The Pen Addict 222/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	222
Title:	Keep the Dream Alive
Release Date:	September 13th, 2016
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	Cary Yeager
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 222
Audio File:	Audio Episode 222
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 222
Length:	5353 min <br />0.883 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Brad Dowdy: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode number 222. Today we're brought to you by Harry's and Pen Chalet. My name's Brad Dowdy, and I'm joined by a special guest today. You know, I'm not the British guy. The British guy usually does all of this stuff, but he's out, you know, crossing the world. He's a world traveller, like he is getting stamps all on his passport. So, I thought I'd bring in one of my good friends who has never made an appearance on this show. It's his very first appearance, so I want you all to say hi to Mr. Kerry Yeager from Fountain Pen Day. How's it going, Kerry?

Cary Yeager: Very good, Brad, and thank you for having me today.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, I'm excited. Are you excited or are you nervous?

Cary Yeager: A little bit nervous, but I'm excited at the same time.

Brad Dowdy: Well, I know you well enough that if there's anything you can handle, you can handle talking to me for a little bit about pens, I'm pretty sure, right?

Cary Yeager: Yeah, pens are a passion, so it comes pretty easy.

Fountain Pen Day

Brad Dowdy: So, I think most people know you online as the guy behind Fountain Pen Day, and we're going to talk a lot about that. But I want to talk about before Fountain Pen Day. Like, you know, I talk all the time about how I got started with my pen fascination. You know, I had this deep-seated thing when I was a kid where I was always hunting down pens and paper. How did your love for pens and stationery and all this stuff get started?

Cary Yeager: I think, you know, as a kid growing up, it started there. As most of us, you know, your first day of school and you get that list and you go to the store. And I just always was excited about getting all this cool stuff to have. And I think it was more, you know, having the right pens and the pencils and the right sharpeners and the cool erasers. So, I think that kind of started me, you know, way back when, when I was, you know, going from nursery school into first grade kind of thing. And from there, it was always just about having a cool pen. I always had that fascination. And it wasn't fountain pens. It was just the cool click pen, you know, whether it was one of the pilots or, you know, any of those. Or the mechanical pencils I used to be into. And when I, I guess later in life, I ended up on, and a lot of people have had this happen. I was on Straight Razor Place and I got interested in shaving. And using a straight razor just seemed cool. You know, you see it in movies sometimes. And at the same time, it's scary. So, I'm on Straight Razor Place and everyone's into it. And it's, you know, it's kind of like the same culture where everyone is, they start with that basic one. And then it becomes more and more and more custom and custom grinds and everything that goes with it. Long story short, we had somebody come over from one of the other boards, Blade and Badger. And they were talking about a custom fountain pen that they were getting a number of done by Edison Pen Company. And I was like, oh, that's cool, a pen, all right. And then they were like, well, it's a fountain pen. And I read more into it. And it just kind of went from there. And while I didn't get in on the buy at the time, because I didn't know enough about it, it kind of pushed me over into Fountain Pen Network and where they were talking about it. And I was like, wow, okay. And I just slowly progressed over into it and started in reading about all the pens and seeing people's different writing styles and how people – I think the thing that got me most was how people improved so much on their writing, you know, and just from writing every day, you know, and finding a reason to write and then finding the perfect ink and the perfect paper and, you know, all the things that go with it. So I kind of took to it. And it just kind of exploded from there. And I was all in after that.

Brad Dowdy: You're kind of like me. It's like, you know, we had this – I had this stationary fascination young, but it was never fountain pens. You know, in the U.S., in schools, we're not brought up using fountain pens. We're mostly having to use pencils. And then, you know, as we get older, we're allowed to use pens, you know, ballpoint pens or, you know, rollerball gel ink pens. So it sounds like your fountain pen, you know, discovery came like in the last five or ten years, kind of like mine did, right?

Cary Yeager: Yeah. About five years. About five years now. So actually a little bit longer than that. But yeah, and it just – you just take to it, you know, like a duck to water. It's like, wow, this is it. And, you know, with our community being the way it is, you learn quickly that there's so many genuine people out there that really are into it and they want to share and talk about it and get together.

Brad Dowdy: Right. Do you remember some of the first fountain pens you used? The first – What kind of got you started?

Cary Yeager: The first fountain pen I actually used – I mean, I live in New York, and it's like this mass of people. And the first fountain pen I used had to be one that I bought online because it was really – there is no brick-and-mortar store close enough to me. I mean, I could go to Manhattan, but that's – you know, you're trekking into the city. And I ended up buying one online. But I had looked at and was intrigued by Mont Blanc when I first started because so many people had them, and it was just, you know, the hot topic. And it was also a brand that I knew. You know, Mont Blanc you see everywhere. You see it in the stores, and there are little cutouts here and there. And I – the first pen I got, though, was a Rosetta Coronado. And it was because it was a larger pen, and people had compared it to the size of like a 149. And it had big hands. So I remember I got that. And as soon as I got it, I tried it. And I had to use the ink cards because I didn't realize it had no ink. And I remember using it on copy paper that I had because I didn't have paper either. And, you know, it was kind of like that thing. I got the pen, and then you realize, okay. And so right away I ordered. And I think, if I remember correctly, the first ink and paper I got was from the Goulet's. And I remember I did that. And from there, it – I kind of – I really liked the pen, and I still have it. But I found people who were talking about Pendleton Brown had custom done some nibs. And they'd done a cursive italic. And I was like, you know what? I'll get that. Let me get that. So I remember I was all excited, and I got it. And being new and still new into fountain pens and not really written a lot, you know. And even when I had written with it, it was a medium. So it was nice. It was smooth. It was easy. Easy to handle. You know, it was very comfortable, and I felt good with it. And then I stuck a Pendleton Brown. I think it was a smooth cursive italic. And I remember it was about two strokes in. And, of course, I snagged the paper and literally ripped up a piece of the paper. And I was like, okay. And, you know, I think that's what got me is that I realized it's not about scribbling. It's about thinking about what you're doing and watching what you're doing. And, you know, everything makes a difference, how you hold it, the pressure. And the more I got of that, the more I enjoyed it more. Because I realized it wasn't just – I don't want to compare it to that, but it's not like a video game. You just turn it on and you play, and that's it. Right. You know, that wasn't this. You get turned on by it, and you move forward with it. And every step you take is a step to something not necessarily better, but to more creativity and a more style your own. And everything becomes, you know, you more so. Right.

