The Pen Addict 272/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	272
Title:	Waiting for an Intervention
Release Date:	August 30th, 2017
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	Joey Feldman
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 272
Audio File:	Audio Episode 272
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 272
Length:	5858 min <br />0.967 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Brad Dowdy: Hello and welcome to episode number 272 of The Pen Addict podcast. I am your host this week, Brad Dowdy. I am The Pen Addict and my partner's on vacation. So I had to find a fill-in guest this week and I took a little trip to the San Francisco.

Joey Feldman: Wait a second, Brad Dowdy. The John Wayne of The Pen World, the angriest man. Let me fill my Apple Eye pencil up with some Fugaki from a car. Myke, is that you? No, actually it's not. I just, I could not resist.

Brad Dowdy: So who is this on the other line? If it's not Myke, who is this person?

Joey Feldman: It's your San Francisco pen roommate, Joey Feldman.

Brad Dowdy: Mr. Joey Feldman. Thanks for coming on this week, buddy. I appreciate it.

Joey Feldman: Of course, man. Thanks for having me.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, so when I go on vacation from this show, I don't know if you've noticed, you may or may not listen to this podcast. I know how you are. When I go on vacation, I take my microphone and I make sure to fit in the recording on the schedule. And Myke is on vacation this week after a long adventure in the U.S. and he's just like, I'm not recording, I'm on vacation. So I really appreciate you filling in.

Joey Feldman: If you listen to the show, you know where his priorities are at. So it doesn't surprise me.

Brad Dowdy: So I couldn't think of a better fill-in guest. I actually, you know, it took me a while and then it hit me like a bolt of lightning. Well, I'm going to be staying with Joey this past weekend at the San Francisco pen show. You and I were roomies for a couple of nights at the hotel. And I thought, well, this is my perfect opportunity to like just pimp you in and not allow you to get away from doing it. So I appreciate you taking the time this morning.

Joey Feldman: No, I love the podcast. I appreciate you having me on. So very cool. Thank you.

San Francisco Pen Show

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So what we're going to do today, we're going to we're actually going to talk a lot about the San Francisco pen show because I want to get some feedback from your perspective. And then we're also going to talk about, you know, your artwork, you know, what you're up to these days, because, you know, I consider you a friend, but I'm also a fan of your work. And, you know, I love it very, very much. So I want to talk about that. But what I'm really interested in right out the gate, and maybe our listeners are too, is how did you get into this fountain pen community to begin with? Because you've been an artist for quite a while, right? And then all of a sudden, just like a few years ago, you're like knee deep into fountain pens. And now you're just like super active in the fountain pen community. How did that fountain pen love begin for you?

Joey Feldman: Well, I like to think of myself as a very passionate person, like, and when I get into something, I like to do it right. Like, I just like to go all across the board. You know, there's no half measures, if you know what I mean. So I, you know, I've always been attracted to fountain pens. I've had fountain pens over the years, but I never really got into the community or anything like that. And then, you know, online and social media and stuff changes everything. And, you know, I started buying more and more stuff. I've always used like dip pens for my artwork. You know, I use old style dip pens and, you know, and nibs and stuff like that. And I would carry a fountain pen around with me, but nothing, you know, too fancy or whatever. And, you know, as I started getting into it, I, I went on the chat, I found your podcast, and then I found the chat. And I had this pen that I wasn't happy with, which is a pattern of mine. I buy something and I say within like three days. And somebody had said, why don't you join up on the pen addict slack? And I got on there and I met a bunch of people on there. And they really just started steering me in the right way of how to spend my money and a lot of it, you know, so it just sort of took off from there and listening to the podcast, you know, each week and just, you know, finding out stuff that I never knew existed. So, and, you know, that was how that started.

Brad Dowdy: So before you got into this community, what kind of fountain pens were, were you using fountain pens at all? Like you mentioned you were using dip pens and inks. Were you like even into fountain pens whatsoever?

Joey Feldman: I've had a couple over the years that were fountain pens that like probably the pen community wouldn't consider like the Rotring art pen. Sure. I mean, you could use, that's a cool pen. They make it for calligraphy, but I would draw with those, you know, that would have a converter. Um, I've had a couple of lambies over the years, some pilot, uh, falcons and stuff like that. Um, but that's about it. I never went, you know, I was always intrigued by like the Mont Blancs and, and all that, but I never got into it because I thought it would just mostly be for writing.

Brad Dowdy: So you talked about how, once you get into something, you know, you kind of have that deep dive, like right out the gate. How, how deep did you go once you kind of found like this, this family online of, of pen addicts? How, uh, how quick did that escalate?

Joey Feldman: It went so quick that I was, I was waiting for like intervention that show to show up. Cause I mean, there was like a week where I bought like six Franklin Kristaps. Um, you know, it just starts, it doesn't stop. And then, you know, you think you like something else, you try it. And then the ink thing, the ink things like I've always been obsessed with ink. So that's not a problem, but you know, the pens, it's like one person mentions one thing. And then, you know, you're in the middle of the day. I get like a thought and you know, the thought is, well, if the pen was a little bit longer, but it was a bigger nip. So then you go on Slack and you put that out there and somebody like Tony, who I think is on Slack 24 seven will answer. And, and you just go and you just buy something else. It's, it doesn't stop, man. It just doesn't stop.

Brad Dowdy: So why, how did you decide or what was the feel like when you, when you started putting these fountain pens to paper? Or why did that become like kind of a, I know it's not your primary medium you work in, but how did you, why is a fountain pen, you know, good for the type of art that you produce? Why did you, why did that really click with you?

