Finding a stationery-related gift for that family member who is a stationery buff is challenging. Often your loved one already bought the pens or notebooks or inks that they like.

My students and coworkers have come to see me as the “fancy pen person.” The identity started out as smirks and rolled eyes at the beginning of meetings. Students ask questions at the beginning of the school year. And, over time, fountain pens quietly emerge in the hands of the more adventurous Ravenclaws in my classes.

There are milestones and then there are milestones. This week marks a personal milestone with the most emphatic italic. The “partner purchase” is absolutely a laughing matter. A milestone one celebrates while laughing and pumping fists in the air. And — apparently — by sharing out on your blog. As one does.

I keep returning to whether there is a correct way to keep pens in a case. Is there a “right” way to put pens inside a case? How would we go about gauging the cost-benefit of different methods? Would the difference be appreciable enough to even matter? Is there an etiquette to pen cases?