The Pen Addict 718/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	718
Title:	A Guy With A Typewriter Walks Into A Bar
Release Date:	May 28th, 2026
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	Derek DeWeese
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 718
Audio File:	Audio Episode 718
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 718
Length:	6565 min <br />1.083 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Brad Dowdy: Hello, and welcome to The Pen Addict podcast, episode number 718. I am your host, Brad Dowdy, and today's podcast is sponsored by The St. Louis Pen Show, Enigma Stationery, and Squarespace. I am pleased to welcome, for their first time appearance here on The Pen Addict podcast, Derek DeWeese from DWR, DNET, Stationery Feed, and elsewhere in the stationery internet. Derek, welcome, number one. What's your intro of choice? Who are you? Where are you from?

Derek DeWeese: I am Derek DeWeese. I started a website a long time ago, got into pens, and now I have a podcast and a stationery channel. So here I am. I normally, people always ask DWRD, DNET, that's my initials. I have two middle names, so that's, and my website is DWRD.NET, so it works. So, you know, you still pick a username a decade ago or more, and it sticks with you. So here we are.

Brad Dowdy: Yes. As the current IT guy that you are and the former IT guy that I am, all of this adds up. Like, this is, like, yes, this is how you do it, and this is how I've done it, and this is how it's just gonna be. And I love it. I'm like, yes, give me all the things. So, welcome to the show. I'm super, super glad to have you. Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't listened to it, I shared it when I was on Derek's podcast, I don't know, maybe a month ago. It's only about a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago. We'll have a link in the show notes to all that stuff and all of Derek's other interviews, and we're obviously gonna talk about all that stuff later. But as I like to do when there's new guests to the show, I want to learn how you got into stationery to begin with. Like, before all the, you know, creating things on the internet for stationery, when did you get the bug? You know, were you like an elementary school kid who had to have the back-to-school supplies? Was it a later-in-life thing where you figured out, oh, maybe I need a journal to, like, you know, keep my head straight? What was it for you that got you started in stationery way back in the day?

Childhood memories of school supplies

Derek DeWeese: Kindergarten and pencil boxes. Oh, yeah. You had to go into the school store, spend your nickel or your quarter, and get the pencils and the pencil box and the crayons. So, long-time stationery person before I realized that it was stationery. I just wanted the pencils. You know, that's what everybody else was doing. In the modern instance, was always particular, like, through high school, I was a big Precise V5 guy or a Zebra 501. You know, kind of the pen that was utilitarian, but also it wrote well. And then 2013, I'd started journaling. And as parents were looking to relocate from Texas to Georgia, all the stuff kind of started showing up at my house that used to be mine. And in a desk drawer, it was one of theirs, a fountain pen. So, I found this in a drawer, and I was like, hey, that's kind of cool. Let me see if I can get this thing working. So, I post a picture on Facebook, and my college roommate, who we had never talked about pens, him and his wife, who I had introduced them, they had both become collectors. So, they're collecting. They're like, oh, you have that. You should come visit in Memphis, and we'll take you to this pen store. So, I go out one weekend between Christmas and New Year's to Memphis, and then this Saturday, we go to Van Ness. And that just started a downhill spiral. I'm left with a sailor, 1911 Black Luster, my Ackerman No. 5. I bought a Waterman thereafter. I bought a couple other things. So, it just started off in a downward spiral in a great way.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, that's, I mean this in the nicest way possible. Van Ness is the worst place to show up if you're just starting to figure this thing out, because you're going to get got like you got. Which is great. In the end, it's great. But, like, that is the literal kid in a candy store, like, problem, right?

Derek DeWeese: I remember Myke talking through and showing me different pens in the cases, because I'm sitting here like, oh, my gosh. What are all these, more pens and brands than I had never, I'd never heard of a sailor pen. But, of course, I was leaving with the all blacked out one. Yeah. And that was a foregone conclusion.

Derek DeWeese: But, no, it was a good thing.

Starting and maintaining a journaling habit

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, for sure. So, you had started journaling. You found that pen. Did that journaling habit continue? Like, here's a great question. This is like a TikTok question. Did the fountain pen make your journaling better, Derek? Derek? No. Because it was a medium.

Derek DeWeese: Absolutely not. That's the correct answer. I started it with a Pilot G2, like you do. That's what I knew. And it was a medium nib Waterman. And you know me well enough by now to know that a medium nib is a fire hose for how I write. So, I dealt with it until I got the Sailor, which was an extra fine with some oxblood after the Ackerman Shocking Blue. So, once I had a proper nib size for how I write, that's what changed the journaling. And the journaling did continue on and off. When things were going good in life, I didn't really journal. It's when, oh, this is happening, this is happening, you kind of go back to it. Hey, I should get caught up in this. And now it's kind of the opposite of, now that I'm keeping it more up to date, it's something to use, you know, all these pens and papers and washi and stickers in a different way. So, I do still journal, but now I've added in typewriters and other stationery items to the journaling. So, it's not, oh, I need to empty my brain out. It's, oh, I want to empty my brain out.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, that's a great way to put it. And I totally subscribe to that. How we use things is going to constantly change. But in the end, if you're someone who's listening to this podcast or watching Derek's videos, in the end, you just want to use your stuff and you should use your stuff. And finding the best way for you to use your stuff is key. And one of the things I wanted to circle back on, which is similar to how I got into fountain pens, and I'm repeating kind of what you said and relaying this story because I think it's helpful to listeners to understand because we have a lot of non-fountain pen listeners. And I'm a huge standard pen person myself. I'm maybe 50-50, if not 60-40 standard pens versus fountain pens. I'd have to do the math one year and track it all. But it's a pretty even mixture. And until I was told by someone else that I could take my small writing and translate that into a fountain pen nib, that unlocked everything, to your point about the sailor and the extra fine nib. Because as small writers like you and I are, even having like a .7 Pilot Precise, like a V7 Pilot Precise, was like, if I don't, it's 0.5 or nothing, right? And to learn that, in your case, in person, is just like a great way to think about it. And I do get those questions from people. That's why I'm reiterating this. Hey, I love the .38, you know, whatever, Signo DX or Pilot High Tech C. Does a, is a fountain pen, can it even be in that realm? I was like, ah, you can get pretty darn close, if not better than that. Might take a little work. You're not going to walk into Staples and get that. But, this community and this industry, there is something there, even for us tiny writers. So, I appreciate you sharing that.

