Julie Melendez

We talked to Julie Melendez from ThePenTastic instagram who tells us about her initiation in this world.

HOW DID YOU DISCOVER THE WORLD OF FOUNTAIN PENS?

When I was a little girl, my father bought a Montblanc pen and I loved it. He didn't use it as much as I did and then for college I bought a Waterman. But I didn't use them the way I use them now. A few years ago I got back into handwriting and I went on Amazon and bought a Lamy Joy and it really was a joy, it made me love fountain pens again. Yes, that's how I started, the Lamy Joy really.

How did my collection start anyway? The brand that started my collection was Sailor. I thought it was really cool, all the colors. I remember I saw the Blue Lagoon in their Cocktail series and I loved it. It was sold out for a long time and then they brought it back two years ago and I finally got to have it.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BRANDS?

Sailor and Twsbi. Twsbi, it's affordable, it's a demonstrator, it has a great nib. Those two brands are simply, my favorite.

THE PERFECT EVERYDAY PEN IS…

For me, the perfect everyday pen is the Twsbi Eco, it's a clear demonstrator, I can enjoy looking at the ink in the barrel. They have an awesome wide nib, it's really the complete package for me with a great nib, it's a demonstrator, you can take it anywhere you want and it's affordable.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM PEN?

I've always loved broad nibs and Montblanc has an amazing MUSIC, so it's definitely one of my dream pens. However, it's very rare and very expensive, so, one day, maybe, who knows, I'll get to have it.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE FOUNTAIN PEN WORLD?

Well, a species that is crazy about pens like me, so, that's always a joy. I like going to fountain pen shows, and trying all the fountain pens and all the different types of inks and talking to people about fountain pens. Just enjoying stationery and fountain pens with people who are enthusiasts like me, that's the best part. So, like I said, one of my favorite pen brands is Sailor and it's the pen I own the most.

Here are the minis. Here's the Shooting Star which is one of the first Sailors I ever collected. Here is the Sailor Blue Lagoon, very happy to finally have it. And then the second brand that I really love is Franklin Christoph.

This is the most recent one I've purchased. Here's my Montblanc, my Urishi, Pelikan Visconti, Leonardo momento zero.These are my Makers pens, my vintage fountain pens, Taccia and Kaweco, all my Twsbis, and this is the newest one and it's the Peter Pan. Moonman which I don't think is called Moonman anymore and these are glass pens made by FireSider out of glass which is beautiful. My a Benu, an Osprey, I can't remember what this is called buy I got it on Amazon. The Lamy, the Pilot, the Opus and then the Kakimori. And that's my collection.