The Aurora Optima is a premium-grade pen with a lot of high-end features that has recently dropped in price due to some strategic positioning from Aurora. They are aiming to make their high end pens more accessible, and they have done that very well with the Optima in 2016. The Optima is a great daily writer, with a smooth flow and generous ink capacity. It’s a highly functional pen that looks as good as it writes.

We have another awesome "Goulet Guests" to share with you. In our final interview from the Atlanta Pen Show back in April, Brian had the opportunity to sit down with Brad Dowdy and Jeffrey Bruckwicki of Nock Co.  Nock Co. produces handmade fountain pen cases that are made in the USA. We're also happy to say that we will be carrying a select number of Nock pen cases in the coming weeks, so be on the lookout for that! Brian, Brad, and Jeffrey discuss the challenges of making handmade products in the US, how they chose their pen case designs, and how they came up with the name 'Nock'.

In this episode, I talk about using pens in dirty environments, building business relationships "Goulet style", and which current pens I think will become vintage classics.

In this episode, I talk about using pens for technical drawing, storing ink in your bathroom, and my recommended strategy for pen collecting.

The most popular video we’ve ever made here at Goulet Pens has been the 'Top 5 Fountain Pens for Newbies' that focuses on entry-level pens. Once you’re into the fountain pen hobby you realize that there’s another level, gold nib pens. These pens start around $140 and go up from there, so I wanted to give you my personal favorites that are entry-level price (under $200) with 14k or 18k gold nibs. Why gold nibs? The gold is a softer metal than stainless steel, and will act sort of like a shock absorber when you’re writing. It will typically make for a smoother writing experience. These pens I’m about to mention are the ones I think are the best value, to give you the best writing experience, most unique features, and best introduction into gold nib pens.

In this episode, I talk about fountain pens for kids, how brush pens work, and what really gives a fountain pen its soul!

In this episode, I talk about thick ink, troubleshoot a lot of different issues, and I am giving away a Pilot VP Guilloche!

The Pilot Kakuno is a fun little pen that I've been looking forward to being able to offer for well over a year! Pilot USA just recently brought it into the US, and it's definitely worth looking into if you want a low-priced workhorse fountain pen that writes well and has some personality to it.

In this episode, I talk about snap caps vs screw caps, J. Herbin vs Atelier Gargoyle sealing wax, and what in the world have we done to Monday Matchup.

As retailers of flex nib fountain pens for the last several years, we've been asked a variety of really compelling questions about how they work and how to use them. Compiling the best of what we know from the members of our Media and Customer Care teams, online research, and speaking with manufacturers in the industry over the last several years, we've put together this video to try to explain everything you need to know to get the basics down with flex pen use. We hope you enjoy it!