Joey Feldman: Well, what had happened was originally I was, I started journaling, um, you know, Guillermo del Toro, the director. He had this book that came. Hellboy. Yeah. Well, he directed Hellboy, but, um, you know, he's done like Pond's Labyrinth, uh, Pacific Rim. Yeah. You know, that guy, he's cool. So he had this book that came out and it's all about him, how he, you know, he has these journals that he keeps with them and he uses a fountain pen. And, and I was like, just looking at them. They were just so beautiful. And I love, I love cursive handwriting. I love old, old school. I'm not, I just love looking at type and stuff like that. And, and I had ordered some pens, I ordered some fountain pens, but I was actually journaling every morning because I wanted to feel with a dip pen. And I would do like three or four pages, uh, with a dip pen. And then I said, Oh, you know what? I think I'm going to move up to a fountain pen. And, and, and I started getting them and then I experimented with Noodlers, um, you know, went up to pilot and, uh, you know, it took off from there, but I was writing mostly with them. Um, and then I started drawing with them and then I started looking at some of the artists that I admire and cartoonists. And a lot of them actually used fountain pens besides the dip pens. They, they did a lot of work with fountain pens. So I started investigating that more. And, um, I found a couple that I, that I actually use now in a lot of my work because the technology now that we have waterproof inks that can go in a fountain pen. Um, I, I don't think, you know, several years ago and I could be wrong that there weren't, you know, too many waterproof inks out there.

Brad Dowdy: Mm. Mm. Mm. So did you, did you find the output was different than like using a brush or using a pencil or using a marker? Was there something, you know, like specific, like I see you, you, I want to, we're going to dig into like some specific art stuff later. Cause I'm very interested in that, but I know like you're very kind of wild and off the cuff. And it seems like a fountain pen is a good fit because you can really sling that ink across the page. And I watch you do it. Is that, how did that come about? Is that like something you just kind of latched onto? Like, this is messy and it's, it's all like what I want to do.

Joey Feldman: No, I mean, the way that I've always drawn has always just been with ink. Like I never use like a pencil and, uh, I actually, um, can I tell a really quick story about that guy? Yeah, of course. That pencil podcast guy. Um, yeah. What's his name?

Brad Dowdy: Andy, Andy Wellfle.

Joey Feldman: Yeah, he's all right. But we had a little confrontation, you know, um, at the pen meeting ad up. He, uh, you know, he, he said to me just straight up, I, I think I might've said hi to him once. I never met him. And he said, Hey, one day when you get a chance, I'll, I'll show you how to use a real art supply. I'll show you how to use a pencil. I wasn't asking for it. I walked into it. So I looked at him and I said, Hey man, one day when you're ready for commitment, I'll show you how to use a pen. And, but, uh, cause I think that's what intrigues me so much about it. I love black ink on paper, but I love the mistakes. I love the marks it makes. And I love the sudden death and the commitment. Like once you make a line, it's there, you know, but if this isn't something new to me, like, you know, the, one of the artists who I admire the most, you know, he, he uses a fountain pen. He throws ink around, he works out of his mistakes. Um, you know, so it's just like a combination of ideas and all, but it is probably the writing tool that I feel most comfortable with like outside of the studio when I have to use it for drawing and stuff.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So when we first met, we first met online and we talked for not all that long, you know, maybe a few months, maybe a year. And then I swiped right.

Joey Feldman: That's how I met you. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: You totally swiped. Right. Um, you know, I, I fell in love immediately and we made sure to meet up at the, the 2016 LA pen show. I think that was the first time we met in person, right? Was that your first pen show?

Joey Feldman: That was my first pen show. Yeah. Yeah. And I had intentions to go the year before, but it was really weird. It was like, I think as that happened, that show like happens on like Valentine's day weekend or something.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. Yeah. It was difficult. It does. Yeah. Well, I mean, you were going to, you had to break up with someone to come meet me that weekend, right?

Joey Feldman: Yeah. You know how I roll. Yeah.

Artist Perspective

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So what, what did you think walking into that atmosphere as really, you know, coming from an artist perspective into this huge, like more of a collector's room?

Joey Feldman: Well, you know, I, I'm a comic book fiend and a nut. And over the years, I definitely had my fair share of going to comic cons and monster cons and stuff like that. So that made me feel at home. So, you know, so I didn't have a problem going there and I thought it was really, really cool that there was actually, you know, a show where you could go and, and other people that were into this pen hobby were like really into. So I, I, I was, I really dug it. I really dug it.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. So, um, how much trouble did you get spending money at that show? Were you, were you able to control yourself or what, did you go a little bit crazy seeing all that stuff in one place?

Joey Feldman: Uh, at first it was overwhelming cause I didn't know where to start, you know, but then I was like, I'm hanging out with you and I keep getting these ideas. And then, you know, you meet the people who you meet online in person and they're like right there. Like they'll run over to you like Jason or Daniel, you know, you know, like one of them's in my left ear, the other's in the right. Hey man, there's a, Hey, come look at this. Yeah. Custom Pelican M 800. Hey, Mont Blanc 149 over here. And it's like, okay, just show me. And you go and you buy it and you take it home. You don't like it. And then you sell it, you know, but. I don't remember what I, I think I, I think I, you know, that was the year that Lisa Van Ness had those, uh, vintage Schaefer's. I forget what they're called with the stubs. Right. Legacy twos. Legacy two. And I bought like three or four of them off of her.

Brad Dowdy: Right. Cause she had a big deal going on on those. They were like, the price was crazy, crazy cheap. I remember we, we must've sold like 20 of those things. Cause that's when I was working for Lisa.

Joey Feldman: Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: At that show. Yeah.

Joey Feldman: Well, I bought a couple pens and then like, it was like on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. She's like, Oh, y'all see this. And I'm like, huh? She puts it in my hand. I start writing with it. I'm like, I've been looking for the whole pen show for something like this. So, you know, I wound up making a deal with her and I got like three of them or something. She had left. And then she had to send me one because she did, she sold a lot of them that weekend.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Yeah. We, I, I remember that. And, uh, and once people started passing those around, we started getting more customers for that. So it was, it was, it was weird to see that, uh, as a, uh, you know, just like a recurring theme running through the show. It was kind of funny, but, uh, I'm sure Lisa was very, very happy, happy about that. But so what, um, what do you feel about the community as a whole? Like coming from that show, then it's only been, you know, not even two full years, you know, coming up to like San Francisco, which we'll talk about it in a minute. And how do you feel getting into immersed to this little subculture we have going on?

