Pantone Color of the Year 2021: Ultimate Gray and Illuminating
Ultimate Gray and Illuminating are the two colors chosen for the 2021 Pantone Color of the Year. Pantone describes these two colors as “A marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting.” We’ve put together our fountain pen product picks to match these two colors in our Pantone shopping guide.
What do you think of these colors? Do you already own any of these products?
Write on,
The Goulet Pen Company Team
New Year Update from Brian & Rachel
Hey pen friends,
The new year is underway and we are incredibly grateful to have made it successfully through one of the craziest years in our company’s history. We’re thankful for your support, and the hard work of our team has truly been inspiring for us as we had to navigate some incredibly challenging situations.
As we continue to navigate through new situations with our remote working, unpredictable shipping carriers, and constraints around our own capacity, we’re looking at ways we can best serve you and our team. We have some special favors to ask of you as we explain where we find ourselves at the start of 2021.
We’ll do our best to answer all inquiries within 2-3 business days, which is longer than we normally would want. Rest assured, we are doing everything in our power to maintain the best quality of service possible while working to get our speed of response back up to normal. We generally answer inquiries from oldest to newest, but some inquiries are more complex than others and may take more time. The simpler you’re able to make your inquiry and the more context and supporting information you’re able to provide us, the quicker we can reply.
We are closed on the weekends, so it especially takes us a while to catch up early in the week. We highly recommend using the Contact Us form on our site as your primary method of communication, followed by the live chat on our site. It helps us if you use the email address associated with your order, as our system will recognize it automatically and make it easier for us to retrieve required information pertaining to your account and order. You can still call us but this is the most challenging method of communication for us to cover when short-staffed. If you call us on the phone during office hours and we don’t pick up, it likely means we’re on the line with someone else, so leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back as soon as possible.
All shipping carriers, and especially USPS, are experiencing an unprecedented volume of packages through their systems. While we’re still shipping out all our orders within our promised timelines, it’s taking multiple weeks instead of days for most orders to actually arrive. Package scans are getting missed by carriers because they’re moving stuff through as fast as possible. Or packages are traveling through some seemingly nonsensical routes. We promise that if you have a shipping label generated from us and we send you a tracking number, it is on its way… it just might not show this in your tracking information. We are still getting daily pickups with all our carriers.
To summarize, we love you all and are so honored to be able to continue serving you while this pandemic carries on. Like you, we’re all just tired of this dragging on and on, and we’re balancing out the stress of our own health concerns, the needs of our families, and the demand of new ideas required to continue to do business as usual. We are grateful for your continued grace and patience as we navigate this prolonged unusual time. Thank you for all of your support throughout 2020 and for that continued support in 2021!
Write on,
Brian and Rachel Goulet
10 Fountain Pen Holiday Gifts Under $500
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
In this blog post, we’re highlighting our top 10 picks for fountain pen holiday gifts in the category: Gifts Under $500.
In no particular order, here are ten of our favorite fountain pen-related gifts under $500!
Pilot Custom 823
This vacuum-filling Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen comes in a translucent amber brown color with gold trim, or a translucent smoky grey color with silver trim. It has a 14kt gold nib and comes packaged in a gift box with a bottle of ink, for $288.
Montegrappa Elmo
The Elmo is one of Montegrappa’s most affordable fountain pens. Available in a wide variety of unique colorful resins, including multiple Goulet Pens exclusive colors, this cartridge/converter fountain pen features a #6 JoWo steel nib. Normally starting at $199, several colors are currently on sale for less!
Platinum #3776 Century
This year’s annual limited edition Platinum #3776 Century is the Shiun, a gorgeous translucent lavender color with many facets. Now available for $376.
Pineider Avatar Deluxe
Featuring Pineider’s soft 14kt gold Quill nib, the Pineider Avatar Deluxe is a joy to write with. Made of virtually unbreakable resin and accented by gold trim, it also features a magnetic twist cap. Available for $294.40.
Diplomat Aero
Beloved by many and growing in popularity, the Zeppelin-inspired Diplomat Aero comes in a wide variety of anodized aluminum colors. It features a smooth writing #6 JoWo steel nib, with some colors also available with a 14kt gold nib. Starting at $156.
