There are advent calendars... and then there is the Cult Pens Premium Advent Calendar. This is for the dedicated festive superfans, those for whom Christmas is the pinnacle of annual celebrations. It's not a budget item, so we quite forgive you for wanting to know what's in it.
So, in no particular order, let's do this...
Countdown to Christmas with the Cult Pens Advent Calendar.
Now look, usually these things are supposed to contain surprises, and if you know what's in it, it's not really a surprise is it? But we know that some of you aren't comfortable with the unexpected, and we're nothing if not mindful of our lovely customers.
So, if you really want to know, here goes (in no particular order)...
Sailor is one of Japan’s most popular fountain pen brands and is definitely a Cult Pens favourite. Famous for truly exceptional nibs, iconic designs and an impressive schedule of new and innovative product from the ‘entry level’ Tuzu to high end Chinkin and Urushi pieces skilfully crafted in limited numbers, you can always guarantee 2 things from Sailor. The writing experience will be exceptional and the pen will have been made, 100%, in Japan! So when the good people at Sailor invited me to visit the factory in Japan my bags were packed before you could say ‘King of Pens’.
They have a history dating back to 1911, and you can read a brief history of Sailor pens in this earlier blog. One thing has remained constant through that history and that’s a commitment to be ‘a pioneer of the culture of handwriting while continuing to be uncompromising with your writing’.
Sailor’s newly reconstructed factory, completed in autumn 2022, is located in Kure, 30 minutes from Hiroshima. Kure has been home to Sailor since 1911 when the brand was founded by Kyugoro Sakata. The new state of the art factory was built on part of the site that has housed Sailor manufacturing since its inception. The factory has taken many different forms and required a total rebuild in 1945 at the end of WWII.
The architecture of the new factory is striking, with a white building housing the entrance area, an impressive archive and museum as well as the nib manufacturing section of the factory. Behind (in ‘Sailor Blue’) are the production, assembly and finishing areas. When viewed from above the site is even more impressive, given that the white section of the building resembles a fountain pen nib! And when viewed from the side the white building features a design inspired by a ship, with the blue building suggesting the idea of a pen setting sail.
As is standard in manufacturing facilities I was unable to take any photos or videos on the factory tour. However, I was luckily enough to see all areas of production on site. The tour began in the archive. I was taken on a journey from the first ebonite pens made in the 1920s, through celluloid examples from the 30s and 40s to 1945, when Sailor invented their own plastic injection-moulding machines. Sailor’s first ink cartridge pen came in 1958 with the first 21 carat nibs landing in 1969. Things really accelerated through the 80s and 90s with the introduction of the 1911 and the pens reaching new international markets. Walking through the archive I got a real appreciation for the history of the brand and the relationship between innovation and the use of traditional Japanese manufacturing techniques and craftsmanship.
Most recently Sailor produced pens for world leaders at the 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit. Each world leader was presented with an Iro-Miyabi fountain pen produced in the factory.
The methods used in the factory seamlessly blend state of the art modern machinery and ancient techniques. This is perhaps most apparent in nib manufacture. Gold, silver and copper are melted at 1,000°C to create the alloy that serves as the base for every gold nib. The ingot is then rolled to the required thickness for the initial nib shape to be punched. The nib then goes through more than 20 stages of grinding, shaping, testing, polishing, cleaning and testing again before being passed to the assembly area. The final position of the nib is set by hand before precise dimensions are checked under a microscope. I was blown away at the skill and attention to detail taken through this process. We often think of ‘Quality Control’ as a person checking a random selection of products at the end of the production line. In reality, as the nib passes between at least 20 different pairs of hands it is inspected and checked under a jeweller’s loop by skilled technicians with decades of experience. If the smallest flaw is identified, the nib is instantly rejected.
Ever wondered why your new Sailor nib seems ‘wet’ or there is some moisture in the cap? That’s because before assembly the nib is dipped in a watered down ink solution and tested by hand on paper. The technician uses decades of experience to check that the feel of the nib is correct and the nib is behaving as expected. You guessed it, if the exacting criteria is not met, the nib goes back to the start of the process.
The majority of the barrels and caps are manufactured in the Hiroshima factory; however, some speciality products are created by the finest craftsmen in Japan.
