What Do Fountain Pen Owners Do For A Living?

[PDW]

Chatting to the nice man from Omas at the Cambridge Pen Show last Sunday, he told me that after ‘professional’ people – lawyers, accountants, etc. – the most-represented group among his customers was IT people. It can’t just be that they can afford the prices, can it (GBP 250 as special show price )?

 

Anybody care to speculate why IT people use FPs, or to suggest other potentially over-represented professions?

 

p.s. I’m a qualified accountant and a Computer Science lecturer, so I count twice over.

 

p.p.s. my dean of (Computer Science) school, two of my associate deans and various colleagues use FPs - and half of them use Lamy Vistas

[Rocket1]

I'm a student

[AnnieB123]

I'm a professional bionerd (bioengineering) and still finishing my degree. I use fountain pens because I love all the parts and resins and I spent a lot of years as a jeweler before I went back to do this degree, so I really love working on 'fiddly' things. I use fountain pens because I like the control they give me over my writing and I love the endless permutations of ink + pen + paper + nib + ambient humidity + etc etc.

 

I don't know if the fact that my original education was in EECS, would qualify me as IT (though I don't work in the field anymore and hopefully won't ever need to again ).

 

I also like the facts that fountain pens can be hugely fun and quirky and occasionally conversation starters, and that I can take an unloved unwanted piece of 'junque' and refurbish it into a useful and beautiful object that will outlast me by a significant margin.

Edited March 5, 2015 by AnnieB123

[sombrueil]

I'm a layabout Luddite with an artistic streak.

[Frank C]

I have met people with many different careers at the LA Pen Show. I think the common thread is that most—though certainly not all—have significant disposable income. Another similarity seems to be that they are patient. Someone with a "Type A Personality" is not going to be interested in fiddling around with a fountain pen to get it to work.

 

I don't think that people who write a lot at work are the only ones who like fountain pens. As you mention, many computer scientists like them, and many of them never have to use their pens at work.

 

For some people, a nice fountain pen is a fashion accessory. Lawyers fit in this category.

 

Another group is the artists. Not necessarily professional artists, but people who are artistic. Plistumi, amberleadavis, schin, and stevesurf—among many others—here on FPN fit this category.

[inkstainedruth]

Housewife. Part-time bookkeeper for my husband's side business (as well as head cashier, quartermaster, transportation crew chief, purchasing agent, etc.) Unemployed graphic artist (all my job skills -- traditional layout and pasteup -- are completely obsolete).
Sombreuil's self-description could probably describe me as well.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ISW_Kaputnik]

"Lead electronics technician" at a satellite communications Earth station (which might sound more impressive than the reality). Before that, I got a B.A. in history and went into the Navy. Consistency? What's that?

 

I wouldn't call myself artistic, particularly, but have literary pretensions. I love to write, and would love to get some of it into publishable form someday.

 

My impression of what other fountain pen users do for a living is based entirely on online forums. I've never been to a pen show, and never run into a fountain pen user who I hadn't introduced to them myself.

Edited March 5, 2015 by ISW_Kaputnik

[SujiCorp12345]

I'm a math student.

[johnboz]

I started using in college. I just wanted a more enjoyable way to take notes. Interestingly, like Suji, I was also a math major.

 

After a few years in Human Resources, I'm a self-employed wedding photographer. Not a lot of occasions to use pens for work, but there's always personal reasons!

[knarflj]

I'm another housewife. Homeschooled the offspring when they were younger, and now work part time at the library to keep busy(er) and help a little with college costs, so definitely no significant disposable income here! I'm a musician by training and pretty steadily involved with the community theatre, so I guess maybe I could qualify as "artistic". I've always loved words and although I don't write much that's worth reading, I love the process of putting words on paper; nice pens just make putting words on paper that much more delightful.

 

Jenny

[hbdk]

Running a small IT support business in my local community, mainly serving private people and small businesses.

And a small cleaning company with one employee + yours truly

And an occasional odd job as a photographer

And about to start a small web shop (only in Danish for starters - more to come) selling pens, ink and paper

Hmm...that's about it, me thinks. I seldom get bored...

[cherylmarie]

Another housewife, unemployed database administrator. With two kids in college, I'm definitely a pen addict on a budget. My best pen is one I found amongst my late mother-in-law's belongings. The second best is a Pilot Metropolitan. And I'm accumulating a gaggle of cheap Chinese pens to experiment and try different inks. I was always the kid with the best handwriting in the class, it's nice to see a little of that returning!

[ScienceChick]

High school science teacher, painfully un-artistic. To me, FPs and ink are useable things of beauty.

Edited March 5, 2015 by ScienceChick

[jar]

These days as little as possible. In the past sold insurance, was an optician, design cable TV systems all over the US, sold computer systems, designed computer software and networks for marine biologists, was a technical writer, sold poetry, sold neat cars (Alfa, Renault, SAAB, Lotus, Maserati, Volvo), was a shuttle bus driver, ran a liquor store, wrote wine evaluations, designed websites, reviewed pens, knives, hand guns and other stuff, wrote and actually sold poetry for real money and likely stuff I've forgotten.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

I started using an FP as a student, well before I knew what line of work I'd be engaged in; and expect that I'll continue to use FPs unless I'm sent on a mission to Mars.

 

It is interesting to learn about the migration to FPs after people have chosen their line of work.

 

Bye,

S1

[debraji]

I'm in IT. My company's ideal is the paperless office, but I think best on paper and always have a pen at hand. I also write fiction, and like to doodle and draw.

[claudewick]

These days as little as possible. In the past sold insurance, was an optician, design cable TV systems all over the US, sold computer systems, designed computer software and networks for marine biologists, was a technical writer, sold poetry, sold neat cars (Alfa, Renault, SAAB, Lotus, Maserati, Volvo), was a shuttle bus driver, ran a liquor store, wrote wine evaluations, designed websites, reviewed pens, knives, hand guns and other stuff, wrote and actually sold poetry for real money and likely stuff I've forgotten.

All of this in just one life or are you counting past lifes?

 

I'd have a real trouble explaining what I do, because I work on an area that doesn't exist in all countries. I registry land, contracts, loans and legal entities. So I'm something in between a lawyer (In fact I was a lawyer before) and a manager, running a team of 6 employees.

 

Now everything is written on the computer and printed. I just sign. But a few years ago everything here was handwritted. We still have lots of these old books still in use, but just for consulting now.

[The Blue Knight]

I'm an Engineering student.

[kbrede]

I'm in IT. A Linux System Administrator.

Kent

[J_Rock]

I am a safety manager for a very large manufacturing facility.