We are packed up and heading to DC for the Pen Show!
We’ll be bringing around 225 pens with us. This is not as much as we’d like to bring to a show like this, but considering our recent machine issues and delays, it’s not too shabby! Here’s a quick view of what our inventory will look like.
There will be plenty of Draw Fillers as well as some pretty amazing materials that we haven’t used before!
We’ll be set up from Friday morning until Sunday evening.
If you can’t make the show, I’ll be doing my best to keep updates on our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Well, Murphy’s Law is in full effect here at the Edison Pen Co!
Andrea and I left for a much needed vacation two weeks ago. But after we left, one of our large lathes went down!
Being about 2,000 miles away, there was little that I could do to diagnose or fix the lathe over that two week period.
So while we were gone our crew was working, but our productivity was cut severely, as this lathe is critical for pretty much all components that go into our pens. During this time, we were already backed up trying to get overall inventory built up since my wife’s surgery slowed us down last month. This machine going down severely compounded our struggles to get caught up.
Bottom line, we are behind on everything as a result of this in spite of our employees working evenings and Saturdays while we were gone. Andrea and I also worked the weekend and long days since we returned in an attempt to get back on track and will continue to do so until we are. A bit stressful, but we are getting through it as best as we can.
So I apologize, but I need to ask everyone for flexibility on timelines regarding essentially everything. This includes the Goulet Summer Premiere. We had plans for a large shipment of Premieres to head out last week, but that’s obviously delayed. Our Signature Line, our Production Line Inventory, and our repairs are all going to be backed up until we can get back on track.
And then the icing on the cake is that we have the DC Pen Show coming in two weeks! Sheesh!
So I’m asking our customers to please be flexible with us until we can get our feet back under us. Between moving our entire business, my wife’s surgery, some huge projects, a couple of new product launches, and now a downed machine, the last six months have been pretty insane and at times rather stressful!
Our apologies for any inconveniences as a result of this. I will do my best to be in touch with each customer individually as to how they may be effected by this.
But the good news – a critical part for the lathe will be here this week, maybe next. Then the machine should be up an running (fingers crossed) at that time. Once this part is here and installed, we can work towards getting our business back on track and will be doing so full force.
Andrea and I are currently on a sorely needed vacation.
After moving the business earlier this year, some huge projects, some new product launches and Andrea’s surgery, the last 6 months have been the busiest since we started this business!
We decided to do our vacation right. We are getting away for a little over 2 weeks.
While we are away, Jake will be doing his best to keep up with emails. If you are slow in getting a response, you’ll know why. If you need my direct attention, I’ll be returning emails on the 17th or 18th.
I’m super-excited to share our latest filling system. The Draw Filler!
Have a look at this video and I’ll give some more details below.
What do you think?
Highlights….
This is a new filler, not a new model of pen. This filler can be added to any of our pen models.
This filler uses chemically resistant o-rings rather than latex, so there are no restrictions regarding inks that you can us in this pen. Pens that use latex such as our Pump, Pneumatic, and Bulb Fillers need to avoid a few inks or the latex can be damaged. This is not the case with the Draw Filler. However, if the pen has an ink window or is translucent, we still don’t recommend harsh inks as they could certainly stain the interior of the pen.
The Draw Filler works just about the same as the Pump Filler, but there is no spring to retract the piston unit. So you will need to push and pull the Draw Filler mechanism, rather than only pushing the Pump Filler mechanism.
Due to the Draw Filler mechanism displacing more volume, it will fill faster, empty faster, and have a greater ink capacity than our Pump Filler (Draw = 2.0mL, Pump = 1.7mL).
The mechanism is made of a sturdy anodized aluminum.
We do have some of these Draw Fillers that are currently inventoried and ready to ship! You can see them here.
Price is the same as our other more “exotic” fillers. This mechanism will add $100 to the price of what a pen would have been as a converter filler. So ballpark of $300-450 depending upon model and Steel vs. 18k nib.
(First, and most important…some of you may already be aware, but Andrea’s surgery went fine! Flying Colors! She’s in recovery mode now and most likely won’t be back to work for a couple more weeks, but everything is as planned! We had quite the outpouring of good thoughts and well wishes, so many thanks! Our fans are the best!)
