The Pen Addict 560/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	560
Title:	Dear LAMY,
Release Date:	April 19th, 2023
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 560
Audio File:	Audio Episode 560
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 560
Length:	5555 min <br />0.917 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Myke Hurley: From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 560. Today's show is brought to you by ExpressVPN and Pen Chalet. We'll tell you about those a little bit later on in the show. My name is Myke Hurley and I'm joined by my friend Brad Dowdy. Hi Brad, how are you?

Brad Dowdy: You're gonna tell us about us right now, huh Myke?

Myke Hurley: What's this energy?

Brad Dowdy: I don't know. Where are we today? It's a podcast about pens, why shouldn't I be energized? Like you said, we're gonna talk about our sponsors later, I felt like we're gonna talk about us now.

Myke Hurley: Right, right, okay. I'm just checking, just doing a vibe check on you, you know? Just wanna make sure who I'm dealing with today.

Brad Dowdy: Myke and I always have like a pre-game and then I tend to throw them a curveball by the time the show launches and that's just kind of my move these days.

Myke Hurley: Perfectly normal, you know? We're chit-chatting, how are you? How was your evening? You know, like, oh, by the way, did you remember this thing we're gonna do? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, alright, you've got your recording going? He's like, yep, I'm all ready. I'm like, ready to start? Yes, we start. And he's like, yo, what up? I'm gonna punch you in the face. You know? This is what I'm dealing with these days. I don't know what's going on. We're in a new era of the show where it's your villain era. You're in your antagonist era.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, no. I am never in a villain era. I mean, maybe once in a while.

Myke Hurley: No one would ever say, you know what? People would say that I'm in the villain era for, you know, making you feel this way. No one's ever gonna be like, oh, Brad Dowdy, he's the villain.

Lamy pens discussion

Brad Dowdy: That's right, that's right. Although, I do get up into Lamy again today, so we have that to look forward to at least.

Myke Hurley: You're in your Lamy era. So, last week's show, we had Enigma Stationery as a sponsor. They're not sponsoring this week's show, but they sent one of the Mark 1s to me. It didn't arrive in time, so I just wanted to do, you know, I want to make good on the fact that I had nothing to say about the Enigma Mark 1 Special Edition on last week's episode. I have it, and it's kind of stupendous. Like, it is so good looking. They did, everybody involved did a wonderful job. And I know what you mean now, because last time you said it had a different texture, right? Yes. And I was like, I didn't want to correct you, because I thought it might have been like the one that we did for RelayFM hosts this year. Because that Cerakote had a kind of an additive added into it, and it gave it kind of a shine. But this is more than that. Right. Okay. So, I'm not crazy. No, you're not. And Dan actually confirmed it's Cerakoted as normal, but it has a coating because of the glitter that they put into it. So, like, it is actually finished differently. So, it has a rougher, but not in about, like, it has a texture. There's just more of a texture going on.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. It's smooth and shiny, but it's not, like, polished glassy. It's hard to delineate between those descriptions when you're trying to, like, physically describe the feel of something. Yeah. Yeah. I was using it on stream yesterday, just writing some notes, and I actually got an email when I was done. Because I didn't really, I was just writing, and I wasn't talking about the pen. I just picked it up to write these notes on my email. What was that pen you were using? I need to know what that pen was. Yeah. It's a knockout. It's a knockout.

Myke Hurley: So, I think there are still some available. I'll put our link in the chat. So, it's been a stalwart on my desk here. It's been really good. I want to talk about a couple of products throughout our episode today.

Brad Dowdy: One of them that I'm finding interesting more so from an idea than as a, like, necessarily something I want. But, you know, I've long been a fan of Black Wings. I was a volume subscriber for a long time. I'm no longer a Black Wings subscriber. I actually hadn't bought any newer Black Wings since one of the era's models came out a year or two ago. But I always follow them, right? Because I think they do interesting stuff. So, now they've, for a while, they've been doing Black Wings Lab pencils where they will make just some different types of features on the pencils, whether it's a different type of finish or a different type of artwork or some different type of, you know, ideas that they're putting out in smaller batches and they're calling it Labs. Well, now they have a Black Wings Labs notebook. So, I caught this on Instagram and scrolled through my feed and I was like, wait a minute. Is this a, like, cut-proof cover on this notebook? That's immediately what I saw when I saw this cover. So, you're familiar with, like, those cutting boards, right?

Cutting board and blade purchase

Myke Hurley: I just bought one yesterday. My first cutting board, I bought one and a blade and all that kind of stuff. Yeah. I want to be able to do more prototyping, like, easily with paper products. So, I went and bought a bunch of stuff yesterday.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So, it's not. So, spoiler alert, it's not that. It looks like it. It does look like it. But there was a product, I believe it was on Kickstarter a couple years ago, that was a cutting mat cover notebook, which I never ever backed that. But, like, that kind of stuff is cool to me, right? But, anyway, the look of this one was a knockout. I really like this bright blue and white look. The interior of the notebook is, honestly, like, this is a labs edition of something not particularly interesting to me. It's just basically a blank notebook with stencils, right? So, we have had lots of products over the years, if you've followed stationery at all, and you're into, like, notebooks and paper and what you can do with different layouts on papers. You get a blank notebook, and then you can have, you know, four or five different line type inserts.

Myke Hurley: They're like these clear sheets that are very heavily printed, and the paper is thin enough that if you lay the sheets underneath the page that you're working on, you can see, like, lines or a grid through the page. So, you can, like, you know, they're using, they have some videos on their Instagram. I'm watching one now as you speak to me, where they're, like, mixing and matching them to do, like, a couple of different layouts and stuff. And I will say this is very clever. Right. Like, I think that this is a good-looking notebook. Like, I actually really dig the design. I dig the stitching on the outside. I dig how thick it is that they put the little elastic to put the pencil onto the spine. Like, that's cool.

