Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Lie de Thé & The Parker 51

No, I didn't need a bottle of J. Herbin's Lie de Thé ink when I came across it online a few weeks ago, but I made a mental note that if I ever got a fountain pen again, this would be the ink I would buy for it. And then I stumbled upon …


I was busy organizing in my craft room one evening when I came across a sack of old sewing tools my mom had passed along from one of her junking expeditions. Amongst the rusty old pieces was an old plastic box containing a matching pen and pencil with dark navy blue barrels. Now I am a pen fanatic anyway, and I love pens almost as much as I love teawares. I like old pens, new pens, cheap pens, fancy pens ... if there's a new type of pen out there, I want to try it! So I had to research vintage pens, and I found a wonderful web site which told me that this Parker 51 is considered "a triumph of styling" and "one of the most robust and practical writing instruments ever made." The mechanism that holds the ink is rather interesting, and of course it was bone dry so I needed some ink. Thus, I was now at liberty to order that J. Herbin ink with the cute teapot on the bottle, perhaps the only ink they've ever sold because of the graphic!

It was a bit of a risk to try the ink, because I wasn't at all sure the pen would work any more, but it does, and now I am happily writing away with my new tea-colored ink! I ordered mine from Pear Tree Pen Company, and I was delighted to receive a thoughtful handwritten note with my order. Don't you just love good customer service! (And don't you just love a good pen!)

8 comments:

  1. oh my goodness. How perfect is that!? I use walnut ink in crafting, but I did not know that tea ink existed. I will definitely put that on my wish list. On another note, I am not blogging anymore, but I would love to have a visit with you. I plan to be in Decatur this summer for a week. Best wishes to you.

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  2. I do like that tea ink and your Parker 51 pen set. Makes me want to dig out my old calligraphy set with all the different colors of ink.

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  3. I must find my fountain pen. I just love them and tea ink my goodness!

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  4. I love this post, Angela!
    (I do not have a fountain pen - but your article makes me want to run right out and buy one, complete with tea ink!)

    That's a nice touch on the customer service aspect, too - rare to find and when you do, you know it & appreciate it.

    By the way, have you seen the promos and the stories on Oprah's 'Chocolate Room?' (Everything is made of chocolate, including the chandelier!) Godiva is one of the sponsors...gets me thinking about how we could do a smaller version of that, in Newnan!
    Wouldn't that be fun?
    All the best,
    Joanie ('Tea & Chocolate Fan')

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  5. How neat! Using "real" pens has an air of elegance to it.

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  6. Angela, you just beat everything! Tea ink?! What will there be next? Everyday is such a treat and a surprise here.

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  7. Well how fun is that!? Funny you should post about this too because with my Christmas gift cards, I did buy a pen and ink set also but haven't yet tried it out. This was really fun, thanks for sharing! Oh and I agree... very NICE customer service!

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  8. Hey...that looks like some familiar handwriting! I'm really glad you're enjoying the ink, Angela!

    (The guy who wrote that piece about the "51"? He wasn't kidding...it's one of my very favorite pens for daily use, too.)

    Thanks again for being our customer...hope to see you back soon!

    Best,
    Ryan

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