Joey Feldman: I mean, I, I love it. I think it's fantastic. Uh, some of, some of the people that I've met have been some of like the most generous, like really well-meaning people. Like, you know, if I, if I put a tweet out or something and I'm like, Hey, I'm interested in trying so-and-so's notebooks. Has anybody tried it? I'm not asking for it. I was just asking for an opinion. I'll get somebody like, I just got one in the mail the other day. Some, Hey, can I have your address? And they send me one. Hey, I got an extra. Why don't I share it with you? Yeah. And what's so, and I try to pass that along too. Like if I have a pen that I've paid for and it's just sitting up on, you know, my shelf that I'm never going to use that. I know that that would bring great joy and satisfaction to somebody else. It's worth it for me, you know, not thinking about like, I'm not a millionaire or anything like that, but it's worth it for me to give away a pen like that because I liked, I like when people feel good and I like to give joy to people. So I get that. And I think that's like an overwhelming response. I think if you don't give away stuff that you're just hoarding and using, you know, I don't tell you this, just give everything away and all that stuff. I think it's kind of like spiritually selfish in the pen realm, if that makes any sense. No, it totally makes sense. Because anytime I've ever given away a pen or a notebook or something, something always magical comes back like tenfold. Like, you know, I had something happen in San Francisco of something I was really bummed about a pen that I got and I just wasn't happy with it. And somebody out of the blue made good on it. And like I've been writing with it every day since I got back from San Fran. So it's like, you know, little things like that. I just I kind of dig that. Yeah.

Pen Community

Brad Dowdy: And that's probably my favorite aspect of this. And we've talked about it all the time. And this weekend wasn't just another example in the long list of great examples. It's the people more than anything in this community. Just, you know, being willing to share and pass on knowledge and help like whenever they can. And like, you know, if you ask for help or you have a question, you don't like wait a day or two and someone might jump in. You're usually like inundated with answers or offers or things like that. So it's really cool and it's fun. And, you know, honestly, we're lucky to have you as a part of this community because I think you bring a different voice. You know, you come at things from a different perspective, certainly than from where I come from. So I am able to learn a lot from you and just by watching you and hanging around you and spending the night with you. And, you know, I'm very glad that we're friends.

Joey Feldman: But, yeah, I'm very glad that we're friends, too. And, you know, I will say this in all honesty, and this is just my experience, you know, as a whole, it's been awesome. But I have had some experiences. And listen, I'm not saying I'm outspoken or I'm a rebel or whatever. But there's been a couple incidents that I've had that, you know, and this is just, you know, people are people that like so Saturday night at the pen show, I got inducted into the Black Pen Society.

Brad Dowdy: Right.

Joey Feldman: And I hung out with like, you know, the old guys. And we were talking and they were talking about sort of like what we were just talking about, about sharing and passing stuff around and all. And they said how important it is, you know, for this new crew of people to come in to really be nice, to have the idea opened from the old people to the new people. Because, you know, there's technology plays a lot in it. There's new pens compared to the vintage pen crew. And, you know, I've had a couple incidents. Like, look, I'm not – when it comes to the pen stuff, I can't remember half of the names, especially like the Japanese pens. I couldn't tell you the type of nib, the material that it was used. I just know I like to pick up a pen. I like to write or draw with it. And I'm going to come over to you and I'm going to say, Brad, I just laid down some cash for this epic, you know, platinum. And you're going to say, oh, the – and I'm going to say, yeah, sure. Yeah, sure. I have been corrected a couple times, like, where – and I'm a super sensitive, like, only child, like, artist, Jewish kid. So, like, if you say two words, like, I'm going to, like, freak. You know, I've had people, like, correct me. You know, this is not what it is. And I'm sure they meant well. But, like, that type of stuff I don't care about, but I do. And I think, you know, just with all communities, you just have to be mindful of not necessarily what you say but how you say it.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, yeah. And I thought it was cool when you came back and told me that you'd just been out there hanging out with those guys and the Black Pen Society guys. And, you know, their grand poobah, Paul Arano, helped out with the Pen Dash event we had, which we're going to talk about in a little bit. So, yeah, I think that's great. It's really important for myself and for them to help bring, like, all these groups of people together because what we do is just fun, right? It's really, really fun. It's a blast. So let's talk about this event we just had this weekend, the San Francisco Pen Show as a whole. But first, I want to talk about our good friends at Pen Chalet. Ron Manwaring, you know, our great sponsor of Pen Chalet, was at San Francisco this weekend. And I got to meet him. I actually met him at the 2016 LA show when I met you. That was the first time I met Ron. And this was the next time I saw him was at this show. So Pen Chalet is a great sponsor of ours. They sell authentic, amazing roller balls, fountain pens, ballpoints, mechanical pencils, so much more. They have all your favorite brands like Monteverde, Pelican, Lamy, Pilot, Namiki, Sailor, Kaweco, and, of course, are an authorized dealer of all those brands. They're fast and reliable customer service. Specials and discounts are always available at least twice a month, including closeout specials every two weeks. They're adding new styles of pens every month. And as well as all the brands, I already mentioned Pen Chalet sells limited edition pens and all the accessories you ever need, like carrying cases, pen holders, refills, fountain pens, converters, and so much more. You get free shipping on orders over $50 in the U.S., and they also ship internationally with very reasonable rates. Pen Chalet has low prices on high-quality pens and offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So this is fresh off the press, Joey. I just got this week's Pen Addict deal while we are recording. So what I usually do is I log into PenChalet.com while Myke is reading the ad, and I go see what the deal is. He doesn't tell me ahead of time. So this week, I'm going to go log in. It's apparently there right now. And let's see if I can bring that up real quick. So you head over to Pen Chalet. You type Pen Addict. Hit the radio podcast button. Type Pen Addict as I do this into the field. And this week, we have the Aurora Kappa on special. It's Aurora Kappa rollerball and the fountain pen. This is not one I have used yet from Aurora, but I've seen it. I like the shape and the style and the design of this barrel. And Aurora's, you know, quality is phenomenal. And this is one of their entry-level pens. So the pen is 30% off this week, plus an extra 10% off if you use the code Pen Addict at checkout. So head over to Pen Chalet. They have great pens at great prices, including a great deal this week on the Aurora Kappa fountain pen. Thanks so much to Pen Chalet for sponsoring Relay, FM, and the pen addict. All right, Joey. So what made you come to San Francisco this year? You know, you're down in L.A. You know, I met you a couple times there. And you told me, you know, not too long ago, you're like, hey, I think I'm going to come up to San Francisco. What made you make the trip? Well, I was there last year. That's right. You sure were. That's right. You worked for Van Nass.