Brad Dowdy: The pencil loop is great.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. And I like that, in general, like, this is different. This isn't just, like, hey, we made a notebook. Like, they put some thought into it. Whether this works for you or not, like, for me, this feels fiddly, right? Like, to have to have these plastic sheets and, like, putting them in and out. Like, I would just like it to be grid. But this is, like, I don't know. This feels like a really nice, like, hey, if you're already doing some, like, fun journaling kind of stuff, this is, like, that kind of process for you. Right? Like, this is, like, a fiddly, involved, like, meditative thing where we're going to give you all the stuff and you can go ahead and, like, make it your own. I like it for that. But this is something I was saying. Like, it doesn't excite me for me. But I like it from a product design perspective that they didn't just make a notebook. Like, they put some thought into it, whether it works for you or not.

Brad Dowdy: I completely agree. We're very much on the same page here. Like, I have no desire to order one of these, like, for myself to use, right? But I want this to exist. I want Blackwing Labs to do more paper stuff. Like, I think paper is really, really hard. Like, you and I can talk about that. We've talked about it a bunch. We're actually going to talk about it more later in the show. But there's not a ton of experimentation in the paper world. And while this isn't, by any stretch, extreme, like, experimentation. It's, in fact, it's kind of basic. But the idea that they actually put a lot of thought into this and a lot of design into this, I think. And it came out very, very well. Well, this just makes me anxious to see more from them, which is why I put this in here. It's like, this really caught my eye just from the aesthetics. And then I like that this is, they're making a note that it's the first notebook in the Lab series. The one con I have, or in the negative side of the ledger, the name.

Brad Dowdy: They name the products by the date of release. So the name of this notebook, if I have to tell you what lab notebook this is, it's 041823.

Myke Hurley: I mean, I don't have a problem. Okay, since I understand what you're saying. It's not a good product name. I don't have a problem with it if it's, like, only expected to be a limited run thing and they're, like, testing it. Right? Like, if this is popular and people like it, they're not going to call it 041823 forever. Right? Like, it will get a name. You're right. You know? Yeah. But, like, at this point, there isn't really a need to, like, go through the work of also naming the thing. You're right. If they're only going to make 150 of them all, or, you know, probably 1,000, 2,000, whatever. Right? But it doesn't feel necessary. You're right on that. I agree.

Brad Dowdy: Yes. If this becomes a product line, that is no longer the name. It is now, you know, whatever they decide to call it. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: Because, like, you know how hard it is to name things. I do. I do. If you're only ever going to make a limited run of something, having to come up with an inventive name as well as doing all the product design work, it's like, oh, my God. Come on.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Fair enough. I think that's how you can get away with it, with the lab series. Just call it that. And then if it becomes a thing, it gets promoted into a real name, real name and design.

Myke Hurley: It would be super cool, though, if they made that front cover like a cutting board. There's absolutely zero reason to do it, but it would just be cool.

Brad Dowdy: I would order it if it was that. Like, I don't need it, but I would get it just because I like cutting boards and cutting mats and stuff like that. So it's pretty neat. You are pretty limited notebook sizes with, like, those cutting mats. It's like, yeah, you can only do so much with a small one, but, hey, maybe it's, you know, like with your washi tape and stickers and, like, journaling set up. Like, I think it would probably work that size. So pretty cool. All right. That's not our only experiment this week, Myke.

ChatGPT and AI tools

Brad Dowdy: Chat GPT. I know you're a big fan, according to Cortex, right? Like, you and Gray talked about the AIs taking over the world.

Myke Hurley: I'll tell you how I'm coming around, right? Like, because here's my thing with AI, right? And there's a couple of episodes of Cortex. They were last year. A lot has changed. I still feel very similar about people using AI to make art. But, like, I think that it is bad. Like, to simplify my thoughts there, there's, like, multiple hours of content in Cortex if you want to get a bigger, like, explanation from me. But where I've started to kind of, like, draw the line for me is people using AI tools to enhance the work that they're already doing.

Myke Hurley: And or, like, it's for you. So, like, Microsoft have a bunch of tools now that they're working, right? Where they're, like, you know, you get an email. It's like, summarize this email for me. It's like taking out busy work. But the idea of people using, you know, like, there was that thing over the last few days where there was, I'm sure you've seen this, where there was a song that was made that sounded like Drake and The Weeknd. That's wrong to me. Like, fundamentally wrong. Right. You know? But the idea of somebody, it's like, I just, I'll probably talk about this on an episode of Cortex in the future. But, like, we're working on a new kind of subproduct right now. And I used ChatGPT to help me come up with a name. Gotcha. Yeah. And it saved me six hours of work going through thesauruses instead, you know?

Brad Dowdy: Right, right. I mean, there's benefits. Like, this is a whole, this is why you have the Cortex podcast.

Myke Hurley: But you teased me, so you got me on my high horse and off we go.

Brad Dowdy: I did that. I knew what I was getting into when I did that is just to get on you, just in the general sense. So, like, I'm not into, like, much of the AI. I obviously follow all that from a technological perspective and, like, a world-changing perspective. You kind of need to be aware of this stuff. But, like, I don't, you know, I don't dabble or do anything with it. So, the idea came up. It's like, well, how could, you know, what would ChatGPT think about the Panatic podcast or things like that? So, I was wondering how this works. So, I signed up, created an account. And I asked ChatGPT. I said, explain to Lamy why they should make an orange Lamy2000. So, this was an idea just to have a little bit of stationery fun with ChatGPT.

Myke Hurley: I really like that you can't do that, by the way.

Brad Dowdy: What?