LAMY 2000
One of our best sellers year after year, the LAMY 2000 is an iconic fountain pen. Made from a combination of black polycarbonate and brushed stainless steel, this minimalistic pen comes with a hooded 14kt gold nib. Starting at $199.20.
Sailor 1911
Newly added to our store this year, the Sailor 1911 has been a new favorite of many. The smaller 1911S features a 14kt gold nib, while the larger 1911L has a 21kt gold nib. With many colors and nib sizes to choose from, you can’t go wrong. Starting at $180.
Conklin Endura Abalone
An incredible value for the price, the brand new Conklin Endura in Abalone is in a league all its own. It comes equipped with a smooth writing #6 JoWo steel nib. Available for $116.
Pilot Falcon
Newly released in Blue and Purple, this popular fountain pen features a resin body and a soft 14kt gold nib for some line variation when writing. A pleasure to write with, the Pilot Falcon is available for $180.
Pilot Vanishing Point
The most iconic retractable fountain pen, the Pilot Vanishing Point is one of our most popular models and a favorite among many. With its 18kt gold nib, this pen starts at $156.
Be sure to check out more of our picks for Gifts Under $500 on our website, as well as our other Holiday Gift Guides by price.
Write On,
Rachel Goulet
10 Fountain Pen Holiday Gifts Under $100
Happy Holidays!
In this blog post, we’re highlighting our top 10 picks for fountain pen holiday gifts in the category: Gifts Under $100.
In no particular order, here are ten of our favorite fountain pen-related gifts under $100!
Sailor Compass 1911
Sailor recently brought this affordable fountain pen to the US market this year, and it has been incredibly popular! Available in clear plus eight other vibrant translucent colors, the Sailor Compass 1911 writes smoothly with its medium-fine steel nib. Priced at $39.20, it comes packaged with a color-matched ink converter and ink cartridge.
Conklin Duragraph Demo
The Conklin Duragraph has been a popular pen for a number of years now, and recently was released in a clear demonstrator version. Available in gleaming chrome trim or our exclusive gunmetal black trim, this fountain pen can fill via converter, cartridge, or eyedropper for maximum ink capacity. The Duragraph Demo is available for $64.00 and currently comes with a free 30ml bottle of Monteverde ink.
Monteverde Tool Pen
Always a popular gift, this multi-function Monteverde Tool fountain pen includes helpful built-in gadgets such as a ruler, screwdriver, and a level! Available in yellow or black for $40.00.
Traveler’s Notebooks
With a simple leather cover available in several colors, the Traveler’s Notebook is incredibly versatile. While it comes with a single blank notebook included, you can customize it with a wide variety of other notebook inserts as well as other handy accessories like pen loops, folders, and pockets. The smaller Passport size is available for $40.95, and the larger Regular size is $49.95.
Noodler’s Triple Tail
Noodler’s has continued to innovate its line of flex nib fountain pens over the years, and the latest Triple Tail model has been incredibly popular. With a clear body, it features a large ink capacity piston filler and a flexible music steel nib. Available for $55.00.
Monteverde Ritma
New this year, the aluminum Monteverde Ritma comes in six matte metallic colors and features a secure magnetic cap, gunmetal trim, and a black #6 JoWo nib. At only $36 (plus a free bottle of Monteverde ink), it’s an incredible value.
LAMY Studio
A step up from the popular Safari and AL-Star models, the LAMY Studio features a sleek design. Available in a variety of sophisticated colors including the special editions Aquamarine and Glacier Blue, these pens feature interchangeable LAMY nibs. Starting at $79.20.
TWSBI 580ALR
One of our best selling fountain pens, the TWSBI 580 ALR model was recently released in two special edition colors: Prussian Blue and Punch Pink. The 580ALR model features a clear barrel, piston filler, and colorful aluminum trim including a textured grip section. Starting at $60.
Monteverde Innova
This limited edition Monteverde Innova fountain pen features a black carbon fiber barrel accented by gunmetal or shiny chrome trim. It comes with an included bottle of ink, as well as a bonus Monteverde Gemstones 30ml bottle of your choice. A great value at $52!
Conklin Courage
This commemorative Conklin All American Courage collection celebrates and honors our essential workers in the medical field. Available in three colors, each features the rod of Asclepius on the clip, and a heartbeat on the centerband. At $100, it also comes with an included bottle of ink as well as a bonus free bottle of ink with purchase.
