my Pen Boutique colleagues and ask them to tell me about a favorite product they own and use regularly. After hearing about why they love it, I try it for myself and see what I think.  This week's Staff Pick is from Raj, our COO (Chief Operating Officer) and husband of Pen Boutique owner, Leena.  COO sounds like a pretty serious...