Myke Hurley: ChatGPT. That I can't say it? Every single time you stumble the first letter. I do. It's incredible. I do.

Brad Dowdy: I want it to be GPT. So, yeah, it's tough. It's tough. So, chat, yeah, the chat AI. We'll just call it chat AI. So, anyway, ChatGPT. So, I just wanted to have some fun and do something silly with it. So, I said, hey, you know, help me explain to Lamy why they should make an orange Lamy2000. Because we were just talking about this last episode, right? Just, you know, all the different things. So, I asked ChatGPT the question. And I'm going to read to you the response, okay? I didn't put this in there because I didn't want to spoil it for you. So, it says, hello, Lamy. As an AI language model, I'd like to explain why an orange Lamy2000 would be a great addition to your product lineup. First of all, the Lamy2000 is already an iconic and beloved pen that has been in production since 1966. Its timeless design, high-quality materials, and exceptional performance make it a favorite among pen enthusiasts and professionals alike. Now, imagine this classic pen in a bold, eye-catching orange color. This would be a unique and exciting addition to the Lamy2000 lineup, offering customers the opportunity to express their individuality and style through their writing instruments. Orange is a color that evokes energy, enthusiasm, and creativity, which are all qualities that are important to many people, especially those who use pens regularly for work, study, or personal expression. Additionally, an orange Lamy2000 would stand out from the crowd, making it easy to spot and identify, which could be helpful in busy or chaotic environments. Overall, an orange Lamy2000 would be a great choice for customers who are looking for a high-quality pen that is also unique and stylish. It would also be a great opportunity for Lamy to showcase its creativity and willingness to take risks in design and color choices. I hope this explanation helps to convince you to consider adding an orange Lamy2000 to your product lineup. Thank you for considering my thoughts. Sign me up.

Myke Hurley: It's a good email. You might as well just send it. My question to you is, do you know, did you use ChatGPT like 3 or 3.5 for this?

Brad Dowdy: I just went into OpenAI, hit the ChatGPT button, sign up for an account, hit ChatGPT. You didn't pay them any money, right? No, and just typed it into the text box.

Myke Hurley: So I've ended up, at the moment, I'm using the paid one for a month because I thought I needed it for something Federico was doing, but I didn't. So I paid for a month by accident. So I've just gone in and asked ChatGPT4, which is a better model, the same question. Would you like to hear the answer? Yeah. It's long. It's actually still going. It's been going since you started. It's done now. All right, here we go. Dear Lamy, I am writing to propose the idea of adding an Orange Lamy 2000 to your esteemed line of fountain pens. As a brand known for its innovative design, quality, and precision, introducing an Orange Lamy 2000 would not only bring a fresh new look to the collection, but also cater to a wider audience. Here are a few reasons why this would be a good idea. There are six reasons. Okay. Okay. One, expanding the color palette. The Lamy 2000 is a classic and iconic pen, but its color options have been rather limited. By introducing an Orange version, you will cater to the tastes and preferences of an even broader audience, attracting more customers and collectors to your brand. Two, symbolism and cultural significance. Orange is a vibrant and dynamic color that represents creativity, enthusiasm, and warmth. These qualities resonate with the Lamy brand, and introducing an Orange Lamy 2000 will make a strong statement about the company's commitment to fostering creativity and innovation. I don't understand how it drew that comparison, but it did. Three, seasonal peel. Orange is a versatile color that can evoke feelings of both warmth and freshness, making it an ideal color for all seasons. It is particularly well suited to autumn and spring, where its warm tones reflect the changing leaves and blooming flowers. Four, increased visibility. The Lamy 2000 is a pen that stands out due to its timeless design and superior functionality. An Orange edition would make the pen even more noticeable, grabbing attention in pen displays and attracting potential customers who may have not considered a Lamy pen before. Five, collaboration opportunities. An Orange Lamy 2000 could open up opportunities for collaborations with other brands, artists, or designers, fostering a sense of community and innovation within the industry. I know a guy. Exactly. And six, limited edition appeal. By offering an Orange Lamy 2000 as a limited edition, you can create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, driving sales and interest from collectors and pen enthusiasts alike. In conclusion, adding an Orange Lamy 2000 to your collection would not only provide a fresh, vibrant option for consumers, but also strengthen your brand image and attract new customers. With its symbolic meanings, seasonal appeal, and potential for collaboration, an Orange Lamy 2000 is a fantastic opportunity for both growth and innovation within the Lamy brand.

Brad Dowdy: That's pretty great. They're good, right? Yeah, and it definitely stepped it up with your version, a little bit more in depth. I like how the chatbot plays up Lamy's historic, you know, oh, you're so great, Lamy.

Myke Hurley: It's very good at flattering.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And imagine if you did this, how even greater you would be.

Myke Hurley: Yep.

Brad Dowdy: So, that was our fun little experiment. We'll send these off to Lamy. Just kidding. They're not going to do it anytime soon. But, yeah, maybe we can eventually get the chat GPT version of the Lamy 2000 out there for everyone. I think everyone would be interested in the Orange Lamy. So, let's make this happen.