Brad Dowdy: And, yeah, people always ask me why I like fountain pens so much. And it's because you can make them so personal to you specifically that, you know, that's why I get into it so much. And, you know, that's what you're talking about. But you didn't mess around right out the gate. I mean, you went big. Like, I dabbled, you know, a little bit. Lamy Safari, okay, you know, I kind of – I get it, you know, I guess. You know, I wasn't really concerned with the paper I was using. You know, I just used whatever blue cartridge it came with, the Lamy cartridge, and didn't really get it. And then, you know, I finally started realizing, okay, there's different colors of ink I can use, and there's better paper I can use to make this better. And then I kind of, you know, worked my way through it. But, I mean, you were going big pen and nib grinds right out the gate, huh?

Cary Yeager: I did because, you know, the people around me kind of fueled it. And, you know, the enablers are everywhere. And, you know, when you're new, people don't want you to. And I know how they feel because I feel the same way. And it's not getting you to go big out the gate as much as it is to keep people intrigued so that they don't get frustrated and they don't feel like, oh, this is too much. That it is easy and it's fun and there's so much to it.

Cary Yeager: You know, it's like I give away pens all the time. I always have, like, the Pilot Varsity's with me. Because, you know what, no matter what pen you get, and I have plenty, and I've spent more than I should ever have spent.

Cary Yeager: But that pen, I mean, you pull out a Pilot Varsity, right out of the gate, it works. You can leave it in a drawer for three years right out of the gate. It works. And, you know, I think that takes a lot of the frustration out and helps people realize it doesn't matter what pen you have as long as you're using it. And you can get ones that aren't in the stratosphere, and they work fantastic, and they're fun, you know, and they're part of the hobby. And people enjoy them and respect them because I certainly do.

Pen Addict Community

Brad Dowdy: So I remember – I haven't told you this story, but I remember the first time I realized who you were, like when I connected all the dots about Carrie. And that's when I didn't know you really at all, or I just hadn't really realized, you know, what was going on. And I was talking to our friend Ed Jelly about Nakias. And it was when he was looking at purchasing one, and, you know, I was looking at purchasing one. And this is several years ago at this point. And he told me he met a guy in New York, and this guy loaned him a couple of his Nakias. And I was like, wow, that's really cool. And, you know, I'm glad you got to try him out. And he was showing him off. And that guy turned out to be you, right?

Cary Yeager: Yeah. Do you remember this? I remember this because he came to – I was at work, and I worked late at the time. And he actually – he had left work, and he came to me, and I just took my lunch when he came in. And we just sat down, and it was just – you know, we only lived like half an hour apart. But he was, you know, another guy who was just so into it. And I remember seeing his website and his phenomenal photography and things. So I was intrigued. And I'm like, yeah, come on down. And it was – you know what? That – I would say that was probably my first official pen meet because I got to meet with somebody in person. And that, you know, that really fueled – it was great for him, and I was so happy that he got to try them. But for me, it was fantastic because I'm like, wow, I really – I got to meet somebody who gets it. And that's – you know, you just click with that. But, yeah, I remember that so well, and that was so much fun.

Brad Dowdy: I didn't realize until probably like a year later, like, wait, that was Carrie that loaned Ed Dabson. That guy is a now. Look at where we're all at now. So that's pretty funny. So, you know, I like hearing people's backstories and how they get into it. But I think what I want to hear about the most, because we've never, like, talked about the specifics of Fountain Pen Day and everything, and I think that's what the listeners want to hear the most about Fountain Pen Day. But before we do that, I'm going to talk about our first sponsor. And you were talking about shaving earlier, and you know we love Harry's here on the podcast. And this episode of The Pen Out is brought to you by Harry's. I'm sure you've seen how all the big razor manufacturers always have new models and new features, and they're always raising the price. Well, our friends over at Harry's have made a bunch of exciting improvements to their razors. And you know what I'm going to say next, right? They're keeping the prices exactly the same. They have a new five-blade razor that includes a softer flex hinge for a more comfortable glide, a trimmer blade for hard-to-reach places, lubricating strip, and a textured razor handle for more control when your hands are wet. Harry's believes so much in the quality of their new razors that they not only guarantee their quality, they'll give you a full refund if you're not happy. They offer an even higher quality shave, about half the price of other big brand blades. It's just $2 a blade. And on average, that price, it saves you about $150 a year from using the traditional blades in the store. So you know I love Harry's. It's a great value for their money. The starter set that they offer is a great deal. For just $15, you get a weighted razor handle, moisturizing shave cream, three precision-engineered five-blade cartridges, and a travel cover. So not just that. Harry's loves the Pen Addict and the Pen Addict listeners so much. They're going to give you another $5 off if you use the code Pen Addict at checkout. So go to harrys.com. That's harrys.com. Use the coupon code Pen Addict at checkout and get $5 off. Thanks for harrys for supporting this show and RelayFM. So I got to ask you about shaving, Carrie. You're like the baby-faced assassin. You don't even look like you shave. And you were talking about the straight blade earlier. It's like you're just like the cleanest shaven, you know, put-together guy around. What's up with that?