The final area of the factory tour took me to the assembly line for the Sailor Tuzu. With all components injection-moulded on site and the nibs manufactured in the same factory, I was pleased to see that these pens are also assembled by hand and go through the same exacting QC process as any other pen coming out of the factory. The factory manager was pleased to show me his personal pen of choice - the Sailor Tuzu. As a ‘leftie’ the rotating triangular grip allows him to achieve the best angle for his writing style.
I also had the opportunity to meet legendary Sailor ink blender Mr Hidetoshi Takahasi. He has developed many inks for Sailor including the Cult Pens Exclusives. With a mixing pallet, set of 16 ink colours and a finely-trained eye he can create any coloured ink one might desire. As well as the majority of inks in the Sailor range, he has personally created one-of-a-kind inks inspired by the fur on a beloved pet cat; the colour of the sea from a holiday snap; and the bright pink hair of a fountain pen enthusiast. When I was asked if I would like my own one-of-a-kind ink I didn’t know where to begin! My ‘go-to’ for day-day note taking and journaling is Diamine Ultra Green but I’ve been after something a bit more subtle. My brief: moss green, with a blue tint, subtle, natural, but fun and interesting. Easy, right?! So with some mixing, switching, adjusting and remixing, I bring you ‘Sailor Celadon’- exclusive to the desk of - me!
The factory is not open to the public; however, should you ever find yourself in Japan then Hiroshima is a wonderful place to visit. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is moving and thought-provoking, with the memorial gardens providing peace and tranquillity at a location associated with terrible loss and destruction. The city has been rebuilt on hope and peace and represents the best of modern Japan. Close by you’ll find Itsukushima Shrine, a World Heritage Site with one of the most famous and iconic Torii gates in all of Japan. And also home to some very friendly deer!
On an unassuming street in Nakameguro, 25 minutes south of Tokyo Station, stands the original Travelers Factory. The area has trendy vibes, and what could be more trendy than Traveler's Company? It’s easy to forget that the brand was only established in 2006. In a relatively short period it’s become so well known for quality journals with exceptional paper. One could be excused for thinking Traveler’s products had been accompanying explorers for hundreds of years.
It’s no secret that the paper in all Traveler’s Company products is from Midori MD and in fact, until 2015 the product traded as Midori. First came the iconic leather journals. In 2010 a range of gorgeous raw brass accessories – ones that, like the leather on your journal, will age and develop character with use. The range has continued to develop to allow travelers to create the perfect journal to suit their needs.
Opened in 2011 and housed it what used to be a paper processing factory, there now stands a ground floor shop, with a cafe and workshop on the 1st floor. You can’t help but be inspired when entering the store. Examples and ‘how to’ displays fill the space and ‘sample’ journals across various formats have been populated by the talented staff in store.
The Traveler’s Company range in store includes leather journals, a large selection of refills, brass pens and pencils, and every imaginable accessory for your journal. The store features some other complementary brands including Tombow, and a Cult Pens favourite - Toyo Steel. Beyond stationery there is a range of travel accessories. These have been carefully selected and keep to the Traveler’s Company ethos of quality, sustainable and beautiful products that will accompany you on your travels for many years.
There are Traveler’s Company stores and concessions across Japan. Each boasting an impressive range of store exclusives. These include exclusive journal colours, pendants, stickers, and stationery. There are also a number of stamps available in store to personalise your journal - some of these stamps are exclusive to the store, so you can ‘collect’ the stamps in your journal by visiting different stores.
The cafe area on the 1st floor provides a space for customers to take some time for a coffee, journal writing and peaceful contemplation. There is also a workshop where regular events are held. These events include journal personalisation and decorating. If your well-travelled journal is a little worse for wear, you can speak to staff in the store about spares and repairs.
The coffee shop also featured a cool mural showing the last limited edition collection. Sold out now, unfortunately, but they make limited editions every so often.
My Traveler’s Factory haul:
We know that Cult Pens customers love Japanese pens and stationery. From timeless writing instruments made by Sailor, Pilot and Platinum, beautiful inks, quality papers and journals from Midori MD, and pen cases from Lihit Lab. There are also great ‘everyday’ pens from the likes of Pentel, Zebra and Uni-ball. Oh, and how can I forget the delightful little paper clips from Ohto that we attach to the invoice in all our customer orders?
You may be lucky enough to have a trip to Japan booked, in which case this short guide will help you find some ‘bucket list’ stationery stores. If not, you have no doubt heard of Tokyo’s legendary stationery shops - maybe including one that has 13 floors!
