Since my trip down the rabbit hole of FPs, pens have become very dear to me. I decided to combine that passion with my most cherished memory, that of my son.
The backstory: Almost four years ago my husband and I were expecting a boy. My stomach got so big that he lovingly called it the Hippopotamus Rex. Things were progressing fine until one day I went into labor too early and he was stillborn. Of course nothing would ever be the same again, and hippos started to hold a very special place in my heart.
I reached out to a few pen makers regarding a project to bring the memory of my son, and my love of FPs to life. I really connected with John Greco of GW Pens (www.gwpens.com). John is an Artisan Penmaker who has done many great pens. His works include pieces that were presented to Prince Henry and His Holiness Pope Francis. He really understood the sentiment I was going for and took the time to get the details that would make my pen a reality. I feel just honored that he took my project on, and the results were amazing!
It started with a blank:
Then continued with a CAD mockup:
From what I told him about the sentiment I was going for and showed him some photos of hippos that I admired and the above is the mockup he sent. He collaborated with a few people to get this pen done, including a silversmith and a maker of custom blanks. I had no idea that so much could go into the making of a pen.
It was amazing watching my dream take shape! The whole process took around three months, but he kept me in the loop every step of the way.
The pen itself is his alpha style, which I ended up getting in a turquoise/macaroon swirl as well. He had an awesome Black Friday sale and if you see the color/depth you’ll know why I could not help myself!
The clip itself was created by a silversmith, but then sent out for Rhodium plating. I wanted something timeless that I would not have to polish all the time. I am not sure if it is the same with pens, but with my silver Tiffany jewelry a lot of maintenance is required and I wanted to enjoy the pen without having to worry about tarnishing etc.
John handles the packaging of his orders seriously, right down to the amazing wax seal! He generously threw in an amazing shirt as well ^_^. Now everyone will know about my pen addiction! This pen is already my favorite, more than any MB, Pelikan, Nakaya, etc. It has so much meaning, and was created with love. If you are looking for a custom pen, I highly recommend contacting John @ GW Pens! I will be using this pen for years to come.
But how does it write? Extremely well! I requested a medium nib with a nice juicy flow and that is exactly what I got! I decided to ink it up with Robert Oster Purple Soul for the first time. The name, and the color just felt like they fit. I just noticed that my ipad case/keyboard totally match the pen!
InkJournal Entry:
Line going down on 52GSM Tomoe:
Ink Blob:
And something I just had to take a photo of because the effect it had was so cool when I wiped off the excess ink, paper towel!
This color is just beautiful, I would describe it as a frosty purple ^_^. It has many different shades ranging from a dark purple to a lighter bluish purple. In regular writing the light blue on the towel doesn’t come out, but the range of purple does to create a beautiful shading. The sheen comes out only in the very wettest areas of the blob, none to speak of on the writing. I was not disappointed with the first ink I chose to put into my special pen at all. It has an almost ethereal quality which is exactly what I was going for.
And now for the fun part, the giveaway! In honor of the receipt of my special pen, I want to share the love with the second edition of “Raid My Ink Cabinet”!
Prize: 5x 4-5ML Samples of any non-unicorn ink in my collection. 1x Unicorn ink Sample.
Unicorn ink is noted with two asterisks (**) on my #Inks page on this blog.
How to Enter!
1. Comment on this blog about what ink from my collection you’d like to try.
2. Comment on the FB FPN Post about this giveaway.
3. Tag two friends on the IG Post about this giveaway.
4. As always all subscriptions are appreciated and count! If you’re already a subscriber let me know! ^_^
Open to USA.
Winner will be drawn on 1/25/17 @7:00PM HST.
This is a great opportunity to try colors you may be unsure of, or broaden your ink horizons! Good luck!
January 21, 2017 at 9:07 pm
What a LOVELY pen, and such a wonderful sentiment behind it. Thank you for offering to share in your gift 🙂
As foe the inks I’d like to try? ALL of them is too vague, right?
I’d love to play with all the lovely inks in your collections, but if I had to narrow it down, Diamine Shimmer Blue Flame, Mont Blanc JFK, and Iroshizuku Shimbashi-Iro would be top of my list.
As a newb to FPs, and to your blog, I am now off to bookmark it, and to your IG page as well.
Thanks again for such a generous giveaway, and for all the info I am about to absorb 🙂
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January 21, 2017 at 9:09 pm
I love your enthusiasm!!! The answer is always all of them lol. Those are some lovely selections! It sounds like you love blues 😍. I do too! If you win you’ll surely have a lot to choose from in that color range. Have you tried any Robert Oster blues? Good luck! 🍀
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January 21, 2017 at 9:34 pm
What a beautiful sentiment! And it turned out so beautifully, what a wonderful way to keep such a cherished memory. 💗
Wow… you have a lot of beautiful inks! I’m a relative newbie to fountain pens, but having not yet had the chance to play with a sheening ink, I think the top of my list would be Sailor Ishida Bungu Hakodate Twilight. I already have my sights on acquiring a few inks that sheen beautifully to play with, but that is one I’ve never heard of until I looked at your list and I think I’m in love!
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January 21, 2017 at 9:52 pm
You are so kind and generous to honor your son’s memory in this way. The ink that jumped out at me was the Sweet Potato Purple – just for the name alone. Also, I’ve been wanting to try some ROS inks. I love inks that have depth and color variation as I write. I’m going to imitate you and start keeping a log of my inks. Fantastic idea! Can’t wait to learn more from you!
My eldest daughter was born still. I think what you are doing is just lovely.