Cary Yeager: I think that had more to do with work than anything else, to be honest with you. Yeah, that's what we all fall into, right? But I will say I am a Harry's fan too. And I use the coupon code. I've been using it for, I guess, about a year. And I'll give them a little extra plug because I really do. I love them. And, you know, when I travel, when you get on a plane, the last thing I'm bringing is a straight razor. So I travel with them. And you know what? They really are great. And they're so much cheaper. And so I enjoy it. And they had the orange handle. So I had to.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, you and me, we have that in common. We're big fans of the orange, right?

Cary Yeager: Yeah, I think we really are good fans for that for sure.

Fountain Pen Day Origins

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I don't even know how that started with me. That's definitely a recent, since I've been into Penn's thing. Like I was never, you know, an orange fan necessarily growing up. So I'll have to, you know, lay on a couch one day and figure out how I came to love orange so much.

Brad Dowdy: All right. So I want to go to the beginning of before there was even a fountain pen day. How the idea for such a thing came into your mind. Like, because I'm in, I'm going to put words in your mouth here, but I'm thinking like at the time, you don't really have like an online presence. You're not writing necessarily, blogging, doing much Instagram or YouTube. Then all of a sudden, does the light bulb come on and say, hey, I'm going to do this thing called fountain pen day. How'd that, how'd that happen?

Cary Yeager: So fountain pen day was not my idea alone at all in any way, shape or form. And I would never want to take credit for it. And I tell people all the time when I've spoken about it, you know, on fountain pen network, you can search for fountain pen day and it goes back to the very beginning. And I believe it was either national, I think it was national pencil day or national ballpoint pen day, one or the other. And if you were like, why would there be national ballpoint pen day? And there's no, we need a fountain pen day. And I was jumped in and I'm like, yeah, we do. Because I, I was a little bit computer savvy at the time. I had zero online presence. I was just a little name out there of, you know, plugging in replies here and there and asking a million stupid questions. And I Googled fountain pen day in parentheses to see what came up. And at that time, nothing came up. The only thing that came up when back in 2012, in like, say, July, when we first started talking about it, it was like some weird translation to a song from a Japanese or a Korean band. And that came up in the Google search. That was literally all there was. And I said, there's nothing. There's literally nothing out there. And Twitter was kind of new. And I'm like, you know what? I'll get to Twitter and the Facebook and I'll start doing that. And everyone was like talking about it in the background. And it was a good, I'd say eight or nine of us. There may have been more. Again, I haven't looked in a while. But you can go back and look. It's sitting right in open space.

Cary Yeager: And everybody was like, well, we need to get this done. And how do we choose a day? And long story short, the day came down to it needs to be on a Friday every year. And that was a hard debate. But whatever. We decided we had to figure a Friday. And there's an open hole right after Halloween. And the first Friday after Halloween would be the first Friday in November, right? So it would be the first Friday in November. It's three weeks before Thanksgiving. The kids are already in school. There's not a lot going on. So for that, it worked out well. And we were like, okay, good. So then I started contacting the retailers that I had bought from. And I got a hold of like the Goulet's, the Anderson's.

Cary Yeager: Kenro was near me. I had just, I forgot how I got their name at the time. But there were a few of them out there and Fountain Pen Hospital. And I just typed up an email and emailed everybody. And then I'm like, you know what? I'm just going to go and look at all the retailers that I can find. And I had a Google and I just sent emails out and out and out. And all of a sudden, they grabbed onto the idea. And they said, well, that sounds interesting. And they got back and they said, well, we could do this and we could do that or whatever. Long story short, listen, people's lives get busy. And as people dropped off, you know, this is going on or that's going on or the kids are getting back in school. Because this was going on during the summer. And by the end of the day, there was only a couple of us left. And at the very end of the day, I was kind of there. Holding the flag, if you will. And I didn't want to let go. And it wasn't due to anyone saying, oh, forget it. This doesn't make sense. Everyone's lives get busy. And I understand that. Mine gets busy. And sometimes you don't see me post for a while or whatever. But I just felt like, you know, I got people involved in it. And I knew a lot of them. And I remember speaking to Rachel Goulet on the phone. She actually helped set up the Facebook page in the very beginning.

Cary Yeager: I had set up a website that was really, it was there. Do you know what I mean? And that was kind of what it was. But it was a place for people to look and read about it and know that, you know, we were starting something. And there were people that wanted to do National Fountain Pen Day. And that came out where, you know what, it's a lot of legwork to get senators to sign it and all this. And I'm thinking, this Fried Chicken Day, National Fried Chicken Day. I'm like, so they went to all this process for that, which is fine. I love fried chicken too. But at the end of the day, though, it was, it came down to, this needs to be worldwide. Forget any national recognition. It doesn't have to be on the calendar for the United States. Because it's not about here. It's about everywhere in the world and getting everybody involved. Because whether you're writing hieroglyphics or kanji or whatever language you're writing, you're still writing. And you need to write it. You need to put it down, pen to paper. So, we had the first year. And there were, I forgot how many. We had a bunch of vendors. And a lot of people celebrated. We had the Twitter up and tried giving stuff away. You know, we got donations from those retailers and trying to get them to give back. And, you know, it went well. And we just kind of moved forward from there. And I think it was after, just after the first year, Aaron Zeller from Zeller Writing. He had just started his company. And he was going through school. He was getting married in the last couple of years. But he said, you know what? I know how to do a website. I can put it up on WordPress. So, that website, he built. And put it together for us. And it's just been sitting there. And just, you know, updatable every year. And, you know, so he was a great backbone to have for putting that website together. So that it looks, you know, how it looks today. And, again, keeping it neat and clean with no ads and no pop-ups. And, you know, a place for people to go for education, if you will. Right. And, so anyway, so every year from there, it's just grown exponentially.

