Editing The Pen Addict 431/transcript (section)

== Branding Changes ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right? Because the logo, the old Sailor logo is a sans serif font, right? It's just like a big blocky thing. Like it comes on the... On the cap bands on the pen, they use a serif font.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Right. So like the stamping on the box that you get your Sailor pen in is the sans serif gold stamped Sailor. Big chunky. But then the bands are all as a Sailor serif font. So we're going to see, maybe they're going to work on making that more consistent with the new thing. So we'll see. I'm interested to when these are going to start coming off the line, right? Because they're probably still going through the things that we've had.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' The website still has products that they're offering which show the old branding, like on the main page, because it's too early, right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's got to be next year we'll see our first products, because all these other products have had to be made for a long, long time now. So I think they're just setting it up for next year.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Their new pen. That's the next thing, right? That's what I would expect now. So you've got rid of stuff. You've rebranded. Show me something. That's what I assume will be next.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Now you've really got me thinking.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I think it's exciting.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I'm wondering what that could be.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Okay. Yeah. So anyway, I wanted to share this because I thought it was very interesting. Oh, it is. And like you said, the new, with not necessarily how the design looks from a design perspective, but what the new ownership group is choosing to do. And pretty quickly, like they're ready, it seems like. Well, yeah. They're pushing their vision forward.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yes and no, right? It's worth remembering that Plus have been a part of Sailor for a long time. Right. So, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the things that they have started doing immediately are things that they have been suggesting Sailor do for a while and Sailor have not done them. And now that they have the majority share, they're like, great, these are all the things that we're doing. Remember that stuff I mentioned six months ago? It's happening now. You know? Yeah. Because that kind of stuff would tie up for me, right? Like, you know, because they so quickly got rid of like the pens. I don't remember the names of them. What I remember is the, is it Milikolo? It was the only one I remember the name of because it's also the only one that I actually remembered. Yeah. And did I get rid of some of the Profit line?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Some of it. Yeah. Um, and then, yeah, I, I, I can't remember the name of that. The, the weird, the weird Sailor, but it was, it was actually a very extensive list of things that they were thinning down. But the fact that we don't know them or don't like really, you know, think about those pens probably means it was the right decision to thin those things down. And now that's, that's me being dismissive of like what the, the Japanese in-store stationary market is like and like people walking into the store and, and all the Japanese usage, usage of fountain pens. And, you know, maybe the, you know, the Milikolo or, or some of these other pens like do super well just, you know, from your day-to-day non-fountain pen addict customer.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I feel like if they were doing super well, they would still be available for sale. Right. And they're not anymore.

