With all the pressure on my first blog, it took me a while to think of an item that would "WOW" the reader, and overall make an impact to hopefully make you keep reading.

So please *gets on knees*, please - keep reading...

The Designer Retro Fountain Pen has a classic feel with a modern look. The Hawaiian Koa paired with different inlays like marble, turqouise, and jasper stones to high quality italian acrylic and surfboard resin make this pen not only amazing to look at, but also a pen collector's dream. Or you could buy two. One to use and one to look at...

The "Aaron finish", as we've come to call it, gives it that shine and serves two purposes. It protects the koa wood from water and oils from your hand as you put your pen to the use, and it is also chemical and ultra-violet resistant to make your investment last a lot longer, whether its used every day, or just for display. The metal parts are plated with titanium oxide and comes in gold or black, which rounds out the look.

Comfortable in the hand, it feels balanced and glides across the page as you write. For smooth writing and a dependable ink flow, an iridium-tipped nib is used. This two-tone German-made nib is an international medium size, perfect for everyday writing.The pen comes with a threaded end cap to attach the pen cap, which helps balance the pen and gives it a stable, fluid feel while writing.

Overall this pen is a winner in my eyes, and I'm not just saying it. I bought one the first time I laid my eyes on it. It takes Waterman, Mont Blanc, and Parker refills as well as standard converters. The ease of changing the cartridge refills gets two clean thumbs up from me, and I'm pretty clumsy (I glued my fingers together with quick dry glue more than once, ouch!).

It has caught many people's eyes as I use it to write, and has been a topic of many conversations. I use it at the bank, restaurants, when I practice my penmanship and cursive, even allowing people to use it when they sign their receipts. But I mostly use it to tell people "I write with a fountain pen, where's yours?"