Editing The Pen Addict 663/transcript (section)

== Introduction of the Lamy ABC fountain pen for children ==

* It's appropriate. Appropriate. Wow, we are alluding to a lot of things in this podcast, but not there yet. We got to talk about the Lamy ABC, Myke, or at least I have to talk about the Lamy ABC.
* So this is a Lamy fountain pen that they designed for kids, essentially like a school pen, right? When kids are first starting to learn to write, can we make a pen that's going to assist with grip and hold the way to hold the pen and just, like, you know, how they manipulate the pen in their finger? And to give them a better writing option. So that was the original design of this pen. It's not really that. It's not really a school pen anymore. Like, I'd be hard pressed to find a school. Like, you know, maybe our German contingent can email in if we're still, if kids are still using a Lamy ABC. I doubt that. And that was kind of like the end of my reviews. Like, it's kind of expensive. So, but maybe Lamy has some school subsidies and we'll send out things to kids. That'd be nice. But I looked at it from the perspective of, okay, is this a great school pen for kids? Yes. But is it a pretty cool pen for adults? Also, yes. I thoroughly enjoy this pen. And I've been waiting to get one out of no reason other than it wasn't going anywhere. Like, I wasn't in a rush to get one. And they always had a blue cap and a red cap. And if you haven't seen the Lamy ABC, it's a wood barrel pen. Like, a natural white colored wood with either blue or red plastic ends. And then they, out of the blue, this is kind of maybe the more I think about the most surprising thing. They did a special edition color of black. I don't know why. Why the Lamy ABC would get, like, a new colorway, like black. Like, instead of, like, maybe some fun design on the plastic, right, to make it even more, like, a kid color, kid style with, like, the blue and the red. But add in art or different, you know, different things on the cap. It's such a fun pen to use, Myke. Like, it's got a little bit of a problem for adult hands where the grip section is shorter in length. So, like, if I use a Lamy Safari, the molded grip section is long enough for my fingers to fit in there comfortable. Here, it feels like you more have to use the tips of your fingers, only hit the molding in the grip section. So, it's slightly uncomfortable for that. But it's meant to be a big broad stroke pen, like, for kids. Like, I'm not trying to write in details with that. And it's just fun. Like, I really, really enjoy products that just bring out the fun in pens. Like, I got to put my name on it, Myke. And it was the hardest decision was what color sticker do I use for my name. There was a yellow one and a blue one and a green one. I went with green. I could have done two-tone because there is a little round sticker for the end of the pen to match, you know, when the kids lose the cap of the pen. And, well, how do they know which barrel it goes on to if multiple kids lose them? Well, there's a little dot for the end of the barrel, too. So, I put my initials on that so I can match. Very cool. So, I don't know. Just everything about this pen is cool. Even the nib. The nib is called an A nib, which Lamy uses in this pen. And I believe the Nex is the only one you can get the A nib. It's not that different from a standard medium nib. It's just like an easy writing nib. I don't have, like, I can't speak highly enough of this pen. It's fun. It's not for everyone. But it is freaking fun. And I'm going to keep this pen around because I like it that much. So, we've talked about your growing up in school. Did you use fountain pens, like, back when you were, like, in early grade school? We had, like, so the main pens that, like, kids in England used when I was a kid were the B-roll, barrel, handwriting pens. Sure, sure, yeah. Like, that was, like, your typical pen that we used. Yeah. But there was also, like, when we were doing, as pointed out, we were talking with Rob, joined up handwriting class. Yeah. We would use a fountain pen. But they were like, okay, come and collect the fountain pens from the thing. They all go back at the end. Right. Because... I gotcha. Kids are going to make a mess of these things. They're going to be a disaster. And so, there was... I don't know what fountain pen it was that we used. But, yeah, I distinctly remember the barrel handwriting pen. It was, like, a hard felt... It's, like, a hard, like, plastic tip pen. Yeah. I guess would be the way to describe it.
* Yeah. Beryl generally makes, like, the art style pens and drawing style pens. Yeah. So, yeah, like, a hard plastic tip would make sense. And it also kind of makes sense that you would use it during class and then give it back. So, yeah, pretty interesting stuff. So, anyway, I love, like, not just entry-level fountain pens, but, like, kid-focused, like, young writing-focused pens. Like, the Pelican. Like, Pelican has a couple, like, the Twist and the Pelicano.
* I don't know. They're just fun. And it's fun to see. And it's fun to think about it. But I just don't think they're used that much in schools anymore for, you know, a litany of reasons. Yep.