We start in Ginza, considered the most exclusive shopping district in Tokyo, and possibly one of the most upscale shopping areas in the world. Amongst glitzy cocktail bars, expensive sushi restaurants and designer Italian boutiques we find the legendary Itoya. Itoya is actually a chain with stores in cities across Japan. The flagship Tokyo store has 13 floors and a 4-floor satellite store - yes, that’s right, 17 floors to explore! Across them, you’ll find a vast range of pens, pencils, paper and art supplies.
Luxury pens are located on the 3rd floor. A fine display, with all the major Japanese and international brands. There is also a Montblanc boutique, and a counter offering pen repairs and personalisation. I spotted many Itoya exclusives and a few licensed products only available in the Japanese market. I picked up a Sailor x Disney ink with a Jungle Book theme (my favourite childhood movie!). Unfortunately we won’t be able to sell this one at Cult Pens - I tried! I also noticed high end special and limited editions including the Graf von Faber-Castell ‘Pen of the Year’ and the Year of the Dragon pen from Caran d’Ache.
The ‘Craft’ and ‘Work’ floors are also well worth a visit for paper products, including the widest range of craft papers I’ve ever seen. I picked up a few greetings cards in Itoya as well, a touch of Japan for upcoming Birthdays and Weddings.
Next, staying in Ginza, you’ll find Ancora, a shop created in partnership with Sailor Pens. I call it a ‘shop’ but in reality this is more of a luxury pen boutique than a mere stationery shop. Beautifully curated displays and innovative ‘ink bars’ plus ‘build a pen’ stations make this a totally immersive shopping experience. Ancora is famous for its exclusive products which have been known to create queues in the street and sell out in a matter of hours. I couldn’t resist creating my own pen. After selecting the individual components, the pen is skilfully assembled and presented for inspection before being packaged up. A great experience.
Crossing Tokyo to the Shinjuku area you’ll find Kingdom Note. Similarly to Ancora this is beautifully presented store. Focussing on high end pen brands include Montegrappa, Montblanc, Graf von Faber-Castell, as well as writing instruments from Japanese manufacturers. There is a small ink range on offer with Diamine being the best represented brand - nice to see a British brand being so successful in Japan.
Sekaido, also in the Shinjuku area, is more of an Art and Craft store, but does have a pen counter. Over six floors you’ll find frames, canvas, an amazing range of art materials from all the big brands, and a credible stationery range. Japanese art and calligraphy is very well represented, with numerous brush and dip pens, specialist papers, and oil paints. The store has a large range of ‘loose’ pens (not as big a range as Cult Pens, but pretty close!). There is a large range from Copic and paper products from the main European and Japanese brands.
‘Loft’ should have an honourable mention, a department store offering a variety of lifestyle goods. I visited the Shibuya store. As well as impressive displays of ‘everyday writing’ there is a well stocked fine writing area. Caran d’Ache and Parker were well represented. I was also excited to see a large range from Lihit Lab, most of which can be found at Cult Pens.
It’s worth noting that small independent pen shops are much more prevalent in Japan. In the arches under the railway line at Taino I found small shops offering comprehensive repair services, as well as vintage pens from Montblanc and Pilot.
For anyone who loves journaling, The Traveler’s Factory in Nakameguro is well worth a visit. There are stores across Tokyo but the original Traveler’s Factory is the one to visit. In fact it was so special it was worthy of its own separate blog post.
Japan truly is the land of stationery and there are no doubt many more worthy stores not in this list. Here are Cult Pens were always working to bring you the best of Japanese Stationery. A few of our favourites can be found in this collection.
Benu was founded in 2016 when Alex Semanin and Kate Dmitrieva got together to make pens and accessories “for those who prefer bold, bright colours and new designs that are playful, stylish and fun”. A quick look at their range looks very much like they have succeeded - their pens are definitely bold, bright and fun, with vivid colours, glitter and flakes of gold embedded in them.
They both had backgrounds in watches, jewellery and home decor, but making fountain pens was more appealing to them.
Fountain pen fans can be quite mixed - some really want pens with some long-term heritage about them, from companies that have been making them for many decades, or longer. But there’s always a place for the new and interesting. But only if it’s really good. Fortunately, Benu’s pens quickly proved to work well and reliably, using nibs made by respected maker JoWo, and with plenty of attention to detail in the design and manufacturing processes.