Brad Dowdy: You said something very interesting a second ago. And I don't know if you realize it or not. But you were essentially the last person standing in the conversation about there should be this thing. What do you think made you the guy to put the muscle behind getting Fountain Pen Day started? I think that's just the way you said it was super interesting to me.

Cary Yeager: I think timing has a lot to do with it. I mean, yes, a lot of it, 100% of it, about 99% of it is about passion. And how much I really, I truly love it. I think it needs to be around forever. All the articles, you know, when you write something down, you remember it. I get all that. But for me, I think, you know, I'll give you two quick stories. Because the impact on me is when I think about my grandfather, who was a teacher and principal, and I look at things that he wrote back in the day. And I look at his signature. And I remember him telling me how long it would take him to sign something if he wanted to sign it in an ornate manner. And it was just amazing. I remember at the time, I thought, wow, you wrote that. And it really had an impact on me because he took so much pride in how his signature looked. And when he wrote something, how it read and how it came across. And, you know, it impacted me. I think the other part was hearing stories from people who have grandparents, great-grandparents, or uncles that were in, like, Vietnam and stuff. And, you know, they find letters years later. And usually it's a letter and it's got a card next to it, you know, from when they passed. And the pen that they wrote their last letter to that loved one with. And, you know, usually it's in Estabrook, generally speaking. I think that's what they were giving out. But I remember, I know there's stories out there about that. And people would keep the last letter that they got from that person and the pen that they wrote it with that they got back. And I thought about, you know, what the history of that pen was. You know, what that person wrote daily in their journal with that particular pen of everything, all the horror going on, but their life experience. It's really what it comes down to. And it just really, I mean, it just really grabbed me. You know, it grabbed me from deep inside of what that means and what it's really about.

Brad Dowdy: Well, as I've gotten to know you better over the years and we talk all the time and we get to see each other in person at pen shows, I can't imagine a better person to bring this whole fountain pen day thing forward and into the public conscience. And seeing it grow just in the past two years alone, it's been phenomenal, right? I mean, what are you seeing just from the fountain pen day side of things? Just the growth and the participation you're seeing in the fountain pen day every year as these past couple years have gone by?

Cary Yeager: A lot more interaction, which is great. Interaction between other people, even though it's through social media, you know, that's the greatest connection for that instant. Look what I got. Look at this pen. Look what I found. Look at this ink. Look at this paper. See how it writes. And they share in that way. And then they connect and they're writing letters to each other. Because you can only see it visually on your screen. But now these people are writing letters to each other. And I think it started, it kicked off a lot of pen pal, things like that. But as well, a lot of people are taking the opportunity to celebrate that day and get their pen groups together, get their local brick and mortar stores involved. And it's all over the world. You know, I mean, I look at, like, Laira, she had a complete art festival built around Fountain Pen Day two years ago. And they actually had a fair that went for three days. And last year she was able to get some of the pen manufacturers to come down into the Philippines to set stuff up. And it's not just there. I know Poland. They set up a pen show around Fountain Pen Day. The Ohio Pen Show, they try. And he's trying to get it so that it's on Fountain Pen Day every year to kind of have a good build up to it. And so many of the vendors have opened their doors. And when I mean vendors, I mean, like, the brick and mortar people to let people in. Whether it's, you know, the Andersons, Vanass, Drome Ghouls, Fountain Pen Hospital, Bertram's.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, they're doing in-store stuff, right?

Cary Yeager: Bertram's Inkwell has stuff all the time. I know Deb Basil goes there sometimes and teaches. He's got, like, a vintage pen repair going on this weekend at Bert's store. And, you know, it's a way to invite people in. And it's not – it's a good way for people to meet your brick and mortar folk, if you will. Because they are passionate about it. They care about it. They are, you know, so driven by the hobby that you forget that they're your retailer. And, you know, and you've seen that at shows. Well, there are friends, right? Who's at the bar? That's how this community is. When you go to the bar at night, it's amazing. Because these people sold pens all day for 10 hours. And they're in the lobby. They're not leaving the building. They're in the lobby hanging out with us because they love it. They love – they're not there with a pocket full of pens saying, oh, have you ever seen Scott Franklin offer anybody to buy a pen in the after hours? You never have. He's there hanging out, buying drinks, enjoying his time with everybody. People like Susan Wirth who just – at the Colorado show last year, she walked by before dinner after spending – and you know Susan. She's the last one out of the building. So she's always there like 10 or 12 hours. She hung out with us straight out of the pen show when we had our little pen meet for, I would say, five hours. She literally ordered dinner while we were having our meat so that she could eat and just – and talked about pens and pulled out pens and showed people how to write in different inks and just became part of the group. And I just thought that was just one of the greatest things to see, you know?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. It's a real special environment that we're part of. And I think Fountain Pen Day plays a big role in that, quite honestly. It's kind of that connecting thread, I think.