* All right. Should we take a break? Let's do it. All right. This episode is brought to you in part by our friends over at Kenro Industries, a.k.a. Estabrook is what we're going to talk about today because we love the Estabrooks around here. I actually have that golden one on my desk, which is beautiful. But if you're looking for a pen and accessory set that's playful, thoughtful, and beautifully crafted for everyday use, look no further than Estabrook. Estabrook relaunched in 2018, breathing a whole new life into an already iconic American writing brand. And since the relaunch, Estabrook have focused on beautifully crafted products that blend heritage with modern storytelling. They are known for creative materials, clever packaging, and meaningful collaborations that speak directly to writers, journalists, and pen lovers. And their newest launch is a collaboration with Helen of the Coffee Monsters Co. Helen is known for her whimsical illustrations and global journaling community. For this collaboration, Estabrook and Helen of the Coffee Monsters Co. have created a special edition Estee fountain pen. The SD is presented in a cafe latte-inspired resin exclusive to this release. It features a custom blended grip and ring section for a tonal and textural touch unique to this edition. This pen includes a specially engraved emoti nib, also designed just for this collection by Helen. It's packaged in a beautifully designed box featuring exclusive artwork and sticker sheets, also designed by Helen herself. This pen rules so much. Again, this is something else I found out about for the first time while on my break. And I was listening to one of the episodes where you were talking about this. Man, this pen is good looking. Wow. Did you know I had this pen, Myke? I didn't know until I heard it. You know what I mean? Like, now I heard it. I was a good old listener of the show, listening along. It's beautiful. And I, you know, I will echo what you said. I mean, I've only seen pictures of this thing. But I just think this is like such a killer collaboration where everyone was in their A game. And I think Esther Brook, I think they did a really good job in what seems to me of kind of just like giving over the reins to Helen. You know, like the packaging just doesn't look like Esther Brook packaging at all. Right. Like it's, it has their logo on it, but it's very, very focused around the Coffee Monsters Co. And I just think that's the way to go. And the colors that they chose and everything about this pen, man, it looks good. I love it. It's my new favorite blotter paper too. Like they have some, you know, other accessories, ink and blotter paper and some other stickers and things you can get in this whole product lineup. I literally use this blotter paper all day, every day, even if I'm not using the pen, which I happen to be using this pen right now for my show notes. And it's great. And yeah, I was joking because I got it early and it's been such a hyped pen. And, you know, there's still a lot that are out there to be delivered, but you like you can still order it. And it's just a great pen. I don't know. I just love everything about it. Like they like nailed it, right? Like just completely nailed it.
* But there's more as Esther. There are accessories. You can grab some items that complement this new SD, like the Coordinating Coffee Monsters Co. Inc., which is a warm brown blend, perfect to this pen. All those blotter papers to round out your writing experience, all designed and complemented with Helen's art and everyday journaling in mind. This special SD edition pen will be available to buy beginning April 9th. So that was weeks ago. So it is available now. I think in waves though, right? I think it's going in and out of stock. So just go to estabrookpens.com to get yours. That is estabrookpens.com to grab your special edition Coffee Monsters Co. pen. Our thanks to Estabrook for their support of this show and all of Relay. I wanted to do this shout out of the week to someone I've... Oh God, I forget. You just blow past me now. This is shout out of the week erasure that is happening.
* Last week you stole my song. This week you just decided to just carry on. Just off he goes. You take two months off and this is what you get in return. I am your wayward son. So yeah, this is for Mentlodica. This is a website that many of you will be familiar with. My friend Susan does amazing artwork. And this is where I get my desk pads. So I took a picture of one of the newer desk pads in my Lamy ABC review. Well, one of the new ones to me. I ordered a few new ones. But it's funny now that I think about it right after talking about Helen and then now talking about Susan that they both just have an artistic style that appeals to me. They're great creators and I love supporting artists and makers of cool things. So you're familiar a little bit with Mentlodica. Also, they do keyboard caps and things of that nature. So I just wanted to give a shout out again for my desk mats and for my friendship with Susan who's a super awesome person. We did a Retro 51 collaboration back in the day. I think I still have a couple left, the Pastel Sheba. So no surprise where the Sheba artwork comes from. But I wanted to give a shout out to Susan and tell her thanks and keep on making great stuff. Yep.
* Speaking of making great stuff again, Myke. Oh my God. Why would you do that?