Myke Hurley: Sounds wonderful. All right. This episode is brought to you by our friends over at ExpressVPN. I don't know if you've heard, but streaming services that are out there, some like Netflix and others, often have tens of thousands of shows available. But depending on where you're located, you only get to see a small selection of what's available. It's almost like paying for a gym membership, then only using the treadmill, even though there's all these other machines available to you if you just went and tried them out. That's where ExpressVPN comes in. When you use ExpressVPN, you can change your location, where it thinks you are, and you can then change what streaming services is, where they're thinking that you're located by doing this. They have almost 100 different server locations, so you can discover thousands of new shows to watch on services like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, YouTube, and more. It's super easy. You just open up the app and you select, like, which location. So, I do this when I'm traveling mostly. So, if I'm, say, in America and I want Netflix to think that I'm back in the UK, so I could carry on watching Modern Family, for example, which is available on Netflix here, if that was the show that I was watching at the time, but it's not available in the US, I wouldn't be able to access it. So, I can open ExpressVPN. I can say, change my location to the UK. It will just connect for me. Then I reload Netflix. Super easy. You just open the app, select your location, tap a button to connect, and refresh the page to get access. There are tons of reasons to choose ExpressVPN over other VPNs. It has blazing fast speeds to mean that you can stream in HD with zero buffering. It's compatible with all your devices, your phones, laptops, smart TVs, and more. And ExpressVPN has the added benefit of encrypting your data so you can browse the web securely. So, make a smart choice. Stop paying full price for streaming services and only getting access to a fraction of their content. Get your money's worth today at expressvpn.com. That is expressvpn.com. ExpressVPN.com. To get an extra three months of ExpressVPN for free. Our thanks to ExpressVPN for the support of this show and all of RelayFM.

Brad Dowdy: All right. I've got a shout-out of the week. Yes. That is a repeat shout-out, but for good reason. So, I have given the Snowy Studio, my friend Clarissa, at the Snowy Studio on Instagram a shout-out before because I think they're an awesome person and they have an awesome Instagram account. But specifically, I ran across a post that they just put live for a silent auction for earthquake in Turkey. So, this is to support, you know, the big tragedy in that region of the world. The earthquake was devastating and this is a way to help raise money for that. So, I wanted to shine a light on the silent auction. There are one, two, three, four, five, six different packages you can bid on for the silent auction. All of the rules and instructions are in Clarissa's post at the Snowy Studio on Instagram. We'll have a link in the show notes directly to this post so you can go see. There's Rickshaw goods, Franklin Kristoff goods, some Galen leather products, all kinds of stuff. Like, I can't even go. There's a platinum president that's been customized. The exterior, you know, added artwork onto that. That's good looking. Yeah, it's some cool stuff. So, go check this out. I wanted to shout this out because, you know, like, the world we live in, like, the, unfortunately, like, a lot of these, like, just devastating regional disasters and any type of, you know, terrible things that are going on in our world, they just kind of get pushed to the side when the next awful things happen. It's an unfortunate state of our world right now. So, it's nice to not forget about the people that are still in need, and I know these organizations in Turkey will greatly appreciate all of the support. So, thank you, Clarissa, for putting this together, and y'all go check it out over at the Snowy Studio on Instagram.

Myke Hurley: If you're interested, considering that we slightly jumped the shark today, I have the opportunity for us to jump the shark completely. As I have asked ChetGPT, explain to Brad Dowdy why you should bring back knock note cards. Oh, no. And I have a six-point plan if you're interested, or, you know, it's up to you, really.

Brad Dowdy: I mean, let's do it because we're going to talk. So, one of my topics today, let's save it for the topic. So, this will be our lead into the topic. Hold that thought because we just have a couple of links I want to get through real quick. And that will be the perfect segue into the topic I want to talk about. So, that will be fun. All right. There was a Kura Toga Dive website update that a friend of the show, Evan, sent to me. So, we have talked about the dive ad nauseum here. We've shared the dive website because it's really, really interesting how much work they put in to create a website for a product that was hard for people to buy. Okay. But I just wanted to point this out because if you are interested in the dive, we mentioned that they had two new colors. Actually, they have the color names on here, which I didn't think we had before on the U.S. site. So, Twilight Orange, which is a great name. And then the unfortunately named Dense Green. That's a name choice that we're going to go with there.

Myke Hurley: I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that Dense Green is not the name. Okay.

Brad Dowdy: Probably not. So, what I find interesting is – so, I follow the Kura Toga Dive and the reason why it keeps coming up here is because I find the idea of this product to be so interesting. That this is literally like Black Wings Labs. We're talking about the labs. This was Uniball's kind of labs idea, but they just went full bore right into the mainstream market. But this was definitely a labs type product, and they found success with it as best as I can tell, right? With the immediate sellout of the original blue version, whether that was a telling piece of data or whether that was a manipulated short inventory mad rush FOMO type of situation. So, to be determined. But they've backed it up quickly, well, a year later with two new colors. So, this is going to keep going. So, that's why I bring this up, that I am going to continue to follow the Kura Toga Dive. I think it's like – it's not a great product in usability, but it's a great product for like design and innovation and creativity. Like a literal labs project, right? Like I don't want to use it necessarily, but I want it to exist, and I want Uni to continue to experiment because it's kind of like – it's an engineering marvel, but I don't know that it's like super usable. But that's okay. Like this is fun. These are the type of products that I love. I love to experiment. I love to play with. So, I will continue to keep an eye on the Kura Toga Dive and everything that's going up with this.

Myke Hurley: Of course you will.

Coronation Ink and calligraphy

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That's kind of my thing. So, next up, Myke, did you read about the Coronation Inc.?

Myke Hurley: I had no idea there was a Coronation Inc.

Brad Dowdy: I had no idea either. So, I was sent this link that was in the telegraph.co.uk. So, the telegraph over there in the UK.

Myke Hurley: Mm-hmm.

Brad Dowdy: The Coronation Invitation Special Inc. And it's a little misleading, shockingly.

