Pen Pillows

About twelve years ago a friend of mine, Holly MacBain, gave me a curious gift. She presented me with a wooden box that had Japanese lettering written on the lid. When I opened the box there were six porcelain chopsticks rests inside. Now I do love to eat with chopsticks but when I'm using them I rarely set them down until I'm done eating. So I tucked the gift in the closet and there they sat for twelve years. Jump to 2008.

I'm sitting at my desk at work writing with a fountain pen, which is de rigueur for me, and I laid my pen down uncapped for a moment. My note pad absorbed some ink from the nib having touched the paper and created a small ink blot. I thought to myself: Wouldn't it be nice to have some sort of pen rest where I could momentarily set my pen aside without getting ink all over and without having to cap the pen. Suddenly I remembered those chopsticks rests. I couldn't wait to get home and dig them out.

Now I will admit that chopsticks rests are not pen holders, however you could put two or three together and they could serve that purpose. But they work quite well as a resting spot while writing. They come in an array of shapes, sizes and color and can be a really cool item to have on your desktop. They are also very inexpensive ranging in price from $1.00 to about $6.00 for a complete set. You can buy them to match the color of the pen that you're using that day. So the next time you find yourself in your local Chinatown keep your eyes open for these unique items.

Scribo Ergo Sum

Clifford "Jake" Jacobs

Have Pen, Will Write