'''Myke Hurley:''' But I, I couldn't agree more on the thinning of the product line. Yeah. Because like, like that's very much trimming the fat of their product line.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I think it's exciting to watch.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yep. So this will probably, you know, if you, if you're tired of hearing us talk about Sailor, you're probably going to want to tune out in 2021 because I think there's going to be a lot of, a lot more changes we're going to see starting, you know, probably February.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' We're not even done with Sailor in this episode.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That's true. I already forgot about that. And I already, I'd already teased it and then forgot about it. And then, yeah. So we'll get some emails. We'll see.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Let's take a refreshing, a refreshing break from our Sailor coverage and talk about another wonderful pen company and their wares. This episode is brought to you by the Canalea Pen Co. Canalea makes stunningly amazing, beautiful pens inspired by the images of Hoi. Canalea's founders, who's found as you and Carol believe that the locations that they depict in their products can help recharge our spirit and help us connect with nature. While the story behind these pens is wonderful, it's idyllic. The execution is actually what sets them apart. You can have a great story. It's lovely to have. But you've got to actually represent it in the product. That is what Canalea do. Every single Canalea pen is handmade in a process that means no two pens will ever look alike. Because the materials that they use offer such variation from pen to pen. It's unbelievable. And every single nip is hand-tuned before it ships to a customer. By Hugh of Canalea pen company. What you get is something truly unique to you. One of the things, the words that I think about when I think of Canalea pens, which I don't think about this of a lot of other pens, especially in their price range, is luxury.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It is a luxurious experience. You receive something which is unique. You know it has been hand-tuned and refined to make sure it's perfect. And it is shipped to you in the best packaging in the pen community, bar none. So you get a truly luxurious experience. So we spoke about this last week and I want to remind everybody about a brand new pen in the Canalea lineup. It is called Kona Snow. And it is inspired by the life cycle of the Kona coffee plant. Before we get to the red berries that inspired the Kona Cherry pen, which was a previous release from Canalea, the plant's life begins with snow white flowers that are seen for just a few days in the spring. The Canalea Kona Snow is a beautiful pen featuring white acrylic with porous and swirls and rose gold accents throughout the material. To ensure that the pen stays magnificently white, Canalea performed a bunch of tests on it. You may remember I mentioned they submerged the material in Waterman's mysterious blue ink for 24 hours. It saw no discoloration, which is fantastic. Canalea pens feature Joao No. 6 nibs. You can buy a steel or 18 karat gold nib direct from Canalea. They also offer rose gold too, which is the perfect pairing for the Kona Snow. Canalea offers nib sizes from extra fine to 1.1 mm stub. And every pen ships in a beautifully packaged keepsake box. The Kona Snow is available to order right now with the classic flush profile, which is the most popular, the standard profile that you see from Canalea pens. That is available for shipping within a week if your order is placed by November 1st. After November 1st, it will move to their usual four-week window. And all other profiles of the Canalea pen of the Kona Snow are available to order now, but they will ship within four weeks. Canalea is also using the proceeds of the Kona Snow to give back to the communities of Big Island in the Kona area by donating a portion of the proceeds to the Hawaii Food Bank and Hale Hanakahi Emergency Shelter. You can check out the Kona Snow today at canaleapenko.com. That is canaleapenko.com to choose your aloha today. Our thanks to Canalea for their support of this show.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Can I make a couple comments? I had one comment I wanted to make, and then as you were talking, I think the list is now like three or four. So number one, I read an article this week about how hard Hawaii is being hit economically right now, either through job loss, with tourism and travel. So these donations that they're making are going to very important causes right now for the island to rely on tourism dollars that are not getting it right now. So these food banks and other charities are very, very important to Hawaii right now. So I think that's very, very cool that they're doing that. Secondly, I completely agree with the packaging aspect of it. It's a joy. Even though I know exactly what I'm getting, Myke, and it's awesome every time. I was like, yeah, this is really happening. It's like still pretty awesome. So I really enjoy that. And third, the feel of the pens, kind of what you're mentioning as part of the ad. It's kind of unlike any. I have a lot of acrylic and handmade turned pens, and they just feel different in the best way possible. Like the quality, like you can feel it the minute you pick it up. So very happy with all my Canalea pens. So thank you for sponsoring the show. Appreciate it. All right, Myke. Yes. On the list of products I love, have owned for years, and had yet to review, I ticked off another one. So the first one was the Y Studio Brassing Fountain Pen, one of my all-time favorite pens. And also on that list was Sailor King of Pen. Like for all that I talk about the Sailor King of Pen, all that I use it, all that I love it, I've never actually done a proper review of it on the blog. So I corrected that this week. Although I kind of would say it's really not a proper review. And that was one of the challenges and one of the reasons I held up on reviewing it for so long, because I don't know that I can actually review this pen. And I have to almost separate this review into two parts or at least two segments or two ideas of one, my personal thoughts and use on the pen. And number two, the idea of the king of pen. So I took this post as more of a discussion around the idea of the king of pen and then tried to kind of relate a little bit how I feel and why I feel the way I do about it. But also having the reality check of all the problems that come along with the king of pen. The first of which, Myke, is how to spell king of pen.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That is the great unanswered question out of this review, Myke. So I learned it as king of pen. Okay. That's what I've always called it. That's what I learned it as from, you know, reading about it years and years ago and following the pen and then eventually owning now four of them. King of pen. So I said, you know what? I'm going to write this. I need to verify that it's not king of pens, I think is the second option.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' If you're pluralizing.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yes. But is a singular. Do I own a king of pens pro gear? Sky. Oh. So that's what I wanted to try to figure out. So I go to Sailor's site and I was like, I'm going to look. I mean, what better place to look than all of Sailor's product models? And, you know, they have the inventory of all their pens on there. And you know what they call it in most places on their site? The KOP. They don't even spell it out. I was so mad. So I found several places where they referred to the idea of the pen in quotes as king of pens. Yeah. Plural. But there's no clear product listing that says king of pen or king of pens. They all say KOP. Which was endlessly frustrating. So then the next thing you do is you go look at retailers. Right? Because they're getting the most direct information usually from, you know, the product marketing and the retail marketing. Right? You usually copy exactly what the brand you're buying from, how they call the thing, how they call the product. There's a lot of king of pens out there. Right. But there's a lot of king of pen out there too. So I'm flummoxed. So I didn't really go in and commit either way, like saying this is definitively right or wrong. I just went with what I've always called it, which is king of pen. And it feels like the right name to me. Do you have any statements on this? The silliest part of this entire review?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I would say king of pens.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' If I was pluralizing.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So what is your tangerine 1911?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' What are you asking?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I want you to say the full name of your tangerine 1911.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Okay. Sailor 1911, king of pen tangerine.

'''Myke Hurley:''' But not king of pens tangerine.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' No. If there was.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So if I was saying. If I wanted to say two of those. I would say sailor 1911 tangerine king of pens. Nope. That's what I would say though. You asked me what would I say.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But when you have a product listing at a retailer. You're purchasing the king of pens.

'''Myke Hurley:''' At many retailers. I'm buying one sailor king of pens tangerine.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Hmm.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This is an entire show. Like I'm not even kidding. But I tried. I tried. To get the definitive answer. So I'm just going to have to get. You know. Someone who knows more than me. On the origination of the name. Because there's too much. Of pen and pens out there to be.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Definitive one way or the other.