We've talked about gateway fountain pens before, and we figured this would be a good time to remind you that fountain pens are fun and approachable, make excellent gifts, and pair quite nicely with some very easy add-ons that will round out a gift for pretty much anyone. Extra ink, fountain pen-friendly paper, some good starter pens, and a few accessories to simplify toting your pen(s) around.
J Herbin Ink Cartridges (in rose cyclamen), $7.50; MD Midori Notebook, $15; Papier Tigre Pen Clip, $5; Traveler's Company Leather Pen Holder, $18; Quattro Pen Case, $45; Leuchtturm Pen Loop, $4.95; TWSBI Eco Cerulean Blue Fountain Pen, $34; Lamy Safari Fountain Pen, $37; Papier Tigre Le Voyageur Notebook Strap With Pen Loop $8.50.
J Herbin Ink Cartridges (in rose cyclamen): This COLOR?? It's perfect. I DIE. I make myself wait to fill my fountain pens with it so I can look forward to it! - Carly
A5 Lined MD Paper (Midori) Notebook: Excellent notebooks for fountain pens. Midori has composed some of the best notebooks to combat ghosting and bleed through. Easily portable and the line includes a plastic cover to keep your notebook clean and dry. - Karen
Pen Clips/Holders: If you are purchasing a pen this holiday make sure you keep it handy with one of these pen clips. The Kaweco branded clips (Deluxe and Octagonal) are made to accompany any Kaweco sport style pen. The Leuchtturm pen loop can be attached to the inside of any paper notebook. Papier Tigre has a notebook strap made to fit over any A5 or A6 notebook and includes two pen loops. We carry this strap in three colors, each named for an international destination. Papier Tigre also makes a expandable metal pen holding clip which can be added to any notebook or pad holder. Choose between iridescent black or rose gold. Lastly, we have the Traveler's Company's attractive leather pen holder in Brown or Black. This clip is made of brass and leather and meant to accompany Traveler's beautiful leather refillable notebook. - Karen
TWSBI Eco Cerulean Blue Fountain Pen: The TWSBI Eco is a simple piston filling fountain pen and can be filled from any bottle of fountain pen ink. - Karen
Lamy Safari Fountain Pen: Personally, I think this pen is perfect for a fountain pen noob because they can start out with cartridges for ink and then they can go a little fancier and use bottled ink with a converter when they are ready aka exactly what I did when I was starting out with fountain pens! - Jenny