#12PenPersonQuestions

My friend Olive Octopus wrote this list of questions for pen people to answer, and I’ve decided to take a swing at it. Some of these questions are really hard! She has a whole list of people who have already answered them, and I’m looking forward to reading those when I’ve posted my own. I don’t want to be influenced on this one. I have a few of these questions that I just don’t know how to answer yet. Will I leave any blanks? Maybe! Let’s see:

• 1. If you consider the different ways you can engage with pens and stationery—as a user, a collector, a hobbyist, a creator, a maker, a vendor—which roles fit best and what percentage of 100% would you assign to each? Are you happy with the balance?

  User: 50%

  Creator: 30%

  Collector: 10%

  Maker: 5%

  Vendor: 5%

  Hobbyist: 0%

  I’d say I’m mostly a user. I use my stationery stuff all the time. It’s not just a thing I like to do. It’s the only way I can keep myself together. It’s how I think, plan, and organize. A good ink color makes me happy, and so does writing with a good pen on the right paper.

  Secondly, I’m a creator. Mostly a content creator, I guess. It gives me another excuse to use the stationery stuff I love and it gives me an excuse to try new things and acquire things that I’d like, but that I wouldn’t otherwise buy. The creator part also comes out of a desire to help other people find things they enjoy. I don’t like to “SELL” stuff, but I do like to help people find the thing that will make their day a little better, and content creation is a way I can do that.

  Collectoring is pretty low on the list. I’m not much of a collector. I’m more of an accumulator. I collected all of the Rotring Cores, and I do tend to buy a lot of Diplomat Aeros, but I don’t feel compelled to “catch them all” in the way I think a collector might. I get them because I like them, but only if I like them.

  I’m not much of a maker at all, but I do draw some things and I’ve made a few things like the pen rests and such, so I guess those count.

  I do sell some things on my online store, and I occasionally have a table at a show (come see me at the Philly Pen Show!), but it’s just a thing I do sometimes. It’s not “part of me” in the same way as being a user or creator is.

  I don’t think I’m a hobbyist at all, but I’m also not sure what would count. I’ll just leave that one at 0% unless someone talks me out of it.

• 2. What is something you want to understand better or develop more informed opinions about?

  I’d really like to learn some more about paper. I never feel like I know enough about paper, and it’s a big part of the stationery experience. It’s intimidating, though. It feels like I’d need to learn literally thousands of new things in order to have a good understanding of it, and that’s a LOT.

• 3. In the pen community, what's something someone has said or done that stuck with you?

  “Liking your journal is optional. Using it is the point.” -SugarTurtle Tom

  I took my first-ever seminar at a pen show this last year, and Tom really did a great job of breaking down my resistance to using a journal. I’ve always wanted to, but I didn’t want to “mess it up” or “do it wrong.” Turns out that neither of those are real things. Just use your journals. It’s for you. You’re not proving anything to anyone. You’re journaling.

• 4. There are now 25 hours in a day, a bonus hour is available to use however you like as long as pens or stationery are involved—how do you spend your hour?

  I need to spend that bonus hour journaling or sketching. I think it’d be really good for my mental health and my sketching skills.

• 5. In the pen community yearbook, what would your superlative be? (i.e. "Best ______", "Most _______" "Most likely to _______")

  I don’t think you give yourself superlatives, so I asked my wife, and she said I’d get “Most likely to accept samples and things people don’t want.”

  Facts. “Mike’s Home for Wayward Pens and Inks” is always open. Do I have room for more ink? Yes. Papers? Sure. I’ll find a nook or cranny to put that.

  Also suggested:

  “Most likely to buy an orange pen.”

  “Most likely to buy another backpack.”

  “Most likely to try to get you into pens and ink.”

• 6. How do you feel about your handwriting?

  I think my handwriting is fine. Sometimes I even think it’s pretty darn good.

• 7. What is something you are proud of doing, achieving, or overcoming?

  I’m proud of the community that I’ve encouraged to come together. I love that the community that has come together around my social media is full of such good folks. Helpful, friendly, and supportive of each other. I feel really lucky about that.

• 8. You're going on a writing retreat anywhere in the world—where would you go, what would you write, and what would you write with?

  No idea what I’d write on a retreat. Heck, I hardly even know what to do on a vacation, much less a retreat!

  Where would I go? Maybe some place with old streets, cool architecture, and some interesting scenery would inspire me. Or maybe I’d just eat a bunch of local food.

• 9. What's a current or favorite creative outlet?

  I guess my current creative outlet is sketching and drawing. The pencil and colored pencil sketches I’ve been doing on Twitch have been fun. I like trying to draw other people’s ideas, even if the final result isn’t as good as I’d like it to be. The attempt is fun, and I’m sure I’ll get better eventually.

• 10. What's something that causes you benign envy—the kind of admiration and desire that leads to inspiration or motivation?

  That’s a fun question! I think it’s Audrey’s artistic pursuits. My wife has gotten into watercolor, and she’s great at it. She’s also making really fun things with polymer clay. I don’t really want to do the same things, but it does make me want to something creative or artistic.

• 11. What's a comfort item, material, or color?

  A thick comforter. A hoodie with a nice, deep hood.

• 12. What would be a dream collaboration, project, or partnership?

  I have some ideas and some projects that are in-progress. I hope to have some really cool stuff to share this year, but I don’t want to give it away yet.

I feel like some of these answers could have been more profound or whatever but, also, who cares? Not everything is a dissertation. Our answers don’t have to be perfect. I’m trying to be less of a perfectionist in 2026. Let’s see how that goes!