Editing The Pen Addict 330/transcript

{{Infobox podcast transcript
| name            = The Pen Addict
| number          = 330
| title           = This Pen Will Never Die
| date            = October 17th, 2018
| hosts           = [[Brad Dowdy]]<br>
[[Myke Hurley]]
| guests          = 
| link            = [https://www.relay.fm/penaddict/330 Episode 330]
| audiolink       = [https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/thepenaddict/The_Pen_Addict_330.mp3 Audio Episode 330]
| length          = 57
}}

'''Myke Hurley:''' From RelayFM, this is The Pen Addict, episode 330. Today's show is brought to you by Squarespace and Mac Weldon. My name is Myke Hurley. I am joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi, Brad Dowdy. Hey, Myke Hurley. How are you today?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I am very good, my friend. I am very excited about today's episode. We have a lot to cover and a lot of things that we've been holding and a lot of things that are in the future and recurring topics that are new. So this is like a prime time episode for The Pen Addict podcast. What do you think?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think so. I think people will look back at episode 330 and say that was a perfect episode.



== Brad's Product Success ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' You have a lot of faith in me. I do. I'm not sure I have that. I did pull something off that was pretty cool though, Myke. I'm not going to lie. The Pink Robots Retro 51 edition is the best product pen-wise that I've ever done and I did not see this coming.

'''Myke Hurley:''' What do you mean? I mean, obviously it's incredible, but what do you mean in best?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' As far as the reception and the sales and the praise for it has been rocking my brain for a couple of weeks now since we've launched it. So, and all the credit goes out to Matthew Morse. I just want people to understand that this doesn't happen without his mind putting, allowing him to create an image that spoke to me on a different level and allowing me to think about the process of putting in a pen and for him agreeing to work with me on this and not knowing what the reception was going to be for this pen. It's very different. Yep. Because it's very different. Like I said, it's very personal. It's very weird. And it's sold better than any other pen that I've done. Like, I can't remember what the 300 orange ones, I can't remember how long they took to sell, but they took a couple months at least. I'm pretty sure. They kind of, you know, you sell a bunch in the beginning, then you trickle through the back end. Yep. Um, and then the isometric, I ordered 600. So I ordered even more. And I think I maybe got 20 or 30 of those left. There's not many left. So those have hung around most of the year. So I ordered 500 of these pink robots, which we've talked about all this stuff before, but I'm just like, I'm laying it out there. So behind the scenes. So I ordered 500. I put 450 up for sale on the site because, you know, I take a handful, you know, for me, you know, I pull back some numbers for you and Matthew gets his first choice at all the ones he wants for him and his family. And then I have, you know, say we took maybe 15 total that we've pulled out. Okay. So that gives me 35. I haven't put on site just waiting for all the first shipments to get there safe and sound. Right. I want to protect, like, I can't give you another pin if they're all sold out and yours gets lost or damaged in the mail. So I pull, you know, a certain amount. So I put 450 units up for sale as of this morning before the podcast, Myke, I had 30 left for sale.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That is wild.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I am genuinely blown away. Like, I can't. I am shocked. On top of that. I sent one out. To be delivered to the lead singer of the Flaming Lips, and I hope he gets it. Um, so we had, I had a customer. Wow. Who's friends with the band and with people in the band and they ordered some and we started talking. And I said, well, can you get one to Wayne? And he's like, yeah, just let me. I said, I bought three. Let me buy another one. I'm like, no, no, let me just send you one. And, uh, so I hope I'm crossing my fingers. We can get one of them in the band's hands. But just this whole project has been nuts. Like I am already sweating next time, even though this time isn't done. That's just how my brain works. Right. But, uh, thank you all. I guess that's, that's what I'm getting at. Thank you for your support of this project. I know if Matthew was here, maybe we should get him on one day. Matthew would say thank you too. Um, his mind's been blown. My mind's been blown. Um, I am just forever grateful for the support of this pin and the story Matthew and I wanted to tell about it. And, uh, we really appreciate it. That's, uh, that's it. So if you were thinking about waiting for this pin, I hope you listen to this and decide not to, I don't ever like to push people to buy things, but if you actually wanted this pin and said you're going to wait, you will regret that in a few weeks. Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' If you want it, like there's not going to be any more. So, you know.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yep.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So anyway, thank you all for making this possible. It exceeded any of my wildest expectations. Like I would not have put this. This is not somewhere I would have gone if I, if I had to guess how this would progress. Um, you know, it's best case scenario. So wonderful, wonderful, uh, wonderful support for it. So thank you all. And thank you for Matthew.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. I'm pleased that you posted, uh, on the pen addict, the story behind it all. So if you haven't read that, you should go and read it. It will probably make you want to buy one.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I've had several, like, I don't know. Just the feedback. I don't want to go through it all, but the feedback has been awesome. I've gotten lots of emails and lots of comments and things like that. It's been really nice. Been really great feedback. Um, so yeah, cool. Thank you.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So we spoke about the Schmidt P8 120 last week. This is the fabled, uh, thicker lined, uh, ink, right? So like the retro 51 or refill. I ordered a handful of these. Um, I ordered them in blue. So I figured why not? So I got some blue P8 120s. I'm not impressed really. Honestly, it's not as thick as I was expecting it to be. I mean, it really isn't that much thicker than the P8 126. And I mean, I don't know if this is just because I got blue. I don't know why, but it doesn't feel as smooth or as nice to me as the P8 126 does.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's super interesting because it's wider. It's a wet ink to begin with. You would think it would be very smooth, very marker-ish.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's still smooth, but I prefer the way the P8 126 feels. I can't tell you why. I just like it more. I can notice that there is a difference, but honestly, like you write with these and there really doesn't seem to be a huge difference in the thickness of these lines.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, I mean, you know, I've had, ever since we had that episode, I've had more people tweeting me saying, I bought this and it's amazing. So apparently we're wrong on this one. I'm not saying it's bad.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's just like the difference is not as striking as I was hoping it was going to be. Like there is a difference, but I was hoping for something really significant and it's not that really. Honestly, I think most people wouldn't notice if they had the P8 120 instead of the P8 126. Unless you told them.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yes. So it's the P8 128 basically, right? Sure. It's right in line with 678 right there. Yes. Slight range differences. Okay. Well, that's good to know because I will never buy one. I'll try someone if they put it in front of my face, but I'm glad it exists because a lot of people seem to enjoy it. So that's good. I'm glad there's an option for that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' If this is your thing, I'm super happy. Go for it. It's great because it's still, for me, it's basically as good as the other one, right? The P8 126, but I just like the 126 more. Again, I can't tell you why. Maybe I'm just so used to it at this point that any slight difference I'm recognizing and I'm just not, like, it just doesn't feel as good or whatever, like, because there's a slight difference. But yeah, I was really hoping for an even thicker line than what this one gives.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Mm-hmm. Well, in the realm of hope, there's a new hope for you in the UK, Myke, a new Retro 51 stockist, if you will. I put this link in here basically for you. Thanks. And any of our listeners in the UK, but really for you to pay attention to. This was provided to me by Retro 51. This is someone they're working with now in that market to bring more products over there. So, manic.co.uk. Man Inc. So, it's Man Inc. M-A-N-N-I-N-C. Man Inc. I-N-C. So, we'll have a link in the show notes. They're carrying Retro 51s and some other products. Looks like they carry Kaweco too. But this is who Retro told me to tell you to pay attention to if you're looking for stuff. So, I know you have a few options in your market for them, but that's another one for you. So, I thought I'd throw that out there.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I'm happy to support a new store. They don't have anything of note right now. They just have pretty standard editions. But yeah, if they're brand new, they probably don't have anything. But I'll be keeping my eye on them for future products that I want to get my hands on.



