Easy writer...

Retro 51 is introducing more Harley Davidson ballpoint pens: Flathead, Stroker, Vintage Rider and two Full Throttles: one in black and orange stripes and one with an antique finish. All priced at under $50, they make great gifts for the biker in your life.

Limited edition from Retro 51

Dallas-based Retro 51 is offering a palette of colorful lacquered metal barrels on its popular Tornado rollerball. The limited edition collection utilizes the latest ink technology and is fitted with a smooth rollerball refill retracted with a patented knurl twist-top. It is priced at $32.50.

It's Cherry Blossom Time

The cherry blossoms are just about at peak bloom right now, and once again this year Fahrney's of Washington, DC, has teamed up with Retro 51 to celebrate this wonder of nature. And even more exciting, this year is the centennial celebration of the cherry blossom in DC, since the first trees were gifted to our nation's capital in 1912. In that year, the city of Tokyo bestowed 3,000 cherry trees upon the city, and they have survived to this day. This is the sixth collection that Fahrney's has offered honoring the lovely blossom, and this year's original design captures the delicacy of the blossoms at day and night, with an intricate rendering of the White House wrapping around the base of the barrel. The steel barrel features multiple layers of black and white enamel with a touch of pink on the blossoms. The capless retractable rollerball/ballpoint is a twist-action pen. It is priced at $49. The Cherry Blossom Festival begins tomorrow, and runs through April 27.

The new Ceramic Tornado

Newest from Retro 51 is the Ceramic Tornado ballpoint, the latest rendition in the popular Tornado line first introduced several years ago. This limited and numbered edition, available in brown or white ceramic, has rose gold colored trim and retails for $250. The pen is packaged in a great-looking black lacquer box.

In the movies

Retro 51, the Dallas-based pen brand, is introducing its first edition of a Disney movie-themed pen. The new Tron  film will be released just before Christmas, and the Tron glow-in-the-dark pens will be on the shelves the first week of October. There will be more movie-themed pens coming in the not-too-distant future from Retro 51. You saw it here first!

Barbecue...in New York City?

We Texans (whether by birth or by circumstance) sure love our barbecue. I feel like a traitor as I write this, since I grew up on the East Coast and teethed on all kinds of seafood. What, lobster—AGAIN? But, I’ve been in Houston long enough now to really salivate over a good hunk of meat cooked to perfection on a barbecue grill. It’s an art form unto itself, and it requires rubbing, basting and slow (as in hours) cooking. In fact, now that I think about it, it’s quite a complicated process. Fish doesn’t need rubbing. Anyway, I was delighted when my daughter, Emily, and I were invited by George Kartsotis—president of Retro 51 and also a Texan—to join the gang at Virgil’s in NYC last week. It’s a quintessential barbecue restaurant, and I enjoyed some of the best comfort food—ribs, beef and chicken—I’ve ever had. The talk, of course, turned to pens and the National Stationery Show (the reason we were all in NYC). Nice people. Great time. Watch for some really creative new products coming from Retro 51. It’s sure to be a blockbuster year for the Dallas-based company.

If You’re Ever Down in Dallas…

When I walked into the Dallas Pen Collectors’ Club meeting on Wednesday night, I felt like I was home. This warm and devoted group of collectors had invited me to make a presentation at one of their regular meetings, which are held every other month at a hotel in Richardson. After a few months of emailing and calendar exchanging, the ever-patient Mike Walker (pictured) and I determined that April would work for both the club and me. They had no special request in terms of topic, but since the group is interested in both new and vintage pens—with lots of crossover—I decided to talk about trends in contemporary pens. I then focused on “Twenty Under Two Hundred,” more precisely: 20 brands that offer good fountain pens under $200. It was a great evening, and I particularly enjoyed seeing familiar faces and meeting some new people. The pre-meeting dinner was a lot of fun. Mike Walker, Larry Bedinghaus (whom I’ve known for years), Twila Teasley (a delightful woman I hope to see again…she loves desk sets!) and I shared burgers and salads and great conversation. Their hospitality quelled the pre-presentation jitters that will probably plague me for the rest of my life. The formal part of the presentation closed with some pen raffles courtesy of Randy Spicer at Pelikan. Pelikan offers some wonderful examples of well-made, great looking pens in the under $200 category; their more expensive pens are amazing, too, as my growing collection will attest. The group then milled about—asking questions, talking and examining the many pens I had brought for the show-and-tell segment of my act. My thanks to the manufacturers, who allowed me to use their pens for this purpose, including Dallas’s own Retro 51. There’s nothing quite like Texas hospitality. Y’all should experience it, too: visit the Dallas Pen Show this fall, September 24 and 25, http://www.dallaspenshow.com/.