Passionate about pens
Kareen Joice Rillon calls herself a certified introvert. “Journaling is my comfort zone. I love spending time in front of my desk,” said the 31-year-old medical lab scientist/medical technologist from Cabanatuan City.
On that desk are her treasures: her Traveler’s Notebooks and her collection of pens.
She bought her first fountain pen in 2017—a Pilot Metropolitan Tiger White. The purchase was inspired by other planner-obsessed friends who write with fountain pens. “I thought, why not give it a try? And I never looked back.”
Fountain pens “spark joy,” Rillon said. She shared, “I fell in love with how you can play with different shades of ink, be it a shading ink or sheening ink or just a plain regular black to permanent black. I love how convenient it is.”
Today, Rillon’s collection has grown to 69 pens. “Not that many compared to others, but I love them equally.”
In fact, she struggles when asked to pick her favorites. “It’s so hard to choose! Probably my holy grails I’ve achieved over the past years—the Kasama Una Pulò, Pelikan M600 Souverän Turquoise, and Platinum 3776 Century Wagner 2023 Holland Lop.
Favorite inks
When it comes to inks, her favorites are from Sailor, Pilot Iroshizuku, and from Filipino brand Troublemaker. “Gotta support local,” Rillon said.
Troublemaker is a Cebu-based brand that offers handmade fountain pen inks.
She uses her pens and inks every day, for work, for journaling, “for pretty much everything, as long as the paper is good.” Paper quality—that’s something important for fountain pen lovers. “I wish more brands would offer or use fountain pen-friendly paper.”
Her favorite local retailers are Scribe and Everything Calligraphy. She’s also part of the Facebook group Fountain Pen Palengke, which she says is “great for ‘destashed’ or secondhand fountain pens and inks.”
She also buys her pens from people offering “pasabuy” services. “You can also order direct from the source like Bungubox and Pentonote in Japan and The Goulet Pens in the US. They usually offer international shipping.”
Other “holy grail” pens she’s still hoping to add to her collection are the Nakaya Piccolo Long Cigar Ama-iro and the Platinum 3776 Century Kumpoo.
Rillon stores her pens in a Muji Acryclic 5- Drawer Storage Case. with a slotted pen tray “so I can admire my pens at my desk.” Rillon shares beautiful photos of her desk and her collection on Instagram @kraftykace.
She also has various pen cases for what she calls her “on-the-go pens.”
She added, “For fragile pens, I handle them with extra extra care! Bent nibs and shattered bodies are a nightmare.”
Cleaning her pens regularly is important. “I would clean them immediately after they run out of ink or if I feel like the ink has been in my pen for more than two months already. I also try to avoid using saturated inks in my demonstrator pens (pens that are transparent or have cutaways that show you the pen’s inner workings) to avoid staining.”
Admiring the beauty of the pens and using them regularly are just two reasons Rillon loves being a collector. “It’s not just aesthetics or how useful they are, I actually love the community. The fountain pen community is the friendliest, healthiest community I’ve ever seen or encountered. Fountain pen people are the most generous, in my point of view.”
They also welcome newbies with open arms. To those who are thinking about diving into the world of fountain pens, she has this to say: “Enjoy the hobby. Have a thing for cheap pens? No problem! You like expensive ones? Sure! Just here for the inks? You’re very much welcome! Your penmanship is not that great? It doesn’t matter. No pressure here, just enjoy the hobby.”
Do you have a collection you’d like us to feature? Email ppastor@inquirer.com.ph.
