Let's Declare A National Fountain Pen Day

[Scrawler]

 

I had emailed Brian about this idea and what he says about a day being brand specific is very true. We wont get nearly as much support from the retailers/producers if it highlights 1 brand.

I agree we need to find some dates and then get a thread with a vote in it so we can get this going. I love the idea and still cant believe one does not exist.

We need to do some research on dates that don't have something big going on already and maybe have some form of fountain pen history to it. Though in the end the date really needs no historical relevance at all since we are creating the day.

 

Ideas ??????

We need to do this by a rational elimination process. Start by listing every day of the year and then beside it list everything that we can find associated with that day, then one by on eliminate them. Even that is not completely safe from the religion point of view, because some cults and sects do not follow the same calendar as the one we are discussing, and some even have calendars based on a different year length. There are cults that seek to be offended, and while I personally cannot find anything offensive about fountain pens, the possibility exists that in some places the juxtaposition of a day celebrating the pen with the observance of with a cultish event, may raise the ire of some. We are talking about an international event here, and must not assume English, American or Canadian values in assigning a day to this purpose. Therefore I propose that we find some way to create a list of all dates of our generally assumed (Gregorian) calendar, in which all interested parties can enter information that they have about each individual day.

[Rita_K]

I think we're running the risk of over-thinking things and making it too complicated. With all the different nationalities and religions there is very possibly no one date that wouldn't be problematic to someone.

 

Maybe we should consider Melissa's suggestion of choosing a particular time frame ... the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of a particular month.

 

Brian Goulet has indicated that November might be a good month. Perhaps we could consider something like the 1st Saturday of November. It's doesn't seem to interfere with any major holidays that I know of and it would be a different date each year so less likely to offend any particular group.

 

Just a thought.

[Mags]

I am ok with the dates we all settle on. Melissa you lost me on the 50th anniv if the patent was filed in 1884. Help me on that one but I like the idea.

[melissa59]

I am ok with the dates we all settle on. Melissa you lost me on the 50th anniv if the patent was filed in 1884. Help me on that one but I like the idea.

 

It would help you to understand what I said if what I said was correct. :-)

It would be the 130th anniversary, not the 50th. Don't ask where I came up with 50 because I haven't a clue.

And it probably explains why I never got past basic algebra in school.

 

Thankfully, we're going to steer away from brands and brand patents, so my mathematical deficiencies won't be an issue. LOL

[melissa59]

We need to do this by a rational elimination process. Start by listing every day of the year and then beside it list everything that we can find associated with that day, then one by on eliminate them.

 

Wikipedia has already taken care of the event/holiday listing part. I browsed every day in October and each one had something that would offend someone. For example, every day that I've looked at so far has an assorted "Christian Feast Day" and most had a reference to World War II, the Korean War or Vietnam. Some of those days were already taken with a World Teacher's Day; Cinnamon Roll Day and various countries celebrating their independence from other countries.

 

I say we throw caution to the wind! Let's not pick a date, lets pick a day, a week and a month!

I say we go with the 1st Wednesday in November.

It's middle of the week, stores are always open. It's a great day to lift a coworker's spirit with a gift of a cheap fountain pen. It's a good time for retailers to push their new FP wares and it lets some consumers do early Christmas shopping for their pen lovers and it lets pen lovers recuperate from a personal pen purchase before they have to buy gifts for others in the family.

[Earthdawn]

I think we're running the risk of over-thinking things and making it too complicated. With all the different nationalities and religions there is very possibly no one date that wouldn't be problematic to someone.

 

Maybe we should consider Melissa's suggestion of choosing a particular time frame ... the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of a particular month.

 

Brian Goulet has indicated that November might be a good month. Perhaps we could consider something like the 1st Saturday of November. It's doesn't seem to interfere with any major holidays that I know of and it would be a different date each year so less likely to offend any particular group.

 

Just a thought.

 

At first reading and thinking about the idea of a "time frame" date I was like huh? How do you celebrate it like that instead of a standing day?

 

Of course my little brain turned on and reminded me that we celebrate Thanksgiving day like this every year & that there are many National holidays done this way.

 

We just might be better off after all. If we chose a Friday, say the first Friday in Nov. as an example, it could be a kick-off date for a Fountain Pen weekend show.

 

I must agree as well I like a November date as it's just before a lot of gift giving holidays so "IF" it catches on and Pen/Ink makers come up with special editions they are out just in time for gifts

[melissa59]

Actually, I think the First Friday in November is a Fabulous idea!

Here's why:

**First and Friday both begin with F and should make it easier for old people like me to remember.

**November seems like a good day for retailers, according to one of our local pen purveyors.

**Friday is often payday for a lot of people.

**And I think Earthdawn is right ... it's a great way to kick off any weekend, especially one that could lead to a weekend fountain pen event.

