Editing The Pen Addict 380/transcript (section)

== Montegrappa Chaos Pen ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' I am so excited about not just the next topic, but the next, like, two or three topics. Like, I am thrilled to be able to discuss the Montegrappa Lord of the Rings pen. Myke, have you seen this pen?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I've seen it this morning when I was looking through our show notes, and I'm looking at it right now. This is one of those Montegrappa pens, right? Where it's like a whole thing. Like a whole big thing. But I'm going to tell you on this one, whilst this is wild, it is not as wild as the Chaos pen. And I understand it. Now, I am not a Lord of the Rings fan. Like, I'm saying it's just not a thing that I've really gotten on board with. But I understand what this pen is. It's like got the Eye of Sauron on the top, and it's got lots of different, like, visual indicators of different Lord of the Rings things. Like, Gollum is on the back. And the ring that goes around the cap is the ring from the Lord of the Rings with the inscription on it and stuff.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It is bananas. It would be, I expect, horrible to have to try and write with this thing, because it is 108 grams, which is wild in the sterling silver version. The weight, they haven't actually listed the weight on the solid 18-carat gold version. But, yeah, I mean, look, if this is your thing, I think that they've probably kind of nailed the design. But it's quite a thing to behold.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' No one can do this except Montegrappa.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, they have the license on this. That I have seen. Right, like, they have the... Well, I mean, not... No, no, I don't mean intellectual property license. Yes. I mean, they have the, like... That's a completely different conversation that I want to have. It's a whole different thing that is, like, super clever that they go about doing this and it must be super difficult to do. But I've done it a few times now and I think it's clever because people want this stuff. Yeah. But they have the, like, they can do this and people will accept it from them.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. Like, ever since our trip to Fountain Pen Hospital where we got to hold the Chaos Pen, I've gained a newfound respect for what they're creating. Yes. You know, it doesn't matter if it's for me or not, right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I could never own this because I don't... It doesn't speak to me. But when I actually saw the craftsmanship that went into the Chaos Pen, it changed my opinion about it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I totally agree. And that's what I see with this pen. I just stare at this picture and laugh and smile because I just love it so much. You know, not for me. Like, I would never want this pen, never own this pen. I'm not, like you said, I'm not a Lord of the Rings fan or anything. It doesn't speak to me.

'''Myke Hurley:''' The gold one looks amazing. Like, it is astounding.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' There's two models. We're mostly referring to the sterling silver model, which will run you about €4,000. Then the 18-karat gold one, which is really set off by the materials, is a cool €42,000.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I'm just going to pre-order this and, you know, we'll get right on that. My word.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Yeah. So, there's 20 of the gold fountain pens and 20 of the gold roller balls and then 379 of each of these silver. That's, I mean, that's a lot of these pens, Myke. That is a ton of €4,000 and €42,000 pens. Right, but doesn't that show you how successful their products like this have been? Right. I could not agree more. I couldn't agree more. Like, they keep doing this. You mentioned the intellectual property, and that's what I wanted to talk about. They do not play around with accessing and paying for this IP, right? Mm-hmm. With all the things they've done in the past. I mean... The Game of Thrones, right? They did Thrones last year, and they did the same thing with a silver edition and a gold edition. And it's, you know... I can't imagine what, like, the IP costs for these types of things. And even with the Thrones, which I haven't seen them do for Lord of the Rings, and they certainly could, is do all the sub-lower entry, air quote, level pens, like the $300, you know, different houses. And Game of Thrones, you know, had, like, six different entry-level pens, and then they had the, you know, the Winter is Coming pen that was relative to this Lord of the Rings