== Podcast Recommendation ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. Yep. Speaking of supporting something awesome, Myke, I'm pretty excited about this next link in the show notes. I want you to tell me all about it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' We have mentioned a few times on this show about the wonderful podcast, Make Do, which is hosted by Julia Scott and Tiff Arment, which is all about creativity. So, actually, let me say this and then I can launch into my little thing that I've been thinking about. So, Make Do has joined Relay FM. We're super excited about this. So, Make Do is now a Relay FM show. We came together and just realized this is something that we super wanted to do because I love their show. They love what we do. Tiff and Julia, they are longtime members of the Pan Addict family. So, it felt like a real natural thing for this show to become a part of Relay FM. And one of the reasons for that is something that I've been thinking a lot about recently is that Relay FM kind of has three core themes. It's how we kind of think of ourselves. And if you have bought the Relay FM Challenge Coin, which is a thing that exists right now, by the way, in case you didn't know. I have one. Do you? Do you like it? It's great, right? It's really big and heavy. I like it. It's perfect. So, we have three themes. Creativity, curiosity, and obsession. They're kind of the three themes that something runs through each of our shows that links up with this in some way. That's kind of a big thing for us. And if a show fits these ideas, it's a perfect fit for us. So, I can't think of really any show that I know that looks at creativity in the way that Make Do does. It's what the show is about. It is about creativity. It's about how it's expressed through different types of art. You know, whether you're a painter or a potter, remaker. Potter? What is it? What do you call somebody who makes pots? Is it a potter remaker or a potter? Like a Harry Potter? Anyway. I think yes to all. A sculptor or even if you're just an aspiring artist or you have any type of creative project, Make Do really can help inspire you that is so supportive of each other and the community, Julia and Tiff are. And I just find their show, one of the shows that I listen to to give me some moment of peace and bliss in my life. There's so much stuff that happens in our daily lives, maybe now more than ever. That can cause stress. But Make Do is one of the shows that I listen to to provide me with some peace. And I think that it is great for that because it is a wonderful show about creativity and supporting each other. So if you are a creative person, you definitely are if you're listening to this show in some way. I really, really want you to go and check out Make Do. They have a selection of episodes that you can go and check out. I will recommend a couple. I really enjoyed their episode about Inktober. I really enjoyed their challenges episode as well. So that's episode 15 and 10. And I'll put those in the show notes. You can check those out and it's going to give you a good idea as to what the show is about if you've never heard it before. But please go support this new addition to RelayFM. I think this is something that the pen addict audience would especially enjoy. So that's at Relay.FM slash Make Do.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I mean, just look at the artwork, right? The podcast artwork is amazing. If I can add a couple of things. I am lucky to have people like Tiffany and Julia in my life. They make it better for lots of reasons, not just because they have a great podcast, but because they're very good friends. And, you know, they're the type of friends I want in my life. I like them better than Myke, both. That's fine. They rank ahead of him. So, no, I'm just kidding. It's fine. It's fine. I'll take it. No, I'm just – it's really, really cool to have them part of RelayFM now, even though I've known them for years and years and have listened to the podcast from the beginning. I think – I love the topics that they talk about. They talk about imposter syndrome a lot.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yep.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Which is something that, you know, a lot of us who make things struggle with and they talk about feelings a lot, you know, like these are all things I enjoy. That's why I enjoy spending time with them when I see them in person just because we can talk about these things, about making things and the challenges that come along with them. And you don't have to be an artist or a creator to get something from the topics that they discuss. It's just a really, really good show. So, I'm glad they're officially part of the team now, even though they have been for quite some time.



