Two weeks to Christmas 😲

Let's start with some offers, because everybody likes those! We've taken a mythical machete and swiped it through three of our favourite ranges, resulting in at least 20% off the usual prices.

The Pura from Pelikan is a good and solid metal pen, and it's available as either a cartridge-filling fountain pen (or fit a converter to use bottled ink), a rollerball or a ballpoint, both of which use widely-available refills.

 

It's the sort of pen that will put up with a fair bit of abuse when you're young and silly, but will still be around (like a faithful old Labrador) when you're old enough to know better.

is also available as a fountain pen, rollerball and ballpoint, and equally as convenient to refill as the Pura.

 

It's sophisticated enough to be at ease in the boardroom, poised to sign off on a corporate sale (or something), but not so precious that it can't lie around on the kitchen table and be up for a shopping list or scribbled note to 'put the bins out!'

When it's a pencil you need, Faber-Castell is an excellent choice. You're backed by reliable German engineering, an impressive approach to sustainability and environmental preservation, and presented with an enviable collection of arty materials.

 

are sets of superb quality colouring pencils and brush pens dressed in black, to add some sultry, gifty style!

You've got to love a gift set at Christmas, and any with even the merest whiff of stationery have got to be the best. Well, we think so anyway.

The pretty Sailor Hoshizora fountain pen is bettered only by the addition of a bottle of superior True North ink; and the same goes for the iconic LAMY 2000, paired with a bottle of blue-black. But if it's not a fountain pen you're after, why not try the Tamitio rollerball from Graf von Faber-Castell, which comes with an understated dotgrid hardcover notebook?

You'd be forgiven for thinking that a pen called 'Jurassic' would be rich in images of dinosaurs, razor-sharp raptor claws and possibly Jeff Goldblum, but Esterbrook's new Estie is far more subtle.

 

The barrel is a truly stunning panoply of greens, from the dark and swampy to the vividly bright, and the stealthy appearance of a saurian snout between the flecks of greens would not be entirely unexpected. Strikingly set off with a gold-plated trim and nib, this is a very handsome pen indeed.

On standby as back up in case Father Christmas's sleigh develops a technical fault (not really) is Retro 51's Christmassy homage to Lionel Trains (think Hornby).

 

It's chuffing away, resplendent in silver, red and green, with 'Seasons Greetings' writ large along the barrel.

 

Forget tiny trees and little people and strips of miniature track, why not gift your favourite model railway enthusiast with a Christmas Light Express instead!

 

 

Festively scarlet is Tom Hessin's latest fountain pen - Exhibition Red.

 

It's a celebration of that most romantic of cities - Paris - particularly at Christmastime, and draws inspiration from the World Exhibition that took place there in 1878.

 

The barrel marbling adds a delightful depth, so if you want a pen that embodies the spirit of Christmas but in the most discreet manner possible, Exhibition Red is the one for you.

Stocking fillers... secret Santa gifts... stationery cupboard stalwarts... our Japanese Mystery Bag promises all of these things in one handy package.

 

You just need to bear in mind that its contents are a secret. Or it wouldn't be a Mystery, would it?

Designer highlighters! That's what you get when you stick STABILO and Dolce & Gabbana in the same room and see what they come up with.

 

STABILO's Boss highlighter is probably what springs to mind when you think of such things, and Dolce & Gabbana are not exactly unknown, so dressing up what's probably the world's most famous highlighter in a designer suit is a match made in heaven.

 

Highlighting has never been so stylish!

. Because it's BIG. It's got 411 pages in it (the clue's in the name). So no more unwelcome breaks when inspiration is coming thick and fast! Phew.

Wishlists are great, especially at this time of year! You can use it to store up all those bits and pieces at Cult Pens that really catch your eye, just by clicking on the little heart-shaped button on every product page.

 

I'm quite keen on'.

Delivery deadlines are upon us. Unless you're outside the UK and Europe, in which case, er... well, they've gone. Whooshed past in a shower of pine needles. But even if you're down under, across the pond or sunning yourself in Samoa and you want to send a gift to your rellies in the UK, then you're fine. As long as you dispatch to them direct. Not to you first, and then... ah, you get what we mean. 

Our Christmas tree is up! Reception is now sparkly and cheery - thanks to the efforts of Amy (very responsibly clad in her hi-vis jacket), Sarah (lady in festive red) and Abi (keeping warm with a Santa hat), and smells delightfully of pine!

 

We're very grateful to Exe Valley Christmas Trees, who not only donated it to us, but delivered it as well! Thanks chaps!