Goulet Pens
I think I discovered Goulet Pens whilst looking for a specific kind of ink. In fact, they are either one of the most SEOed sites for ink searches or they simply have one of the best selections. The first time I placed an order, I stocked up on their ink samplers, and this proved to be exactly what I needed.
Turns out I’m rarely so in love with an ink that I want to use it for a whole bottle. Rather, most of the time I quite tire of an ink by the time I’ve used it through one converter fill. Not sure if this means I’m fickle or if I’ve just yet to find my favourites (a few exceptions: Golden Sands, Moonlit Jade and Tanzanite Sky). Even if its the former, having an incredibly large selection of samplers allows me to indulge my fickle inner teenage girl when I shop Goulet.
On top of their signature selection of inks, Goulet also has a good variety of paper, including my beloved Clairefontaine notebooks and envelopes. My current favourites for writing are these sewn spine A5 notebooks with the perfect paper for fountain pen inside, and their Triomphe and Pollen envelopes. Although not currently in stock, their listing for ClairAlfa printer paper led me down a rabbit hole which resulted in buying a whole box of the latter direct from France for use in some projects of my own (foreshadowing).
In my eternal quest for the perfect orange and yellow writing inks, I tried out this Monteverde, which came very close to the former. The Herbin Vert Pré, on the other hand, was one of the weirdest inks I’ve ever tried, bleeding and feathering even on the best papers. I also allowed Goulet to pick some random inks for me, but these swayed safely in the blue/black direction, so if you prefer some more exotic colours, I recommend against this service.
Finally, after following Goulet on Instagram, I saw their recent listing for the Sailor Compass, an affordable pen that even came in a lovely translucent glittery purple. Perfect for grabbing my first Sailor, and I threw in some new yellow and orange experiments whilst at it. I loved the colour-coordinated converter in the Compass, and it felt very nice to use, better weighted than some quality brands in similar price ranges (such as my Platinum Plaisir), and in line with my recent Narwhal Key West. All in all a wonderful experience and I’m very likely to revisit!
