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Hello! I'm Marcelo from Brazil. I've been coming here for a couple of months because Brian Goulet can't shut up about the FPN Now I've felt sure that I want to be part of this (extra) fine community. I'm a total n00b when it comes to fountain pens — I've been using fountain pens since college, but only this year I decided to really dive into the hobby and acquire some know-how and connect with other enthusiasts. (The discovery of the Goulet Pens YouTube channel might have had something to do with it.) It's quite hard to find good pens, inks, paper, etc. in Brazil without forking out a lot of cash. Not only everything is imported, importation duties are between 86 and 94% over price + shipping. This creates a scenario where few pen companies dare to bring or produce very much of anything. Pilot, for example, sells, two bottled inks, "black" and "blue". That's it. Pilot concentrates on ballpoint and roller pens here. Sheaffer sells maybe three pens and Faber-Castell doesn't even sell anything apart from pencils in Brazil. My first pen ever was made by a regional brand called Crown. They're the only people who lean pretty heavily into fountain pens while also making rollerballs an mechanical pencils (Brazilians love 'em some mechanical pencils). Crown's alright, but they are villains and victims of this state of everything being so expensive: their pens really don't mach up to quality by price if compared to German or Japanese pens of the same level of quality, even with the added importation taxes. I'm rambling (I'll be doing that a lot around here, sorry). Anyhow, it's good to finally stop lurking!

Hi All, I've been a member here since September 2013 but have been mostly lurking. Lately, though, with the addition of a few more pens and a few more ink samples, I've decided to explore the FPN a little more. I've been sucked into reading numerous threads from start to finish... great way to spend a weekend, wouldn't you say? My name is Ev and I live in the beautiful Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. I'm also a member of Postcrossing and Ravelry, where I'm a member of the Pen Fetish Crafters group. At the moment, I have a vintage Schaeffer Lifetime Balance that needs a cap, a Lamy Safari, a Lamy Al-Star, a TWSBI Diamond Mini (probably my fave pen so far), a Cross Aventure, a Noodler's Ahab that's been tossed to the back of the drawer because it arrived (second hand) with a bent tine, and a couple of disposable fountain pens. I have a shopping cart full of things I'll be ordering from Wonder Pens with my next pay cheque, including a Noodler's Konrad, and a Platinum Plaisir in Violet, among other things. Yes, this could become an obsession. Ah well, my husband spends his money on cigarettes; I spend mine on pens and supplies. I think that's fair, don't you?