For us, it started with getting some samples to have a look at. And in what was a bit of an odd decision with hindsight, we decided not to sell them. The thing was, we all liked them, but we thought they were just too strange for our customers. You lot. Yes, we thought you’d find them too bright and colourful; too glittery; too different.
So we told Benu we weren’t going to stock them, and could we send the samples back to them? They said to keep them. So after a little while, we decided to let our staff have them. And they (well, we, I was there too, keenly grabbing!) loved them. In our next meeting, half the people attending were using a Benu pen, and enthusing about how nice they were.
That was the point where we realised our error. If we were all that keen on them, surely our customers weren’t that different to us? Maybe you’d want them too. So we told Benu we’d changed our minds, and got them on our site.
And it looks like we were right - they’ve been very popular. There’s nothing at all wrong with a pen being boring - they usually are, and that’s just fine. But that’s not what everyone wants. And Benu pens are very much not boring.
It’s not all been easy - Benu was originally based in Russia, so the invasion of Ukraine prevented them doing business with the rest of the world. Fortunately, they were able to leave the country, moving the company entirely to Yerevan, Armenia.
Their efforts seem to be paying off - the range of Benu pens keeps increasing, with more colours and finishes being dreamed up all the time. And they’re now also making quite a range of hand-painted pens, where every individual pen has the design carefully painted onto the barrel by their artists. They’ve even made a couple of these exclusive to us, as part of our birthday celebrations.
For this year’s birthday, they made beautiful hand-painted pens with celebratory fireworks and trees.
Benu pens are very much for people who want their pen to be noticed - but if that sounds like you, check out our selection of Benu pens here.
Retro 51 pens are quite retro in style. There’s a bit of a hint in the name, really. The name isn’t a hint to when they were founded, though, that was in 1990. The aim was always to make pens ‘like they used to’, with nostalgic styling and build quality.
And the pens from their early days, which you can see in their archive of old catalogues, were, well, nice enough. But, to be honest, they looked like many other pens. But that changed in 1997.
But let’s start with the basics - they were founded in Texas, to make special gifts, but the emphasis was on pens from the beginning. And they’re no longer under the same ownership, but for positive reasons. The founder retired in 2021, and the company is now run by a group of three fans of the brand, collectors of their pens. They arrived just in time for the 25th anniversary of the Tornado, in 2022. But now we’re getting ahead of ourselves - the Tornado?
The Tornado was the pen that really made them - a design that still had some of that retro charm, but with a design that was really something special. It’s hard to say quite what makes the Tornado so special, because the design is so simple - just tapering towards the tip, with a knurled twist-knob at the top to extend and retract the tip. But it is special, and nothing else looks quite like it.
For the first year or so, the Tornado just sat at the back of the catalogue, but it was picking up a wide range of new colours and finishes even then. By 1999, it was featured on the cover, claiming “This pen will blow you away!”
By 2007, the catalogues were more Tornado than anything else, featuring a wide range of different finishes. It’s a great design for this - most of the body of the pen can feature full colour designs, or the usual resin can be replaced with various metals. And with such a huge choice of styles, one pen design can suit many different people, and feel special to them all.
Retro 51 plays well with others, too. Many of the special and limited edition Tornado pens are produced in conjunction with other companies or charities, museums or art galleries, often raising money for good causes. They’ve made artistic and historic designs with the Smithsonian, honey bees with NW Honeybee Habitat Restoration, cats and dogs with rescue charities, an assortment of stamps with the USPS, and William Morris patterns with The Met.
And where something is outside their own area, they work with the right people - for fountain pens, they use JoWo nibs, and their pen cases are made by Rickshaw. Refills are by Schmidt, and most of the pens use their much-loved rollerball refills, for a super-smooth writing experience. If you prefer a ballpoint, though, they’re compatible with the huge range of G2 ‘Parker-style’ refills available.
So if you just want a nice pen, the Tornado has enough choice to make it special for you. If you want a rollerball and a pencil, you can get a matching pair of Tornados, or mix it up so you can tell them apart more easily. And you could even have a fountain pen, rollerball, ballpoint and mechanical pencil, all Tornado pens.
Back in the 1840s, Richard Cross, a jeweller from Birmingham, left the UK for Providence, Rhode Island, USA, where he founded the A.T. Cross Pencil Company in 1846. His company continued to hone their craft over five generations of the Cross family.
