To see my 2024 reflection, click here.

I don’t think it’s an understatement that 2025 was a weird year. There are probably more colorful terms that I could use, but I’ll keep it PG, haha. It was quite the challenge to take joy in anything, including a hobby, for me. It was a challenge to exist in the digital world and I definitely leaned on my analog tools to process what is going on around me in both a personal and world perspective. I had to work at it, but as a result I think I have an even deeper connection with what I love about pens, paper, stickers, washi, etc. and how I enjoy sharing that energy. I’ll talk more about how I want to move forward with this feeling in 2026 in my Enjoy Collection wrap-up post which is proving to be rather complicated.

In short, I had a much slower year for new things, but rather really thinking about what I use and why. Favorite EDC pens are still my Kaweco liliputs, although they saw a lot of nib swapping this year. As I write this there is a M steel nib in the fireblue and a B ‘imperial’ in the copper.

Now to ponder about the stationery hobby!

*This product will never not make me laugh. I thought we weren’t supposed to be sniffing glue, Elmer’s!*

What were some releases that lived up to the hype in 2025?

For me personally, it was the Ferris Wheel Press x Lord of the Rings pen and inks (see my review of the pen here). I took that pen to a demonstration night to share with others and I loved seeing how much that pen made people smile. I’m a huge fan of subtle nerdiness and that pen just perfectly fits the bill.

At large? I think a very cool pen release was the Sailor Dried Flowers series. I was super close to trying a Sailor again (I’ve owned two and rehomed both, something doesn’t work for me with the nibs), just because I really loved the design and color scheme of the pink rose pen in particular.

As a side note, I’m really not looking forward to the price increases on a lot of the Japanese pens (really looking at you, Platinum!). I think it’s really rough that it will price a lot of people out of that part of the hobby. I’ve dropped $200+ on a pen before (with nib grinds), but it can be hard to make that choice without being able to have the pen in front of you. I wonder if it will create another boost in pen shows and visits to stationery stores.

What were some disappointments this year?

Honestly, I am getting burned out from the FOMO sales strategy of limited editions. I get that it involves getting a customer to make an impulse purchase so that the company can get quick revenue, but why not just make a popular color readily available and get even more customers over time?

Regional exclusives are kind of in the same camp. We live in a global society and there are customers from all over the world. Why make it so there is a scalper/reseller market at all? This has been a topic that has been really interesting to me in the latter half of this year and I’ll probably do a deep dive eventually.

And similar to last year, special edition/limited edition pricing is often at a significant premium over the standard editions. And very standard colors will get the “limited edition” treatment. I shouldn’t have to pay 20% more because I want a green pen over a blue or black one, for example.

Overall, I’m curious to see what is going to happen in the hobby as some parts of it get mainstream and the cheap copies start showing up in even greater numbers since a good chunk of the hobbyists can’t get close to the real thing.

What was one of the wildest luxury releases this year?

I feel a little bit like I’ve ended up out of the loop this year, because nothing sprang to mind immediately. For fun I went to Atlas Stationers page and sorted the fountain pens by price, and didn’t see anything too outrageous.

I bopped over to Montegrappa next since they are always good for an over the top pen. And I was not disappointed.

Their most recent releases were the Wednesday pen (for the Netflix show) and the Universal Monsters Dracula pen. I love the little surprises they hide in their pens. The top of the Wednesday pen opens to reveal Thing. The Dracula pen has the fangs at the top and a panel that opens to show its ink level (the ink it comes with is blood red of course). The price of these little bits of artwork are beyond me, but I do like looking at them. Maybe I’ll be able to get a glimpse of them at a pen show this year.

Which brand(s) had the best year?

My answer for this year is the same as last year - Wearingeul and Ferris Wheel Press. Both are really leaning into their theming and trying some unusual things. Some work, some don’t, but they keep going. I think the risk they take, as all the ink brands do, is that they risk repeating colors or getting something that is super close to something they’ve had before (I seriously cannot see a difference between FWP Furry Frostbite and FWP Crystal Blue Legacy).

My favorite ink from FWP is a tie between Whispers of Twilight and Wayfinder’s Slate.

I think I only got one Wearingeul ink this year and it will surprise no one that it was the one inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven.

Did my 2025 predictions come true?

When I reread them, I was surprised to see that I was pretty close.

Unfortunately, there was a big jump from steel nibs to gold nibs thanks to the price of gold and trade issues.

There were a lot of pretty wonderful sheeners this year, especially combined with shimmer.

There are some new papers in the arena. I am going to be using a Canopus notebook from Yamamoto Paper as my reflection journal. So far, I really enjoy the paper. There are a few more that I’ve gotten a hold of that I think will be awesome if they can stick around.

Predictions for 2026

More focus within the hobby for things we already have or making curated selections for things that enhance our joy of our pens (like traveler’s notebook covers, stickers/washi, different inks, just getting a new nib for a pen to get the different writing experience as opposed to a whole new nib).
Folks planning their purchases from smaller makers or from events as opposed to online. When you can actually talk to the human who made the pen I think it’s very special. Now with the big brands really leaning into the “luxury” label (with prices to match), I think there will be a lot of opportunity for the creatives in our community to have lots of opportunity.
Chinese brands will be getting a lot more traction since they can keep their prices low per item despite the current trade war nonsense.

Wishes for 2026

Using one from last year again, for brands to stop relying on artificial scarcity for sales. I’ve even seen this in brands that are in the big box stores. Seriously, stop it. Give people time to invest their money in something they actually want, not making poor decisions because of the fear of it not being there when they are ready.
This one is not gonna happen, but I’m sending out the energy. For Kaweco to add to the main lineup (or at least make available globally) past regional exclusive colors. I wasn’t able to justify the upcharge on a standard plastic Kaweco to get the soft pink one that was a Hong Kong exclusive a few years ago… and a soft pink pen would sell like hotcakes.
For some of the big brands to get better about connecting with their customer in the fine writing sphere. We make up a much smaller percentage of the overall customer base, but I guarantee we spend more money than the person who drops $2 on a pack of Bic sticks once a year. It would be nice to see that loyalty be acknowledged and for some of them to do actual market research on what we are looking for (as opposed to slapping a new name on a past ink and releasing it again).

My view of 2025 in general is definitely rather gloomy, but I do see us in a place of change as far as how consumerism is working. I think we are going to have to weather 2026 in a way and find ways to bring joy to our hobby and support the makers and brands (even if it’s just boosting their social media posts) so that they will still be there on the other side. We’re gonna make it, but I have a feeling my journals will be getting even more of a workout this year.

What do you think of some of the announced price increases? Do you have any other stationery world predictions for 2026?

Currently Inked

As I post this all of my pens are empty. I decided to clean everything out in order to pick out some fresh color schemes for the calendar turnover.

Stationery World Reflection 2025

Stationery Loves in 2025