Cary Yeager: You know, I do too. And I get that, you know, every Fountain Pen Day, I see a thousand comments. You know, every day is Fountain Pen Day. And you know what? Every day is Fountain Pen Day. But the fact that we didn't have a day set aside specifically to say this is Fountain Pen Day, we needed that. We really did. And the fact that it didn't exist still shocks me to this day.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Yeah, I'm with you. So now you've started getting out to shows more often like in the past year, maybe a little more than that, bringing Fountain Pen Day out to these shows that have never – you know, a lot of people attending these shows have never heard of Fountain Pen Day. And you're getting out in front, you know, with your killer t-shirts. You know, I don't like to miss Fountain Pen Day t-shirts. I don't know how many I have at this point, but it's too many. But they're so cool. And so what made you kind of get out to these shows and want to, you know, bring the Fountain Pen Day, you know, more out in front?

DC Show 2015

Cary Yeager: You know, it really started at the DC show in 2015 with – when I was sitting down at the bar and Ryan Kruzak is like at the table and I'm just like in awe. And I'm like, wow, this guy is so cool and he's just shooting the breeze. And Ed Capizzi was sitting there and after – I'll backtrack really quickly. But when I got the – I needed a logo for Fountain Pen Day. I needed something. And so I put it out there that I was going to give away like a journal or something if somebody could come up with something cool. There was some negativity to that. There were people in the community who are creative, who are graphic designers. And they said, you know, that's kind of not the way to go. And they were nice about it. Nobody beat me. And I emailed a couple of people back and forth. So I got it. And I was like, you know what, that was the wrong way to go about it. Aaron Zeller actually had a logo made for his site for a new book that he had come out with, his own journals. And he said, you know, I use this guy, Scott Fuller, in Georgia, young guy in Atlanta. And he goes, young guy, up and coming. He's great. I called him up. Long story short, we ended up with the logo. And it was killer. I mean, it was just exactly what I wanted. And I was so happy with it. So we figured out a way to put it on T-shirts where it was done by an outside company and people could get that. And it was also a way to kind of pay for some of Scott's work. Because, you know, when you get a real graphic designer, it's never inexpensive. Right. Either way, I started doing bookmarks. And I wanted something that was – because a bookmark is as common as it gets when you're writing or you're reading books. Anything that goes with it, a bookmark is great to have. So I did those. And I wanted to send some out and get them to a show if I could just to see what would happen. Ed Capizzi, when the first year he did the Colorado show, it just happened – it was just timing again. And I emailed him and I said, you're the guy behind this new show. I said, can I send you some bookmarks? And he emailed me back and said, well, what do you want for him? And I said, no, I mean, it's just something to give out to people when they walk in the door. It's something else cool you can say here. Thanks for coming. And so he always remembered that. And now we're in the bar in 2015 at D.C. And he was so appreciative. And he said, well, you're doing so much on the social network side now. Could you help me with the Colorado show? And I said, well, sure. So an hour conversation later and I was going to the Colorado show. I went to the show. I didn't have any Fountain Pen Day stuff with me. But when I was there, people were like, wait, you didn't bring anything? And I'm like, well, I have a few bookmarks or whatever, yada, yada, yada. And we talked about maybe doing a special bookmark for the show the following year. And maybe a special button. And I realized, wow, you know what? The bookmarks are something you could do for each show. And it just took off from there. And I ended up going to the Philadelphia show. Scott Franklin took over that show. And so I did special bookmarks, special buttons.

Cary Yeager: Because of Kenroll, I was able to get T-shirts that were for that show. So I actually had a table because Scott's idea was, well, help me with the show like you did in Colorado. He goes, but set a table up. And I'm like, what am I going to put on the table? I don't know what to put on the table. So that's when I started putting the shirts out and the journals, the journal covers. The journals and journal covers were something I had done a few years prior where I had just given them away for Fountain Pen Day. But I needed to bring something to the show. And I didn't want to just have a T-shirt and a hat to sell, to just flip. Like, oh, I bought this and here you go. I wanted something that was more personal. And that's what this whole hobby is about, is something personal. That handwritten letter, I wanted journals that weren't made by someone else. And then they stamped my logo on it. I wanted something more personal for Fountain Pen Day. And that's kind of where it all led to as far as going to the shows and having something there to put out. And by putting that out, of course, it affords me to go to the shows because, you know, I got to pick and choose where I go. The shows are not expensive to go to, you know.

Brad Dowdy: It is not cheap. And, you know, people, you know, definitely support Fountain Pen Day. When you see Carrie at a show, check out the swag, pick something up. I love the T-shirts. I love how you do, it's not the same T-shirt at every show. You're not just picking up, going from one show to the next, carrying the same stuff. You do something specific for every show.

Cary Yeager: I try and make that happen, you know, every time. And, you know, again, and engaging the retailers, getting them to give back to us is always important, you know. And that's why, like, we started, like, the after show party. You know, because you go to a pen show and you hang out all day and you get your stuff and then you leave. And then when I went to the Long Island show the first time, that's how I felt. I got my stuff. I left. I went home. And nobody gets what I, you know, nobody gets it. I'm just home with my stuff and then I go online and this is what I got. When you're at a show and you can hang out after with that group of people that get it, it just enhances it and makes it so much better and gives you so much more connection. And, you know, and you've seen how it is. Now getting the retailers to sponsor those after parties is so much easier because they get it too. It's not that they're looking to sell anything. They get it. They want to be there and they understand our passion.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, no, that's 100% right. And, you know, I love seeing, I say it all the time, you know, these shows are about the people first. And that's what we found out, which I would have never realized before setting foot in my first pen show. That, okay, I thought it's just a pen show. I'm going to go buy some pens and leave. Well, now people that we know and are friends with and people we're seeing who we've never met before are making an event out of it and staying for two and three days. And coming to multiple days of the show. And that's not necessarily because, okay, they can buy more stuff each day. It's because they can hang out with people and talk and have a drink with them or go out to lunch. And, you know, it definitely makes it more personal. And you see that a lot. And I think it's fantastic.