Derek DeWeese: No, and the thing that goes along with that, too, is it's different for every person. How you hold the pen, the paper, the ink, and people new especially. That's why I love having a pen club, because if someone's like in our pen club Discord, hey, I need something that writes finer. I'm like, okay, let me stock up the pen cases for next pen club meeting with, you know, extra fine or smaller, and then just put them out on the table and say, write with them. They're all inked. Write with one that you find that you like, and then we can talk about what it is and where you would want to go being new of what would be similar or, you know, to kind of help guide. Because I didn't have that really at first, because the extra fine nibs, they're not the flashy thing. They're not going to show the shimmers and the sheens the same way. So on social media, you see the double broad or the crazy grinds with the shimmer, and you don't really see the small print writing with extra fine nibs. And that's kind of what kicked into the, I'm going to make a video on this, because there's people out there I know who like it and like to write small. But like you said, there's not as much content about that because, you know, oh, fountain pen, you must be writing cursive or all this beautiful script. No, my cursive is terrible. As much as I try and bring it back, it's not going to happen.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, I think about all the time doing more just like tiny writing content. And like my tiny writing would like lose any tiny writing contest. But related to like what people see, you know, in just the general writing population, it's super tiny. So how, so you transitioned it perfectly into, it's like, well, I don't see the thing that I'm interested in necessarily. Let me make a video about it. Is that kind of how thinking about moving into, you know, creating a YouTube channel, eventually, you know, having the podcast, things like that. What kind of got you motivated to take this like next step?

Derek DeWeese: It's Joe Kreis' fault without him realizing it. So the gentleman stationer had just opened up the physical store in October. So I was like, oh, that's great. I've been following Joe online. A store I can go to and look at pins, I'm in. And then I go there and my wife, she was not really into pins at that point, but then she saw a traveler's notebook. And then we got the color vent calendar and the diamond. I was like, I'm going to make videos of swatching all these inks, one every day in November and then one every day in December because I didn't want to try and do two at once. And in general, I used to do photography as a hobby and I did some video, but I hated editing videos. So on this iteration, I actually enjoyed the editing process and looking at it and doing it. It was just something a little bit each day until I realized, man, I can't do this each day. So I had to start staging him a little bit to, you know, get ahead of the game. And that kind of led into, oh, wait, people are actually watching this and commenting. It's, they like seeing it. It's a different take because I'm not doing the same kind of swatching or whatnot. I'm more utilitarian in how I use a lot of my stationery stuff. And then that kind of led down the, oh, well, I also got this new pen. I should make a video on that. And, oh, look, I found this new paper. So it just kind of led down to where we are.

Brad Dowdy: When you're discovering, like the Gentleman Stationer opening up a little bit before then, have you started to like expand your collection of fountain pens, like your personal stuff that you were using or not even just fountain pens, stationery as a whole? Had you, you know, over the previous years leading into that, did you start kind of like getting into like a few more things?

Derek DeWeese: I was pretty good with my collection because I was a user in that, you know, I had the platinum desk pens at my office when I worked in an office. I was traveling about a week for work and I kept a bottle of Roshizuku in the desk drawer in case I needed to refill. But I was taking my brass town with me, you know, traveling around the country for work at the time. And then when 2020 hit, I was a little bit of the opposite of most people. I stopped using a lot of my pens because I was working from home and didn't have stuff to write for work how it was. And that's when a lot of people found the hobby. So I was the opposite. I had about a five-year kind of, you know, sabbatical of not really doing much writing or using things. And then when Joe, I saw that he was opening up the store, I was like, oh, well, that'd be interesting to go look. And then, you know, getting Beth involved, that just opened up the hobby more because we do a lot together. And she had started her side venture of, I'm going to write some romance books. So she needed a journal to write down and draft out stories. So that led to the travelers, to the store. Now she has her own collection of pens. And, you know, our ink collection has a lot more colors because she has some that, oh, I want that or this. And then it's been a great thing, but it's also nice having our own collections because she doesn't like the extra fine nibs. She wants the mediums or the broads to see the shiny shimmer inks and things like that.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So in the end, this really was Joe's fault. So I'll have to thank him later. I don't know if you'll thank him or your wallet will thank you, but, you know, I'll thank him later that, you know, we got you in the community sharing all your content.

Derek DeWeese: So I go there just about every weekend anyway, you know, with him and Lisa, Vanessa going to Japan. And I'm kind of being an extra person to pop in the next couple of weeks on Saturdays in the store just because that's a great thing. Nashville was in need of stationery stores. And now we have a couple over the past, you know, five years and they're all constantly busy. And it's been nice and also scary when I can walk in there and have someone ask a question and go, oh yeah, I bought that. And you realize, man, I own a lot of the stuff in this store. Yeah. It's a good problem to have, but it's also helpful in that trying to explain what's what to someone coming in off the street looking for maybe their first pen or their first, you know, gel pen or things like that.

Supporting local pen shops and pen shows

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So always support your local shops, everyone. And you know what? Also support your local pen shows. How's that for a segue? This episode of The Pen Addict is brought to you by the St. Louis Pen Show. That's coming up this summer. And if you love the feel of cursive writing, even with a fountain pen or documenting your thoughts and ideas through journaling or even just doodling, the 2026 St. Louis Pen Show is the place for you. It's on Thursday, June 25th through Sunday, June 28th and features special appearances by our very own Brad Dowdy and Scott Jones and emphasizing our central location of meeting in the middle. It never gets tired to read my own name like that. It's like, hey, I'm going to be there, which is cool. I'm looking forward to it. There will be 102 vendors across 25 states and Canada that include Artisan Pens and Pencils, Vintage Pen Dealers, Nib Meisters, Pen Repairmen, Ink Journals, Paper Stationery, Clothing Vendors and much more. Thursday is Trader Day. Friday is open to the public with an evening event of Vintage Pen Panel and Pen Tasting followed by a free dessert party. Those are two separate events. You taste the pens and try them out in one area then you eat the desserts in another area. So two separate events. Make sure you're aware. Saturday and Sunday open to the public again with an evening pen show after dark on Saturday night. There are 26 classes, one of my favorite things to do. I need to look at the classes for while I'm going to be there. Over the three days including calligraphy, bookbinding, stamp making, and card design. There are also a lot of additional activities this year including a silent auction, scavenger hunt for kids and adults, journal meetup corner, limited edition stamp and sticker collection booklets, and much more. There's so much to see and do at this year's St. Louis Pen Show. So how do you get there? St. Louis Pen Show is at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet on the beautiful Westport Plaza. There's plenty of free parking there, loads of restaurants, and it's just 10 minutes from the airport. You can also get a pen show special room rate of $155 with breakfast included. So go check out the St. Louis Pen Show website at stlpenshow.com. You can buy your tickets as $10 per day or $20 for a weekend pass or $30 for a trader pass for all show access. Again, you can find the vendor information, sign up for classes, and get your tickets now on their website at stlpenshow.com. Our thanks to St. Louis Pen Show for supporting this show and all of Relay. All right, you've been traveling this year so far in 2026. What has been your favorite pen show stop or pen store stop? You know, we're only in May of this month so you've made it out a couple times more than me. So what have you been up to so far? And then we'll talk about what you got planned.

