(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)
Many of you know Cary Yeager as one of the friendly faces from Kenro Industries but did you know that he is also the man behind Fountain Pen Day? That’s right, we fountain pen nerds have our own holiday! FPD is a celebration held the first Friday of every November since the very first one on November 2, 2012! And if you haven’t heard of Fountain Pen Day before, take a quick skim of this FPD post from 2021 or better yet, just read on to hear what Mr. FPD has to say!
Kimberly: What was the inspiration behind FPD? Where were you in your FP journey and how did the idea come about?
Cary: It was National Ballpoint Day and I was maybe a year or two into my fountain pen collection journey and couldn’t believe that there was a thing called National Ballpoint Day. So I Googled “fountain pen day” and literally nothing came up except for some weird Korean rock band. So I had to do something about that and brought it up on the Fountain Pen Network forum and everyone said yes!
K: How did you get people involved?
C: A few folks got together and discussed the idea in a FPN thread for a few months. I reached out to some of the retailers, opened a Twitter account and created a simple website. We decided that early November would be good because it was right after Halloween but before Thanksgiving. As soon as September came around, and it was back-to-school time, everyone got buy and I was the only one left promoting and pushing for it. So vendors started reaching out to me, so I decided to go for it. It was the retailers and FPN folks and FP Geeks that really spread the word.
One of the biggest Fountain Pen fans out there, Cary Yeager continues to keep the Fountain Pen Day tradition alive!
K: Why the first Friday of November?
C: It was picked as it would be the day that you could bring your pens to work and reveal yourself to the world as a FP addict and still have the weekend to celebrate with your pen friends, etc.
K: When you started FPD, did you have any idea that it would turn out to be what it is today?
C: Absolutely not. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to be what it is today. I thought maybe it would be a day celebrated throughout the few forums that existed, but I would’ve been shocked if it went beyond that.
K: What's new this year?
C: Viva Magenta (the 2023 Pantone color) is new this year! And we did the hats again for FPD but everything else, stickers, bookmarks and pins, that all remains the same. Hats can be sold on fountainpendays.com. I’m also spending the day at Atlas Stationers with the Bossman, and we will be going live at 3 p.m. Central with Brendan Schmidt of Atlas on their Instagram feed and on TikTok. Stay tuned!
Some of the FPD goodies you can get by placing orders with participating vendors (while supplies last), or from the FPD website.
K: Any ideas or plans for FPD moving forward that you can spill the beans on?
C: At this moment, no. But never say never.
K: Anything else you want to share about FPD for sponsors or enthusiasts?
C: Sponsors - Please reach out ahead of time (aka, like more than a week ahead of time, lol.) If you want to be a sponsor, all I ask is that you embrace and celebrate the day with the community, no need to pay anything, just tell me that you want in and how. you will support FPD (event, special pens, discounts, etc.) and you will be listed on the site for free. For Enthusiasts - please let me know if your local club is doing anything fun or special to celebrate and engage with retailers that you think should be a part of FPD.
K: And last but not least, here’s where we get to have a little fun and ask some rapid fire questions:
Last item you had to buy for yourself from the Kenro inventory? Aurora Internationazionale in Blue.
Last non-Kenro stationery/pen item you bought? Pilot 743 Verdigris with an Extra Fine nib..
What are you eyeing for yourself for FPD? Pelikan M600 Art Collection Glauco Cambon
Favorite size of paper/journal and what is it? Hobonichi Weeks.
Favorite color (in general) and is it the same as your favorite pen color? Purple, no favorite pen color.
Stickers or Washi? Oooh this one is really hard but if I had to pick it would be washi.
Fountain Pen or Ballpoint/Rollerball? Fountain Pen, duh. My favorite is the Pilot 823 with a Fine nib.
Favorite Food? Fruity Pebbles.
Coffee or Tea - and how do you take it? Coffee. One sugar, little cream.
Favorite place to visit (whether a shop, city, country)? Iceland
Favorite pen show? “Really you have to ask me this? It’s San Fran” (I swear I didn’t make this up!)
Thank you so much, Cary, for sharing a little bit about Fountain Pen Day and for creating a day for all of us to celebrate our favorite writing instrument!
