O{pen}ion ~Fountain Pen hobby in a recession
It’s difficult times for everyone. Over the last 6months I am increasingly talking to patients about their financial situations and their health impacts. Everyone is feeling the pinch — first, COVID and now a recession and a complex global situation that is having real world, tangible and local effects for everyone.
This prompted me to look at the literature. How clear is the link between money/social strata and health. Ultimately, I’m thinking; what about the impact on us Kalamologists (fountain pen enthusiasts) everywhere!?
A very quick literature search and glance online shows the picture is more complex and (as expected) it’s not as clear as one would imagine.
A very large Systematic Review done Aug 2021 looked at amalgamating 26 multidecade studies, with 3.1 million patients. It showed a complex picture between self-employed people versus employees and complicated the picture further by showing regional differences too. For example, the “Swedish national register evaluation with 25 years follow-up” showed that whilst self-employed people were worse off than “white-collar” employees they were better off than “blue-collar” employees. This wasn’t true however, in South Korea, where “a higher prevalence of mental disorders among the self-employed compared to employees”. Whilst in other studies done across Asia no such differences were seen.
In an older study (2015) looking at access to financial assistance and challenges faced by those “living in poverty”, the link seems more direct between financial constraints and the “complex strategies” people must adopt to support themselves and their mental health. However, this paper specifically selected patients attending a centre for their mental health and asked about financial issues — not the other way around — this of course introduces huge bias and confounding factor issues which can reduce the validity of a study. Of course, the study does correlate nicely the increased assistance already vulnerable patients may need with regards to their finances, as part of a holistic approach to mental health care and support.
Another 2015 data-mine study I found particularly interesting correlated social strata rather than “actual income/wealth” with health outcomes. This is interesting because intuitively we think those in high social stratum have better health and maybe this is the case, but actual money doesn’t seem to be the reason. There may be a million other reasons (such as education level or where people live) why someone in a higher social stratum may have better health. This was an interesting study that showed the relationship with health and income is indeed more complex (and not a direct straight line) than we think.
This is another fantastic article outlining much of the research, from BeyondBlue — Australia’s premier mental health NGO. We must note that much of this data is only correlate data rather than causative, these types of studies cannot comment on causality by virtue of their design structure but do nonetheless provide “food for thought”. These kinds of studies/statistics suffer from the proverbial “chicken and egg” conundrum but are vital to understanding a snapshot of the current climate and where resources may need to be pointed. This article from healthdirect — one of Australia’s biggest free health advice services — focuses more on recognition and treatment of the problem.
So yes, of course mental health and financial security are very much tied together. The relationship is complex, may be regional/cultural and multifactorial, bringing in concerns from many aspects from a patient’s life, and often irrespective of one’s social stratum and amount of actual income.
So, how do we tailor collecting habits/enthusiasm in this time of pinch?
Here are my “Kalamology (The fountain pen hobby) in a recession“ tips:
1. Unsubscribe from as many newsletters and email/YouTube subscriptions and notifications from pen stores, channels, and magazines as possible
This step helps the collector save money. I can’t believe I’ve put this first, but from a medical perspective this tool is used when trying to curb problematic (often substance) use. This is akin to removing ash trays, rollie sheets, lighters, empty tobacco pouches/cans of beer, reducing accessibility to the bottleshop/dealer and generally cleaning up one’s home when trying to quit/curb substance use. In a challenging economic climate, we can hijack this approach to achieve a “digital clean up” and remove “paraphernalia” or reminders to buy/unhealthy use.
Being less aware of new products & releases is also a good thing. 99.999% of the time I’m not buying anything from emails or newsletters hitting my inbox. I’m using that stuff as a proxy “newsfeed” and some cheeky pen-porn throughout my day. Being “trendy” and looking at pen-porn is only a very small part of the hobby. In my experience, Kalamologists love (more than anything) to talk about their pen use, so inbox culling is part of learning to enjoy what you already have rather than lusting over things you don’t (see my blogs on bougie philosophy).
2. In a similar vein, reduce one’s pen related social media inlets
FOMO is something we all need to get over. This is like my 1st point - reduce your exposure to opportunities where money could potentially be spent despite us being in a difficult economic climate. Have one social media inlet for pen stuff. My personal favourite is Reddit as it allows for media in many formats and seems less intrusive as platforms go these days. My curated “home” tab just shows me stuff from the 2–3 pen and stationery/writing related subs I’ve joined, and all the other bullshit is hidden away in the “popular” section that I never swipe to. This highly focused approach discourages pointless, endless scrolling and outrage archaeology. I have all notifications (incl the app badge) from the app turned off too and keep the app in my app drawer rather than on my home screen, so I don’t even see it. I use it when I want to, not when it tells me.
