Seen in the wild

Montblanc Haus

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Earlier this month I had the pleasure of visiting Montblanc Haus in Hamburg, located just next to Montblanc’s headquarters and manufacturing site.

Montblanc Haus in Hamburg
The Montblanc Haus in Hamburg

The visit was part of a trip to Hamburg with my wife and son. We didn’t really know what to expect, so I thought we’d see a small exhibition about Montblanc’s past plus a gift shop, situated in a crammed building. The reality was quite different, though: when we arrived we were greeted by the view of a very modern, purpose-built building.

2 meter high metal shopping bags outside the Montblanc Haus
2 meter high metal shopping bags outside the Montblanc Haus

The surface of the building is wavy in a mesmerising way, showing what I assume is the mountain panorama of Montblanc, the highest mountain of the Alps. Even the landscaping of the outside area was aesthetically in line with the Montblanc Haus.

The outside landscape, as seen from the cafe
The outside landscape, as seen from the cafe

The reception staff was extremely friendly. To entertain children there is also a treasure hunt activity to keep them busy. The exhibition itself is spread over two floors. The building has a third floor, which wasn’t open on the day of our visit.

Montblanc fountain pens, arranged as a mountain
Montblanc fountain pens, arranged as a mountain

I won’t be able to relay the impressive exhibition here, so I am not even trying, but just to give you a quick overview: the ground floor is focussed on Montblanc’s history.

Montblanc inkwells over the years
Montblanc inkwells over the years

The first floor is looking at the production process of Montblanc’s fountain pens as well as the importance of writing.

A letter, handwritten by Albert Einstein. One of a few dozen letters by influential people.
A letter, handwritten by Albert Einstein. One of a few dozen letters by influential people.

The last part of the first floor is linked to one of Montblanc’s latest campaigns: Wes Anderson’s advertising. You can be part of the set (or a copy of the set) used in the 100 Years of Meisterstück campaign video.

I am always impressed by Montblanc’s ability to release pens that are very different to each other. If you look at Pelikan’s piston fillers, Kaweco’s Sport or Lamy’s Safari, AL-Star or even the latest pine green Lamy 2000, the ‘achievement’ of the manufacturers is that you get the same pen in a different colour. It reminds me of my factory tour of Staedtler’s facilities: I mentioned the limited edition colours of the Mars Micro 775, which I was quite keen on, but they were hardly aware of it and mentioned “but it’s just the same pen in a different colour”. Montblanc on the other hand brings out new pens that are very different to each other and are often only available for a few months – with a price tag to match.

The Wes Anderson set
The Wes Anderson set

There was also a Montblanc shop, selling stationery and more. This includes a special Montblanc Haus fountain pen and ink. Ms Wergin from the shop explained to me, that the ink’s recipe is quite special and was developed specifically for calligraphy. It can however also be used in standard fountain pens without problems. Its consistency is supposedly a little more liquid than that of Montblanc’s main black ink, which helps it dry faster.The ink also consists of several colour pigments, which should give it a particularly deep and rich colour.

The shop in Montblanc Haus
The shop in Montblanc Haus

I didn’t get round trying the ink out yet, as my currently used pens were just recently inked, but I am looking forward to trying it out soon.

Montblanc Haus ink and bag
Montblanc Haus ink and bag

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School start pencils

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By now, the new school year has started in most countries, and this year, I saw something I hadn’t seen before: Here in Northern Germany, in the states of Bremen and Lower Saxony, I have noticed houses decorated with large pencils. This is not very common, I only spotted a handful of houses like this, and seems to indicate that a child living in the house is starting primary school.

One of the houses with pencil decorations also had a Danish flag, so I wonder if this is a Danish tradition that has spread to Northern Germany.I have never observed this in England or Southern Germany.

If you know more about this, please let me know.

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Pencil prank & Pelikan

2 Comments / Pelikan, Seen in the wild / / , ,

I couldn’t help but notice the pencil on the cover of the latest Beano issue. Well, I say the latest issue, when actually it was four issues ago because my son’s subscription is slow to arrive here on the continent. At least you can still subscribe to The Beano here. The Phoenix stopped their subscription to EU countries altogether because of issues with delayed and missing deliveries and they don’t offer a digital subscription either.

In case you’re wondering what the pencil prank is, have a look here:

On a different note: registration for the Pelikan Hub 2024 is open. You can register here: https://www.pelikan-hubs.com/

I hope to be able to run a Pelikan Hub again. As I am more familiar with my ‘new’ city, I have a better idea for the location this year.

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Posh pens in a supermarket

5 Comments / Carrefour, Pelikan, Seen in the wild / / , , ,

Most of us only know the really expensive fountain pens [1]Not sure where to draw the line here. Maybe at €200 plus? from the Internet. No wonder – unless you live in a very big city or close to a specialist stationery store you probably don’t have much chance of seeing them in real life. It’s understandable that many shops don’t stock really expensive pens: they might not sell, so would end up just tying up money that could be used to buy other goods that sell faster.

I am wondering if shops with enough turnover can sell expensive pens on commission / don’t have to pay for them until they sell them. If you know how this works, please leave a comment. The fact that you don’t see expensive pens often makes me think that this is not the case.

With this in mind it came as a surprise to see not one, but three €2,000 fountain pens at a supermarket in Bremen. OK, I admit, that it is not a normal supermarket, but a rather unusual one: It is not part of any of the common German supermarket chains and there is only branch, i.e. it is not its own chain. It’s called Lestra and is a normal, but posh, supermarket that sells milk, bread, butter, cheese, meat – and has a small but very special stationery aisle.

In the top row of the shelf in the next photo you can see Pelikan’s Silver Screen fountain pen (€1,950) from 2009 (limited edition of 420 pens), Pelikan’s Herzstück fountain pen (€2,500) from 2019 (limited edition of 462 pens) and Pelikan’s Temple of Artemis fountain pen (€2,750) that is part of the Seven Wonders Of The World Series and was released in 2006 (limited edition of 440 pens).

As you can imagine this was a very unexpected discovery. Next time I visit I’ll look what other unusual items are there to be discovered.

References

References
↑1 Not sure where to draw the line here. Maybe at €200 plus?

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