Cary Yeager: You're in a comfort zone now. When you go to a pen show alone, it's like going to anything when you go alone. Because it's your thing. People, you know, you're less apt to ask questions. Suddenly you've got a group of people. Now you'll approach that table. You'll wait. And you'll ask that silly question because you have that comfort zone. You know, when you hang out after, you get to try all these ridiculous pens that you never tried. And you also get to try plenty of the lower end pens. You know how many people I know that have never tried like a Safari. Safari, which is still mind-boggling. But they got scared because of the triangle grip. So they're not sure. Or a vanishing point. You know, they never tried one. And they never bought one because they weren't sure about the clip placement. Little things like that. You know, trying different inks before you buy a whole bottle. You know, or have to order a sample and then a bunch of other stuff to get the shipping down and all that. Different papers. Papers from around the world. I mean, the stuff we see in like the DC show. You know, you've got people coming from the UK and the Philippines and Japan. And they're bringing these samples of paper over or these books that they use. And you're like, wow, this is amazing stuff. Or you may say, wow, this really feathers a lot, huh? And they go, yeah, it really does. And you're like, wow, thank God I didn't go and buy it.

Brad Dowdy: Right, right. Yeah, it's amazing, you know, that you can't actually tell that stuff necessarily sitting behind a computer. It's awesome to get out there and to be able to be a part of it and, you know, figure some of this thing, some of these things out as you go. So what's been your kind of favorite show or favorite show experience so far? And what's your next show? What's next on the radar too?

Cary Yeager: I'll do the next on the radar. Next on the radar is going to be the Colorado Penn Show for its third year. It looks to be really good this year. There's so much going on. And you can check the website for all the details. But there is a lot going on. And it's really – And we'll put that in the show notes for sure for everyone to see. It's going to be a great show this year. Favorite show, I think. Or favorite show experience. You know, Atlanta was just amazing. And I just didn't know what to expect from it.

Cary Yeager: Atlanta felt like a miniature DC in a way because there were so many people that stayed. And that's what helped make it. You know, it just – so many people stayed that the show kept going 24 hours a day almost, if you will. Yeah, it was packed three straight days. It was just full. Yep. It was full every day. And you had people that just were so enthusiastic about it. And you had a great mix, again, of modern to vintage. And it really had a good impact on me that, you know, that friendly environment. And everybody just enjoying themselves and running around.

Brad Dowdy: And our friend Jimmy Dolov and Suzanne, they know how to put on a good show and take care of their vendors and all the attendees. They do a great job. So shout out to them.

Cary Yeager: It's like going home to your living room when you go to a show with Jimmy running it. Because Jimmy and Suzanne are all about a good home feel. There is no doubt about that.

Pens

Brad Dowdy: Yep, yep. Well, cool. I want to dig into more of some of kind of the personal stuff that carries into just these days, you know, with pens and paper and, you know, what's kind of getting it done for you these days. But I want to talk about our favorite online pen show first. And that's our good friends at Pen Chalet. They sell authentic and amazing rollerballs, fountain pens, ballpoints, mechanical pencils from all your favorite brands like Monteverde, Pelican, Lamy, Pilot, Namiki, Sailor, Kaweko. And they're authorized dealers of all these brands. They ship incredibly fast. I hear that all the time about Pen Chalet. Even, you know, internationally, their shipping rates are great. You spend over $50 in the U.S. You get free shipping international. The prices are very reasonable. They get there so fast. I hear that all the time. And they're always running discounts twice a month. They run closeout specials every two weeks. They add new styles of pens and inks every month. Always new products coming in. And not just that. They also sell limited edition models, pen accessories, pen cases, holders, refills, fountain pen converters. Anything you need to get writing with your fountain pens. They have low prices on high quality pens and offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So check out Pen Chalet. Click the podcast link at the top of the website and enter the password PENADDICT for this week's special offer. And to get the code, you need to save 10% on anything at Pen Chalet. So this week, the special offer carry is one of my favorite rollerballs. And it's the Lamy Tipo. It's a very interesting looking pen with the clip kind of sticks out the top. But for some reason, the way Lamy designs pens, I just love their unique style and feel. And this Lamy Tipo rollerball in aluminum black, I can't tell you the price. You have to go to Pen Chalet, type in the word Pen Addict. It's so low, Ron won't let us share it on the air. And he even has the Lamy AL Star ballpoint in blue green.

Brad Dowdy: Lamy's ballpoints are really, really great. I use the Lamy 2000, their ballpoint refill. The stock refill is one of my favorite stock ballpoint refills. And the Lamy Tipo, the rollerball, I'll give you a tip here. If you think the rollerball is a little wide and a little wet for you, all you have to do is swap in a Pilot G2 gel ink cartridge, or in my case, a Pilot Juice 0.38 millimeter blue black cartridge that I got a dozen laying around here into the Lamy Tipo. And I carry that pen all the time. It makes it awesome. It's a great barrel. These are great pens. And Ron does a great job for us here at the Pen Addict. So again, go to PenChalet.com. Hit the radio podcast button. Type in the word Pen Addict. And you'll see all the special deals that PenChalet has set up for you. So thank you, Ron and PenChalet, for sponsoring the Pen Addict this week. All right, Kerry. Did you? I want to know what you...

Cary Yeager: Wait, before you go, did you see? Because he just posted last night that Ron put up. He got fountain pen nib shaped paper clips.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, no, I haven't seen those.