Be sure to check out more of our picks for Gifts Under $100 on our website, as well as our other Holiday Gift Guides by price.
Write On,
Rachel Goulet
Jacques Herbin 350 Vert Atlantide
Brian Goulet journeys into the unknown searching for silver and gold shimmer with Jacques Herbin 350 Vert Atlantide fountain pen ink. The truth, Brian was a little bored at home and created an over-the-top movie trailer for the video intro that you can enjoy, then reviews the ink and shows the color and shimmer. If you’re a fan of the other Jacques Herbin shimmering inks in the 1670 and 350 series, you’re going to like this one, too.
The Jacques Herbin 350 Vert Atlantide is a dark green shimmering ink with both gold and silver added particles. This color is the special anniversary ink for 2020, and will continue to be produced ongoing. It is available in a 50ml square glass bottle for $29.95, or you can purchase our 2ml ink sample for $2.25 if you want to just try it out first.
You can also check out our Jacques Herbin anniversary history blog here to see all the past colors.
What do you think of Jacques Herbin’s newest anniversary ink? Did you enjoy my epic movie trailer? Let us know in the comments below!
Write On,
Brian Goulet
10 Fountain Pen Holiday Gifts Under $35
‘Tis the season!
In this blog post, we’re highlighting our top 10 picks for fountain pen holiday gifts in our budget category: Gifts Under $35.
In no particular order, here are ten of our favorite fountain pen-related gifts under $35!
TWSBI Eco
Our best-selling fountain pen of 2019, it has held strong through this year too. Available in more colors than ever, this fountain pen appeals to both beginners and collectors. With a piston filler and a variety of nib size choices, the TWSBI Eco boasts an incredible value at $30.99.
Platinum Prefounte
The “grown up” version of the popular Platinum Preppy, the Platinum Prefounte fountain pen comes in five subdued translucent colors at $10 each.
Clairefontaine Notebooks
We recently brought in a variety of designs of “pretty” Clairefontaine notebooks as a special order from France. All of these notebooks feature Clairefontaine’s super smooth bright white 90g lined paper.
LAMY Safari Candy
You may have missed this launch while we weren’t shipping in the midst of the early COVID-19 days, but this year’s LAMY Safari special edition is actually a collection of three different colors: Aquamarine, Mango, and Violet. Each features a smooth matte finish and a matching colored clip for $29.60 each.
Sailor Ink
Our newest (and biggest!) expansion to our ink lineup this year was Sailor! Between the various collections, we added a total of 142 new colors to our store. One of the most popular colors has been Sailor Haha, a high shading ink that is part of the Manyo series and set in a beautiful 50ml square glass bottle at $24.
Art of Cursive Penmanship
Know someone who wants to improve their handwriting? With cursive not taught much in schools anymore (or if you’re an adult who forgot what you learned), this Art of Cursive Penmanship book by master penman Michael R. Sull is a lifesaver. This 253-page spiral notebook contains instructions and workbook pages, all for $19.95.
Diplomat Magnum
Available in eight colors, the most popular color of the Diplomat Magnum is our exclusive Prismatic Purple. Not only is this pen a great value on its own at $21.60, but it currently comes with a free 30ml bottle of Monteverde ink (a $10 value).
Rickshaw Bagworks Pen Slips
Keep your fountain pen cozy in a plush-lined Rickshaw Pen Slip. The single pen sleeve is available in our exclusive Inky Blue design, or the humorous “No Borrow” design, both available for $15 each.
Pilot Explorer
The entry-level Pilot Explorer fountain pen comes in six vibrant metallic colors and is set in a gift box with a converter and ink cartridge. Lightweight and easy to write with, it’s a great value at $23.60.
Random Ink Sample Set
For the adventurous spirit or the fountain pen enthusiast who has it all, the perfect gift is our “Surprise Me!” random ink sample 8-pack. It’s literally just that – we randomly select eight of our ink samples from our 750+ colors. It’s a great way to try new colors you may have overlooked.
Be sure to check out more of our picks for Gifts Under $35 on our website, as well as our other Holiday Gift Guides by price.
Write On,
Rachel Goulet