Their expansion into fountain pens began in 1876 with a ‘Stylographic’ pen, most similar to what would now be called a metal-tipped technical pen, but with a more smoothly rounded tip for writing. A tiny wire inside a tubular tip controls the ink flow, and the Cross design was very successful, and used by all workers in the US Post Office.
The company name came from Richard’s son, Alonzo Townsend Cross, whose name also lives on in the Cross Townsend range. It was Alonzo who sold the company to Walter Boss, their top salesperson, in 1915. With his keen mind for sales, Walter continued the company’s success, introducing the ballpoint pen to their range, and moving towards pens as ideal gifts.
For their 100th anniversary, in 1946, Cross introduced the Classic Century pencil, still one of their most popular designs. In the years since, they have added rollerballs with liquid and gel ink, brought back fountain pens, and added the option of fibre-tipped pens and refills, and now sell pens in over 100 countries. The Classic Century range was extended with more pen types to celebrate their 150th anniversary.
In recent years, Cross has also produced more special and limited edition pens, including Star Wars editions in collaboration with Disney. The Century II gave the Classic Century a wider body for more a more comfortable grip, and formed the basis for many special designs. The Tech range added stylus tips to some high quality multipens.
The Ion and Edge introduced interesting mechanisms to pull them out to extend the length of the pens while also extending the tip, making them both pocketable and fun to fiddle with.
The Selectip pens deserve a special mention too - rollerball pens, but with refills available as fibre-tip and super high-capacity ballpoints, so the same pen can write in different ways to suit the customer’s preference.
Cross pens are sometimes known as the ‘pen of presidents’, as they have been the writing instruments of choice for many US presidents and other world leaders, being used to sign many treaties and laws all over the world.
The Cross commitment to quality continues with extensive testing to ensure their pens are reliable, including drop tests and salt spray tests, to make sure they’re not only built to last, but they actually do last. And that quality is backed up by a lifetime mechanical warranty.
I love POSCA!
I mean it... I really, really love UNI POSCA paint markers.
I have always had a love of drawing and painting. More recently dabbling in craft projects inspired by others, but I always find myself going back to drawing and painting.
I first discovered paint markers when working in a shop - you know, an actual shop, on the high street, with things on shelves, a counter with a till, where people came to buy things in exchange for cash and took them away with them in a bag with the shop's name on.....
…Anyway, we had these marvellous pens we could use to write on the windows to advertise our special offers. Which, after mastering the skill of writing back-to-front, became one of my favourite tasks.
Fast forward a few years and I came to work at Cult Pens and OH. MY. GOSH. A whole warehouse full of lovely stationery items and art supplies at my fingertips :) :) :)
One of the first products they allowed me to get my hands on were Uni's POSCA paint markers. They are filled with acrylic paint, in a variety of bold and bright colours. Also a great range of tip sizes. Big, wide tips for fantastic poster-style art works and the much finer PC-1M and PC-1MR for more detailed work and outlining. And outlining is the key - a strong neat outline really makes the colours stand out.
Level up and add a real pop to your art work by learning about shadows and high lights.
...and now the fun part - you are not limited to plain old flat paper. These pens work on almost any surface - wood, glass, plastic, metals, ceramics, fabric, stone, brick..... pretty much anything I can think of. I actively search for things to decorate - in my house, garden, charity shops, the recycling centre.....
Also, they are just as great for children as well as us big kids. A lot less messy than paint, easily washes off your skin (if you are inclined to get a little too hands-on) and easier to carry on the go than paints and all the necessary accessories.
You can download a handy size and colour guide here.
To make your amazing works of art permanent:
What are you waiting for? Get creating!
Oh! And don't forget, you can upload your awesome achievements to Instagram: #cultpenscreative #POSCA
Amy
Cult Pens Customer Service Team
Amateur artist
POSCA enthusiast
EDC, or EveryDay Carry, is all about the things we all carry with us every day, and choosing the very best things for us. It doesn't have to be about luxury, it's more often about things that can stand up to plenty of use, and still work well and look good. Here, we look at some of the best fountain pens you can make part of your everyday carry.
It's very hard to pick a Top 10 when you have as many products as us. But we did it. No doubt there'll be disagreements. You can't please everybody. But we've given it our best shot. So... from the top...
If those didn't seem to be quite what you're looking for, we have plenty more ideas in our full Gift Guide.