I can hardly believe we’re already half-way through the year! But, it’s true, and that means it’s time for a mid-year check-in on my purchasing resolution.
My rules for this year are:
- Add 36 pens max to my collection (including non-fountain pens and gifts).
- Limit mainstream brand acquisitions to 18.
- Don’t buy pretty ink sticks.
So, how am I doing?
To date, I’ve added 15 pens to my collection, with 2 commissions in the works. I had a pen-buying spree in late May – early June. But, even with that spree, I’m still 3 pens under my max purchases to stay under 36 pens this year — assuming a 3 pen per month average. I’m also 4 pens behind where I was this time last year. Go me!
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
Of those 15, in no particular order and with several instances of overlap:
- 3 were wish list commissions
- 2 were gifts
- 5 are indie-made
- and 3 were secondhand
One of my pending commissions is also from my wish list.
I’ve acquired more mainstream brand pens this year than I would have expected, but I’m not far off — just 1 over — my target for mid-year, assuming my purchases are evenly distributed.
I did buy two “pretty ink sticks” so far. One was so I could finally have a pen made from Brooks Warm Primary Manipulation. The second was this year’s Goulet Pen Co. x Franklin-Christoph collaboration. That material is gorgeous.
I’ve only managed to sell 4 pens so far this year, but I have 18 currently for sale, 14 I’m planning to sell, and 14 in review to potentially sell.
Overall, I feel like I’m doing pretty well this year. I long as I don’t have another buying spree, I think I’ll actually end the year under my limit! And, if I can sell the pens I want to, I have a chance of a minimal collection increase.
How have you been doing with your pen purchases this year? Have you sold any pens? Are you happy with the state of your collection? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Make sure to subscribe to my blog or follow me on Instagram so you don’t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week.