Derek DeWeese: Well, I kind of consider March to be the pen show month because back-to-back show weekends of Arkansas and Atlanta, they ran together where Arkansas, I was presenting at one of the round tables in the after dark or, you know, the after thing that Arkansas does on Saturday and then I did a live stream which was actually really fun. And that was my first time taking my podcast type setup on the road and set up on Friday as kind of a preview for, and the show was great. They organized all the guests. They had them show up at the right time. I just sat there and talked and had the stream going just so people could kind of see a preview of what they could see on Saturday or Sunday and it was really nice for someone to just be able to walk in and take, you know, it was like 10 minute, something like that, a couple of questions. Oh, I'm Brad. I do have this, you know, come see me, here's my website, just basic information. And then I did on typewriters because that's one of my latest forays in the stationery world in the round table where I brought five of my typewriters, set up a table and just let people play on them. I was kind of saying, here's how I'm doing my typewriters in my station. I'm doing typewriter journaling or typing out my swatch cards because my handwriting is terrible. So that way they are, you know, legible on the color decks and things like that. And then followed up the following weekend with Atlanta where I was just there to do the community aspect, hang out because I didn't get to do that unfortunately as much in Arkansas because helping, which I love doing, you don't get as much time, you know, while you're setting up and taking down all this stuff, that's when people are getting a chance to have the conversation. So I made up for that in Atlanta, you know, staying out, hanging at the big table or in the bar area and just playing with pins, you know, and talking to people. That was a lot of fun. And then, not pin show, but typewriter or other kind of show. I recently went to Cincinnati to Richard Polt. He's the, one of the authors I had interviewed on the podcast. He wrote the book The Typewriter Revolution and he was selling off a lot of his collection. So I drove to Cincinnati to pick, bring home three typewriters, stopped at a stationery store because when I chose my hotel, of course I chose the one that was a block away from the pin store in downtown Cincinnati, you know, convenience, and was able to duck in there. So, it's been a busy time. I've got a little bit of a break now. DC is the next thing on the docket where I will be in the Vaness Pin Lounge as an extra person to kind of help out in there. I don't really know what I'm doing or if I'm going to be doing anything specific, but I'm looking forward to that because that's kind of, once again, the community aspect, the shopping part, and it also helped rein in the shopping. If I'm in there, it's less time I can be roaming around and finding things I didn't know I needed and can't leave without.

Brad Dowdy: Yes. Have you done the DC pin show before?

Derek DeWeese: I have not. This will be my first time at one of the big shows. I've really only done Arkansas three times now, Atlanta twice. Those are the only shows. Okay. But I want to try and add more in. You will enjoy DC.

Brad Dowdy: I'm not trying to freak, I don't like to try to freak people out about DC because you shouldn't be, but you will actually like DC. And I was accidentally part of the Vaness Lounge last year at the DC pin show. I wasn't planned on it, but Lisa knows I'm always available to help her out whenever she needs it. And she had a couple times where she needed me and that was like maybe the highlight of my show. And I was, I would finish, you know, whatever she needed me to do, either host a beginner pin show for an hour or do like a notebook Q&A, you know, for an hour. I'd go back and ask her, like, do you need me again? Because number one, I enjoy doing that stuff, which you do too. And number two, to your second point, it keeps me from spending money. So that's a good thing at DC. I still manage. Don't worry. You'll still manage too. I saw you manage well in Atlanta, so don't pretend that you're not. But it's a great break and I love going to those types of events, especially for beginners. Like, that's like one of my favorite things is getting to talk to beginners because they ask just like, like the most basic questions. And it's like, man, y'all, I'm really glad y'all came here to be able to ask these questions. They don't necessarily get that. That's, it's, there's plenty of resources online, but still getting to hear that, to ask your very highly specific questions, very beginnerish question and get a direct answer from someone and go, oh yeah, that, that makes sense. Like that is, it's, it's super good that people have this opportunity. So I think you're going to enjoy that a lot.

Derek DeWeese: No. And even if it's something like, if I'm in there, cause I know Olive Octopus, Inc. Lisa is also going to be in there. So it's going to be Lisa and Lisa. If someone has a question about ink swatching, oh, I do a little bit of swatching, but let, let me introduce you to Lisa here, who is like the expert in ink swatching. And then it's the same thing. Oh, you like writing with tiny nibs. See, this is Derek over here. Look at his pen case here. And then, you know, they can play because we each have our own kind of niche specialty or subset that we know more about. And it's nice to just nothing else. Make the introductions. Oh yeah, here. I can show you the basics of this. If you want to know more, go look at the pen addict post or this. Here's some resources online. So you can follow up now that you've had hands on, you can, you know, learn more at home in the leisure of how you choose to consume your knowledge versus, you know, do, is this person trustworthy? Is this good information? Is this bad information? That's always the risk of online, but talking to someone and getting to put hands on, that's really important in stationery. You're feeling paper, seeing how ink shows in light. Because as we know, the camera does not do favors for some of these colors and inks.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And the, the show and tell aspect. So anyone considering any pen show, not just DC, the, the hands-on aspect of any pen show is the best thing I think for beginners to do. Pen shows can be intimidating, especially DC can be intimidating. But if you, if you're just starting to get into this stuff and you have availability, you know, like in Atlanta or a Chicago or wherever, there's a pen show or a pen show stop to go and handle like a fountain pen and ask questions.

Brad Dowdy: Like it's, it's an invaluable experience. You don't have to spend a dime, but you come away with a wealth of information. Any other pen show stuff later in the year, DC kind of the, the go out with a bang and then maybe see what happens rest of the year.

Derek DeWeese: Well, not a pen show, but a community event. The on the paper trail, um, with the, which is the podcast that, uh, Joe Crace and Lisa Vanessa have started, which is an interesting tape because both of them being store owners, it's a different point of view, but they're going to be hosting an event here in Nashville, October 16th through 18th. And I don't know if they've decided on what the official stops, if it's going to be like on the paper trail trail stop or something like that, but they're going to be hosting more of a community event where it's the, the hangout version of a pen show and not, there will be some shopping, but that's not the main focus like pen shows. Uh, they've gone to some of the planner events, which are more classes and community with a little bit of shopping. And I think that really struck a chord, which I'm excited for because, you know, like you're saying someone who's new, that's a great chance for them to come and see if, you know, get the hangout aspect and ask the questions in a, in a, somewhere where they're not going to be hesitant to ask questions. You know, it's, it's going to be a great event. Anna from well-appointed desk is going to be there. Olive octopus is going to be doing some swatching classes. I'm doing a typewriter thing. I think I really don't know what I'm doing. I'm just going to be there. And what's closer to the time. Okay. And we need to do this and this. Okay. Let's do it. You know, but just being there, our pen club, you know, is excited because it's having something in town is always, you know, I think Nashville has been on the list of eventually I'd love to see a show here, but it takes, you know, groundwork and time to get it happening because we are central. A lot of people want to come to Nashville for the tours aspect and they can go do that and then come back to the show. Cause I don't want to go downtown unless I'm forced just about.

