In this issue

On our cover: Celebrate 18 years of maki-e beauty with the AP Limited Editions Dragon of Good Fortune and a slew of other refined compositions. Florida's Divine Pens Plus showcases the potential of resin, from fantastic fountain pens to unique desk accessories to stunning jewelry. Armenia's BENU plays on the theme of snake pens with the new Viper collection. Sam Flax Orlando pen and art supplies store provides a magic kingdom for the pen enthusiast. Plus, the third chapter in our series on vintage dip-less inkwells. Also, get creative: Hemingway and the typewriter, inkwells and the imagination, and introducing "craft:" our new department for creative work.

The Ohio Pen Show

Begun more than 25 years ago, the Columbus, Ohio, Pen Show is one of the most respected among all North American pen shows.

1 min

Piloting My Way To Dromgoole's

Rice Village in Houston, Texas, is always buzzing with holiday shoppers in the weeks leading up to Christmas, so it was no surprise to me that not a single parking spot was available in front of family-owned Dromgoole's Fine Writing Instruments and Stationery store for its holiday shopping event on December 9, 2023.

1 min

Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way: An Overview of Dip-less Desk Sets, Part III

Once dip-less desk sets became entrenched in the business world, they naturally proliferated as more companies got into the game.

6 mins

From EDC to OMG!

The Visconti Year of the Dragon limited edition collection pays tribute to the Chinese five-clawed dragon, which was reserved solely as representative of the Emperor and nobility.

7 mins

Fortunately, AP Limited Editions

Eighteen years on, this artisanal brand remains dedicated to preserving and promoting the maki-e arts.

8 mins

Crafting the Divine

What's in a name? Paradise, when the name is Divine Pens Plus.

5 mins

Introducing LeatherLuxePH

Raymund Nino Bumatay creates high-end leather pen cases with Filipino pride.

4 mins

The Magic Kingdom at Orlando's Sam Flax

In central Florida, a writing instruments and art supplies store carries on the Flax pen shop legacy.

5 mins

A Fountain Pen Scribe's Ode to a Typewriter

I stood there, just 15, clutching a $30 check from a magazine for something I'd written, the first ever for my writing, growing dizzy with images in my head of where I needed to be.

5 mins

These Snakes Don't Bite

The new BENU Viper Collection finds inspiration in the sinuous bodies of three snakes.

5 mins

Love Story

AP Limited Editions celebrates its 10th anniversary with pens in honor of its deep U.S. connection. Originally published in Vol. 29, No. 2 (February 2016).

5 mins

The Inkwell and the Imagination

A history of the inkwell as a source of inspiration.

6 mins

Read all stories from PEN WORLD

PEN WORLD Magazine Description:

Founded in 1987, Pen World is the premier niche luxury magazine of fine writing instruments and handwriting culture. Based in Houston, Texas and issued bi-monthly, Pen World entices both new and experienced pen connoisseurs to look at writing instruments in an unconventional way. In our pages, you will find contemporary fountain pens and other writing instruments at all price points, fine papers, inks, and desk accessories. Our long-form articles cover leading brands, vintage pens, pen-and-ink artists, how-to guides, and much more. If you love pens, then Pen World is the magazine for you.