== Pen Artwork Discussion ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' And there's – the artwork is a fun thing to look at because it's actually a photograph that has been adapted to look like it, you know, has been drawn. Oh, nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's some little secrets in there which you can spot. Oh, I have to look at it closer now. Yeah, it's fun. It's Tiff's Pen Cup. So, it's worth looking at. It's worth looking at. There's a lot of cool stuff going on in there. Cool. All right. Well, let's take a break and thank our first sponsor of this week's show, which is Mack Walden. Mack Walden, make the most comfortable underwear, socks, shirts, undershirts, hoodies, and sweatpants that you are ever going to wear, that you're ever going to adorn your body with. If, frankly, Mack Walden is better than whatever you're wearing right now, they're so confident of this fact that they have a no-questions-asked return policy. Because Mack Walden are so sure you are going to absolutely adore and be super comfortable with whatever you buy from them that you're going to love it forever. But if there is any reason, any reason at all that you do not like your first pair, just tell them and they'll refund you and you keep them no-questions-asked. By pairing premium fabrics with meticulous attention to detail and a simple shopping experience, Mack Walden delivers a new level of daily comfort straight to your door. Mack Walden make undershirts to stay tucked, socks that stay up, and waistbands that don't roll. Everything is made of premium cotton blended with natural fibers, and their website is built to get you in and out as quickly as possible. They don't want to waste your time. It's super easy. It's a breeze to buy. Anyway, as someone who's about to take a long trip, I'm super happy that I will have my Mack Walden sweatpants, my good friends, the Mack Walden sweatpants, with me when I get on my transatlantic flight. I recently refreshed all of my Mack Walden stuff. I have drawers full of underwear now. I'm a big fan of their boxes. They're really great. I don't know if you wanted to know that specifically about me, but now you do. Drawers full of drawers. Drawers full of drawers, but their sweatpants are just sublime. I'm a big, big, big, big fan of them. Super, super comfortable. So, Mack Walden also have a line of silver underwear and shirts to add naturally antimicrobial, which means they eliminate odor. And, not only does all this stuff look good, they perform well, too. Whether you're working out, going to work, traveling, or just for everyday life, Mack Walden is for you. And listeners of this show can get 20% off their first order at MackWeldon.com with the code PENADDICT at checkout. That is MackWeldon.com, M-A-C-K-W-E-L-D-O-N.com. Then use the code PENADDICT at checkout to get yourself a wonderful 20% off your first order. Our thanks to Mack Walden for their support of this show and RelayFM.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Are you ready for this next segment?

'''Myke Hurley:''' We've been up to no good.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, we've been teasing y'all for a little bit about a sailor product we've bought. And, you know, I've let the secret out, you know, a little bit here and there. I've been taking pictures of this pin and everything.

'''Myke Hurley:''' This is something. A few weeks ago, Brad just sends me a DM. And he's like, take a look at this. What do you think? You think this is legit? And what did you send me? What is this page?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, my good friend Claire, who is one of my worst enablers, because she digs around all the Japanese sites and finds all the crazy stuff. And most of the time she sends it to me and I'm like, wow, that's awesome and I'm not going to buy it. So, she sent me a link that basically said, you should send this to Myke or show this to Myke. And I was like, what is it? And I clicked through the link. I was like, oh my gosh, it's a king of pen. And what exactly is going on here? So, it ended up being a collaboration with Shumibun, who has done other sailor pens. Like, they did the Rialo with like the, I think it was a translucent Rialo with blue finials and maybe a red finial model. So, this time they did a king of pen that's also translucent with navy blue finials and a grip section. And I knew you had been wanting the pro gear king of pen like my Sky, but you didn't just want one of the plain ones. Like, it came in the all clear, which you thought was fine. Actually, I think you liked it, but you were waiting for something more.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It didn't speak to me in the way that your blue one does.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. So, I sent you this link, and this was before I'd like even really considered, you know, the price or the, you know, buying it or anything like that. I was like, oh, what do you think about this? And then what were your thoughts when you saw the link?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Well, I just adored it because it was so different. I'd never seen one like this before. And there's just, I like navy blue just in general, but I don't have like a navy blue pen. So, like, it immediately interested me because it was super different. Plus, it was a demonstrator, but like not completely all one color. Like, I was super interested in it. But then I, like, I loved it. I loved the look of it. But it became, it became a something I had to do. Not a no-brainer, but something I felt like I had to do when I converted the price.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So, let's talk about that for a second. One of the places where, as a consumer, you can get in trouble is if you buy things because you think they're a good deal. And that's your main reason for buying them. It's like, oh, it's a good deal. I should buy it. Like, all these clothes on sale, I should buy it. All these shoes on sale, I should buy it. They're on sale. I'm getting a good deal. So, that's something you can get in trouble with in the pin world, too. And I've done it, like, at pin shows. That's where it'll get you. It's like, oh, this is a good deal. Well, it turns out maybe it wasn't the best pin for me or I didn't have a lot of experience with this brand. And I didn't really need it as much as I thought I needed it. But when you have something that you're already familiar with, with a brand you love, and a style of pin, like, for me personally, I've had this Sky for a year and a half now. And it's still one of my, you know, probably top three pins. Then you see the price and you go, oh, okay, this is kind of crazy. So, I paid, let's see, a year and a half ago, Atlanta Pen Show two years ago. I got my Pro Gear Sky King of Pin for, it was $790. I think to this day, that's the most I've ever spent on a pin. And I love it. And then we did the conversion for this pin. Because we're obviously buying from Japan, so it was listed in yen. It was $650. And then that's when I really started questioning myself. Number one, is this for real? And number two, is this for real? Like, as in, can we make it happen?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, we both were really super skeptical about this, right? Like, so, when Brad ordered it, he wouldn't let me send him the money until it was shipped. Right? Like, he was just like, no, no, just don't worry about it. Like, I think you used PayPal, right? Because you get, like, the PayPal protection or whatever. It just kind of, it was like a store that we don't buy from or don't really know very well. And it was a pin that neither of us had ever seen before, right? And it was an incredible price. It was like, okay.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And we were buying two of them because I had to buy one. Yep. So, I was like, don't, speaking of which, I haven't invoiced you yet for that pin. You're not. I should probably do that. No.