Brad Dowdy: True. True. But no, I love that. I love that. They're doing that. I wish I could make it. It is smack in between my St. Jude and Japan events. So I won't have any time off in between. But yeah, I'll be anxious to see how that goes and we'll definitely be checking in and checking it out. We both mentioned, mentioned questions that, you know, beginners get to ask when they come to pen shows. And I have maybe the most important question I'm going to ask you in this entire podcast today, Derek, but not before we get to our next sponsor, our good friends over at Enigma stationery. So Enigma stationery offers up unique items made from in-house designs, along with top brands and hard to find imports. I'm a huge fan of Enigma stationery. I've been shopping them with them for years, either online on their online website. I've gotten to purchase from them at the San Francisco pen show and a couple of times. So they're just wonderful, wonderful retailer would bring in just a wonderful amount of fun stationery items, which I love. So I've been checking it out their shop recently. One of the, one of the things I bought and I was looking at their, their newest arrivals. And they're now carrying a company called the Wolf shop. Okay. So the Wolf shop, they make a lot of stickers and they make these coasters. And a couple of weeks ago when I was ordering from them, I just randomly, not randomly, like I pick up, I picked up a coaster and I'm a coaster person. I'm at my desk all day long. I have coffee. I have soda. I have water. I always, I always have a coaster going and they had this pride heart coaster and it's a hand tufted punch needle mug rug. It's not a coaster, Derek, it's a mug rug. And it's basically like a carpet cut out of a coaster, but you know, with a pattern, this one has a pride flag. They have a strawberry one. They have a trans pride flag. They have a bunch of cats. Like I've shown this on my stream and everyone goes, what is that coaster? It is one of the coolest things I've added to my desk. I'm a big fan of just having like the desk accessory type stuff to make my desk at home. Like very comfortable, very fun, make it a happy place for me to work. And you know, the, the, the company called the wolf shop, they have a bunch of these cat prints with like these, it's like a Victorian, they're like dressed up in like Victorian dress. And like, if you need this stuff, like for your desk, like, look, we all need some sanity around our desk. You know, whether you work from home or in an office and having some stuff from the wolf shop, which is now being carried over at Enigma stationery, that is the way to go. And don't think I'm forgetting our good friend, business frog. Business frog is very much in stock and very much on his way to my house. And I believe Derek may have even partaken in business frog himself with some business washy. So yeah, they carry some just really, really fun stuff. And so go check them out. If you have an order of $50 over $50 or more at Enigma stationery, you can get $10 off at checkout using the code TPA26. You can go to the link Enigma stationery.com slash pen addict and use that code TPA26 for $10 off your order of $50 or more. And, you know, check out all the pens, all the stationery, like literally all the fun I did. I did just see today. I did, I did just see today as I was getting ready for the show. They have some of the Lamy M17 jet stream refills in, which is a very, very sneaky addition there. I see them working because those still have not hit the wider market. It look, it's an expensive refill. I'm going to tell you it's an expensive refill, but if you like the Lamy ballpoint system, this is the way to go. It's one of my favorite products, uh, that has been released in quite some time. So go check out on Enigma stationery. That's, uh, enigma stationery.com slash pen addict and use the code TPA26 at checkout for $10 off your order of $50 or more. Our thanks to Enigma stationery for their support of this show and all of relay. All right. Are you ready for that question? Well,

Derek DeWeese: one thing first, because it ties in. Yeah. Looking at the Enigma site while you were doing the ad, you can tell the people who shop there, listen to your content. The most popular products, if you sort by all business frog, washing a little detail tweezers, and then a Zento gel pen and then the M17. So yeah, definitely the, uh, the tie-ins are there.

Brad Dowdy: I was thinking like, so, you know, Dan and Michelle and pen over at Enigma station. You know, they don't, they don't, they give us the ad read. Right. And they say, you riff, you riff on your thing. And I went off on business frog when I found them. Right. So, and like, they didn't say anything to me, which was good. I was like, I'm going to get in trouble. I'm going to get in trouble. I went in on this washi tape frog.

Brad Dowdy: And, and then I did it again, the next read. And I was like, they didn't say anything that time. I didn't get in trouble. So I was like, this time I'm not going to do it. There's a lot of other cool stuff I'm going to talk about, but I had to sneak in a little business frog. I mean, are you even businessing? If you don't business frog, that's what, that's what I think. So, all right. Most important question. I am going to ask you, maybe not just in this podcast, but in your life in general, have you seen my Uniball Zento, Derek?

Derek DeWeese: I have, but have you seen both of mine? Oh no. Oh no.

Discussion on the Uniball Zento pen

Brad Dowdy: You doubled up. You doubled up. All right. I want to talk about the Uniball Zento because, um, Derek is also, uh, Uniball Zento connoisseur. And, you know, I want to dispel some myths and I want to, uh, you know, maybe uncommit to the bit a little bit. Cause I don't want to, I don't want people to think I'm too, too wild about this product. That's yeah, it's just an okay product. But when I see things in the stationery world, and I think you're the same way that hit the hype train and then they hit the FOMO train and then they just get out of hand with like retailers and like cues and like premiums and scalpers. It's like, I find it humorous in the case of the Zento. I don't necessarily find it humorous in like some like big expensive, like crazy hard to get stuff, but on small products, like what I think I consider the Zento to be, I find it funny. So I've leaned into it very, very hard. Um, but I will say it's, it's pretty much a bit, but I kind of love it. It makes me laugh because it's kind of ridiculous what's happened to this product. Right.

Derek DeWeese: It's beyond ridiculous. Honestly. I mean, my first one, I happened to be on a mailing list, got it for retail price for retail price. It's a fine pin. Yeah. And we are talking about the signature in case you're new. It's not just all the Zento's into it. It's technically the ink, but yes, you know, the signature, I got the same one. Yeah. That Brad has the 0.5 millimeter black body. Got mine from Yoseka. I think it was like $30. So shipping like 35 bucks.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. It's aluminum bear.

