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Link Love: Stationery Community Controversies

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I am still a little vague on the specifics around what has actually happened with the Pelikan Hub events but many local events were cancelled by Pelikan and many attendees were “uninvited” to the events. Hubmasters do not have the contact info for people who were uninvited so they cannot reach out and let them know about the event, invite them without swag from Pelikan or just organize a non-Pelikan-sponsored meetup. Needless to say, all the Hubmasters I know are working hard, on their own time and dime to try to salvage the event and make a chance for people to meet-up and celebrate their love for fountain pens. If you received an uninvite, please know you were not alone and the whole situation is muddled and unacceptable.

If you have additional information, were selected as a Hubmaster or had your event cancelled, please let us know in the comments if you have additional information around the event. I’m surprised that Pelikan has not gotten in front of this controversy and explain what is going on.

In other news, once again, the Hobonichi 2027 launch had some fall out this week too. A lot of items were selling out very fast and other shoppers felt that the product line-up was skewed too much to a specific aesthetic (lace hankies, tiny cat illustrations and children’s book art) with little diversity for professionals, masculine aesthetics or other styles. This is a little less dramatic controversy but does raise the question if the hype around Hobonichi has finally reached its apex. Did you make a Hobonichi purchase for 2027 or were you disappointed by sold out items or nothing of appeal to you?

Controversy:

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Planners, Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

August Round-Ups:

Other Interesting Things:

If you are looking for a Hobonichi alternative, last week’s podcast, available exclusively to Patrons, dove into alternatives to Hobonichi. Check out our Patreon where you can get inspiration, gossip and free printables, ad-free vdieso and the biweekly podcast. Your patronage supports this site. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

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4 comments / Add your comment below

  1. I hadn’t signed up for a Hub, but if I had and had gotten uninvited, I can’t imagine ever forgiving Pelikan, and I doubt the Hubs will survive this.

    I very nearly ordered a Hobonichi because they had Moomin covers that weren’t Japan exclusives, but this year I couldn’t afford them, and honestly I’m pretty disappointed with how the cover I bought last year is holding up.

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  2. I’ve made my own DIY planner via a Lochby mini-journal and it takes care of my needs. So most of the Hobonichi hype misses me. That being said, the one thing I do like and get every year is their weekly calendar, as it fulfills my needs and is the perfect size. And it’s not a hyped item so it doesn’t suffer the shortages of the special edition stuff.

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  3. For the Pelikan Hubs:

    The FAQ says “Once a shared desire is expressed by at least five participants for the same location, we shall officially confirm that city as a Pelikan Hub.” It seems they didn’t do that this year, given the cancellation or non-selection of some.

    The same page (https://www.pelikan-hubs.com/faq.php) also currently says re: the experience and special gift “Attendees may redeem their exclusive €5 refund (or equivalent) via our dedicated portal at voucher.pelikan-hubs.com. This gesture is our invitation to add a new Pelikan masterpiece—be it a vibrant ink or a timeless writing instrument—to your esteemed collection.”

    The official statement from Pelikan today also mis-summarizes the errors, such as that cancellations were sent to registrants whose Hub lacked a hubmaster (or Hub-Goddess, as some of us prefer). But I was a day 1 registrant in a city with a hubmaster and I received a cancellation.

    There’s a lot more than this. Unfortunately, Pelikan apparently has some very disjointed and siloed business operations, leading to bad event management, bad marketing, and ultimately business practices that are undermining the brand with the specific customer audience it needs to entice, not alienate.

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  4. I’ll go to the Hub in KC, as usual, but I’m still trying to find out if some of the friends I convinced to register got uninvited. Folks who got uninvited have every right to feel hard done by Pelikan, especially at an event that has previously been as open as possible. I’ve seen a couple of people talking about having grounds for lawsuits, which is laughable, but this could pretty easily land Pelikan on some people’s do-not-buy lists. I’ve warned people away from certain retailers or makers because of their (well-deserved) community perception, and while I wouldn’t do that with Pelikan at the moment, I could see it happening.

    As for Hobonichi, I bought my usual A5 Cousin and A6 Arts and Sciences techos (the former as my regular planner, the latter as my journal), but nothing else. I bought an A5 cover last year that I like and will keep using (the Yuichi Inoue Up) and have long kept my A6 in a Nock Co Seed. I’ve bought other accessories in some previous years and find I tend to not use them. As useful as I find the techos themselves (though I would really love a timeline that goes the full length of the page in the A5), the aesthetics of the covers are rarely my thing and I definitely don’t need to replace last year’s.

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