'''Myke Hurley:''' See, this is the thing. I ask, this happens a lot. I will ask Brad to send me invoices for stuff multiple times. You're just, you're too kind. Send me, just please send me it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, don't worry. I'm going to send you one for this. I'll buy you lots of things. Oh, no, no, no. I don't mean that you're never going to send it, but you're taking too long to send it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Just send it to me.



== Sailor Pen Details ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Well, it's, I wanted to talk about it. So, you know, it's more fun if I hadn't sent it yet. But anyway, it happened. Like, they showed up in a very reasonable amount of time. Like, within two weeks, the process was clean. It was efficient. It was communicative. The products arrived just as described. You know, I initially thought this was black finials. And then we read it and it was navy. And they really are. They look blue. Yep. When you have them in any type of light. It's such a stunning pin. It was a good deal. I'm very happy we did this. So, I want to know what you think. Because you have wanted this type of pin for quite some time now. So, what, was it worth it to you to get this pin and spend this type of money on something you've been wanting for a while?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Well, I love it. I love it. Like, the design is so different that I'm super intrigued by it. Like, I love to look at it. The colors are just different. Like, the navy blue is just very different than other pens that I own. Especially in this material type, right? Like, in an acrylic. Like, I have some, like, navy blue anodized aluminium. But it's just not the same. I love the inside of this pen. Like, the mechanism is so weird, right? Like, that it is a standard converter. But it sits inside of this, like, metal sheath. Which has a hole in the middle. Like, it's, like, so weird. Yeah. But I love it. Like, I love it. It just looks so different.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' The internals are a little intense. Yeah. They are.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And everything's got this, like, etching on it and stuff. Like, it just looks super different. Plus, there's, like, just a couple of little details. Like, so the body has these lines that go halfway down from the end of the pen. And the cap has a little bit of detail on it. What do you call it when it's flat on a bunch of sides?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Faceted? Yeah. It's kind of faceted. But on the inside. It's, like, internal.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's only, like, a quarter of the way up the cap. Right. I'm in love with it. The nib is perfect. Like, it's a medium. But it has some flex to it. So it's got some real character. You know? Like, I can... And I enjoy making, like, what's it called? Like, the railroad tracks with it. Right, right. Where it just has those two thin lines of a gap down the middle. Because you're splitting the tines too far. As well as it just having some bounce to it anyway. So I can get some line width variation. This... You said it to me in Slack when it arrived with me. And I just told you that I love the way it looked. You said to me that waiting paid off. And it really did. Because I found the king of pen for me. And I love it. I'm so happy. Like, I'm so happy. I have absolutely zero regrets about this pen. And it has rocketed to the top of my list for favorite pens. Like, it is jockeying for position at number one. I adore this pen. I love it so much.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, that's the thing that took me aback about when I bought my first one. That there was a lot of money to spend for what's essentially a plastic barrel pen. I mean, there's lots of, obviously, lots of features and lots of materials. And, like, the nib is gigantic and 21 carat. And that's why it's so soft, right? It doesn't really flex. But it does kind of bounce. Just because of the size of it. The pure size of it. Yeah.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And that makes it so interesting to me. It's like, well, it's not a flex nib, but it inherently has some flex to it because it's huge. Right. I look at this nib and I'm like, this could be registered as an offensive weapon. Like, it is massive. And I, which was why, I mean, the first time I ever saw a king of pen, I burst out laughing. Because it looked like somebody had cast some kind of spell on a regular king of pen. Right? Because it's just everything is bigger in every dimension. But it looks just like a pro gear. It's such an interesting design anyway, like, that I find it kind of fascinating. That it's like, well, it's just this one, but bigger? Like, and everything is in proportion. It is a super strange, like, pen anyway. But I absolutely adore it. I love it so much. And I feel very happy to have capped off my sailor madness with this. Hmm.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. It was probably bad timing for your wallet, but good timing in that. It kind of felt right. It's something you've been wanting to do for a while.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It felt like the right time because I'd already bought, like, three or four other sailor pens. They kind of just all worked out, really.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So we both bought medium nibs. It only came in medium and broad. And when I bought my Sky, that was one of my hangups that it only came in medium. But it turns out just like the base medium nib, it's actually firm enough and has that line variation to where it works well with my handwriting. I was a little concerned about it. And this nib, Myke, I took it to the Dallas Pen Show since Myke Masayama was there. And I got him to stub it. And it's fantastic. So I really, really love it. I knew I would have a second one of these in my life eventually. And I'm glad this one worked out. Like, everything about it worked out. And I wasn't sure it was going to in the beginning because – and that's why we didn't want to share it. We weren't sharing it to be, like, secretly or stealthy. We were not sharing it because we didn't want someone to get burnt if it didn't work out. Right? So we weren't trying to be coy about it. We were trying to be safe about it more than anything. So I just wanted to throw that out there.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, I'm super, super, super, super thrilled. I love it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, like this pen will rarely go uninked. Right? It's just – that's how my Sky has been. And I got a little bit different nib on this one. So they're going to write a little bit different. I don't know. It's just kind of a great pen. And I'm still – even after owning the Sky for so long, I'm still shocked at how great it really is for me and my style and my type of handwriting and things like that. So, yeah. It's really good.