Derek DeWeese: It's a premium, premium pin product. Great. Yeah. And it's a fine pin. The refill is decent. It's not the best thing in the world, but then when I saw the special edition come up, I was like, okay, but once again, I got it for retail price. It was like jet pins had them pop up and I was able to place an order, but I did this time. And I just put a video out that would already have been out with the time of you're listening to this, where I took the Brad advice and I ordered the Zento one refill to go into the signature. So that's my video. Literally, I get a brand new pin, take the ink out and set it aside and put in a different refill. And so far that's made a huge difference. I enjoy this even more. So now I need to go get, look at the other Zento one because I are the other Uniball one. Cause I guess these are technically Zento ones. Now, like you're saying, once you put a one in the Zento signature, you've made a product that doesn't actually exist.

Brad Dowdy: Well, Uniball actually has made it exist. Not in the signature. They actually took the Uniball one P barrel, which is their shorty pocketable and put in a Zento refill. And I actually just have like a huge, just a huge marketing problem with this, because to your point, Zento is an ink formulation and one is an ink formulation. So you can't have both in a pen. You can have, but in our case of the signature, we have a Zento barrel and I have, and now you have put in a one ink formulation refill in it. And that's because the Zento refill is just fine. Like it's fine.

Brad Dowdy: There's only three colors in it right now. Even though I'm using black in mine, my, the, my one refill is black 0.38 millimeter. You know, if the Zento had some other color refills, what I've maybe gotten a purple, if it came in 0.38, sure. I think the ink formulation on the one is better in black. And that's been kind of my go-to now. The one as a refill itself is another product. I wanted to kind of lump in here too, because I actually think the color gel one refills are not that great. I think they have some like skipping problems. Like I've had just amazing luck with the black. It's been like perfect. It's, it's been so good. It's almost knocked me off of the signo DX is my favorite gel ink refill, but it won't ever be because the colors are just not as good in the one. So I don't know. I'd stick with the black or the blue black. Maybe.

Derek DeWeese: And I went with blue black. So maybe that's why I haven't had any bad issues or any kind of questions on it. It dried a little bit quicker than the Zento ink. Cause I had the blue 0.38 Zento refill. And that's what I have in my one or my, my first one. And then in the special edition, I put that Zento one and I've been using them back and forth side by side. And I already in advance thought, okay, there's probably something to this. So I have a black 0.38 one refill that'll probably get, go into where the blue Zento ink is. Cause I just like how the other one writes better. It seems to be a better fit for me. And that's the big thing. Find what writes best for you. That's what's most important at the end of the day. It doesn't matter what cylinder is holding the ink. You want good ink that you can write with.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. And so like the ones, it's that's so hard to like say accurately the one gel ink refills. I didn't have a good luck with orange and then sky blue light blue, whichever color they're calling that. But the black has been fantastic. So I've leaned into that. I've leaned into the, the whole signature, the, the, have you seen my Zento signature? It just cracks me up. Um, because it really honestly quite, it shouldn't be a thing. Like it's a great, great pen for like, you know, an upgraded, you know, gel ink refill barrel. I think the barrel is my favorite part of this. I think they did a really quality job of building this. Um, the stock Zento signature, stock Zento refill, give or take it's fine. Like you won't have a bad time with it. I just have, uh, some preferences, especially with Uniball making so many ink formulations. They kind of do it to themselves for us to experiment and figure out what's our favorite. So Uniball, Zento signature, good pen. I wouldn't pay the premium for it. Um, but I'm going to enjoy it while the hype cycle is going and I'm going to keep, uh, I'm going to keep big upping it because I think it's just hilarious.

Derek DeWeese: No, it is a bit. Cause I was, I still think I wish we would have been able to at Atlanta, just go find an empty table and sit down and just set, you know, next to each other and put ours into signatures in front of us and just have that sitting there. Just,

Brad Dowdy: yeah, you know, yeah,

Derek DeWeese: it'd be a funny, it adds to the bit, but yeah, you know, the premium, if you're going to pay that premium, get a spoke, get a tactile turn, get a Arto. You know, there's so many other small business makers that are making something worth the premium price than this. For this at retail, great. Go for it. Yeah. You know, if you like the refill, it gives you some options to change, but don't pay the aftermarket price on here. Cause that just makes the aftermarket stupidity continue. And we don't really need that.

Brad Dowdy: We don't, we don't. And yeah, Uniball is a little bit culpable in this too. I'm not going to give my future employer. That's also a bit just for the record. You know, I'm not going to let them off the hook for like some of their decision making with the dive, which we, the, the Curitoba dive, which we mentioned a few years ago. And it's still never come down from its preposterous highs. And the, the, the Zento signature, they're at least putting a little bit more out to where people can get them if they want them. So I don't want to let them off the hook. They're partially responsible for this.

Derek DeWeese: So I just find it odd that I have a special edition when whoever wants a normal edition can't get one. Why are you releasing special edition colors? If you can't manufacture enough and get enough out there of the first two you did. Yeah. Um, because essentially the barrel should be the way to sell more of your ink versus, you know, vice versa.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. So last thing on it, if you're interested in the Zento, just buy one of the $3 ones and see if you like the refill first. And then if you do, I think the barrel is interesting, but you know, just pay your regular prices for it.

Derek DeWeese: Definitely.

Transition to YouTube content creation

Brad Dowdy: Um, okay. So that transitions us into a little bit of, uh, your YouTube feed. And I want to talk about, um, I say feed, but it's, it's really kind of called the stationery feed. Um, all your podcasting and your interviews, uh, that you started when you, once you give me the background on how like the interview part of your YouTube began and what kind of got you started in thinking about doing that and how that's progressed.

Derek DeWeese: So for those not familiar with the YouTube world, if you want to eventually be able to take your channel to where you can make a little bit of money from doing videos, you have to have a certain amount of watch time over a year. It's like 4,000 hours. So I started the channel and I was like, okay, I can only buy so many things and make videos on it. I'm never going to get the watch time. What can I do to get enough watch time? Hmm. I see all these interviews, podcasts and whatnot. They're like hour long episodes. So say I get 30 people to listen to an hour long thing. That's 30 hours of watch time. So I did a little bit of math and I was like, okay, I've never done a podcast. I'm a techie guy. I can figure out whatever. I'm going to start a video podcast, not start with something, you know, simple. Let's go full tilt video from scratch. So that's what I did. And I just started making a list. Luckily in Nashville, uh, had connections with, you know, like gentleman stationer, Vanessa pen makers, the first season. I didn't have to venture out of the, I don't know who you are comfort zone very much. Cause either I could ask people I know or people who are one degree away. So like for Aziza, I'd never met Aziza. Nick Pasquale works with Aziza all the time. So I was like, Hey Nick, can you make an introduction? So when Aziza gets this random email, she knows it's legit. So I use that, you know, that's a big thing is you had to break out of that bubble of comfort and say, okay, I'm going to do this. You have to be willing to approach people. So that's kind of how it came to be. And you have this first season. Then I did 20 episodes and then I kind of stopped because one, I didn't plan for having, I didn't have an exit plan for a season. So I was just going. I was like, man, I don't know. Did you have a season plan for the first season? No, I was just,

Brad Dowdy: you're just going.