Cary Yeager: He just put them up on Instagram. I had to go to his site. And I actually had to search clip on the site. And they come up. They are so cool. I'll be... I have to order those right away before... Because once everyone... Actually, when this goes out, everyone's going to go and order them. And they'll disappear. But they're really cool.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, that's cool. I will definitely be checking that out and adding that to an order. All right. So what's getting it done for you these days, Kerry? What are you using that you're using the most or getting the most enjoyment out of? Pens, paper, inks, anything. What's really going on there at the desk?

Cary Yeager: At the desk, I can tell you right now. I have... And it's something I always love. The Clairefontaine spiral notebook with French rule paper. Love these books. You and Joe Crace with that French ruling. But you know why? Because my handwriting is still terrible when it's fast. And I need to slow down. And it's just got extra lines. So if I write too big and it looks real sloppy, there's so many lines in between that I can just kind of cut it in half. And when I write a little smaller, you know how it always looks a little bit neater. So that's what I'll do. And I really like this Clairefontaine paper a lot. It's good.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, those books are awesome. I actually... I keep meaning to get one. And you would think I would like the French ruling more as much as I like grids and graphs and dots and things like that. You'd think French ruling would be right up my alley. But I've just never found a place for it. But if you are going to use it, that Clairefontaine is basically the only way to go. It's that good.

Cary Yeager: It's great stuff. Great stuff. Pens. I'll tell you what's right in front of me. Sitting at my desk right now, I have... Not that it's an everyday rider, but I have a new Waterman Safety that I picked up in D.C. I just got that back, so I've been playing with it. But for every day, I've got the A23. The Pilot is just amazing. It's got a medium metallic grind from Masayama. New Visconti, London Fog, which... I know, that was on my way out the door of D.C. I got bit by the Bryant bug. And, you know, Bryant is Bryant. And he just had so many of them going out the door. And he's like, you know... And I'm like, go away. Go away. Okay. All right. Thanks. So that's sitting here. And my Manti Grappa Mule is still sitting next to me. I just...

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. That's a cool pin that I still haven't purchased. I need to get one of those. I like the style of that one. How's it holding up overuse?

Cary Yeager: I actually put a picture up yesterday of the patina because I won't clean it. I love the way the patina is coming through on this. And it's just one of those few pens that has a metal section. I detest metal sections. I like this metal section. It's got like a brush feel to it. So you don't slip and slide on it at all. And the nib is great. It's got block threading. It just hasn't left my desk. You know, it's one of those... It's one of those pens that just keeps hanging around and hanging around. And it always looks good.

Aurora

Brad Dowdy: Yes. Speaking of Bryant, you know, we're now pen twins, which I didn't realize. I brought my Aurora Optima demonstrator from him, which you have that same pen.

Cary Yeager: Absolutely love it.

Brad Dowdy: I'm in love with that pen. That's my first Aurora. Aurora. I didn't realize... It was one of those... Just like the Pilot 823, which you mentioned a second ago. It's one of those pens I didn't realize what I was missing until I actually got it and realized how great it is, how much I enjoy it, how well made it is, and just how fun it is to use.

Cary Yeager: Yeah. And with the Aurora nibs, I really haven't found mine to be toothy at all. I don't... I mean, I know they say they're known for it, but I absolutely love it. And I'll tell you, while we're on the air, I filled this Aurora, my Optima, with the demonstrator with the red ends in D.C. at the table so someone could use it, and we still have no idea what blue ink I filled it with, because somebody had a bottle of ink on the table, and I cannot figure out what blue ink is in it, but it's beautiful.

Brad Dowdy: So we were table neighbors in D.C. Was it one of the Van S. Penns bottles from laying around, or was it a customer from yours?

Cary Yeager: No, it was at the bar after.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, at night.

Fountain Pen Day Event

Cary Yeager: It was Saturday night, and everyone had their pens out, and everyone said, oh, can I check this, check this? And this one came out, and I realized I had cleaned it, I had no ink, so I'm like, we have ink at the table? And I found ink, and I just was like, yep. And that's how it is. Here, here's a bottle, slide it on down the table like a shot glass full of vodka, and you fill it up and just pass it off. But I have no idea what ink is in it, and it's beautiful blue ink.

Brad Dowdy: That sounds like a great Instagram contest. Just get some people's guesses, take a little, do a little swab, put some guesses out. You know, Ricky at the San Francisco Penn Show, he had a contest running the whole weekend where he had, I think it was 45 or 48 black inks, and asked people to like, it was a blank sheet, and you had to name each blank ink. How impossible is that? I never saw the results.

Cary Yeager: I can't even imagine.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I don't know that I'd get one. I can't imagine. I could maybe pick Sailor Nano Black out of the pile, just because it feels different when you write with it, but that's about it.

Cary Yeager: That had to have been a great show. That's a show that I wish I could have gone to. It was just out of my price range for what I do. Yeah. But I was glad you were there, and the San Francisco crew, what they've done to that show is just amazing. I really was unhappy all weekend that I couldn't have been there for it.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, well, we hated not seeing you there, and plus I could have gotten like a black and orange Fountain Pen Day shirt. That would have been sweet. So maybe next year we'll hold out hope, because that show's worth the trip. It was great. It was a great time. Absolutely. Yeah. So what's next on the radar for you? You have Fountain Pen Day coming up. You got Colorado Pen Show coming up. What's the big picture looking like for you these days?