== Pencil Gift Exchange ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's not the only thing I sent you, Myke. I sent you something I've been threatening to for, like, a year.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. I'm still not 100% sure why, but I have a – it's a Hightower, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So this is a chimney top. Chimney top. That's it. It's the long, pencil-y length, full-winked, black-winged-length pencil case because it contains, what, like 13 pencils, maybe? 14? I don't remember.

'''Myke Hurley:''' A bunch of wood pencil, a bunch of black wings and stuff.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So what I did for you was, since I talk about pencils all the time and how much I enjoy them, and especially the black-winged volumes when they come out, and you do not partake in the lead, which is fine. Like, that's just not your thing. You're more of a sailor man, and I understand that. But I do enjoy a good pencil quite occasionally. And I wanted to get some in your hands, just if nothing else, for reference. And I couldn't stop myself at just sending you a sampling. I sent you literally one of each of all the black-winged volumes releases to this point. I did recognize some of them.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. Like, there were some that I recognized were from that, but, like, I don't remember enough of them to assume that they all were. That's very kind of you.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, so I think I didn't have the 33 and a third, which is the most recent one that they released. I think I'd already shipped the package. And, yeah, you don't need that one. Like, you're good. You're covered. You're covered. But there are a couple in there to make special note of. Number one, the other all-black one, the real all-black one, is probably the one you might like the most because it has the firmest core. So that one's called the 24. So it's the all-black one in there. Then the all-wood one in there is the one that sold out the most. That's like the butcher orange or the butcher blue of the black-winged volumes. The 211. Yeah. Yeah. So those are kind of... Which you can probably hear. Yeah. Yeah. So that's kind of... That was the most popular one. And then, like, some of the more recent ones have been my favorite. Like, the pinkish-looking one is the 54. And then the 16.2 is the Ada Lovelace one. So, yeah. There's some really cool ones. Yeah. Tony in the chat room saying that single 211, you could sell it for like $40. It's not that expensive. But still, they've gone for stupid, stupid amounts. It's literally like the butcher blue of the field notes.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I like the way that one feels. It feels really nice. Like, I can tell a real difference, actually, between the 211 and the 24. Like, when I'm writing with them, I can feel a difference.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. The issue with the 211 was that it was the second edition. So they hadn't totally ramped up the quantities. Just like the same thing stored with field notes, right? You start small. Hopefully, your service goes well. And then you continue to grow it. And then people discover it late in the game. And those are long gone. That's what happened to the 211. So it was the second one to ever be released and never had the quantities that they wish they had now. So that's why, you know, the later releases have much more quantities available and things like that. So play around with them. There's probably like four different cores between them. You know, most of it with pencils, with those black wings, is the exteriors are different. But there are four different types of cores in there. Basically goes from soft, medium, firm, and extra firm. So, and I can point out, if you have a certain one that you end up saying, oh, this one feels different, I can tell you which they are. So anyway, I wanted you to have those, if nothing else, for reference for when I talk about a pencil and you go, oh, Brad has just gone overboard with these pencils. And now you can see why.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Well, thank you very much. That's very kind of you. Sure, sure.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So yeah, enjoy. And like I said, use, probably give the 24 and the 211 a shot. Just to see what you think. Okay. Just to see what you think. You know, play with them a little bit. Write with them. Sharpen them. See what you think. I will say, almost none of the erasers are like, really knock your socks off good. They adjusted them later in the game, made them a little bit better, but they're more for looks in my book. So don't get turned off by the lack of erasability of the racers. They do a fine job, not a great job. So there you have it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right. We got a lot more things to talk about, Myke. And as much as I enjoyed our King of Pen conversation, which we've been waiting to have, as much as I enjoyed sending you all the pencils, I really wanted to talk about the Lamy 2019 Special Editions question mark. And I'm saying question mark because when these links started showing up on Twitter on the 12th, thanks to my good friend Cindy in the chat room for sending these my way, that's where I saw them first was her retweets. I saved some of the links. I was like, oh, cool. The 2019 AL Star and Safari Limited Edition pictures are starting to release, you know, like the press release type of pictures. So I saved some of these links and so I could have them for the show notes. And then I went back yesterday to try to go through creating the show notes and I was going to put the link to these tweets in there and they were gone. The ones that I had saved had been pulled down. And these were all Japanese stores that all tweeted at about the same time. So like a group of Japanese stores all tweeted very similar images all around the same time and almost all of them vanished. I spent like an hour trying to hunt down an actual link. Like I could find the picture of the safaris, you know, on the various message boards and on Reddit. And I did reverse Google image search so I could find like a source tweet and you'd click on the link and it'd be gone. So I finally ran across one. So I put that in the show notes so you could see what they look like. The kicker was I could never find the all-star bronze picture again because that's one of the limited editions and it has a special edition ink. I was spending my time trying to find these pictures. I was asking everyone in Slack. But of course Cindy came through because she's awesome. And she sent me the image to the AL star bronze. So we have the pictures of the safari and in a link to where it came from and the pictures of the bronze. I'm assuming these are real. So many pin stores tweeted these out and so many of them took them down that I'm wondering if they got, you know, got hand slapped or something for releasing something too early. But with that story out of the way, what do you think about the products these sell themselves assuming that these are the real releases for next year's special editions?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I mean, the safari's running away with this one. Like, I'm surprised they're doing three limited editions. I'm intrigued to see what the story is. I mean, it's like pastel colors, like a pastel blue, pink and green. So it's very 80s style. But I mean, I'm all over these. These are excellent, excellent colors. The bronze, it's a little orangey, a little browny. I could get on board with it. I think, right? Like, I'm interested to see what the ink ends up looking like. It's not a bad one. Like, I think the A.L. Star Bronze is better than the Black Safari, right? Of 2018. Absolutely. But these safaris are a real return to form. Like, a real return. I think that they're awesome.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So almost irregardless of what you think about, you know, personally, whether you like these colors or like the styles of these pens, it's what Lamy needed to do to show that they've still got something left in the tank, right? They have been kind of having a design letdown over, or creativity letdown over the past couple of years with the Safari leases, like releasing an all black last year, or releasing the Pacific Blue A.L. Star with an ink they've already released. And just doing, making really weird decisions over and over again that just made us shake our heads. Like, we all still love the products. We'll still buy them. We'll still support them. But we're like, well, why are you doing this? I'm willing to throw money at you, but can I, can it like look like you're trying? And they did that on this time around. You know, the Safari look like those Easter candy shells that you get, you know, probably get your Cadbury's or M&M's around Easter time. The little coated chocolates, they're exactly like those blue and green and pink colors. I think they look fantastic. I definitely don't need all three. I'll probably end up with one of them. I definitely won't have to have all three of them. The bronze A.L. Star, I definitely don't need. But I think the ink might do pretty well. It's a kind of an interesting ink color to match along with the, with the pen itself. And the pen is fine. Like, I think it'll probably sell well. It fits in with some of their other metallic all stars. I mean, that's what that aluminum barrel pen should look like, right? It's got character. It's got the shine. It's got the metal. It may not be the best color in the world. And that's okay. They at least did something where they're not repurposing something they've already done or doing something super boring. And I applaud them for that because I've given them as hard a time as anyone over the last couple of years. And I really like seeing this. I'm assuming it's real because they, most of the pictures got taken down. That's when you know it's real. It's when a bunch of people, you know, unless there's a problem with them or something. But I have a feeling that these will be the ones for next year. We'll know maybe in November, I think, I can probably start reaching out to some European retailers, see if this is something that they'll have on order for like the spring, just to make sure that they're real. But I would wager so many stores were tweeting out about these that I bet you it's real. And they just blew the embargo date, like the chat room's saying. So we'll see. But I think it's cool. It's a good look for Lamy. And hey, by making it dramatic, they have us talking about it, right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, exactly. But I don't care about any of this compared to what else.