Joey Feldman: I get my... Stop drinking your tea.

Brad Dowdy: I get L.A. and San Francisco mixed up, you know. Big difference. So you must put something in my drink when we're in the room at night.

Joey Feldman: Well, listen, so I was there last year. And, you know, I was doing some stuff with Van Nass and you. We were all hanging out. Roommates last year also. Yep. That was... Over the L.A. pen show, I thought that that was a phenomenal upstep. So, so much that this year when it was going on and seeing some of the people that were going from online who I've met in the community, it was like, how could I not go? And I hadn't taken a vacation or anything all year. So this was like my only couple days to get off. And I just was so excited. And, you know, if we're going to get into the show, the people that put that show on, I really, like, I applaud them. Like, it was just such a mellow, well-run. It was just an awesome time to be there. Like, I really felt at home being at that show.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. The way I explain it is that you go there and you don't have to worry about anything. Right? I don't have to worry about anything except being there and talking to people and hanging out and, you know, doing my sales thing for Nock and, you know, slinging pin cases. But they make everything else so easy, you know, I can focus on those things and focus on the people and the pins and the events because they do it so right. I really appreciate what Ricky and Todd and the whole San Francisco pin bossy do and Sid for this show. So, yeah, it's from, you know, like I'm tied into it from a dealer's perspective. But from, you know, a customer's perspective, you kind of notice the same things, right?

Joey Feldman: I, yeah, I mean, every, I got there on Friday morning and the show had been maybe up for about an hour. But every day the show opened when it was supposed to open. There was everything, like, from what I saw was running on time, you know, any classes or seminars you wanted to take, you know, and it was just a general good. I don't think I spoke to anybody that was miserable being there. Like everybody, it was just a general feel good feeling. And the dealers were so easily accessible. The testing stations, like if I was to do a pen show or something, that would be my example of how to do one.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, I agree across the board. They do a fantastic job. I can't rave about them enough. So from a personal perspective, did you have a shopping list? You know, I know kind of how you just like rage buy stuff. You know, I've seen it in action. Were you there? Were you there with a purpose or you were just going to go berserk if you found something?

Joey Feldman: Oh, my goodness, Brad. Like it came fast.

Joey Feldman: The phenomenon of craving came fast. I didn't have any intentions. There wasn't anything like I came there to get some nib work done by Dan Smith on my Pelican M805, which he did an awesome job. I had my favorite Mont Blanc pen, my double B that I got some nib work done by Myke Masayama.

Joey Feldman: I was on the hunt, believe it or not. And I did get there was a shopping list, but I didn't have anything premeditated. The only thing that I was thinking of was getting those pens done. And I wanted to get a few ink samples. And, you know, I love gold Lamy nibs for my Safaris and Joys. And I found a guy, I think his name was Brian. I hooked up. I got a couple gold broad nibs. And then Lisa had got me another medium gold nib. So that was my plan. And then I started walking around. And I tried a Nakaya Sumi desk pen. Yeah. And, you know, I got the glaze over my face. Like I just ate white donuts. I came running back to you. I asked Catherine from Slack. I think I asked Tanya. I said, I just would say, you know, desk pen, Sumi. And I'd say it was 1,050. And everybody, not anybody, nobody blinked an eye and said, whoa, that's kind of steep. They said, oh, that's not too bad. Oh, that's not too bad. 1,050 for a pen. Yeah. So I just needed to calm down a little bit because that would have been it for me, you know. Right. So then I remember telling you that. And you said, well, why don't you try a Platinum? You know, go get a Platinum. Same nib, you know, supposedly. So somewhere from you telling me that until the time I got to Brian Anderson, Platinum had become Sailor. And I don't know how that happened.

Sailor Pro Gear

Brad Dowdy: You played the telephone game just in your own head.

Joey Feldman: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I went over and Brian showed me a Sailor Pro Gear. I think it's the large Pro Gear with a double B. And I tried that. And I like big pens. This was a little bit smaller than I'm used to. But I posted it. And he had one inked up. And it was just, it wrote beautiful. Like I love a wet, big, thick, broad. And, you know, I decided to, okay, bought that. And then I brought it back to you. And you said, no, I said Platinum. So that was like Saturday. I couldn't let it go. So I was thinking about it all night. So I had to go back and look at the Platinums. So I went back and look at the Platinums. He showed me a music nib. Or maybe I have them reversed. Maybe the Sailor. Yeah. Yeah.

Brad Dowdy: You got the music nib in the Sailor because it's, we were talking about it being a single slit music nib, what Sailor does instead of like a traditional double slit. Exactly.

Joey Feldman: You're exactly right. You're right. I remember you saying that. Okay. So then I went back and I bought a Platinum and I got a music nib with the same. No, double broad. Hold on. I got it right here. This is going to drive me down. It's the, well, it's a 3776.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah.

Joey Feldman: The, what's it called? The Shungyo?

Brad Dowdy: Shungyo. Yeah. The red one. The new one. Right. This is the brand new one.

Joey Feldman: And I think it's a double B. I'm not sure.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I think that's what you told me because I was surprised. I didn't even know they offered those in double broad in that pen. So once you said that, I was like, oh, well, that's perfect for you.

Joey Feldman: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it turns out that you had the pen too, but you had it in that like size that soft

Brad Dowdy: fine.

Joey Feldman: Yeah. Which I don't even know why that exists, but anyway, that's a different story.

