Time for another addition to this yearly tradition. If you’re curious, you can check out the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 entries. This idea was originally based on the “New Makeup Releases | THE TAG” video from Angelica Nyqvist.
This tag is about evaluating the releases — in this case, pens and inks — from the past year. Unfortunately, I was significantly more out of touch with pen releases this year — I blame it on crochet and an absolutely crazy year — and had to do quite a bit of research to answer some of these questions. Let me know if you agree or disagree with me.
1. What release(s) lived up to the hype most this year?
This might be a little too niche to really have “hype,” but I think the Pen Addict’s Retro exclusive knocked it out of the park! While last year’s version was interesting, this one is much more in keeping with my preferences. I tried to resist getting one, because I really have too many Retros already, but, I had to give in. It’s just so good!
2. Which release(s) did not live up to the hype?
For the first time, I have to say I don’t know. When I look back at some of the major releases — the annual vanishing point, Hobonichi planners, etc. — I don’t recall hearing anything negative about them. Whether that’s because there was less hype in general this year — the world has had a pretty rough year — or because releases were generally better, I don’t know.
3. What was the biggest curveball?
For me, the biggest curveball was the Fahrney’s — a Washington, DC pen store — changes. Credit to Drew Brown. A year ago — give or take — I had a seriously negative opinion about Fahrney’s, mostly based on their abysmal customer service. However, now I’m looking forward to their new location opening and plan to visit as soon as possible. Talk about a complete 180.
4. What was the most ridiculous luxury release?
In a change from the previous iterations of this post, I only have a good ridiculous luxury release this year: the Visconti Nikola Tesla. Is it absolutely over-the-top (especially in its “cage”)? Yes. But is it really cool? Also, yes.
5. What was the biggest letdown/snoozefest?
I know a lot of people love(d) it, but for me, it was the Colorverse Colorvent. I watched some spoiler videos to help decide whether I wanted to dupe it or the Inkvent calendar, and, well, you know which one I chose. For a brand that has SO MANY colorful inks, I find their advent calendars to be dark and boring. I’d also prefer if they would switch to advent-themed calendars. I know that the universe is their thing, but they have plenty of non-space-themed inks in their standard lineups.
6. Which brand(s) had the best year?
I know a lot of people were excited about the variety of TWSBI Eco pens this year, from the “marbled” Serpentine with Bronze, to the coffee series, to the transparent plum with onyx. For me, they released too many pens, but at least they’re at prices that would allow people to collect subsets.
7. Which brand(s) need to reevaluate what they’re doing?
I never thought I’d say this, but this one goes to Benu. They were a top brand for me the past few years, and I have so many of their pens. But, their release schedule has completely overwhelmed me, and I feel burnt out by seeing their stuff. It feels like they’re releasing multiple new pens every week, and I’m just sick of it. Even a release a month would be too much, but they’ve gone waaaaaaay beyond that.
I also feel Ferris Wheel Press deserves a mention. While I haven’t kept up with the drama, I know there have been growing mutterings over the course of the year that seem to have culminated in a massive failure of an AMA on Facebook and Reddit. I’ve stayed away from FWP because of their tippy bottles and forced FOMO, but I’m curious to see if this causes any major fallout.
8. Did your predictions from last year come true?
I made two predictions again last year: “I’m guessing we’ll see even more “clicky” fountain pens next year… I think there’s a chance we’ll see other ink and stationery brands trying advent calendars…”
I finally got one right! We have seen some more “clicky” fountain pens. Off the top of my head, there’s the Nahvalur Eclipse and the budget Writech Clictek. I don’t know if these were released this year, but I hadn’t seen them before this year.
But, we didn’t see any new advent calendars from major pen or ink brands. I did, however, see several stationery advent calendars include a fountain pen. Does that count?
9. What are your predictions for releases next year?
I don’t think I was plugged into the pen world enough this year to make predictions. There will be many pen and ink releases. How about that? *grin*
It feels like these questions get harder to answer every year, so I’m thinking of dropping this post from my end-of-year line up. Would you miss it, or do you agree that it’s time to let it go?
Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Do you agree with my answers? Do you think I’m completely wrong? What are you predictions for next year? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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