 

Shall we add any other dates to the mix and take a vote? Or should we make it a simple YES or NO vote for the FIRST FRIDAY in NOVEMBER?

 

It sounds like we've got the Goulets on board and it seems many others of you are serious. I think if we are going to do this thing, we've got to jump on it while the idea is fresh ... and while it belongs to FPN.

Edited August 5, 2012 by melissa59

[Scrawler]

I usually prefer a fixed day of the month and have sometimes missed meetings because it was on a floating day. I often do not know what day of the week it is. But I find Mellisa's argument to be tantalizingly sound.

[Mags]

St. Johns Newfoundland celebrates a Regatta holiday. The thing is ....the date changes depending upon the presence of rain. I found this custom both practical and charming and after three days waiting for the local City Council to green light the event given some misty, moisty, days on holiday a few years ago a bit frustrating too.

 

I thought I would raise it as you could always pick and move it about in November to nail down those Friday's so it can be a long weekend or pen show weekend for the National/International Fountain Pen Holiday and/or Inky Celebrations. I had wanted to drift towards the Ides of March timeframes but totally appreciate the November commercial symbolism. When is American Thanksgiving it is suppose to be a massive popular holiday and shopping time....maybe pick the Friday leading in to that holiday.....we Canucks celebrate Thanksgiving earlier than folks down South. :bunny01:

 

Mags

[Lisya72]

Another fan of this idea here! SPECIALLY as november is my birthday month! Love it!

 

Ditto!

[Earthdawn]

Well it sounds like the first Friday in November is a good day !

 

All we need to do is get everyone we know who is a fountain pen enthusiast to join in on the day. Anyone who knows a Vendor or Pen/Ink maker or Paper/Stationary maker etc we need to contact them and get them on board.

 

After talking to Brian Goulet I really think by choosing a day that does not highlight anyone brand we can really get this going!

 

What would help also is if all the clubs around the world who are on here have a meet that day or weekend to celebrate it.

 

Im going to email Brian now and get some of his thoughts....

[N2theBreach]

I like the idea of a day/week/month. Good idea. I also like the first Friday in November (Melissa's F-squared thing).

 

I noticed that if we picked it, International Fountain Pen Day would always immediately follow Halloween, which typically has a lot of commercial build-up, here in the US anyway. Would that be an issue?

[Earthdawn]

I like the idea of a day/week/month. Good idea. I also like the first Friday in November (Melissa's F-squared thing).

 

I noticed that if we picked it, International Fountain Pen Day would always immediately follow Halloween, which typically has a lot of commercial build-up, here in the US anyway. Would that be an issue?

 

If there was meet that weekend I was going to I could dress up as a fountain pen :ltcapd:

 

Seriously though I don't think it would be an issue but I know what you mean. I see Halloween as a kids holiday and not one that would really interfere with this.

 

Trying to make it an international holiday I think we are going to have a conflict of some kind no matter what. There are just so many holidays all over the world.

[N2theBreach]

Just what does an International Fountain Pen Day look like??

 

Once we have a date picked, I think we need to decide what we mean by an International Fountain Pen Day (IFPD?). We've been talking about it quite a bit and I suspect that all of us have a slightly different idea of what it might look like and why we want to do it. There will be a lot of overlap in our ideas, and we may want to identify this common ground to give us a focus in these early years.

 

I've done a lot of work helping groups with planning and I've learned that agreeing on the expected outcomes of an activity at the start can help focus the group's energy. There is far less tendency to go down promising-looking paths that don't take them where they want to go.

 

There are just a handful of us engaged in this discussion so far. A candidate set of outcomes can help frame the discussion as others join. There are also different "communities" who have an interest--the user/collector community, vendors, and manufacturers, to name the first three that come to mind.

 

Typically, outcomes are phrased in the future perfect(?) tense (someone with better grammar skills than I, help me out here). They are phrased as an outcome of an activity that has already come to pass.

 

For example, as a result of IFPD:

 

• The general populace will know:
  
  
  
  
• that fountain pens are still viable.
  
  
• fountain pens let you pick how you want your writing to look, not a pen manufacturer.
  
  
• there are around 700 varieties of ink to choose from.
  
  
• There are more fountain models available today than there were in the 1940s (if that's true)

  
  

• Fountain pen sales will increase by X% on IFPD and the weeks following.
  
  
• Store/web traffic will increase by X% on IFPD and the weeks following.
  
  
• Fountain pen enthusiasts will agree that we all had a blast on IFPD.
  
  
• And so on.
  
  

So, the formatting isnt' the best, but I think it conveys the idea.

I thought I'd raise the proposal now to give us time to think about it while we seek agreement on a date.