Cary Yeager: The big picture. The big picture. I, you know, by working with Ed and then doing that show and then doing Philadelphia and being able to be more involved in the social media side, because it was a natural progression with Fountain Pen Day to do the social media end of it. That I have helped a lot of the shows with their social media, which helps me to get to the show, you know, by going there, you know, by doing the Miami show and like the Baltimore show for Bert. You know, I do all the social media for him as well. And, you know, it kind of balances things out. And I want to continue to do that. I know I'll be doing the Baltimore show. I'm sure I'll be at the Philadelphia show going forward. But it's just about continuing to do it as much as possible, you know, where I can and continue getting the vendors involved, getting the retailers involved, because they really fuel a lot of it. You know, people order from them all the time and having them, you know, I try and make sure I give them at the end of the show. Well, I'll hand out the bookmarks to the vendors and so that they can send stuff out. And I'm like, especially if you send stuff across the pond, you know, when you send international orders, put stuff in there, you know, and it's, it's not to promote me. It's to promote the day. It's to promote that there is something out there to let their interest and let their, because you never know who you're going to get in touch with. And, you know, what club you're sending to, you know, when you send a Tomo River pad out, you know, you'll send one of those out and a club will order it and they'll just rip the sheets out and pass them out at the next meet. And suddenly when they have those bookmarks or pins or stickers to, to pass out, they'll say, oh, we have to have a meet that weekend. You know, and that was always the driving force behind having it on a Friday, you know, bring your favorite pen to work, engage somebody at work, you know, for that day. And then you have all weekend to celebrate, to get together with your friends and do something or have a writing committee get together and, and, and just bang out some letters and, you know, and figure out, you know, using your creative juices to do something.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. And it's been awesome to see it grow. Um, these, these past several years, um, it's looks just, you know, fantastic as usual. You can tell all the hard work you put into it. And, um, you know, if, if someone wants to get involved in, in Fountain Pen Day, it tell everyone how they can get in touch with you and where to find you online.

Fountain Pen Day Blog

Cary Yeager: They can go to fountainpenday.org. Just click the contact link. They can go to the blog, which I didn't talk about, but I pulled the blog off of the main website so that I could be more creative and it, and you wouldn't have any distractions from the main information. So I did fountainpenndays.com. There's a contact link there. You can always get in touch with me. Like I put the show pictures there and swag on there and stuff like that. But the main site, fountainpenday.org. That's where you go. You find the information and you can contact me there. There's ideas on what you can do. The vendor list is there of all the vendors that support all across the world from Austria to the UK and, and China and Tokyo and Philippines. It's just, it's Australia everywhere. People getting involved. And I tell people, you know, feel free to contact and ask, are there clubs near me? You know, I list all the clubs. If you have a club, contact me. I'd be, I would love to, you know, include your club in that list. If you have a blog, I'll put the blog up there. And it's just a list of all of this information that people can access and see if it's close to their area. You know, the one thing I haven't done that I'd love to do, and maybe somebody could help is have a world map, if you will, where, you know, it was almost interactive where you could hover over and you say, I live in Michigan and just hover your mouse over Michigan and something would pop up, whether it's a retail store or a known club, something like that. So that people know that, you know, they're not alone. You know, you don't have to sit in your little cave in the house while your significant other is like, oh, they're over there writing or something again with that pen that leaks in ink. I don't know. You don't have to feel that way. You know, there's stuff, there's people around you all the time. You just don't realize it. And I think there's a disconnect in the connection department. Do you know what I mean? In all the social media that we have, there's so many stories. It's like, I didn't know this was there. I didn't know this club was there. I didn't know this brick and mortar store was in this nook and cranny. Every day. It's consistently like that. So.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. Awesome. And what if, what if someone wants to talk to you directly or see your awesome Instagram photos or videos? Where can they find out more about Gary?

Cary Yeager: Everything is Fountain Pen Day. Everything. Awesome. Whether it's Instagram, Twitter, Google Plus, you name it. Whatever social media is out there, I try and get on it. Um, and yes, I still do Google Plus just for those who follow it.

Brad Dowdy: Um, keep the dream alive.

Cary Yeager: You gotta keep the dream alive. It's on Facebook. It's on LO. It's on, uh, I can't even think of them all. Snapchat, which I rarely use, but. Look at you on LO. But you know, you try and grab them where you can so that you can get the information out there and hit as many people as possible. Yep.

Brad Dowdy: Well, Gary, I really appreciate you coming on. You're nothing short of awesome. I am glad to have you in my life and to call you a friend and I just, uh, love talking to you. So I really appreciate it.

Cary Yeager: I appreciate the opportunity to be on the show and I consider you a very close and good friend as well. I'm really glad we got to connect. And, uh, again, the opportunity to be on the show was fantastic because I really think it helps let people know that, you know, where it came from and where it's going. And how everybody can be involved and it's for everybody. And.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. And I have, I have a feeling we will do it again.

Cary Yeager: I would greatly appreciate it. And, and I, you know, I love to talk about it. But, um, the last thing I'll say is this at this point, when you said, where is fountain pen day now, the one thing I'd add is that I know that no matter what happened, nothing bad's going to happen, but no matter what happened in life at this stage, fountain pen day has gained an attraction that it would go on its own. And that's really where I wanted it to be and where I wanted it to grow to, because this is going to be the fifth year. And that was the five year plan to know that in five years, no matter what, it's going to take off and have its own legs and it'll go on its own and nobody could stop it. Nobody could, you know, it would just keep going and it will keep going.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. And I, I think that's, that's pretty clear and seeing the passion you have behind it. Um, you know, I, I know you'll, you'll be pushing it along, uh, as long as you can. And it's, uh, it's wonderful and you've done a great job. So thank you so much for, for joining me and, uh, we will see you guys next time on the pen addict.

Cary Yeager: Thank you again. Say good night, Brad.

Brad Dowdy: All right. Goodbye, Brad.