Pen enthusiasts in the Philippines: FPN-Philippines

Hi, I'm Mona and I am an admin of Fountain Pen Network-Philippines. Today I’d like to introduce you to our pen group and share my experiences. We welcome overseas visitors to our pen meets! And I hope hearing our story might inspire you to organize your own local fountain pen club or events.

What is FPN-Philippines?

Fountain Pen Network-Philippines is the biggest fountain pen hobbyist group in the Philippines. We were founded in July 2008 by award-winning writer and professor Jose Dalisay, Jr. and a handful of enthusiasts who were all originally members of the Fountain Pen Network international forums. In 2010 we started the FPN-P group on Facebook, and we have grown to just over 14,000 members worldwide.

To run the group we have several admins, plus FPN-P Inc., which is our non-profit legal arm for organizing events and managing official funds. Also, FPN-P has been organizing the Manila Pen Show since 2018.

Who are we?

Our members include students, artists, professionals, entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, academics, and more. The members come from all around the world as a result of the Filipino diaspora, but we also have international members.

The majority of the members are Millennials and Gen Z, drawn to the hobby for a variety of reasons. Many joined initially because they inherited a fountain pen from their parents, or because fountain pens can be refilled, or that using fountain pens gave their artistic/professional/social image a boost. They stay in the hobby because they love to write, they love pens and stationery supplies, and because they love to tinker. Members also come from other hobby-adjacent groups—calligraphy, Japanese stationery, planners/journaling, scrapbooking, ink and watercolor art, others. Many members are also penabling their friends, family, or work colleagues.

FPN-P is a safe space for fountain pen lovers to enjoy their pens without being judged. Newbies on a budget can post side-by-side with members with rare collectible pens and inks, and there is no pressure to keep up with the spending. People are not shamed for their handwriting, although there is a lot of humor connected to it. We closely monitor political and religious posts, which helps to keep the group relatively drama-free.

Developments since starting the group

Back in 2008 we didn't have local nibmeisters. We used to send group packages to Richard Binder, John Mottishaw or Mike Masuyama and wait months for them to come back. Now we have two nibmeisters—J.P. Reinoso and John Raymond Lim—who can be trusted with grinds on regular and high-end pens. Reinoso also repairs vintage pens. More members are now more comfortable tinkering with their own pens for simple fixes, which they learn from the group or at pen meets.

When we started the group, the only inks locally available were Parker Quink in black, blue and blue-black. Now we have several homegrown ink brands: Vinta Inks, Troublemaker Inks, ON Inks. And now we can get almost all the international ink brands locally, or use locally-based purchasing services for limited edition ink (eg. Japanese inks). We also have more access now to good, fountain pen-friendly paper.

We maintain a good relationship with our two main local retailers, Scribe and Everything Calligraphy, which grew alongside us in the last 16 years. While sales transaction posts are not allowed in the group, we direct buyers to Fountain Pen Palengke (Fountain Pen Market) group, which is not affiliated with FPN-P and run separately by admins who are members of FPN-P.

We’ve made huge strides during the years the group has been active, and times are good for fountain pen enthusiasts in the Philippines!

Manila Pen Show

FPN-P incorporated in 2018 so we could organize the first Manila Pen Show. FPN-P Inc. is led by well-known fountain pen personality and award-winning ad executive Leigh Reyes (@leighpod on Instagram). The Manila Pen Show has been continuously supporting the charity Save the Children since 2018 through its admission ticket and pen show merchandise sales. The show returned in 2023 after a hiatus from 2020 to 2022 due to the pandemic. It is now the most well-attended pen show in Southeast Asia, and continues to grow.

Ongoing events and pen meets

Throughout the year we occasionally hold contests, giveaways, raffles, and charity fundraising auctions in the Facebook group. Most events like these involve members posting short essays or photos of their pens and inks, related to a theme. Prizes are donated by local retailers or by generous members.

Pen meets are now organized by members in their local areas, usually at restaurants or coffee shops that can accommodate at least 15-30 people at a time. And Pelikan Hub nights are organized within FPN-P on a per-city basis—in 2024 there are 11 hubs.

We have a time-honored ritual at pen meets of having people sign in our notebooks identifying their pen and ink, so we can make new friends and go home with writing samples. Newbies are sometimes handed a "pen meet etiquette" card so they will know how to request to try another member's pen or ink and handle it carefully.

If you’re a regular pen meet participant looking to try a certain pen, you can ask another member to bring one of their more valuable pens to a pen meet—like a Nakaya, for example—so that you can try it. In most cases, people are happy to do so. Sometimes members also sell or trade pens with each other at pen meets, which some prefer over online sales because they can inspect and try before buying.

Some members also organize the Pen Collectors' Night once a year, which is probably the only time one can see all the fancy grail pens in the Philippines on exhibit, although this is by invitation only.

Thanks for reading!

FPN-Philippines has led to many members getting to know one another. As an admin I've met hundreds of members over the last 16 years, and many of them are now lifelong friends. I hope our experience has been inspiring to you and that you’ll come and visit us in the future!