'''Myke Hurley:''' pen. And they also had an Iron Throne pen, which is also super expensive.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And then they do other crazy... Like, and this isn't even the only... They're only, like, really out there stuff. Like, you know, I've gotten to see, like, the Samurai pen and just some of the wild stuff that they create. They're... I love seeing the freedom that a company has to play. Like, clearly they have the money and the market to do this. They... This is not a market that we are in, right, as pen addicts generally, right? This is not our market. But I'm fascinated by it because of the consistency of Montegrappopoulos. Putting these pens out and clearly doing well with them. Like, they're selling these pens. There's no doubt in my mind that they're selling these pens. And I just find the whole thing fascinating to watch and be an observer of as, you know, someone who is in this hobby. You know, just observing that this thing exists. And some artists sat there and created this pen. And Montegrappopoulos is going to, like, sell all of these pens. It fascinates me. And I love everything about this pen. I mean, I can't speak highly of it enough just because it exists. Even though it's ridiculous and none of us will ever own one or much less maybe never see one. And I just find the whole thing fascinating. And I am just... Montegrappa has been on my radar recently. And I don't know. It's just cool to see.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, I think it's safe to say that both of our impressions have been changed on this over time. And we have a lot more respect for it than we did before where previously this stuff just kind of seemed funny. And one of the things that changed my mind was getting to talk to somebody who owned one of these pens and then seeing one. Where I kind of realized that whilst these things aren't for me by any stretch of the imagination, both in design and price and, like, writing experience, like, you know, like, none of the... And also, like, a lot of the IP that they capture is, like, not necessarily stuff that I'm interested in and all that. But it shows me that there are people interested in this hobby that have very different tastes to me. And I think that that's awesome. And I want that to exist. Right? Like, I want there to be people that want to buy a pen that has the eye of Sauron on the top. Because it is, like, it shows something about this hobby that, like, it can take all kinds of people and all kinds of styles and all kinds of tastes. Right? Like, I personally have no desire to own, like, a ton of just all black pens of gold furniture. But there are some people who are like, that's, like, their perfect ideal. Like, that's what they want. Yep. You know? And that's, like, the complete opposite end of these types of pens. It's, like, they want the most stripped back thing they can get. And, like, we're going to talk about Visconti in a minute. Right? Like, there are people that think that those Visconti pens, like, Visconti pens in general, are, like, the most beautiful pens imaginable. Right? But I don't like the clips at all. Sure. But there are people that are like, no, that is incredible. So, these pens are just another example to me of the type of thing that I love about this hobby.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yes. And it's actually helped me, like, personally, like, realize, you know, you get, I'm taking this to a meta conversation now of where, you know, you have your tastes and your opinions and that's the only way. And this is not a hobby where that really has a place because everyone has their own tastes, their own styles, their own opinions, their own needs, their own wishes.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And there is more than enough space for all of it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. Yep. And, like, I respect all of those things. Like, you know, and you take it out of being personal and just understanding that there's something out there for everyone. And, you know, I just, I love seeing it. I love being part of this hobby for those reasons until the next topic. And now I'm going to take back everything I just said.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Oh, okay.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Just kidding. Just kidding. All right, Myke. Would you like to read the product description of the Visconti Iopena blue fountain pen or would you like me to do the honors? I'm good either way.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Let me read it. All right. Because I haven't read this yet. Purposefully. Okay, so we have the Visconti Iopena, which is eye-opener, I guess. I don't know if that's actually meant to be a pun or not, but Visconti Iopena fountain pen. A harmonious balance of forms makes Visconti's Iopena an absolute masterpiece in the world of luxury pens. Gaetano Pesse, a famous architect and designer whose works are exhibited in some of the world's major museums, designed much more than a pen for Visconti. He created a real piece of modern art. It is a revolutionary pen in many respects, but the real innovation is its soft, flexible body and soft resin?

'''Myke Hurley:''' This. What? All right. Okay. Visconti and Gaetano Pesquet were the first to experiment with such innovative materials in the pen market. The architect has created a sculptural pen to which people can relate. It brings to mind the softness of the body, as he himself said in a press conference. So he chose to call it Iopena, which roughly translates as eye pen. I don't understand how those two things relate in any way. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. He also played with his own name by giving the pen an elegant profile that resembles a fish. Pesquet translates to fish.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And a profile of a face. Mm-hmm. None of that makes sense as to why they called it what they called it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' None of that... Keep going. Okay, sorry. The pen's ultra-modern concept in bright colors was designed to bring young people closer to writing. In an increasingly digital world, young people can finally have a fountain pen or rollable that keeps up with the times and with the creative experiments that are typical of modernity. The packaging is a designer resin case in which the pen bends gracefully. None of that makes any sense either. The fountain pen is a steel nib and uses standard international cartridges.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Okay, you can end it there. Yeah, yeah.