decjan08.pdf

t h e pa s t , p r e s e n t a n d f u t u r e o f f i n e w r i t i n g i n s t r u m e n t s

All About PAtrick

Brand new and newly branded

Designer Pens

ACME fears no color

reD Hot PArkers

A classic collection

besPoke Writing

instruments

Just the way you like them

HoliDAy gift guiDe

A Tribute to

Watchmaking from

Caran d’Ache

D E C / J A N 2 0 0 8

US $6.99

CAN $8.99

UK £4.50

w w w . s t y l u s m a g . c o m

(cover story )

All About Patrick

Easygoing Pens

The limited edition Patrick

“Babe” fountain pen retails

for about $1,500.

26 d e c e m b e r / j a n ua ry 2 0 0 8 s t y l u s

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B y N a N c y O l s O N

is an end in itself, so he is

willing to take the neces-

sary risks to produce “pens I want

to own,” he says of his new line

of Patrick pens. Heretofore per-

haps best known as the founder

(2001) and designer of Loim-

inchay writing instruments, Chu

is a pen collector at heart and

intuitively understands what

inspires others in the art of pen

making. He has earned a reputa-

tion within his Loiminchay line

for creating designs that, while

classic, are completely fresh, us-

ing materials that are high-qual-

ity—and unusual.

As an example, Chu’s Nine

Dragons, introduced last year,

is an all-jade sculptural master-

piece, hand carved from a single

block of Burmese jade. Priced at

$250,000, the pen is the apothe-

osis of his Asian-themed writ-

ing instruments and the perfect

metaphor for his work. “Jade is

precious to most Chinese,” he

explains, “and it is said that it

protects its owner from harm.”

And the dragon—the unequivo-

cal locus of this magniicent

pen—has long been a symbol of

power and prosperity in Chinese

folklore and art. It is considered

to be a symbol of success. The

limited edition Nine Dragons

garnered worldwide recognition

among pen and art collectors

alike, as have other pieces within

the Loiminchay oeuvre of over

20 distinct collections.

But like most artists, Chu is

not satisied to rest on his laurels

of success. He is always looking

to the future, absorbing trends

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s t y l u s d e c e m b e r / j a n ua ry 2 0 0 8 27

F or Patrick Chu, creation

PeoPle and Pens

It doesn’t get any better, according to stan Pfeiffer

B y n a n c y o l s o n

Red hard rubber and

pearl Parkers.

32 d e c e m b e r / j a n ua ry 2 0 0 8 s t y l u s

www . s t y l u smag . com

Parker ephemera

love affair with pens began

when he was just a child.

And in the many years since his

Texas childhood, his pen collec-

tion has grown to “several hun-

dred” pieces. But the best part of

this collector’s story is that while

Pfeiffer certainly enjoys the sheer

quantity of pens he now owns, he

gives equal weight to their quality.

He is perhaps best known for his

premier Parker collections, but he

has some pretty stunning Water-

mans and Conklins, among oth-

ers—not to mention his world-

class selection of desk sets.

An attorney now liv-

ing and practicing in Houston,

Pfeiffer recently brought a small,

but amazing, portion of his pen

collection to a local Houston

studio to be photographed for

this issue. On time—a bit ear-

ly, in fact—he showed up with

boxes, cases and even a piece of

luggage, illed to the brim with

pens and pen ephemera. I had

requested that he bring pens

he felt were “representative” of

his collection, and the Parkers,

particularly the red hard-rubber

pieces, took center stage.

“I am motivated to buy a pen

because it interests me aestheti-

cally and because I want to use

it,” says Pfeiffer, when asked how

he sets his sights on a particu-

lar piece or brand. He adds that

sometimes the sheer rarity of a

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s t y l u s d e c e m b e r / j a n ua ry 2 0 0 8 33

S tan Pfeiffer’s decades-long

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