Brad Dowdy: So, the Coronation Invitation is written in special new royal blue ink. Calligraphers have been putting finishing touches to more than 2,000 personalized invitations to the ceremony. So, they're handwriting 2,000 invitations. And it wasn't like they worked with a company to make this ink. They worked with a calligrapher who mixed their own ink. Okay. To use for this, which is great. Like, that's fantastic. Yeah. That's how it should be. But it's kind of like the way we read it as stationery fans. It's like, ooh, who made the ink for them to use for this? Well, it's not like that. It's definitely more of a custom thing. So, I did – I'm going to read you this little bit here. And this – I thought this was pretty interesting. So, it's Jenny Collier of London Scribes Calligraphers, which has worked for the royal household for more than 15 years, selected several high-quality gouache paints with beautifully deep pigments, which she mixed by hand. So, it's a very, very custom ink. I'm thinking of the color as new royal blue, Jenny says. And I think it really sings among the invitations, beautiful heraldry, illustrations, and gilding. Writing each name in traditional italic calligraphy, which is what we specialize in, takes just a few minutes plus drying time of the bespoke mixed ink as well as double-checking every name. So, they're like literally handwriting in calligraphy, italic calligraphy, all of these 2000 invitations. And they said they use simple dip nibs with traditional one-millimeter nibs. And it's quite meditative practice. You just have to be calm while writing to keep a steady hand. Yeah, no doubt. So, anyway, I thought that was interesting to share just the process more than, hey, there's a new, you know, coronation-only ink. Like, this is really more a process.

Myke Hurley: I'm not surprised they had to bring someone in because King Charles could have got pretty upset.

Brad Dowdy: Like, imagine if King Charles had to write his own invitations.

Myke Hurley: If the pen wasn't, you know, the pen wasn't doing his thing, he's going to get mad.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, we're going to get the documentary people up in us again if we start talking about it. So, yeah.

Myke Hurley: Oh, my God, I forgot about that. Would you contribute to wise media's pens? So, funny.

Brad Dowdy: So, anyway, I thought it was just a fun article, more from a general calligraphy sense. And, you know, of course, there's a royal calligrapher. So, yeah. So, that's cool.

Myke Hurley: I did not get an invitation to the coronation, by the way. You didn't? I didn't.

Brad Dowdy: Nope. I'm sorry. Like, was there a chance? There was probably a chance. Like, I mean, you're like a famous, like, you know, 30 under 30 or, you know. I'm over 30. In the UK. I know. But, like, at the time, like, you're famous. At what time? I don't know. When I was under 30? No, I don't think there was a chance.

Myke Hurley: But you've always got to keep the faith. You know what I mean?

Brad Dowdy: Cortex. I mean, Cortex, you know. Uh-huh. Using UK printers. Like, I don't know. Maybe they had some hints. I have yet to receive one. Maybe they could print something off. Maybe your printer could, like, you know.

Myke Hurley: Maybe they haven't finished. They're doing 2,000 of them, so. Okay. There's still time.

Brad Dowdy: You've got, like, two weeks left.

Myke Hurley: There's still time. Yeah. I'm just putting it out there. I would love to be there. So, you know, if you miss anybody out there is listening and wants to invite me to the coronation, I would very happily attend.

Brad Dowdy: All right. All right. And the next time King Charles needs a pen, where might he go looking for it?

Myke Hurley: He could head on over to Pen Chalet. That's right. He sure could. I mean, they ship international. They have great international shipping. And I bet that Ron and the gang over at Pen Chalet would do a really good job looking after his Ron owners. A hundred percent.

Myke Hurley: Pen Chalet sell authentic, amazing rollerballs, fountain pens, ballpoints, mechanical pencils, and so much more. You know, when I said that, I got a flashback to that Retro 51, the coffee one again, just now. Okay. This is absolutely unrelated to the Pen Chalet spot, but just like, yeah. But you know what I did see? I'm going to segue this back in again. Did you see the Retro 51 special, the new Pen Chalet special, the Phoenix one? I have not. Let me go look. It's sick. It is heavy metal, man. All right. I don't know if it's called Phoenix, but it looks like a Phoenix. Yeah, it's called Phoenix. There it is. This thing is heavy metal, baby. That's sick. I love it. It's so cool. It goes hard, you know. Yeah. So look out for that one over at Pen Chalet. You can get yourself a wonderful discount because you listen to the show. And I'll tell you how in just a moment. Pen Chalet have all of your favorite brands and they have the products that you're looking for. They're adding new styles of pen every single month. And every couple of weeks, you can find closeout specials and special discounts. And you can get even more special discounts every two weeks because you listen to this show. Pen Chalet, as well as carrying pens and, you know, mechanical pencils and all that kind of fun stuff, they have the accessories that you're looking for as well. Whether you need a carrying case, some ink, maybe you want a converter, whatever it is to help your stationery life shine, Pen Chalet has got it available to you. As Brad mentioned, they do ship internationally and have very reasonable shipping rates. And if you're based in the U.S., you'll get free shipping on orders of over $75. Pen Chalet has low prices on high quality products and offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So I want you to go over to penchalet.com, P-E-N-C-H-A-L-E-T.com and click the podcast link at the top of the website and enter the password of Pen Addict for this week's special offer. And to get the code you need to save 10% on anything at any time over at Pen Chalet.

Brad Dowdy: So before we get into the deals, this Phoenix, the flames are raised up off of here. I'm looking through the imagery. There's a bunch of imagery. So it's not like a flat, you know, it's not like a flat imprint on there. The flames are like raised and lifted off the barrel. It's kind of, that's pretty cool. All right. So on our awesome, on our awesome exclusive offers for Pen Addict podcast listeners, there are a bunch of Gioia pens, fountain pens right off the jump. So we have reviewed one or two of this brand on the site, on the Pen Addict before. And Kimberly, I know, has reviewed them and really, really enjoys these pens a lot. Some of her favorites. And there's one in here that's actually kind of one of the more simpler designs of the Gioias. They get a little bit wild with like the different features. But the Capo de Monte looks like right up my alley. It's like this blue-brown swirl acrylic. It's a really great price. These are really great pens and have been thought of very highly by Kimberly in the times that she's reviewed them. Further down the list, there is a Maiora, which I enjoy. So I've reviewed the Maioras before. The Aventus. The price on this Aventus is way more than half off. It's like a crazy price for this beautiful yellow acrylic pen. And then there's a sneaky entrant in here that if you're interested in this pen, I have a feeling you need to go jump on it. There is a Pelican M800 Brown Black in here, which probably does not have many in stock. This was something they did recently. That does not come up very, very often. So this is like one of those sneaky things that when you look at this list that Ron puts together every week, sometimes one of those things jumps in there that shouldn't be in there. And that is one of them. So if you're interested, go check this out.