Hi Pen Fans!
We are very excited to announce our new lineup of Pearlette materials within our Production Line! These pens certainly are a smorgasbord of chatoyance (perhaps my favorite word)!
Each year my family takes a nice vacation to Arizona. When we organized these three materials, we were quite inspired by the Arizona landscape. We decided to name these pens after our favorite vacation spot!
So the new Pearlettes will be somewhat of a “Desert” theme.
From left to right…Sonoran Sunset, Azure Skies, and Canyon Trail….
Sonoran Sunset, Azure Skies, and Canyon Trail
Sonoran SunsetSonoran Sunset
Sonoran Sunset is a nice deep copper-ish color with some pretty amazing depth and pearlization (chatoyance). Many of you will remember the Pearlized Wine that we used on the 2014 Limited Edition Glenmont as well as plenty of custom pens. If you’ve seen that Pearlized Wine material live you can certainly appreciate the amazing chatoyance that this material displays. Well, this Sonoran Sunset is the exact same composition as the Pearlized Wine, but obviously a different color (which I like better, personally). So expect these photos to not do the pen total justice. When you see this pen live and rotate it in the light, you’ll see all of that beautiful chatoyance that can’t always be captured accurately in a photo.
Azure SkiesAzure Skies
Azure Skies is also made from the same composition as the Pearlized Wine and the above Sonoran Sunset, but is obviously a nicely saturated blue. Being the same composition, expect the same chatoyance!
Canyon TrailCanyon Trail
Canyon Trail has a very similar chatoyance (notice a pattern here?) to the other Pearlettes, but rather than a random mottled pattern, you’ll see some neat speckles within the material.
All of these pens are part of our Production Line, so you will not buy these directly from Edison, but through any of our retailers listed here.
We are pretty excited as each of these materials is a personal favorite of at least one person here on our crew. We’re taking bets on which one turns out to be the most popular!
Be sure to give us your thoughts on this new lineup!
I wanted to publish this as soon as we knew for sure.
My wife is going in for surgery soon and her recovery time will be during the Chicago Pen Show. I will be needed to help during her recovery period. This might also mean that I’m a little slower with emails over the next week or so.
The surgery is very routine and very low risk, thank goodness.
So while this is a bummer, we have no choice regarding the pen show. 🙁
Our next show will be DC, so I hope to see our fans at that time!
Like I said, this is very low risk and very routine, but good thoughts are appreciated.
Andrea’s surgery went exactly as planned! Flying Colors! She is now in recovery mode. Last week I was only able to spend about 2-3 hours each day at best working. But this weekend Andrea started getting up and moving about mostly on her own. So this week things will be relatively back to normal here at our facility as my time will not be nearly as divided!
Many thanks to all of fans who wished us well! The outpouring of kind thoughts was quite overwhelming! Andrea, myself, our family and employees truly appreciate how excellent our fans are!
Just a quick heads up that Andrea and I will be enjoying our son’s spring break by taking a nice vacation the week of April 10th.
However, while we are gone our facility will still be operational and Jake will be handling emails. If you need my direct attention, I’ll be back on the 17th.
Just a quick note to let everyone know that we will be revamping the materials used on the Production Line Pearlette.
We are going to be introducing three entirely new materials to the Production Line Pearlette that we are pretty excited about. We are manufacturing them now. We should have this ready to announce in the next 3-4 weeks, barring something unforeseen.
The reason for this blog post is to give everyone fair warning….if you like the original Pearlette materials (Lapis Lazuli Flake, Violet Flake, or Aztec Gold Flake), then now is the time to buy one. Once our retailers no longer have inventory, then the originals will be completely gone. I will attach a photo of these original materials below.
So if you like any of the original three materials and have been on the fence, now is the time to decide!
And then stay tuned for some new and exciting materials coming to the Pearlette!
Some of you might know that I’m a huge baseball fan.
I’m going to be taking my annual vacation to Goodyear, AZ to check out my Cleveland Indians doing their Spring Training.
I’ll be gone from Friday the 24th until Monday the 6th. While I’m gone, the rest of our crew will be here working. So emails will be fielded by Jake. If an email needs my direct attention, I’ll return it on the 6th.