Derek DeWeese: I got through where I was supposed to have a 20th guest and they had to cancel due to a family emergency. Like last minute, I was like, okay, I didn't want to miss a week. You know, I was very wrapped around that. I was like, okay, I'm just going to do episode 20, summing up the season, stopping at episode 20. And then I'm going to take a little bit of a break. And that's kind of how the seasons came to be. And then now that I'm back in season two, I'm even just going back. I haven't listened to all my episodes, but I can tell I'm more comfortable doing it. It's become more natural. You kind of get that game face, so to speak. And you know, the episodes I think are better, but also I've missed a couple of weeks here. They're like, I took a couple of weeks off with the two back-to-back pin shows. I didn't want to try and do a recording and do all that. Like you, you know, we're recording this in advance because you're going on a vacation. You shouldn't have to be doing a podcast on vacation. So it's that kind of thing of like this week, I'm not going to have one because I had some other stuff going on and I'm not sweating it. It's, this is supposed to be fun, you know? So that's kind of how it came to be. And then I've just been, you know, making connections. That was one of my big goals in Atlanta. Not some, you know, find some pins, but make introductions so that when I send an email saying, Hey, can I record an episode, Kirk Spear? And he's like, Oh yeah, we've met, we've talked. We, you know, you have that familiarity. So it's much easier to then find a time when it's, you know, works for both to record an episode.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So when you're, when you're getting the guests, what do you, are you just looking to hear people's stationery stories, share their stories, kind of dig into like, if you get a maker or you, you wanting to know like about the processes, you know, if you have like, you know, the, the typewriter author, you're trying to work about the book or you just, is there any like kind of general idea when you're going into pitching these shows to, to get people to come on, like, you know, Hey, here's what I want to do at the end in result to be.

Derek DeWeese: Yes. And no, I kind of made, you know, before I ever recorded a single episode, I wrote up an FAQ. Here's how the process works. Here's how, you know, I send a general list of questions in advance because I want, I don't want any awkwardness when recording. If there's something they don't want to talk about, I don't want to find that out in the middle of an episode. So it's just kind of a high level. And then of course, natural follow-ups come, but it's more of getting the word out, you know, people, especially for like a small maker, you know, if they're local to somewhere, someone across the country might not know that they exist. It's getting the word out and just having a platform where they can kind of tell their story or, you know, show up with doing video. You can hold up a pin or, you know, talk about new product that came in your store or an event you're going to be at. And I've been lucky that I've been able to schedule some recordings where we've gotten sneak peeks of things to come. Um, so it's just been a mixture, but it's more of letting, getting, helping the community find out about other people in the community, you know, places to go shop for other places, people to support. And then, you know, hopefully find something cool along the way. Now the downside is with interviewing all these makers and stores, I have bought something from every single guest. So it's been a great thing, but it's also, you know, it started inadvertently, but now it's kind of a thing. I'm like, okay, you know, I just got my Dave dollar pin. Cause that was one of the recent episodes. It was like, I'm going to get one of these now. Cause when you're talking to, you're learning more about these products and hearing the story, you're like, Oh, well now I kind of want one of those, you know? So it's been a fun way of kind of commemorating the episodes by having something that you can look back and go, Oh yeah, that's when I, you know, talk to Brad and I got this afterwards. Or that's when I talked to Kirk and got this.

Brad Dowdy: Was the, was the concept always to be video from the jump? I mean, you also have an audio feed, which I do appreciate because I do subscribe to the audio. That's actually how I get notified that there's a new episode is through the audio feed, but was the intent always to be video? And if so, why?

Derek DeWeese: So, and I'm sure you'll appreciate this working in the it field. I wanted whatever was the easiest for the non it guest. And I use the Riverside platform. It's video, but for this, you need to see a lot of stuff. Cause one of the first people, and even though it took a few episodes before she was a guest, all of octopus, Lisa is local in my pen club. She does her streaming and swatching and it's art. And I wanted to be able to show that as an interview. And that's where video you, you're not going to, it's not going to be the same. If you're talking about ink swatching and how she's doing sketching of these colors, unless you can see it. So video was the idea from the get go, because you can always have the audio alongside. That's just part of the editing process. So the audio is kind of a happy afterthought when you put it up on Spotify and then it distributes out audio is there and that can sync to YouTube, but it was more of video because I think in this hobby, if you had an order for me, the tactile sense of being able to touch papers or pins or materials would be the first one. Seeing it is second best. And then hearing about it would be third best. That's the kind of order I think, because a lot of this, you need to put your hands on it. It's like a Daryl from D squared. Who I had, he wants his pins, go pick them up off the table, feel the pin, feel the material. That's how you can make a connection and see if it's something you're going to enjoy holding and using. And that kind of struck a chord where that makes perfect sense because you want, you need to be able to pick up the pin, be it a precise V five, be it a Newton prospect or be it a Dave dollar food day. You know, you need to see if it's going to fit your hand. First of all, because if you're going to be wanting, you know, spend your money on it, you want to be sure it's something that's going to be comfortable and not just the FOMO. Cause that's something that I think a lot of us, you see a lot in this hobby is the FOMO of, Oh, I need to get that. I need to get that. And if you want to go for it, but also, you know, sometimes the buying once or waiting until you have a chance to see it in person is going to be a better plan for the longterm.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah, I agree with that. And as someone who is primarily a writer and an audio media producer, I always struggle with describing feel, right? That's like one of the things I always have to work on. Even I've been doing this so long, I still have to work on what I'm describing feel because it's not universal between pen or paper or, you know, not every product, every product is different in its own right and how it feels. And so, you know, I wouldn't change anything for the world, but I am glad I have, you know, something like a Twitch stream where I can get on and like do a little bit of show and tell. And someone can ask, Oh, well, how does this nib work? Or, you know, how do you clean a pen? And you can do some, some show and tell that like wouldn't necessarily work over audio very well, or even written. You know, I can do, I've done, you know, whole cleaning posts, written cleaning posts, but it's not the same when you can get in there and show kind of the nuts and bolts of, of doing it. So I do appreciate the video feed. Um, what's been your favorite interview besides the Brad Dowdy episode? Uh, what is your sec, I guess I should ask you, what's your second favorite episode you've ever recorded? Because the first one's me for sure.