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January 21, 2017 at 10:07 pm
I’m so sorry to hear that you have been through that too :(. Thank you for your kind words. I highly recommend Sweet Potato Purple! It has an interesting green tinged sheen 😍. Robert Oster inks are fantastic, especially is blues! 💙
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January 21, 2017 at 10:18 pm
Very moving backstory, and a lovely way to cherish the memory. I would love to have a custom pen as well but I don’t have anything this touching to commemorate. Still I will try to devote some time to coming up with an emblem worthy of being immortalized on a gorgeous pen like yours.
I have grown fond of purple colors lately and am fascinated by shading inks, so if I could choose one ink to try from your collection I think the Robert Oster Purple Soul is right up my alley.
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January 21, 2017 at 10:28 pm
That purple Ink! ❤
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January 21, 2017 at 11:00 pm
This is a beautiful trifecta: pen, ink, story. Thank you for sharing. (And for this wonderful giveaway!)
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January 22, 2017 at 2:22 am
I’d like to try Robert Oster Tranquility. Thanks for the giveaway!
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January 22, 2017 at 2:41 am
Your story is so touching. Sending love and hugs your way 💙 Thank you for another great giveaway! I would love to try any of the Iroshizuku Tokyo inks or the Kingdom Note inks.
P.S. Already subscribed 🙂
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January 22, 2017 at 3:20 am
Another great giveaway! I am a subscriber and enjoy seeing these new review pop up in my feedly rss. My top 5 sample choices would be iroshizuku yam-budo, kwz brown pink , akkerman cerulean blauw van Vermeer, pelican jade, and Robert oster purple soul. My unicorn choice would be KN porpita porpita. It was hard to narrow down out of all the interesting inks you have. Thanks again
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January 22, 2017 at 3:21 am
And I agree with others the story behind the pen makes it so special, thank you for sharing.
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January 22, 2017 at 3:30 am
The whole time here, I’ve sensed there was a story behind the hippo stuff. Now I know. Very, very touching. The pen is so beautiful … beyond words, and that ink really matches it well. I’m happy for you this project turned out this great.
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January 22, 2017 at 4:17 am
As a doctor who has shared grief when someone looses a child and as a father, you touched hearts today with your post. Never can anyone take away the pain. But you have turned pain into a special sentiment that can be shared. Thank you for letting us see such a tender part of your soul. Great pen.
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January 22, 2017 at 4:28 am
I was so touched and moved by your post. You won’t know this but eight years ago my fourth son was stillborn. I, therefore, can very much identify with that particular form of grief and pain. I own various things that remind me of him – and even considered getting his tiny footprints as a tattoo – but I’ve thought on and off about having something very special that’s a tribute to him. I just haven’t decided what yet. So I understand that impulse to have tangible items that connect you to your child. Your fountain pen was a wonderful choice since pens bring you so much joy. The hippo design is beautiful. I was very moved to see it. I’m so glad you did this for yourself. Xxxx
PS Thanks for the opportunity to win some ink samples. I’m so new to the world of pens and inks I’d gladly receive any from your collection, particularly in those peacock colours I love so much.
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January 22, 2017 at 5:36 am
What a beautiful pen. I’m sorry that your son did not survive. May the loving sentiment behind this design never be forgotten.
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January 22, 2017 at 5:42 am
Touching story. Beautiful pen and ink.
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January 22, 2017 at 6:40 am
I am so so sorry to hear about your boy 😥 I can’t begin to pretend that I understand the gravity of the loss you felt, but I’m also glad you have something to remember him by every day, that’s worth so much. I absolutely love how the design came out, it’s absolutely perfect ❤
Thank you as always for your wonderful posts. I love reading them every time (even when I get behind by a few 😉 ). Looking forward to even more ink reviews in the future – I'd love to eventually see every item in your list have a post linked to it 🙂
As for inks I'd love to try, boy that's getting hard to pick! Let's try though… I think Bungubox June Bride, Robert Oster Bondi Blue, KWZ Monarch, Kobe Suma Rikyu Rose and maybe Diamine Wild Strawberry. But it's really hard to pick because your collection is amazing! Oh, and of course Kingdom Note Porpita Porpita for the unicorn. That ink is so beautiful!
And of course I'm still a subscriber 🙂
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January 22, 2017 at 12:02 pm
Your story is heartbreaking…and as a high risk labor and delivery RN, I see all too often. I think the idea of creating a pen to honor your angel is a fabulous idea as you can bring him to heart with every use. The pen is beautiful and the craftsmanship high quality. Your hippo clip is so touching! I love your ink color choice as it seems to cover the intense pain of the loss, but has enough light to see hope in there as well. My heart goes out to you and your husband during your difficult time and I hope you feel strength in sharing the story of your loss. So many women feel they go through this grief alone and you can help so much by sharing. Hug to you.
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January 22, 2017 at 9:10 pm
I’m so sorry to hear of your loss. I know it really never goes away, but this lovely tribute to your son’s soul is very touching. I hope it will bring you much solace and joy.
As for inks, I’d love to try Edo Murasaki, Sweet Potato Purple, Oster Tranquility, Caroube de Chypre, Callifolio Andrinople, and Edelstein Jade. You have a really unique collection and are so sweet to share. I love your reviews, keep em coming!
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January 25, 2017 at 7:45 pm
Wgat a lovely tribute to your sin. I am sorry for your liss,I know the deep pain of lising a first son. You have channeled your grief into a beautiful hippo clip & pen design. You reached oyt to a pen company with gruef to jonor your loss of a son. Thus pen will be there for a long time. K live your blog & inky pists. I am an ink & FPen axdict.
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January 25, 2017 at 7:50 pm
What a lovely tribute to your son .. I am sorry for your loss,I know the deep pain of lising a first son. You have channeled your grief into a beautiful hippo clip & pen design. You reached oyt to a pen company with gruef to jonor your loss of a son. Thus pen will be there for a long time. K live your blog & inky pists. I am an ink & FPen axdict.
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