== Lamy Pikachu Set ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' With this other Lamy that flew by us today, there is a Pokemon Pikachu Lamy set exclusive for what seems to be China. And I don't know how I'm going to get this, but I need it. I need it desperately. It is a Pokeball case, like a rectangular case, which includes a, like a soft, looks like it comes with a soft case as well, which is, or maybe these are separate. It's difficult to tell, but at least it's a yellow Lamy Safari with a Pikachu tail logo on it. And it's yellow with a brown clip. There is a Pikachu like a topper that you can get, which goes onto the clip and a Pokeball pen stand. I need this so badly. Like, I cannot even, like, this is the marriage of, like, two of my favorite things in the entire world. Pens and Pokemon. With a brand that I already know and love. I am, I'm dying. I'm dying for this. I need, I need it so badly. And it's like one of those things, like how? I'm like searching around the internet. Like, how do you buy this? Everyone's just like, you know, I'm translating all these tweets from, from, I assume Chinese, if it's in China or maybe it's in, I don't know. But like, and it's all just like, oh, Pokemon Lamy released. But like, where though? Like, you can't just say that. Like, is it not coming? Yeah. Is it coming later? Is it already sold out? Like, none of this is, is information that I need. The information I need is, this is where you buy it. Or like, this is how you get one. Like, I need it. So, please, if anybody knows how I can get a hold of one of these, I really, I need to know.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, this is a bigger package than I've seen them do for just about anything. Yeah, it's bigger than the line package.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's a big box of stuff. And like, everything is branded. Like, I don't know what color the ink cartridges are. I hope they would be yellow, but I bet they're not. But they've got like, Pikachu's face on them. It's, oh my god.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. Yeah. Like, I'm not a Pokemon fan at all. Like, I was, I totally missed that, you know. It's like, why?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I don't, I don't understand why this is a Chinese exclusive as well.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Like, I don't know.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Surely it would make more sense for Japan than China. I don't understand.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I don't know. It looks amazing. What, I mean, I'd buy it just for the box alone. I mean, this whole kit is.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I do these regional exclusives as well. Let me buy it, Lamy. What is wrong with you?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And the thing about it is, like, this, this yellow pin with the red clip they've done. Like, this is, these are stock colors for them. But how they built it around this entire setup is amazing. But yeah. Is it? Yeah. It just looks wonderful. It looks wonderful. I don't, I can't say enough nice things about it. So, Myke needs one. So, listeners, let us know. How? Someone help me. How? Yeah. What, what I need, Myke, are one of these new Musgrave pencil t-shirts. Okay. This is all new to me. And I've kind of seen, like, some pictures going around, but I didn't realize the whole reboot Musgrave's gone through recently. And part of that is from the Erasable podcast, episode 106, with Henry Huland, the former president, owner of the, of the company. He's been in the company for 50 years. It's his family's company and just a great storyteller on the Erasable podcast. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him. You listen to him talk and you're like, this guy's seen some stuff in his day. You know, I mean, he could tell some really good stories. It was really fun to listen to his interview and especially, like, the specifics around manufacturing. Like, he got into the nuts and bolts of it. And the interesting part was the transformation Musgrave is starting to go through. I guess they started it listening to the show, listening to it, listening to him talk. And he was there with the person who was helping him do a lot of the marketing stuff. They're trying to move the company forward. You know, a company that's been around for 100 years and trying to make themselves current and up to speed with the market. And I can do nothing but applaud them for having the foresight to do this. Like, you know, they're working with people to make these t-shirts and to work on their social media and to make their products available. And importantly, tell the story of why Musgrave is great. And I thought it was very cool. I'm going to get some of these t-shirts. I know some of our listeners have already purchased these t-shirts because they sent me the link saying, hey, I purchased these t-shirts. But I don't know. I love hearing stories about companies like this and companies that are willing to go outside of their comfort zone to stay relevant in this super fast pace changing marketplace that we're in right now. So all credit goes out to Musgrave. Thanks for the interview. Erasable team. It was very fun. And, you know, this is a guy you want to sit down and have a drink with this guy. And you would probably just, you know, your jaw would be hurting from smiling so much. That's what I felt like listening to Henry Huland tell these stories. So it was fantastic.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So I wasn't listening to you because Jesse in the chat room found the link to the place where you buy these. These Pikachu bands.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's all right. I'm the pencil guy on this show anyway. This has been established.