Whichever platform one chooses, one must realise that social media is an intrusive and addictive entity by design (1, 2) that only thrives through engagement. So, firstly, choose wisely and secondly make sure your settings are cranked up to max to reduce intrusion into your daily life from the particular app. This reducing and streamlining of exposure, potentially means you spend less, save more, focus on the stuff you have (rather than don’t have) and make closer friendships through more meaningful engagement with a smaller group of engaged people — Ultimately improving your mental health too.
I enjoy the conversations on Reddit as it allows me to live vicariously through others. “New Pen Day” posts are my favourite as it’s lovely to see what everyone is actually using and in what situation they’re writing (e.g. at work, sitting in a cafe etc). Channel your empathy this way — we use empathy when we “get into” a movie, so why not now? One doesn’t need to acquire something to enjoy it.
3. Other methods for reducing the urge to buy
There are many other ways I teach my patients to reduce their urge to use (usually substances), again we can hijack some of these approaches for our needs.
i & ii. Breaking associations by Changing your routines: When do you go online? When do you first check your phone in the morning? Do you sit at your desk for internet shopping or browse online stores from the couch? This is a two-in-one strategy and focuses on entrenched associations in our minds, aiming to stop the “autopilot mode” we find ourselves in when a certain moment in our day is triggered.
For example, smoking with a coffee. The act of getting a coffee and sitting in your favourite place in the kitchen to enjoy it, is the trigger to light up a “health stick” (that’s just what we sarcastically call them here). It’s the same with smoking with a beer. Smoking after a meal or sex. Walking into the kitchen in our robe and switching on the coffee machine and waiting with a cigarette in hand. Breaking these associations by changing one’s routine is a way to reduce “use”. This may be as simple as moving the mugs into a different cupboard, or sitting in a different seat in the kitchen, moving the smoking area in your house/garden/veranda (hence why workplaces keep moving them, constantly turning smoking areas into a storage spaces), sitting on the couch without your phone or changing your internet browser on your PC so shopping becomes a conscious exercise rather than one done on autopilot.
iii. Creating “no shopping/no internet” zones in your life/house: We all know we can’t smoke at the doctor’s office, indoors, at school, in court and million other places. When your plane lands, it’s usually the smokers who stand up first, they’re off the plane first and running straight to the smoking area. Yet, they’ve not had a single urge to smoke despite being on a 4–12hour flight. Why?
“No smoking” signs are left on all flight, and we see them everywhere. These signs do 2 things — remind our conscious mind we can’t smoke and engrain into our sub-conscious mind that this is a “no-smoking zone”, so “turn off” all cravings. Again, we can hijack this for our needs too. No phones on the couch, no phones at the dinner table, no social media past 8pm, shopping decisions need to be joint decisions (for those partnered up) in a recession etc. Any number of rules can be created to help increase no internet/shopping zones in one’s life and PUT them up to read/see! Put a sign in the lounge, in the kitchen/bedroom and in the car.
iv. Employing assistance of family and friends: It’s nice having friends. We’re social apes like any other on the planet so we need friends and family around us. Friends and family can be huge influences on our spending/buying habits and encourage us to be strong, remind us of our situation and reasons why we’re curbing our behaviours and support us difficult times too. Don’t take their money! That’s not what I mean. Couples who engage in quitting smoking together have far greater success than persons doing it alone — use this! Make a budget with your significant other or housemates and stick to it! Have consequences for failing too.
4. Fighting a craving
We use the 4Ds for this — Drink water, distraction, deep breathing, and delay. Have the urge to buy something? Go and drink a glass of water and do something else for a while and the craving will go away. Take a few deep breaths and ask yourself to look at it again tomorrow. You’ll probably feel better about your buying urges tomorrow. In fact, you’ll probably realise you actually don’t need it and you have more important things going on. You’ll probably realise that this is the millionth so-called limited-edition Sailor/Esterbrook/Retro51 (etc) released in the last 17minutes and there will be many more where that came from.
5. USE your pens/inks/stationery!!
Where the first four points were about saving money, enjoying from afar, and fighting the urge to buy, this point is about actually using the stuff you have.
There are so many awesome ways to use the stuff you have:
i. Write letters to loved ones/friends/penpals: When I first got into the hobby, I wrote to everyone I knew, just for fun!
The hardest letter I wrote was to a friend whose baby daughter was terminal, I added lots of stickers, paper bits and tidbits. I meant it as a little keepsake but at the very least it was something tangible she enjoyed at the time.