Derek DeWeese: I think honestly, if I had to choose one, it would be the one with Richard Polt. Because he's, you know, he's an author of a book. He's a professor at Xavier. He didn't know me from anything. I reached out out of the blue and said, Hey, I'd like to interview you for this thing. And, you know, that was great. Cause I found out during the interview, Oh, he's, he had one fountain pen. He had a vanishing point. Well, now he has two because after, when I went up to Cincinnati, I gave him one of the pins I started making because that's been another happy afterthought of the podcast. I was interviewing a lot of makers. I kind of caught the bug. So that when Nick Pasquale had a lathe, he's local, he was selling it. Now I have a lathe and I'm going down that pen making journey. In addition. So it's, it's been a, anybody who's watched anything I've done or listened, I find a rabbit hole and it's all or nothing. There's no tiptoe in it's I'm going full tilt or no tilt. You know, since October I've acquired, I think 16 typewriters that are working and I have three others that are projects just because I find something I get enthusiastic and I've been told I bring people along with me. I know four or five people who have now either dug out their typewriters or bought typewriters just because it's something I'm talking about and showing, Oh, I'm doing this. And like you said, on Twitch stream, I do a YouTube stream on Thursday nights and that led to letter writing. And I have on there where people can send me their address and I'll send them letters because it forces me to use my stationery, to use my pens, my inks, my typewriters and send things out. Cause I like the interaction. That's probably, and that's where talking to Richard, it kind of led down that the people aspect is really the part I've ended up enjoying more than I ever guessed. I would, you know, the, like you said, showing something on a stream or talking about it. It's just, it's a unique medium where it's a one signing conversation, but you're able to answer questions and show things and kind of build up a little micro community within the community of the whole. Cause you see the same names popping up and then, you know, everybody knows each other or things like that. So it's just a fun way to, you know, have another outlet for people in the, in this hobby.

Exploring typewriters and their influence

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I want to dig into this typewriter thing a little bit more. I'm not going to be typewriter fluenced by either you or Anna. Like I'm, I'm pretty confident in that, but I'm compelled. And I have questions. Uh, and I have a shout out of the week that I need to make, which I almost forgot, which actually ties into this as well. So let me talk about, yeah, let me talk about our last sponsor of this week's episode. And that's our good friends over at Squarespace. So this episode of the pen addict is brought to you by Squarespace. Squarespace is the all in one website platform designed to help you stand out and succeed online. Whether you're just starting out or scaling your business, Squarespace gives you everything you need to claim your domain, showcase your offerings with a professional website, grow your brand and get paid all in one place. So I've been using Squarespace. It's gotta be 12 to 15 years by now. Um, it's super simple to use, uh, even for like an it guy like me, I can get in there and I can mess around and I can, you know, do all kinds of things, but they don't make it easy to where I don't have to, I don't have to go and modify very much to publish on Squarespace or even sell on Squarespace. So I have my shop tied into Squarespace. They make it easy to create, create products, create SKUs and anyone who's looking to, you know, have a presence online. Squarespace is a great place to be. So they have a great SEO tools, which is something I use just kind of passively because you don't really have to do a lot of that work to get noticed online. Squarespace does that for you. So no one wants to build a beautiful website for no one to see it. That's why every Squarespace website is optimized to be indexed with meta descriptions and auto generated site map and more. Some more people find your site through search engine results. Like for example, if I do a Uniball Zento signature review, I can put in a little made metadata. Have you seen my Zento signature? And now that's just going to get populated all over the internet, unfortunately for everyone. And one thing I do want to check out with them is they have this video management system. So anytime I've done any small links, like on YouTube, I've uploaded on YouTube video, I can just put the link over there, embedded into the post. Squarespace makes that real easy, but you can also upload your video content directly to Squarespace, organize your video library, and showcase your content on their own video pages. You can even sell access to your video library by adding a paywall, perfect for online courses, exclusive tutorials, and premium workshops. So if you're interested in what Squarespace has, head over to squarespace.com slash penaddict for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use the offer code penaddict to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com slash penaddict. Offer code penaddict to get 10% off your first purchase and show your support for the penaddict. So thanks to Squarespace for their support of this show and all of relay. All right, Derek, we got our shout out of the week. Shout out of the week. We, we didn't, we didn't coordinate that beforehand, but I thought you might chime in there, but I was going to, I had your back in case you didn't. So it was a, it was a duet. I think it was the first duet shout out of the week. Um, and, uh, that is paper blogging. Michelle Geffkin. I want you to talk about this. So I've been following paper blogging online for a while and Michelle does great posts that I love to share just about, uh, analog tools, journaling, and typewriters. So you, uh, I've had her on the show, uh, on your show recently. Why don't you just tell me a little bit about that episode?

Derek DeWeese: No. So when I was in Cincinnati, um, Michelle and her husband had driven there from Boston. They did a 900 mile each way drive because they were also purchasing some of Richard's typewriters. Cause one of the sticks was if you bought them, you had to pick them up in Cincinnati. And then he happened to have a type or a swap meet type thing, benefiting wordplay sensey. So that's where I first met Michelle and we were talking and then I was like, Oh, pins came up. She's like, Oh yeah. And then the pin at it came up. Cause you had shared her permission slip post, which was in refill. I think it was in missville.

Brad Dowdy: So yeah, it's just one of the, one of the link posts I do. That was my Sunday link posts and I've followed her blog for years. So yeah.

Derek DeWeese: So in that came up in conversation and you know, she was telling me about what she writes and whatnot. Cause I wasn't familiar because I look at a lot of the refill and miss fill, but I don't click on all the links. Yeah. You know, and that's one of those. I went back and read it after the fact. I was like, Oh, this is great. So it, it ended up that towards the end of the day, I traded a pin I had made to Michelle for one of the typewriters she was selling. And then, you know, I got her card and I was like, Hey, I'd love to have an interview because her whole stick is more analog, less digital. And that's very much what my channel is coming to be fully about. You know, the last thing I do at the end of the day, working in it is I want to, I don't want to look at a screen. So if I'm, you know, and that's ironic considering I have a YouTube channel and whatnot, but a lot of that is done, you know, during like a lunch break or things like that, where I'm not doing it after work, but I interviewed Michelle and she had a really unique story, like backstory. And she lives right near Harbor, Harvard and near the Arboretum and has some upcoming publications. It was just a unique other subset. She was familiar with paper mouse. She knew who Kirk was. I was talking about a recent episode with the podcast. She's like, Oh yeah. Um, I think my daughter has a nib that Kirk ground. So it was just a neat, unique tie in, you know, and you never know in this whole stationery world who follows who, you know, like you said, you've been following her work for forever and it's just a, a whole site I wasn't familiar with. So now hopefully just spreading the word of another voice of analog for art, sketching typewriters. Cause she's also a big typewriter person. And obviously if she's driving 900 miles to pick some up, but it was just a unique way to add in, you know, cause the pin shows, I love pin shows. I love the community aspect. The typewriter community seems to have that same kind of vibe where I don't know these people, but we can talk about typewriters and most typewriter people. They're going to have a pin. They like a lot of them are fountain pen users. They're going to have the papers. It's a very common thing. So it might be a different primary medium, but we're all using the other mediums in some way,

Brad Dowdy: man. You just, I just got a question in my head and I haven't watched that episode yet. And I'm wondering about the different papers for typewriters and how big of a deal that is. That's gotta be a thing, right?