'''Myke Hurley:''' The website is not helpful. If you don't, if you only speak English, it is not helpful. Even with the translation, because there's like pop-ups and stuff that you won't translate. So I don't know what to do.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' You're not going to be able to get any work done until this transaction is complete.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Well, I'm starting to understand that maybe I have no way of completing this transaction.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So we'll make it happen. Well, we know people. We'll make it happen.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Someone can help me out there, but I don't think that this website actually is realizing where I am and won't let me sign up for an account. Nice. There we go. So that's how that works. We'll figure it out. But those t-shirts do look cool. I did take a look at them beforehand. And I guess it is a brand. I guess that does mean something to people as well, like if you're in that kind of world. So it's cool to see this kind of stuff come out. I like merch. Yep. Definitely like merch. If you want a place to sell merch, you could sell it at Squarespace because they have all of the tools that you're going to need to put your next project online. You can make your next move with Squarespace. They will let you easily create a website for your next idea. You can enable a unique domain name. You can register that with Squarespace directly. You can take advantage of and customize award-winning, beautiful templates. You can have your own online store. They have all of the functionality that you're going to need to sell physical and digital goods. But you can build just about any type of website that you want with Squarespace. It can be a blog. It can be a site for your business. It can be a site for your events. It doesn't matter what it is. They're an all-in-one platform that will let you do it. There is nothing to install or patch or upgrade. They have got you covered. Squarespace also back everything up with award-winning 24-7 customer support. Their plans start at just $12 a month. But you can sign up for a free trial with no credit card required today. Just go to squarespace.com slash penaddict. Then when you decide to sign up, use the offer code penaddict to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain and to show your support for this show. Once again, that is squarespace.com slash penaddict and the code penaddict to get 10% off your first purchase. Our thanks to Squarespace for their support of this show, Squarespace. Make your next move. Make your next website.



== Podcast Episode Announcement ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right, Myke. We have recorded now. This will be the 330th episode of the podcast.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I didn't want to talk about this.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' We may or may not have recorded episode 331 of this podcast.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Mm-hmm.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But knowing all that, I think the show is now going to come to an end because this is going to be the greatest piece of content we have ever shared on this show. And we will never do better.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' The Sylvester Stallone chaos pen trailer. This isn't new. It's not new, but it's making the rounds on the internet and the world is finding out how insane this is. And there is an entire article written just about the pen movie. Dissecting it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' It is wild. You've probably... I'm expecting, if you haven't seen it before, you've definitely seen it this week. It was everywhere, right? Yeah. I don't really know how it got everywhere, but it did. I just want to say Sylvester Stallone is a problematic individual, I think. Right? Yeah. So I just want to, like, just preface that before this conversation.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So I love this author. Who wrote this? I don't even see a name. Stuart Heritage. All right. So he's breaking down this thing scene by scene. And I'm not going to go through it all, but here's the beginning. The trailer begins proper. We meet a skeleton decaying by the banks of the river. Who does the skeleton belong to? The guy who commissioned the pen? We may never know because it starts to shimmer and glow before us. I mean, this article is as good as the pen itself. It's just amazing. So thank you, Stuart, for resurrecting the awesomeness that is the Sylvester Stallone chaos pen. The video is so dumb. It's just, like, so bad. I will never, ever not talk about this every time it becomes public. Because this pen will never die. Right? I mean, it's not going anywhere. And every few years it comes up somewhere again. And people slam on it from all corners of the earth. And I love every minute of it. It's fantastic. So, well done, Guardian. Thanks for breaking down that video in an epic manner. So, show's over. He wins.



== Pen Will Kickstarter Discussion ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' But not really. Can we move on? Okay. We'll move on. You know I love the chaos pen, Myke.