Joey Feldman: So I got that. And then I found that table, um, a Don Don and lay, I was hanging out with them. I'd never met them in person and we were sketching and they had some, um, you know, some pretty cool skills like these notebooks, like these Japanese handmade notebooks, uh, from Musu Musubi. I think it is Musubi. And like, you know, man, I liked it. I love stationary. I love sketchbooks. I love covers. I love handmade. Like I'm just like, so romanticized by that whole notion that somebody handmade a book for me that I'm going to use. So we go over to the table and he's got them out. The gentleman that was representing the company. And these, these books are beautiful. And he, you know, he tells the story that they use the, the level three Tomoe is that I hope I'm saying that right paper. And he shows the covers, the different fabrics and each fabric feels and looks different. And they're hand bound. He shows the side of how they're sewn together. And then he goes on to say that each book is made by a person in the factory with a disability. So they give people an opportunity to make a book. And these books take, you know, anywhere from eight to 10 hours each to make. Right. So at that point, it seems like it's a high price. Cause I think his price point was between like 70 and $120. Right. Then you think about all that, that goes into it. And you know what, like not only is that a fantastic deal for a product of that caliber, but you're helping somebody in the meantime. So I bought three of those left. And I, and then I got some folded nibs from Nick crazy. Nick. Yep. Yep. He has the best folded nibs ever. I use them for lettering and a lot of my artwork. And that was my day. I don't think I got anything else.

Brad Dowdy: Those, those Musubi notebooks, I think were the discovery of the show for a lot of people. Right. I mean, you would see them in hands, just walking around the show floor in our party, you know, our event at night, they were strewn across the table. The patterns and fabric that they use were, it was very noticeable, you know, which notebooks had come from them and yeah, they're, they're really expensive and you know, they're just seem like totally worth it though, for what they are, the story behind them, the feel of the notebooks. I mean, they're like you said, they're, they're beautiful. I missed out on getting one by the time I went over there Sunday, they had packed up. So I missed out, but I'll have to order one online because I just love seeing them. I love the, the different fabric patterns that they use on the outside and the craftsmanship is great. So that was one of the highlights of the show.

Joey Feldman: I mean, everybody that I saw that came in that I know, like Shmevlin and Holly and Eleanor, I brought them right over to the table and said, listen, if you get anything at the show, you got to get one. Like, and I'm so happy that Lay and, and Dan, Don, Don, Tom, Tom showed me these books. Your buddy. Yeah, my buddy. Um, because there, and also the education behind, you know, it's like you could walk through all these tables and you can look at all these pens and all these books. If you don't know the story, cause I love stories and mythos and stuff like that. And it was just, it was just such an awesome feeling buying those books. And, and I'm sorry you missed out. I actually ordered two more when I got home.

Brad Dowdy: You told me that.

Joey Feldman: Cause I didn't want to pay for shipping. So I told him to include it. So that deal got hooked up and I got two more of the books, but, um, they're just so fantastic. I can't wait to start in, in, in my books.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Yeah.

Joey Feldman: So, um, and I ordered enough to win as soon as I got off the plane, when I got home to

Brad Dowdy: it. Uh oh. Wait, you didn't tell me this part.

Joey Feldman: Oh, I, I, I ordered a sailor Rialo with a zoom nib.

Brad Dowdy: You'll, you're going to like that.

Joey Feldman: But you see, this is how it, like you asked me in the beginning when we started out, how does it like start? Where I was not into the only Japanese pen that I've had a Falcon that I, I sold. And then I had a couple eight 23s, which I really, really liked. But for some reason, I don't know, I got one of, one of them kind of bugged me one day the wrong way. So I sold them all. Uh, so I don't, I don't, I don't have any Japanese pens, but now I have three. So yeah, that's how it happens.

Purchase Turnaround

Brad Dowdy: So I forgot to ask this question earlier, but this is the perfect time to ask is ask. What's the fastest turnaround from purchase to sell of a pen you have ever made?

Joey Feldman: Oh, I'll tell you that was like a five minutes.

Joey Feldman: Shmevlin on Slack. I bought a pilot 823 FA because I wanted the flexible because I was, this is when I was obsessed with the 823 and I had to have one in each size and I had to have one customized by Dan and all this. So I get the FA. I load it up with ink. As I'm on Slack, I try it and I said, I don't like this. Who wants it? And Shmevlin bought it right there and I put it right back in the same box. I got it, sent it to her. She got it the next day because she lives in California too. True story.

Brad Dowdy: That's amazing. Yeah. I totally believe that. That's yeah. You're one of a kind, Mr. Feldman. That's why I love you so much.

Joey Feldman: We'll see how long these sailors and platinums last me. I haven't inked them yet, so we'll see.

Brad Dowdy: I'm interested to see that as well because they are a different style of pen than what you're used to. So you, last year at San Francisco was the Mont Blanc 149. You know, everything was like team 149 last year. The big bulky.

Joey Feldman: And I still have, I still have, I still have five Mont Blancs.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. There might go too. So these, these new nibs on these Japanese pens are close to those size nibs that you had before, but these barrels are very different. They're much lighter, a little bit shorter, a little bit, you know, smaller. So I'll be interested to see how you like these going forward. You know, as you start working with them more.

Joey Feldman: From what I remember, the nibs sort of like glided right across the paper and I was like super impressed. Like, wow, I can't believe I shot these down because they were so small, but you know, the actual pen size, but I'm going to give them a try and check them out. So.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Well, and if, if you do end up liking them, then you'll end up like me. Like one of the things I purchased that this show was a Sailor King of pens, green mosaic. This is like bigger than the 149.

