It’s hard not to know about Tom’s Studio and the pens he makes. For a time you couldn’t scroll through any social media platform and not see an ad or a “pen-fluencer” talking about Lumos or the Wren. These pens weren’t traditional fountain pens but they made use of fountain pen ink. I thought they were cute but not enough for me to purchase one. At least that was until he released the Write-Off Wren. Specifically, the raspberry and funfetti combination. I went back and forth about purchasing until it was sold out and I submitted a re-stock notification from Dromgoole’s. As often happens, I forgot I requested the notification until it appeared in my email in early January. I had just had a discussion about not spending much for 2026 and still found myself placing the order for this little pen. (The colors are so cheerful.)

The writing tip of the Wren. Taken with iPhone 14 Pro.

The Write-Off Wren comes in a windowed box to show off the cap. The box itself contains the pen, a single reservoir, a tip/nib, and a sample bottle of Tom’s Studio ink (black). I was surprised that it didn’t come with a few extra nibs or reservoirs. Especially given the sales pitch that you can change inks by switching reservoirs.

For a moment I was a little disappointed by the lack of extra reservoir until I realized I was likely only going to use a dark ink – in this case Tintype from Birmingham Pen Co. not changing the ink negates the need to get replacement tips or reservoirs.

(Note – the reservoirs are little plastic tubes filled with cotton that pulls ink in for use. If you only have one reservoir and you feel like changing inks before the reservoir is empty you basically waste what ink is left when you rinse it out.)

A capped Write-Off Wren sitting on top of a commonplace notebook. — All the pretty swirly colors. Taken with iPhone 14 Pro.

The Write-Off Wren is a pocket pen. When the pen is posted it fits comfortably in my hand. Once the pen is primed with ink it writes smoothly and works equally well for quick notes and longer writing sessions for me.

I think this pen would be a great pen to toss into your bag (which is what I am likely going to do) as an alternative to a pocket fountain pen. I’m not exactly worried about the Write-Off Wren breaking or leaking in some way. And I still get to use fountain pen ink.

Just after Pelikan Hub 2025 I started looking at Pelikan pens. At the time, I mistakenly thought I didn’t have one in my collection and of course part of the point of the Pelikan Hubs is influence you just enough to possibly purchase a Pelikan. We were regaled with the newest releases, including an M200 model that matched the Pelikan Edelstein color of 2025 – Apricot Achat.

Of all the Pelikan model M lines, the 200/205* line currently fits in the upper limits of what I am comfortable spending budget wise, especially for a steel nib. My first gold nib pen was roughly the same cost, so a steel nib pen has to really call to me and the new M200 model did not.

National Fountain Pen Day rolled around. As expected, there were a lot of sales going on at the various pen shops both brick and mortar and online. I window-shopped as I often do. Not actually putting things in carts, because those “did you forget something?” emails are creepy. One of my favorite sites to window-shop is Atlas Stationers. Even when there isn’t an event sale they have “door-buster” deals that are fun to go through. So, it wasn’t a surprise to find the M205 model in Rose Quartz (the 2023 Edelstein color) listed as a door-buster. What was surprising was the price. It was under $100. There were two nib sizes available when I first saw the listing – medium and broad – by the time I actually ordered the pen the next day only the broad nib was left, and I was fine with that. There’s a lot you can do with a broad nib if it doesn’t write the way you want.

A Pelikan M205 in the color Rose Quartz with a steel broad nib rests on a ceramic flower pen rest that is also shaded pink. Just above on the left hand side you can also see the cap of the pen that has a white finial and silver banding. — A close-up of the Pelikan M205 nib. Photo taken with iPhone 14 Pro. No filters.

Ironically, I waited several more weeks after the pen arrived to ink it up because I decided it needed to be inked with the companion ink Edelstein Rose Quartz which I did not own. I’m positive that I can link this decision to the product write-up on Atlas for the pen itself. It included a reference to the ink color in a rather striking manner (unfortunately I can’t quote it because the product page no longer exists) and the imagery stuck in my brain weeks later so kudos to the copy writer because I am not a person that has to be matchy when pairing a pen and ink.

The M205 is piston filler (thus the need for bottled ink) and while I might not be able to see the exact color of ink sloshing around the chamber because of the pink color of the barrel it’s still satisfying to watch.

a capped Pelikan m205 rests on a flower pen rest. Underneath them both is an A5 Claire Fontaine notebook. The page is filled with writing in the ink color Rose Quartz. — A page in my common place book featuring the writing with the Pelikan m205 with a broad nib and Edelstein Rose Quartz ink. Taken with an 1phone 14 Pro.

The picture above doesn’t show the ink properly; the overhead lighting gave the white paper of the Claire Fontaine notebook a cream-color cast and made the ink look brownish. So, it’s not the best representation color-wise but I like the picture regardless. It still shows the shading you get from writing with a broad nib.

I originally drafted this blog post on Rhodia dot paper with the Pelikan M205. I felt only the tiniest amount of feedback writing on the Rhodia paper compared to writing in the Claire Fontaine notebook. Then pen is currently one of 5 pens I’ve inked up for use in January. I like a smooth writing experience and the M205 doesn’t disappoint. And yes, pairing the namesake ink with the pen works well. Which is a good thing because it’s likely the only ink it will ever be inked with now that I have a bottle of it to go through.

Good thing I like the color pink.

-C

_{*The model numbers only denote the color of the trim – gold or silver – other than that they are exactly the same.}

Category: Fountain Pens

New Pen Day (The Wren)

New Pen Day (Pelikan M205 Rose Quartz)

_{*The model numbers only denote the color of the trim – gold or silver – other than that they are exactly the same.}