How a Lamy Safari made me quit my job

Fifteen years ago, I was working in optometry building websites for practices to sell contact lenses. I had no clue about e-commerce, but one day, Larry put his Safari fountain pen on my desk, and I had an idea. 

I said, “Why don’t we build a dummy website to sell this pen? We’ll learn how the shopping cart works.”

That first website? You could only order one item at a time. A guy called wanting two Moleskines, and I explained, “Oh, you just have to place two orders.”

Fast forward to today, and we’re now in a warehouse we own, with 8,000+ products, a pen room, a test counter for customers, a tuning bench, and two stamping presses. People say we’re lucky, but they forget: e-commerce was hard back then. Hard to build, hard to be seen, and we made almost nothing in the first few years.

I had planned to stay in optometry until I retired, but four kids later, I needed flexibility. So we committed $20K and 12 months of no income to a mindset to just try, and trust.

With our science heads on, we went deep into how pens work and the marks they make. We weren’t chasing expensive status symbols. We wanted pens you could actually use, every day.

I became obsessed with nib sizes, ink properties, line widths, and tuning. And then I realised other people wanted these details too. I kept sharing everything I learnt, and somehow, I became a nib whisperer.

It’s really not that different from fitting contact lenses: just as a lens has to fit an eye to feel right, a nib has to be tuned to feel smooth. When it does, the writing just happens.

For me, it’s a dream come true. As a child, I played with a toy kaleidoscope. In optometry, I loved using the biomicroscope. Now, I use optical grade magnifiers to make pens feel perfect for you.

Whether you’re a longtime follower or new here, my aim is simple: to get your pens writing to their full potential, and to help you feel confident with your tools. 

And if you follow along, you’ll get the practical, nerdy details most pen shops don’t share. In return we invite you to talk with us properly, and see what we can do together. No velvet gloves here. Just old fashioned service, and a touch of larrikin fun.

Jen x

PS. Yes, photo shows my favourite Pilot Custom 823 pen. Lamy Safari taught me how fountain pens work, but it's the feel of my 823 where words just fall onto the page.

PSS. Ask for help with pen selection here.

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