Myke Hurley: That's very cool. So go there and check it out for yourself right now. I will just say as a correction for myself, the Tornado, the Phoenix Tornado is awesome, but it is one of the products that the discount does not apply to.

Brad Dowdy: Yes. So there are a few limitations. Absolutely.

Myke Hurley: Sometimes there has to be. But that discount is available on so, so many products, more than you could count. Just go to penshalay.com and click the podcast link at the top of the website and enter the password penaddict to get your hands on the code and to see the special offers that Brad was talking about. Our thanks to Penshalay for their support of this show and RelayFM.

ChatGPT and NotCo note cards

Brad Dowdy: All right. So I'm going to let you get into the ChatGPT, NotCo, note card situation. But let me set this up a little bit and then I'm going to get you to read this. So I wanted to just do a general conversation. I called it Why Maker Pens? But it's not really like Maker Pens in particular. It's really like makers in the stationery space. But I just called this little topic Why Maker Pens? And this is just like an overview, an idea, a makers 101 type of situation on what I think about when I think about makers. And as someone who makes things and Myke as someone who makes things in the stationery space, I always find this topic very interesting and we get a lot of questions about it. So one of the best products we ever made for NotCo was our note cards. And I've tried to remake them but can't find the paper and then I've not tried to source new paper. But apparently ChatGPT is going to tell me why I should bring these back, right? Well, I would hope so.

Myke Hurley: I mean, you know, maybe this is the last thing you need to like push you over the edge. Okay. To do it. Again, I have another six point plan.

Brad Dowdy: They're very big on the... They're like six. Yeah, that must be like the proper number to like get things done.

Myke Hurley: Some level of SEO marketing has told the model that it needs to create six points. Right. Dear Brad Dowdy, As a dedicated fan of NotCo and your excellent range of pen-related products, I am writing to propose the idea of bringing back the Knock Note cards. These cards were highly appreciated by the writing community for their quality and utility and reintroducing them would not only satisfy existing fans but also attract new customers. Here are several reasons why bringing back Knock Note cards is a fantastic idea. One, high quality materials. I don't understand how that's... But anyway, Knock Note cards were known for their premium paper quality which allow for a smooth and enjoyable writing experience. This quality is essential for fountain pen users as it minimizes feathering and bleed through. By bringing back these note cards, you will reaffirm Knock Co's commitment to providing superior writing materials. Two, convenience and portability. The compact size of Knock Note cards makes them extremely convenient for carrying around and using on the go. They easily fit into pockets, pen cases, or bags, making them perfect for jotting down ideas, to-do lists, and reminders whenever the inspiration strikes. Three, versatility. Knock Note cards are highly versatile catering to a range of uses, including personal and professional settings. They can be used for quick notes, brainstorming sessions, study aids, or even a thank you or greeting cards. Nostalgia. This is for nostalgia and customer loyalty. What? I know. By bringing back Knock Note cards, you will appeal to the nostalgia and loyalty of long-time Knock Co customers. This will not only rekindle their love for the brand, but also encourage them to spread the word to friends and family, driving new sales and interest. Five, expanding the product line. Reintroducing the Knock Note cards will add variety to your current product lineup. There isn't one. And provide a complimentary option to your existing pen cases and other accessories. Oh, okay. Knows all about you. Six. This is the final one. Customization opportunities. There's definitely a similar flow here. Yeah, yeah. Knock Note cards could be easily customized with unique colors, patterns, or limited edition designs to make them even more attractive to customers. This will also open up opportunities for collaborations with other brands, artists, or designers, fostering a sense of community and innovation within the stationery industry. In conclusion, bringing back Knock Note cards would be a great decision for both Knock Co. and its customers. With their high-quality materials, versatility, and appeal to customer loyalty, these Note cards can contribute to the continued success and growth of your brand.

Brad Dowdy: Okay, ChatGPT, you're just a big old butt kisser, aren't you? Yep. Yeah, so after about like the fifth one of these, we'd go, oh, yeah, this is like very, very cut and pasty. Yeah. In conclusion, but it's pretty funny. Like, I thought that was pretty good. So, yeah, ChatGPT says, bring back the note cards. So, maybe one day, Myke, maybe one day. I will never say never to that product because it was such a good product. One of my favorites near and dear to my heart, like this topic, Myke, of makers and maker pens. So, the question I asked myself is, how do you define maker? And it's kind of impossible, right? Yep. Like, to give a real clear definition of maker. And I'm just talking about it in the context of the stationery space, right? There's all kinds of different ways we could go this, but just in the stationery space. It's definitely a know-it-when-you-see-it situation, right? Like, you kind of know. Like, you kind of know who would be categorized as a maker, who is, you know, a brand, who is, you know, different moving parts in the stationery business. So, the makers, to me, what I think about are people who bring their own personal ideas into, like, products, right? That they're making their ideas come to life in what they want to see from products. That's kind of my general classification of a maker. You know, there's no boardroom meetings involved. There's no public shareholders, you know, like some of the big Japanese brands are publicly traded, like Pilot and, you know, Sailor's Parent Company. You know, we're not trying to make the shareholders happy. A maker is someone who has a belief in their ideas and wants to see them made, right? So, a lot of makers are just singular, right? Just one-person shops. Like, we just did a Meet Your Maker, a series. And this is probably why this topic's in my head, is where we're doing a series on the blog that Caroline is writing for. It's called Meet Your Maker. So, like, Renee from Scriptorium, like, that was our last feature. A lot of these makers are just one-person shops. Like, she makes pens at her house, on her lathe, in her workshop, and does wonderful products. Or you can have makers like my friend Blake from The Paper Mind, who, you know, we're going to talk about paper later, but, like, we're not making paper, right? But he's designing notebooks to fit around certain paper and making these notebooks into the things that he wants to see out there in the world and things that he wants to create. Then you have larger makers in our space. Like, you think, I think of people like Edison Penco, you know, who started small and have grown into, like, big workshops and several employees. Same with Franklin Kristoff. Or even someone like Rickshaw, who has essentially, like, a production shop and they manufacture their own stuff. Like, there's no all-encompassing definition of maker, right? So, like, do you have anything to add to that? Like, it's, you can't strictly define it in black and white terms when it comes to stationery makers, right? There's a big bucket to draw from.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, definitely. I mean, the maker thing is so complicated, right? Like, do you consider yourself a maker if you don't actually ever physically make?