Sign up to r/fountainpenpals, r/penpals, r/penpalsover30 (or 40) or myriad of other penpal sites and Reddit penpal subs. I have a PO Box to maintain safety but many people I penpal with, don’t. I usually strike up an email/Reddit messenger conversation first to test the waters and then go analogue. Just have your wits about you despite 99% of people being genuine.
ii. Start making your own postcards/decorated envelopes: I have so much paper, paper scraps, washi tape, stickers, crappy magazines/catalogues full of ads and old wrapping paper. Now is a great time to use them! By collaging them together I make postcards and decorate envelopes that I send all over the world!
iii. Start journalling or writing a diary: This was something I started doing in Jan 2020. 2020 was madness in the health world — remember all that? So, I started documenting my thoughts and significant events of that yr. I’ve done it ever since. Not just COVID related, but everything important that happens each yr. I write extensively. Using all my inks and pens! 2020 filled a whole journal, 2021 filled two and I’m into writing about 2022 — let’s see how far I go!
I personally like to write with a “reflective practice” style. This is a self-development exercise we did throughout Medical School. I like the structure and I’ve continued ever since. Before Kalamology I word processed it, but now I write. The basic structure goes: What happened? Why do you think it happened? How did it make you feel? Could it have been avoided (if it was a near miss/or clinical incident)? What will I do differently next time? How has this changed my (clinical) practice/behaviour? Some things in life fit this structure nicely, whilst some don’t — writing about a birthday party is just that, writing about a fun birthday party, but writing about going to court or writing about incidents at work/difficult patients or COVID chaos need more structured reflection.
iv. Give stuff away: As part of my postcard/letter sending hobby, I love to include little tidbits, stickers, and paper samples. I have stuff I realised I’m never going to use. I don’t make to-do lists, some stickers I receive are UGLY and don’t used themed post-it notes. So, I give it all away. People seem to really enjoy receiving these little sweeteners!
Giving away bigger stuff, like pens and ink seems a bit daunting to me especially as my collection isn’t full of Preppy’s or TWSBIs. I did contemplate mailing ink samples, but imagine the horror if things leaked etc, so I didn’t! Also, in Australia these would send as parcels, which is expensive.
v. Go wild with fun ink swatches/ink paintings/washes and art in general: Youtubers like InkyRocks are SO good at this!
Fountain Pen Inks of 2020 (Crazy Inks this Year) — YouTube
This video is wild and one of my favourites from InkyRocks. I just love how adventurous she is with inks!
There are also many great artists on Reddit and other platforms who show off their ink art and swatches regularly on the r/fountainpen sub. Check it out! I keep a little diary with all my ink swatches and ink doodles — which you may have seen in my ink posts (1, 2, 3).
vi. write postcards and happy mail: Yes, this is another writing related suggestion. There are fantastic and positive subs like r/randomactsofcards, r/randomactsofhappymail and r/postcrossing (and the site) that encourage snailmail. Sometimes I just can’t muster the strength to write whole letters or in my journal and so postcard sending fills that gap! It’s super easy to get into and writing a couple of lines on a postcard can be all one needs to get the juices flowing again. Give it a try.
6. If you must buy, buy with intent
i. Less is more: This year I’m saving up for one or two reasonable purchases, rather than spending in stores on many low/mid-range products. It’s funny because I’ve seen a couple of forum threads suggesting that the recession hasn’t hit FP sales much. I’m not sure this is entirely true. My feeling is that like me, most people will be sensible about their purchases and give their current EDC longevity.
ii. Try a different thing altogether: I don’t own any glass pens, so this year I’m on a quest to get myself a Japanese glass pen! They’re usually cheaper than regular FPs and it’ll be a whole new experience for me. Who knows, maybe I’ll be a glass pen person from then on! Probably not at work, but certainly at home.
iii. Get yourself a desk ornament or novelty pen holder: We’re all seen Ahnitol’s crab pen holders — everyone’s making them now. But there’s heaps of others now too — Star Wars, Snakes, Skeletons and octopi!
iv. Buy local: This has been one of the biggest changes in my shopping habits over the last 10yrs. For me it started subconsciously since emigrating to Australia where much of what we needed had to be bought locally, as we had no Amazon etc. In Kalamology this has blossomed into almost exclusively supporting small and medium sized makers and retailers. This of course not only saves on shipping costs but is a huge boon to smaller businesses, helping them keep the lights on.
v. buy stickers, washi tape, paper samples, try new papers, buy ink and other Kalamology paraphernalia: A great way to get buying, supporting local and not break the bank. There’s SO much more to Kalamology than just the pens alone. Using your pens (as above) means you’ll need a heap of stuff to supplement. This is the time to spend little and get lots!
Final thoughts
Kalamology is huge and sprawling hobby. We share interests with so many other hobbyists such as the crafting and scrapbooking worlds, letter writing and snail mail communities (I even keep the stamps I get!). In times of hardship these outlets are a boon for using and enjoying our pens/collections. We hear a lot about using our collections, but we often don’t do this enough and most of our collection sits in a cupboard somewhere. I personally have a spreadsheet to track my rotation and remind me to use everything periodically — but each to their own.
Enjoy your stuff and hopefully we’ll all get through these tough times together and stronger.
Thanks so much for reading and remember no matter who you are, “first, do no harm.”