Joey Feldman: I sold one of those and I tried it with a broad nib. Not that exact King of pen. Right. But that size. It was that size. I, I, I did not like the broad that was on there. It might, it was more like a medium to me.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Yeah. So that's why I'm interested to see how these you went with. So what you have coming is a double broad. You have, well, you have a double broad, you have a music nib and you have a zoom. All of those are bigger than the regular Japanese broad nibs. So they might be more up your alley. So do you like that King of pen? Have you inked it up yet? I have just inked it up this morning. I cleaned it just before the show so I could use it for my show notes today. It's wonderful. This is one of those pens that, you know, I saw years ago online said, wow, that's amazing. And you just can't get one. So I had an opportunity to buy one, um, this weekend and, uh, I am currently using, using it, inked it up with sailor sky high. So I, I kind of went on your track a little bit. It has a broad nib on it, but you don't pass up an opportunity to buy this pen. Like I bought it for the pen more than the nib, you know, I'll deal with the nib, you know, if I want to, but I, it has a broad nib in it and it's actually really nice. It's a little bit more stubby than I thought it might be, which is good for me. So I bought that and then I bought a vanishing point, um, a, a limited edition model from bung box in Japan, an orange model called energia. It's really pretty. And then as we were wrapping up Sunday, I wandered a little bit too far away from the table instead of packing, like I should have been. And I stumbled across an Omos pen called a melee milia. It's a steel or aluminum barrel Omos. Um, that's very pretty. I'll have to take some pictures of it. It's kind of got these red, it's kind of like red, uh, grip section and aluminum barrel. And it's just kind of really, really neat, really, really nice looking pen, really good feel in the hand. So I ended up with that. Those are the three pens I bought at this show. So did you know any stationary or accessories or anything, or you just got it? Just, just the pens. I totally would have bought one of the Musubi notebooks. Um, but I didn't. And then I got off light on ink the show. I bought zero ink, which I, even if I don't buy pens, I'll usually end up with two or three bottles of ink. Um, but I had zero this show. I think it's probably because I just gotten some new rank, new ink recently at home. So I felt pretty like happy with my ink situation. So I didn't really shop for ink, but I would have bought some paper if, uh, if I'd gotten out earlier and had some time, definitely one of those Musubi. So I'll have to reorder that. Um, you know, and I also, I did get a bunch of samples of things, which I'll probably talk about in a future podcast as the product becomes more available. But, um, we, we did a paper tasting sampler from a new company coming out of Japan, Yamamoto. And we'll, we'll talk about that more. I'll tease that right now, but I sent some, I had some pictures on Instagram of that. I did come home with a bunch of samples of that, but I want to spend some time and, and play with all the paper and learn about it more before I, before I speak on it. But it was a really good show just from, I mean, I got some pens I'd really wanted. Um, I got one that, you know, I stumbled on and never seen before and found it that, Hey, it was kind of a really cool fit for me. And then, uh, just really got to hang out and, and meet people and, uh, you know, talk about this crazy obsession that we have. And that kind of culminated in the, the meetup we had on Saturday night, uh, which I want to talk about. But before we do that, I want to talk about your friend and my friend, those fine folks over at Harry's. So you all know Harry's, they, uh, you know, they were in, they were in our room this weekend, you know, uh, Joey on the, on the sink. I had my, my orange Harry's razor, everything I travel with in my Harry's dop kit and, you know, my Harry's shave gel. And they're just all about a great shave at a fair price. That's why over 3 million people, including Joey Feldman have switched to Harry's. You're, you're a Harry's customer, right?

Joey Feldman: Yeah. I, I, I love the razor blades. I have a green handle. My fiance has the orange handle.

Brad Dowdy: Nice. Well, you picked out a good one.

Joey Feldman: And I got the fit, the, uh, the new, uh, face cleanser is actually really nice.

Brad Dowdy: Nice. I need to give that a shot. So Harry's founders, Jeff and Andy decided to create this business because they were fed up with overpriced razors. They bought a German factory with over a hundred years of blade making experience to ensure the highest quality for their blades, which sell at half the price of the leading five blade razor directly to you over the internet. All Harry's products are backed by a hundred percent quality guarantee. They're so confident. You'll love their blades. They want to give you their trial set for free. You just need to cover shipping. The trial set includes a weighted ergonomic razor handle, which is the exact one that I use. Five precision engineered blades with a lubricating strip strip and trimmer blade, rich lathering shave gel and a travel blade cover. $13 of value for you to try out for free. You just have to pay shipping. So stop messing around, get started shaving with Harry's today by claiming your free trial offer. Just go to harrys.com slash pen addict right now and get started. Thanks so much to Harry's for their support of this show and relay FM. And thank you for making Joey and I look so dashing. I mean, I mean, just look at you. I mean, wow. I'm very fortunate that you were my roommate this weekend. I know, right? Yeah. So I showed you off at the pen addict meetup. I kind of roped you into this, you know, not knowing what you were getting into. And, you know, I could see it in your eyes. You're like, oh my God, that's a lot of people. What am I going to do?

Joey Feldman: You're used to working for Lisa Van Nass. Nothing surprises me.

Brad Dowdy: That's true. That's true. Has your, did you have any carpal tunnel results from this weekend? All the work you were doing for Lisa?

Joey Feldman: No, I'm going to go get a hand massage today, but I'm okay. I'm okay.

Brad Dowdy: Okay. You were, you were drawing and sketching like a madman behind the table. I know, I know that was a lot, a lot, a lot of work that you did back there. So I appreciate you taking the time to come to this meetup because we didn't know what was going to happen. So we had this idea when I talked about it on last week's podcast of this pen dash. It was kind of like the speed dating for, you know, pens and stationery. What we wanted to do was have this meetup, have a group of tables, and each table would essentially have someone in charge of the table who knew something about something. So we had Paul Arano talking about vintage pens. You know, we had Jonathan Brooks and Sean Newton talking about making pens. We had Anna Reiner talking about ink and Le Reyes drawing and on and on and on. A huge list of people that helped us out with this. And I did put up a thank you post on the blog on Tuesday, and you can go see all the participants. And our good friend Franz shot a video of some of the event. You can see how it worked. And what we would do is so each table had, you know, maybe eight seats or something like that, eight to ten. And about every 10 or 15 minutes, we'd make the people sitting at that table get up and move to another table to go learn about something else. The hosts would stay at the table, and the meetup participants would move to another one. And so they'd go from vintage pens to pen making. And they would get to spend some time with that table host and learn. So the feedback I got was pretty amazing. You know, it was kind of there were definitely some things we have to work on. Like the schedule was weird because Saturday is the busiest day of the show. And the event started at 530, which we couldn't control because there were other events that night. So we had to go early. So not everyone was actually done working or shopping before the meetup was scheduled, which as a show promoter, you kind of don't want people leaving the floor. Right. And I felt bad, like, for vendors. I'm like, no, y'all just stay and work. I'll deal with the meetup. You need to stay in the room and sell, sell, sell, and do all your business. Don't worry about me. So that was a little bit weird. Then we had it split up in between two rooms. But I think it worked out overall. We got a lot of great feedback. What did you kind of think of just not necessarily the specifics or the details, but the vibe of the whole room as a whole?