Brad Dowdy: Right. Right. So, we're going to talk about that a little bit. I have, like, kind of allude to some of that here. Yeah. So, yeah. So, like, the idea of it. So, I guess trying to figure out how to define that, I guess to explore that a little bit more is why people choose to make things. Why do they want to be a maker? And, like, looking at it from my perspective, I've always felt that the best products that people make are opinionated, right? Like, I'm an opinionated design person. I'm not a design one thing for everybody type of person. I'm designing for specific solutions and in specific ways, right? So, like, that's an opinionated product. And I think a lot of makers in our space design products like that. You know, like, when I like a product to take a stand, right? I like a product. I like someone who makes a product to be able to tell me why they chose to make this product, right? Here's what I believe in as my product and why. Why I believe in these things. And it could just be, like, a technical design, right? Yeah. Why do they believe, like, their technical design is great and they want to see it come to life? It could be a creative design, right? It could be a very much more artistic design or exterior elements, right, in the maker space. Someone's putting their ideas out there in a very, like, straightforward and direct manner, right? This is what I believe in. And, you know, I've always said is, like, this is what I want to use. I hope you like it, too, right? That was always my philosophy with Nock, right? This is what I want. I hope you like it, too. But I'm not designing for everybody, right? I'm not going to change a design to meet the needs of every user, right? And, like, maybe I don't know if that's wrong or things like that. But, like, I think a lot of makers, like, think the same way. It's, like, they want to put their idea and their vision of the products out there. And I think that's great.

Maker identity and product design

Brad Dowdy: So, yeah. Like, these maker goods are not for everyone. Like, we make pens and pencils at Spoke Design that I will flatly tell people, like, this might not be for you, right? Like, there's reasons why people might not like our pens, but there's reasons why people actually love these things.

Myke Hurley: Do you think that that is a thing that is inherent to makers or just to certain types, right? Like, I feel like there are a lot of maker fountain pens that have very similar body designs, for example. Because I think maybe what you're driving at is similar to me, where, like, we are opinionated makers. But I don't know if that is a universal thing.

Brad Dowdy: Right. So, the way I see it with what you're getting to, say, let's take a general cigar-shaped fountain pen. Yep. So, how does a maker differentiate themselves between the next cigar-shaped fountain pen? Well, that comes into materials, right? Like, so there's material choices. There are nib choices. There are external option choices. Do you design the pen, you know, cap flush? Does the pen cap, you know, stick out a little bit? Do you have a straight section or a concave section? Do you have a roll stop element to this pen? What is the differentiating factor? And I do think that is a hang-up for some makers to be able to differentiate themselves between others that are making similar things, right? So, that is one of the big challenges of being a maker.

Brad Dowdy: You know, I talk about in writing this up, specifically, like, what you're talking about with fountain pens, a lot of my favorite makers are the ones who make unique shapes for pens, right? Like, Sean Newton, right? Sean makes some really cool shapes. Like, they're not all for me. I have one Newton fountain pen, but I love looking at Sean's pens, right? Because there's a lot of unique shapes. Now, on the other hand, like, you're looking at material makers, say, like, Carolina Pen Company or Starry Night Resins, you know, you're getting, you know, maybe if they're making their own pens, they're more of a traditional fountain pen shape because that's what's kind of popular right now, right? People, like, want to see a cool material in a standard shape, right? So, there's kind of something out there for everyone as far as that goes. If you like a standard shape but a cool material, like, you can find that. If you want one of these cool materials and some really weird and unique shapes, you can find that too. And then you can also, like, change up the materials, right? Like, you know, Ryan Krusak makes mostly wooden barrel pens or, you know, Ian Schoen makes mostly metal barrel pens, right? And things like that. So, yeah. Like, I, there is a challenge, like, as someone who makes things to set yourself apart from the rest of the crowd, right? That's how you're going to continue to exist as a maker, right? What story are you telling that's different from the other stories, right? So, I think that's important. And then you get into the more designer aspects, which is kind of where I put spoke design and, like, our friends at Studio Neat, right? We design our own products, right? We'll engineer and CAD detail and technically design all these products and then have someone else manufacture the parts and then we will assemble them, right? So, like, I think that's part of being a maker as well. So, that's the design aspect of it. You know, we have unique designs. We have someone else manufacture the bits and bobs, all the parts, and then bring them back in-house for the assembly and, you know, the packaging. And seeing how people who do design work as opposed to, like, pouring the resin, right, which is, like, the very physical work, how designers tackle different problems with, you know, pens and pencils and paper products. You know, how did this designer solve a cat posting issue or what did this designer do for a clip design? I think that's all in, like, the maker realm and that's all, like, a fun part of the process to me. So, what I think, and it's kind of why I put the Blackwing notebook up top, is I think I want to see more, like, notebook makers kind of get into this, like you are, right? How can we solve different problems with paper? Because none of us are making our own paper, right? So, the pen makers, like, you take Carolina Pen Company. Well, Jonathan's, like, literally making the resin that he ends up making the pen from. Like, it's kind of, he's handling a lot of it. Like, if me and you decide to make a notebook, we're not out here, like, you know, getting the pulp and making the paper, like, ourselves. We're not out here, like, some trees. We're not, I know.