 

What do you think? (about the idea, not my specific examples, we can work the specifics later)

Edited August 7, 2012 by N2theBreach

[melissa59]

Halloween (Oct. 31 in the U.S.) through New Years Day is always one big commercial spend fest ... at least here in the U.S.

 

American Thanksgiving is always on the fourth Thursday in November. Black Friday (the country's single biggest shopping day of the year) is always the Friday after thanksgiving.

 

For those who celebrate Halloween, it might make our Fountain Pen Day easier to remember, as it will always be the first Friday after Halloween, not just the first Friday in November.

 

In 2012 it will be Nov. 2

2013: Nov. 1

2014: Nov. 7

2015: Nov. 6

2016: Nov. 4

2017: Nov. 3

 

 

We need to decide what to call this event, too.

INTERNATIONAL FOUNTAIN PEN DAY (IFPD)

WORLD FOUNTAIN PEN DAY (WFPD)

INTERNATIONAL FOUNTAIN PEN & INK DAY (IFPID)

WORLD FOUNTAIN PEN & INK DAY (WFPID)

GALAXY FOUNTAIN PEN & INK DAY (GFPID) In honor of Curiosity landing on Mars.

 

 

I have no idea how we would measure prospective sales increases and/or increased Website, but I do like the idea of knowing what we expect and/or hope to gain from this annual event.

 

I hope the event would encourage fountain pen users to share their love of these pens with other people, either showing one to a stranger in line at the check out counter or by gifting one to a coworker.

 

Imagine how we could spread the word if everyone who took part were to buy a cheap Varsity and give it to someone, friend or stranger, with a tag on it that tells where and when fountain pen day started (Fountain Pen Network, first Friday in November 2012) and maybe a very brief Mission Statement. "World Fountain Pen & Ink Day was created to bring awareness to a writing tool some thought extinct ... blah, blah, blah."

[melissa59]

If you have another date or day/week/month that you like better than 1st Friday in November, please send me a PM in the next 47 hours.

 

In about 48 hours, I'll start a new thread with a poll. It will include 1st Friday in November and the first six suggested days/dates. FPN membership will be given 3 days to vote. (In other words, we should have a solid date decided in FIVE (5) days!

 

In case of a tie, I will ask Brian Goulet to choose the best day/date from his retailer perspective.

 

:thumbup: Also wanted to add that one of our generous forward thinking FPN members has already reserved a domain name to promote this annual event! :thumbup:

 

So ... Let's get this train in motion!!

[Scrawler]

I am all on board with the 1st Friday of November. I hope we reach consensus, because I want to start planning activities, such as having a Facebook and LinkedIn announcement campaign, letters to the editor etc. That domain name is great Thank you whoever you are. It does presuppose that the name of the day is now fixed.

[melissa59]

While the date/day simmers on the back burner, I think we should move forward.

We need a mission statement.

 

It should be short, simple and descriptive ... an official, brief paragraph that can be reproduced word for word on the back of a business card, in a paragraph of a press release, in a Twitter post, on a gift tag, etc.

 

For example, here are some actual mission statements:

 

**The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.

 

**Amazon’s vision is to be earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.

 

**Google’s mission is to organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

 

What is our mission?

FPD was founded by members of FountainPenNetwork.com to give fountain pen lovers an excuse to buy new pens.

FPD is committed to putting a fountain pen in every newborn child's hand. (hope they don't poke out an eye!)

FPD was created as part of an ongoing effort to rid the world of ballpoint pens.

FPD's mission is to create an awareness of fountain pen use in modern society.

FPD's mission is to introduce vintage and new fountain pens to those who thought the pens extinct.

Edited August 7, 2012 by melissa59

[Marlow]

Awesome direction all this is taking! Loving the momentum building.

 

I'm fine with whatever day is chosen and November works very well for me as it's my birthday month! 29th Nov would thus become an extra special pen-pressie day for me! :roflmho:

 

Coming from a background of running my own marketing company, I tend to agree with the spirit of N2theBreach's sentiments regarding outcome objectives though I think the thing will evolve organically once initiated, if for no other reason than that there are many different FP-enthusiast groups around, as well as many different manufacturers and sellers etc, all of whom would be able to add their own interpretation of how to celebrate the day / week / month.

 

I look forward to melissa's poll as I think that will be a great place to start seeding the idea in the wider FPN community, at which point one might expect a plethora of further ideas.

 

<<-- that's Happy Marlow with his happyberet on!

[melissa59]

"Coming from a background of running my own marketing company, I tend to agree with the spirit of N2theBreach's sentiments regarding outcome objectives though I think the thing will evolve organically once initiated..."

 

I totally agree. I thought a mission statement might be easier to achieve first, but perhaps listing the outcome objectives first would make it easier to agree on a final mission statement.

 

Melissa <---- who just filed away, for future use, the note about Marlow running his own marketing company.