Joey Feldman: Oh, I thought it was a fantastic idea. I thought people were really appreciative and grateful that it was happening. The only complaint that I would say is because it was Saturday night. People were fired up. It was loud. Yeah. And I was at Anna's table, and she's talking about it, but I couldn't really hear. And I was kind of like an observer, and I was just kind of just sitting and doing my own thing. But that was the only thing that I would say. Other than that, it was really a great idea. It was executed very well. It was just a little bit too loud, but that could just be me.

Brad Dowdy: You know what I mean? No, yeah. It was definitely part of the room size. We actually jammed in a bunch of extra tables more than probably capacity allowed, which tends to happen a lot at these events. We never know how to plan. At one point, Lisa said, Lisa Van Asse said, we should count how many people are here. And we both got up to right around 100. So I know it was definitely loud and crowded. But everyone did so well and got a lot of good feedback. And we had a lot of good giveaways. And it was very fun. So I appreciate everyone who participated in that. And I'll have a link in the show notes to go to the blog post. You can find out who all the participants were and a little bit more about them and go thank them for taking their time away from the show. I know they were exhausted after a long Saturday. But it was a big deal for you, Joey, to come and participate and everyone else who participated. I really, really appreciate it. No, it was a great time. I hope it happens again next year. Yeah, and we can definitely take a lot from what we learned in this show and make it even better. So it's perfect. Before I let you go, I didn't want to just talk about fountain pens and these shows.

Field Notes & Pencils

Joey Feldman: How about can we talk about field notes or pencils on the Pen Addict podcast? Because I love that.

Brad Dowdy: Those are your favorite topics. You don't ever get tired. You want to hear about field notes every episode, right?

Field Notes

Joey Feldman: I just want to hear Myke talk about the latest field notes and how awesome it is and how they send them the 17,000 of them and how you guys have your black wing pencils. That's all I want to talk about.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I mean I know you have a field notes tattoo across your back. So I know you're a huge field notes fan. And you should come to the field notes event we're going to have in October. We'll have more news on that soon. And maybe I can get you to do the posters for that.

Joey Feldman: Wait, I'm busy that day.

Brad Dowdy: Sorry. Dang it. I can't make it. That's unfortunate.

Joey Feldman: No, I'm not knocking the brand or anything like that. I know.

Brad Dowdy: We like to have fun. Yeah. We like to have fun. So I do want to talk about your artwork though because even if I didn't know you and love you, like the style of art that you create is right up my alley. And if you could, can you describe like your artwork as, I don't know if that's even possible or even a fair question to ask you. Can you describe your style of art?

Joey Feldman: Uh, it's a spontaneous ink line. Um, I never know what I'm going to do. Uh, you know, unless I have the idea or it's like a commission, but, um, it just, it's always been the way that I've drawn. And, uh, you know, that, that's really, it's all about mistakes. It's about including the mistakes. It's all about spontaneity and, and, and trying to incorporate my feeling at the time in this drawing or painting that I'm doing.

Brad Dowdy: Um, so when I, when I watch you draw or, you know, if you're, you're sketching on the side, not doing anything, you know, just observing, I, I don't as much look at the output as think about what's happening in your head at the time. And that's what I can't grasp. And I think what maybe a lot of people can't grasp how you're prolific you are and how that is possible. Like, have you always been that way? Like when you were a kid, was the stuff just gushing out of your brain or were you like dropped on your head at some point? And then it started like, did you always used to be able to do this? Because it's, it's crazy to watch you work because I have a feeling if someone didn't physically stop you, you would not stop.

Joey Feldman: Uh, well, this is a loaded question. I was dropped on my head at a very early age. If you haven't noticed, you know, taken notice to that. Um, you know what I was, I had. I had such a, a hatred for learning in class. Like I hated school, like just with such a passion, I would always draw like, you know, on the inside of the lines of the margin of the, the mead books and stuff. And, you know, I failed art. Like I just, I really, you know, like I said, I'm an only child. I had some things happen to me when I was younger that really affected me. And, you know, like a lot of people in the pain community where, uh, we like to isolate and we like to, uh, introverts, you know, and big time. Yeah. So I've always just picking up materials and, and drawn, uh, I've had several jobs. Like I worked at tower records doing store displays. Um, but, and, and I've had jobs over the years, but I'm really not good at anything else except drawing. Like there's no plan B for me. Like you're not going to see me working anywhere. And the other thing is, is an emotional part about it is, is like, I walk around, you know, and I observe and I feel things a lot. Like I, I kind of think like, you know, my, my, like my skin has no skin and I pick up people's feelings like Bruce Willis and unbreakable. Like, right. I feel really like that. So I, I, when I draw, it kind of gets it out on the paper and whether it's a monster or it's, you know, it's just some kind of, you know, obscure thing. There's some type of emotion that I'm trying to get out of me to put on paper. And yeah, you're right. If, if I had the chance to just sit around and draw, draw, draw, draw, draw, that's all I would do all day.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Yeah. And I, I've watched it in action and I see the look in your eyes and I see the output on the page and like, I can, like, I can see it and I can see the emotions and just knowing you, like you and I like to have, you know, a fun and good time. But I know how serious and like emotional you are and, and dedicated to, to honing your craft. It's like, it's, it's very, very impressive to me. And I'm like, I'm lucky to be around you. I feel like it's, you're, you're infectious in the way you go about things. Wow.

