Welcome to Dromgoole's
Monthly Newsletter for
November 2019
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Each month, this newsletter will contain a
calendar
of upcoming events and releases, a
feature article
about the fountain pen community and industry, announcements of
special deals and promotions
, and more!
This Month's Article:
Pentimento
by Dromgoole's regular and friend, Bill Luft
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Fri. November 1 is Fountain Pen Day!
Click the banner for information on all our activities and special promotions for the weekend!
Fri. November 8: Platinum Social with Bryce Gillett from Luxury Brands - Location TBA
Sat. November 9: Platinum Event at Dromgoole's
Sat. November 16: Faber-Castell Pen Event at Dromgoole's
Sun. November 17: Faber-Castell Art Event at Dromgoole's
Mon. December 2 - Sun. December 8: Montblanc Event with special guest Jonathan Hostler
Dromgoole's will be open on Sundays starting December 1!
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We had an exciting October, jam-packed with special events and visits from friends!
Larry and Christine attended our first Colorado Pen Show on the 11th-13th, saw some familiar faces there, and met a lot of new people.
Two weeks after that, we had a crazy but exciting weekend where we hosted Brad Dowdy, John Lane, and David Oscarson!
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We had a watch party for Game 3 of the World Series (pictured above) with Brad the night before, and had a blast sharing food, drinks, and company with each other. (We're still reeling from Game 7 last night--please be considerate during this time of mourning.)
Thanks to everyone who came out for all these events! It was great to see the store bustling and humming with activity and laughter. And thank you to everyone who couldn't be there in person, but chatted with us online! We love answering questions and keeping up with with y'all on Instagram and Facebook.
Larry and Michael also had a special moment with a longtime customer, Jay, who shared a photo he had taken of the two of them years ago. Twelve years later, they recreated the photo together.
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If you're interested in any of these, email
dromgooles@sbcglobal.net to place your pre-order, and keep your eyes peeled for our email blasts so you don't miss out!
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Looking for gifts for clients or colleagues this holiday season? Take a look at our Corporate Gift Guide items below, and keep an eye out for a full printable pdf version of the Guide next week!
Need to order a large quantity and/or want to personalize items with engraving or imprinting? Email Larry at
dromgooles@sbcglobal.net.
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This month's favorite:
Tomoe River Dot-Grid Notebook from Sakae TP
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"The new Sakae TP notebook is my current obsession. I feel Sakae TP took Leuchtturm's motto of "details make the difference" and created a notebook that appeals to my minimalist aesthetic taste.
The texture and blind emboss on the cover are stylish but not overbearing. The lay-flat binding, the sqaure corners, the thickness of the cover, and the internal black cover page are so satisfying inside my black Kokuyo Systemic notebook cover. Plus, Sakae TP also makes a notepad that matches."
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Bill is a Dromgoole's regular and a wonderful presence at the store week after week. Thank you for sharing your story and your passion with us, Bill!
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pen·ti·men·to
/ˌpen(t)əˈmen(t)ō/
noun: a visible trace of earlier painting beneath a layer or layers of paint on a canvas
I vividly remember my mother and grandmother at the dining table, each with their own stack of Christmas cards, writing brief notes to friends and relatives and then placing the cards in their envelopes. This would have been sometime in the late 1940’s or early 50’s. I sat there quietly watching as they used their fountain pens to produce a lovely cursive writing. My mother owned a black Parker 51 with a ribbed silver cap filled with peacock color ink. Before sealing, my father would come later and place his signature on my mother’s cards using his Parker. It’s wonderful how little things can bring back happy memories.
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Fast forward to the early 80’s when I decided that I needed my own fountain pen and settled on a Montblanc 149. That pen was probably inked twice before I reverted back to my Montblanc rollerballs. By this time, my carefully practiced cursive had fallen into hard times – I wrote faster and sloppier now. It seems I was always in a hurry.
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About a year ago, a dear friend stopped by the house and surprised me with the gift of a new fountain pen and a multitude of catalogues – immediately I wanted to own most of the pens I saw on those pages. Her intention was to share her new found passion for fountain pens and she succeeded. The first pen I bought on this new endeavor was a red Aurora Optima. I began reading about pen care, learning how to adjust small things with the nibs to make writing smoother. No, I do not attempt to adjust my gold nib pens! Each day I try to read something about pens and watch videos. It gives me so much pleasure. I am able to forget the frantic world we live in and relax a while.
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"In the past, people had one or maybe two fountain pens which were an absolute necessity for everyday life."
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A few months after that gift, I stumbled into Dromgoole’s. I was in wonderland, seeing all those catalogue options available right here in Houston. I had no idea what I had been missing all these years. Then I realized that Larry or Michael Dromgoole can get most any pen your heart desires.
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"Everything today depends on the lightning fast speed of the internet, but we can still delight in the calming, soothing effect one achieves when putting the pen to a piece of paper."
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I love color and I love craftsmanship. Italian resins and celluloids are amazing. There is such depth and shimmer in the reflection as you twirl a pen between your fingers, seeing if the weight and size is right for you. It’s all very visual and tactile. And exciting!
I know that my handwriting has definitely improved, and I still try to get in practice time each day. Being a lefty has its challenges and I will never have fine calligraphy skills like Dillon, Dromgoole’s ink expert. I prefer stub nibs because they add line width and dimension which exalts the color properties of my inks.
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Everyone’s collection will be unique to that person for individual reasons and past experiences. We all collect for a purpose and that is to give us pleasure. In the past, people had one or maybe two fountain pens which were an absolute necessity for everyday life. Everything today depends on the lightning fast speed of the internet, but we can still delight in the calming, soothing effect one achieves when putting the pen to a piece of paper. Taking a deep breath and slowing down.
I still have my father’s Parker blue diamond green pearl stripe Vacumatic which had probably been a high school graduation present engraved with his name. To this day, this pen fills me with a plethora of pleasant childhood memories.
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713.526.4651
2515 Rice Boulevard
Houston, TX 77005
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