'''Myke Hurley:''' You know I love it. I know.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Not as much as I love Dan Keller from the pen will. He has a new Kickstarter out, Myke, that was an Instaback for me. He is, a lot of us are familiar with his work with the pen will. You have one. I have one. It's a desk pen holder that attaches to your desk. It allows you to keep a pen upright on the desk. And he's made a more portable model of the pen will traveler. And I wanted to link that, number one, because I'm a backer. But more importantly, because I love to support makers who do cool things. Like, it almost doesn't matter if I use this product. It matters if I support good people doing good things. And that's what I love to do. And I actually think I will use this product. It's kind of awesome. And then I scrolled down the project, Myke, and I saw the Pen Addict logo on there. And I was like, oh, I wonder what I said. And then that's not really what happened, was it? It's not always about you, Brad.

'''Myke Hurley:''' People care about what I have to say, too, you know.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, so Dan reached out. And he said he really liked something that I said when talking about the original pen will. And I asked if he could get my permission to use the quote in the video as well as on the page. And it was when I said, you see the pen will and you're like, that's very strange. And then you use it and you're like, oh, that's really good. Which is how I feel about it. I use my pen will every day. The Traveler one, I think this is a great idea. It doesn't have, for me, the old worldy charm that the original pen will does. But I actually think that Dan went with the right kind of design for this specific model. Because it does feel more techie in its moving around-ness, you know. But I would pick one of these up for the exact same reason that you are. Because I really like this stuff. So I want to support it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' What color are you going to go with?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I don't know. I haven't decided yet.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I haven't decided yet. I have. I have. I'm going with white. Like, that's a... It seems like a neat, neat option. Even though there's some cool stuff going on, I thought for sure I would like to try the white one. So, anyway, props to Dan. He's already met his funding goal. So this one's going to be happening. But get out there. Support Good Made Better, the company behind the pen well. And the awesome Dan Keller and his wife, who traveled to pen shows. Many of you may have just seen him at the Colorado Pen Show. So, very cool. Great job. Another great job on a Kickstarter. Myke, have you seen the Ferris Wheel Press Kickstarter? I like bringing up some of these new Kickstarters from time to time.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I haven't seen this until it was in on notes today.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So, I got familiar with the pen that Ferris Wheel Press did. Aziza at Gourmet Pens had the pen earlier this year. And I missed their first Kickstarter. I think they had a Kickstarter where you could get the pen. I totally missed it. And I like the design of the pen. It's very unique. There's not a lot going on with the pen. But it's got these really intricate details, like in the grip section and on the nib. I like the story that they're telling.

'''Myke Hurley:''' You know, like they are a print shop and they have a lot of machinery. And so, they incorporated like a nut, like a brass nut onto the pen. Right? Like, they have a cool story to tell that I appreciate greatly because it carries through to the design of their product. So, I was really taken aback by that. And also, just like their overall like packaging design and stuff is very cool.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It's some of the best like design, marketing, like style.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Mm-hmm.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' You know, where like everything works together. It's really cool. Like, they've really thought about this project. And, you know, the core of this project is the ink. And I got to say, like the inks don't really grab me. Like, I want the pen. Like, the inks are fine. Yeah. I want the artwork. I want the bottles of the pen. I mean, of the ink. But, like the ink colors, like they're fine. Tanzanite sky, bluegrass velvet, candy marsala. Three really nice colors. They all work together. The bottles are 85 milliliters. So, they're huge. And they're about $30. So, they're fairly priced. And like the top of the bottle is that same nut that's on the pens. Like everything matches up. It's really, really well done. I'm going to, unless I can buy just the pen though, they don't have a pen only level. So, I'm hoping one day I can just pick up the pen because I don't need the ink. But, I thought this was a really cool project. It looks like they did a spectacular job to be quite honest with it. And, actually, I would be more inclined to buy like the charm pack. Like the enamel pens, the PIN pens. Those are super cool. Like, they did a really good job with those. So, good job, Ferris Wheel Press. I'd like to know if anyone already has the pen. And if that's something I should try to chase down. Because I kind of like the style of it. So, I'll be paying attention to what they do. I'll hopefully be able to try Aziza's in Toronto coming up soon. So, you'll be able to do that too, Myke. I hear we're going to be there in a week or so.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Speaking of which, there will be in the show notes, again, information about the meetups that we are doing in New York and Toronto. So, we have a couple of things going on. So, you can find that in our show notes, which is at relay.fm slash penaddict slash 330. Or in your podcast app of choice. We will be joined on our next episode by Anna Reinert. And we're going to be going through the whole experience and kind of talking about what we're going to be up to when we head out next week. And as a programming note, the episode that we'll be recording about Toronto and New York whilst in Toronto, that will come out on the 31st. So, as normal, we're kind of sticking to our regular schedule for this one because it's not an audience live episode. So, we're going to hold on to that one for a day or two. And then we'll put it out kind of as normal for you all. So, yeah. We'll be back next time. Thank you so much to our wonderful sponsors for this episode. Squarespace and Mac Weldon. You can find Brad at penaddict.com. Twitch.tv slash penaddict. Instagram.com slash penaddict. He's Dowdy. He's on Twitter. Knock.co for wonderful goods. I am imike. I-M-Y-K-E. Give me a follow on Instagram, especially with the trip coming up. I'm going to be sharing a lot to my Instagram stories of everything that I'm getting up to. So, I'm sure that'll be fun if you want to follow along. But we'll be back next time. I'm joined by our third host. Until then, say goodbye, Brad. Goodbye, Brad.

[[Category:Podcast Transcripts]]
[[Category:The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript]]