MY BROTHER LOVES PENS
MY BROTHER LOVES PENS
My brother Eddie is unquestionably one of the foremost experts in the world on the subject of fine writing instruments. The fact is Eddie loves pens, and he knows the history of every pen, how many were made, and whether the pen is a limited and/or a sold out edition, he probably knows who owns it or how to acquire the rarest of finds. It doesn’t matter if the collector is not in the United States. Eddie has customers all over the world, and they call him all hours of the day. If you don’t believe me, ask his wife or children. Many of our friends ask if the cell phone ear bud is permanently attached to Eddie’s ear. It may be, I’ve never seen him without it for the last 20 years. These customers aren’t just clients many have become Eddie’s closest friends. He is invited to their children’s weddings, Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah, engagement parties, weddings you name it. The fact is even our fiercest business competitors are friends on a social level and enjoy each other’s company for dinner at many of our trade shows. This is a very unique industry, and it is very nice to see that other retailers have such respect for one another. It is not uncommon to help your competitor find their client a rare pen, because the next time around it is you calling them for a favor. Fortunately, there are enough pen lovers to keep us all busy, and hopefully even in this challenging economy, we can all prosper.
Perhaps our industry needs to establish a school where you can become certified in writing instrumentology. Much like a gemologist becomes certified by going to the Gemologist Institute of America. If there were such a course, I would venture to say that Eddie would be a professor of writing instrumentology. Please don’t look it up in the dictionary, I did make up this word. As I couldn’t use the more concise term penology because it turns out the word already exists yet it means the study of prison management, which is not quite fitting.
If you love pens, and want to learn more about some of the world’s finest writing instruments, such as: Acme Studio, Aldo Domini, AT Cross, Cartier, Conklin, Conway Stewart, David Oscarson, Delta, Ducati, Dunhill, Faber Castel, Grayson Tighe, Jac Zagoory, Jaguar, Jorg Hysek, Jean Pierre Lepine, Loimanchay, Michel Audiard, Michel Perchin, Montblanc, Montegrappa, Monteverde, Namiki, Nettuno, Parker, Pelikan, Platinum, Porsche Design, Retro 51, Sailor, Sheaffer, ST Dupont, Taccia, Visconti, Waterman or Yard-O-Led. Please forgive me if I forgot to mention any notable brands, I’m sure if Eddie were writing this article nothing would be left out. However, in an effort to keep this article concise it’s better to just touch on some of the more recognizable brands. I’ve posted a few of the premier products for your enjoyment, so put on your sunglasses! If you love pens, and you don’t know Eddie, you owe it to yourself to make the connection. I can assure you, that you won’t be disappointed. If you want to pass your course in writing instrumentology you better sign-up now with Eddie Kallman from Airline International Luggage, Pens & Gifts. He is the world’s only professor of this course.