Joey Feldman: That's very kind of you to say that. You know, if I don't draw Brad, I get very depressed. Like there's a couple of things that I need to do each day. Like, first of all, is to have a daily routine that I keep, you know, and like I meditate twice a day for my head to keep my head down. But like, if I get up and like I journal, I do a couple pages of just mindless stuff and then a gratitude list. And, and then I draw, like I've, I've filled up a couple pages in my sketchbook today of stuff. I don't even know what it is. It's just doodles. Right. But if I don't do that, for some reason, I don't feel like I have a purpose, if that makes any sense. Mm-hmm. And no one may ever see, for all the stuff that gets posted on social media, there's probably 10 to 15 more that never make it on there. You know, that like, as we're sitting here, I just filled up a few pages of notebook cards. And, you know, I have to do it. It's something like I have to do. And, you know, you could ask my fiance or anybody that's been around me for a while, when I'm not being creative in some capacity, I'm miserable. I'm kind of like Myke. Yeah. You know?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. He's miserable all the time. All the time. It's kind of insufferable. Jeez. He's British. So what are, what are some of the favorite projects you've worked on, like in the past year or two? Does anything really stand out?

Joey Feldman: Uh, well, a year ago, a couple of days ago, I did a poster for Pearl Jam at Wrigley Field.

Brad Dowdy: Like they had a big concert there, right? Yeah. Or a series of concerts.

Joey Feldman: Yeah. They had a couple of concerts. I think it was two nights and it was the end of the tour and five artists got to do posters. And I did one of them. And, uh, it was, it was, I mean, it was a true honor because this is a band that's been around for such a long time. And, you know, you talk about a community of, of, you know, a fans and people like I just, the people that I met just from doing that paper, it's been life changing, life changing. And I got some projects out of that. That was really fun to do. Um, I have a couple of things coming up.

Brad Dowdy: I really can't talk about, uh, yeah, I've seen pictures and I'm jacked. Yeah.

Joey Feldman: I, I mean, yeah, I've shown you a couple of things.

Brad Dowdy: Uh, Joey knows me well enough to know what to show me and to get me hyped. And he did it this weekend.

Children's Book

Joey Feldman: Yeah. I trust you. I'm excited about that. Um, but I also, last week I actually signed the contract to do a children's book. Oh, cool. I'm super excited to do that. Cause that's been a dream of mine and the story was right. And, uh, you know, that, that's going to go, that's going to happen soon. So I'm going to start working on that. Um, so that's very exciting. And, and, and, you know, I have this private, not private, but there's a Joey Feldman collectors group on Facebook that has just been, you know, blowing up. Um, and it's, it's unbelievable. Like, you know, when people like your work, it's like, I still don't believe it. Sometimes it's, it's beyond my wildest dreams. Uh, but I also hooked up, I have to mention a bottleneck gallery out of New York. Uh, I have a piece coming out from them next week. Uh, we kind of teased it a little bit, but, you know, working with them has just been phenomenal because they are like pretty big in this pop culture world. And the fact that Joe, who's the owner believes in me and he's invited me into that realm and decided to represent me with works is just, again, you know, it's, it goes on my gratitude list every day.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I was excited to hear that. Um, you know, in San Francisco this week, when you were telling me all this and just to see the, the growth that you've had just over the past couple of years, not just professionally, but personally as well. It's, uh, it's, it's very impressive. And I, like I said, I'm lucky to consider you a friend and, uh, to have you, you know, come and share, you know, what you're up to on this show. I really appreciate you taking the time to do that.

Joey Feldman: I, listen, I appreciate you having me on. I, I love the podcast. You know, I, I missed a couple months. I was in a little bit of a pen slump, but I needed to do that, you know, a couple months ago. And then I got to San Francisco, uh, you know, we all go through that, you know, you, there's so much you can buy or see that you just got to take a break. And, uh, but I've, it's always been such a, you know, educational source for me to just listen to you guys in the car, you know, and, and it's, it's just, it's good community and it's, and it's a podcast. It's done well, right. It's done, uh, well. So I, I, you know, the fact that I'm on it, it's like, I, I figured myself that I'm on here. I went from, cause we didn't know each other. And then I got to know, you know, I, I feel like I went from the mailroom to being one of the vice presidents now. Of the company, you know, cause I'm on the, I'm on the podcast.

Brad Dowdy: That's amazing. All right, buddy. Well, I will let you get back to drawing. Why don't you real quick, can you tell everyone where they can find you online? Where do you want to send people to?

Joey Feldman: Uh, well, you could always go to my website, uh, www.joeyfelbin.com. That's got links to my store. When we, I released prints, uh, the Joey Felbin collectors group and Facebook, uh, you have to send in a request for that. And then also Instagram, Joey Feldman underscore artist. And, uh, that's where I post pens and sketches and stuff more on there than probably anything else. But if you want to get in on all the print drops, it's the collectors group on Facebook.

Brad Dowdy: Awesome. And I'm Brad Dowdy. I write at pen addict.com. You can find me on Twitter at Dowdyism, D-O-W-D-Y-I-S-M and on Instagram at pen addict. And this was another wonderful episode. Myke slacked out on us, but we always end up better when he's away. So thanks.

Joey Feldman: Oh, well, I guess one thing real quick.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah.

Joey Feldman: I feel like, you know, listen, Brad, you know, I love you and I'm grateful for being on here, but I feel like I'm just on the addict podcast because like you're the pen and Myke is not here. You know, he's like gallivating around on vacation. I know. So I think that you should have me back with Myke. So, so him and I could talk a little, you know what I mean?

Brad Dowdy: Oh, I will just sit back and cackle the entire time. So we will have to set that up next time we, uh, we, we get him on, maybe we can get him to world tour over to the West coast sometime and we can set up a live show with the three of us. That would be amazing.

Joey Feldman: Do you think he could handle the West coast?

Brad Dowdy: I'm not sure if he could. I mean, he thinks he's got a hip with that beard and all, but I don't know. I know. You know, I know he might can handle it. He might can handle it. We'll, we'll give him a shot at least. Okay. All right, bud. Well, I appreciate you and we will talk again soon. All right, man. Have a great day.