Derek DeWeese: So for me, having all these, a five, I like typing on a five, I have all these paper videos and whatnot. I have now a typewriter paper swatching in addition to my ink swatching. So with each typewriter, I'm typing on graffiti. Like I've been using graffiti. Oh, earful, subami note, um, canopus, um, Karina spark and multitude of others. But I type on them with each typewriter. So I can see the typeface. I can see how it reacts on that paper. And then it's kind of like a swatch book of typewriters. And then I just finished a product and I know we won't see on here, but I'll have a post on my website showing I've made literal swatch cards of the typefaces. And then I bought one of those little Canon IV printers. So the back of the color decks card has a picture of the typewriter and then the typeface, the age, the serial number, um, on the back. So that way I have a reference of, Oh, this person wanted to receive a letter. Well, they want it with a script typewriter. So let me type it. I need to type it with the Olympia that has this, the cursive font, you know, it's that kind of thing. So then I have a quick reference, but paper does make a thing and everybody has their own preferences. Some people like the a four, some people like the letter, some people like the smaller. It's kind of like with you or me, we're going to have papers. We might enjoy both using, but we're going to use them in different ways.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. I love that. I don't know why that popped into my head because we're so particular about all these things, right? Any little niche hobby that you get into like this, whether it be paper or typewriters or, you know, fountain pens, ink, there's all these little, like I get so much enjoy enjoyment from it because I'm just completely curious about all this. And like that literally just popped into my head. I was like, Oh, what kind of wonder what kind of paper and how the typewriter inks. Um, last question. I'll get you out of here on this. It's kind of a statement, um, question and I'm gonna let you fill in the blank. Okay. So a man with a typewriter walks into a bar. How does that story end?

Derek DeWeese: So this is something that happened recently because we had a bookstore open up in the greater Nashville area called the Raven book lounge, which is a bookstore with a bar.

Brad Dowdy: Mm-hmm.

Derek DeWeese: So my wife had gone in there with some coworkers and they had some typewriters on display and they noticed her taking pictures of them and said, Hey, are you a typewriter person? She's like, no, but my husband is, I'll bring him back. So I was like, okay, they expect a typewriter. So I took one in and we sat at the bar and now one bartender has bought four fountain pens. They're shopping for typewriters. The other bartender, um, is curious about fountain pens and they've commissioned me to make a pen for the owner. So that's what happens. It's literally, cause it's not just typewriters. I've been at coffee shops before cause Beth and I'll go on some weekend days. Like let's, we've been to the gentleman station or let's go use our stuff. She might be working on book stuff. I might be getting caught up on journaling, but I've had people see me using fountain pens and come over and ask. Apparently I've got that approachable look, which I think would be different with the large beard, but they'll come up and say, Oh, a fountain pen. I haven't seen one of those. Cause that happened to somebody. And then they ended up going to Joe's shop and buying four or five pens and packs of paper. So it's out there. People see it and they're curious. So that's one thing people expect for people to come up and ask you questions. You have to be cool with that, you know, because we, you want to expand this hobby. You want other people to find out just like the social media doing it in person. Then that you can say, Oh, here, put a piece of paper and let them type something or here, use this pen, try writing with it. You know, it's, I might not give them a gold nib rare pen, but here use this Kaweco sport. It's going to be fine, you know, but it's, it's a fun way that kind of ties in. And the human interaction is something that I think we kind of lose with the online stationery world. And that's why pin shows and the community aspect is so important. You know, the tactile and being around people and actually having conversations in person really kind of makes this even more fun. And even for those of us who I would say at the core are not necessarily the most people person, but it's like a, you put on your stationery cloak and like, Oh, this is, these people are curious about something I know and I can help them. So it kind of is a, just a different way of approaching that.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. I love that. And I love, you know, sharing stationery and just answering questions. Someone, you know, sees me writing and they make a comment about my pen. I'm going to be like, have a seat. Do you want to try this? And let's go. And I think you're, you're the same way. And I love that approach. And I love having you on the episode today, Derek. Thank you so much. Is there anywhere or anything you need to shout out? I'll obviously have all the links to everything we talked about in the show. I've linked to your channel. Anything, anything else you need to mention?

Derek DeWeese: I would say the only other shout out I have is a thanks to Nick Pasquale. And I, I hate you, but I love you because selling me a lathe and putting me down to the making aspect of the pins has been a wonderful thing. Just getting hands on and tactile. Um, and you know, that's something I'm grateful for, for him to take the time for me to come to his shop and learn what I'm doing enough for me to go home and experiment and then respond to tech saying, okay, what did I screw up here? How do I fix this? Cause that's another part of this. That's fun. The making aspect. Um, and other than that, just the community, people who watch the content, I'm creating. I never thought that this was a thing I would do, but now I enjoy it or getting to, you know, be a guest on a show like this. It's just a different way of sharing things we're interested in to new people who might not know otherwise. Cause now there might be people who are listening to this for the first time going, wait, he does videos on writing with tiny, extra fine nibs. That might be something I'm interested in. And then they might see the links in there. Oh, you want the opposite? Go follow this channel or this channel. And then it's just another way to help out the other little guy. Um, cause somebody there, if you're creating content, it's going to be the right content for somebody. You just have to hope that they find it.

Brad Dowdy: That's exactly right. Well put, well said. So thank you again for joining me again. I'm Brad. I run a pen blog and a pen podcast, this pen podcast called the pen addict. You can find all my links to everything I do over at pen addict.com. And I'll have all the links and show notes in this episode. Thank you to our sponsors this week, the St. Louis pen show, Enigma stationery and square space until next time. Say goodbye, Derek.

Derek DeWeese: Goodbye, Derek. Bye.