Myke Hurley: Me and you in the back, you know, like.

Brad Dowdy: Right, right. So, but I also consider us to be makers because we have these ideas and we're, you know, putting the effort into making these things come to life because we want to see them exist, right?

Myke Hurley: This is actually pretty similar to, like, a thing that I am struggling with but trying to, like, deal with is calling myself a product designer.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm.

Myke Hurley: Like, where's the design? Like, I'm having the idea and I'm sketching it out and I'm, like, this is what I think it could look like but I don't, I'm not putting the thing together. I'm not, like, doing accurate measurements. I'm not in Photoshop, like, putting out the layers. Like, where does the design start and end, you know? Right. But I'm trying to, like, get used to calling myself that but I think it's somewhat similar of, like, what's a maker, right? Mm-hmm.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm.

Myke Hurley: That's why I don't even really know if I consider myself a maker.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm. See, I do. Like, you make podcasts. Like, the way I define it. Well, for that, I feel like I'm a creator, right? Right.

Myke Hurley: Like, for the content side, it's weird.

Brad Dowdy: Words are weird, Brad. Yeah, words are weird. Like, I don't like content creator. Like, that's, you know, not one of my favorite terms but, like, I get it. Like, I definitely fall into those categories. But, like, I love using the term maker because I make words on the blog. I make audio. Like, I make video content and I make products, right? And, like, all of that makes, all of that, like, kind of falls into, like, just maker of making things. And, like, I think you can make words too, right? Like, I think you can type and write and do all those things. It's, you know, that's a little bit looser definition. But, like, whenever I have to, like, write bios on, like, social media or things like that, I always write blogger, podcaster, maker. Like, that's just what I, like, put in there is just, like, my general, like, go-to. I don't write, like, stationery content creator, right?

Myke Hurley: Yeah, I'm podcaster and product designer.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So, like, I've never called myself a product designer, though, even though, like, I've designed products and helped design products. Brian on Spoke is more of a product designer than me. Like, he literally, like, engineers out, like, the drawings and everything. Like, he's, like, a legit designer. Like, I couldn't do that type of stuff. But then I'll take, like, the alpha products and, like, break them down and test them and do all that stuff. Like, that's where my role comes in. So, like, it's a fun conversation to have because it's a pretty broad, broad topic. But I kind of wanted to just throw this out there for people to ask questions more or see how they define makers or, you know, what are they looking for for makers? You know, like, I see a ton of pen makers at pen shows now, right? And that's where I tend to do a lot of my shopping at pen shows with people who are making things and coming to these shows because that's sometimes my only chance opportunity to get my hands on the things at these pen shows, right? Where if I want a new Leonardo pen, I know it's going to be great and I can just order it from a retailer, right? Yeah. So, like, I'll skip that and get that later if I want that. But at a pen show is where you can, like, really see these makers. Like, that's a great space, great opportunity to get started with, like, maker goods. Like, and, like, again, like, this is not for everybody, right? Nothing is for everybody. Or not everything is for everybody, I should say. I misspoke there. And, like, if you're interested in learning more about these things, let me know. Like, and we can, like, pick, like, a singular topic and talk about it more. And I think it's good having these meet your maker posts on the blog. And, you know, it's an interesting topic to me because this hobby, the maker space is very prevalent, right? It's on equal footing. Like, at a pen show, it's on equal footing with traditional retail, I would say. So it's pretty cool. And I want to make sure, like, people have a good understanding of makers, like, what they do, why their products are different, what's important about them in the community, you know, why I think it's important to support the makers in the community. And, yeah, I think it's a great topic. So take this as just a general introduction and my general ideas on the maker topic. And if y'all want to hear more, definitely let me know if you have specific maker questions, specific ways to explore. Obviously, you know, we've talked to makers plenty and can always talk to more makers and do interviews. But, like, I want to know specific questions that y'all have about making things or about people who do make things and what to expect. So how can people give us that feedback, Myke?

Myke Hurley: Go to penaddictfeedback.com and you can send us this feedback in. It's the same place you can go if you want to send us any follow-up or ask TPA questions for us to get to on a future episode of the show. That is at penaddictfeedback.com. If you want to find the show notes for this week's episode, you can go to relay.fm slash penaddict slash 560. You'll also find the links there if you want to send us feedback. There's, like, a button on the page where you can find all of this in the show notes in your podcast app of choice. If you want to find Brad online until the next episode, go to penaddict.com. He is penaddict on Instagram. He is also penaddict on mastodon.social. You can find Brad streaming live three times a week over at twitch.tv slash penaddict. And you can find Brad's products that we were talking about. His make-hood products. Make-hood. Make-hood. Made-hood. Made-hood. Made-hood. Made-hood products over at spokedesign.com. You can find me. I am at imike, I-M-Y-K-E on mike.social. You can also find my products that I help make over at cortexbrand.com. Thank you to ExpressVPN and Pen Chalet for their support of this week's episode. Until next time, say goodbye, Brad.

Brad Dowdy: Goodbye, Brad.