A year in review.

Howdy, folks! This little blog has been around for almost a year, now. My first post about pens was way back in February of this year. Like all blogs, it started out slowly. I was getting single digit viewership until the end of April, when it jumped from about 5 views a day to 55 views in a single day. That was pretty huge for me at the time, and I think that was when I decided that some people might actually want to know what I thought about pens and inks and such.

Some little milestones:

• In May, I went to my first pen show in Raleigh. It was a bit overwhelming for a guy who was new to the larger fountain pen scene. 
• In August I changed the name of the blog, and started taking it a bit more seriously as I gained some new viewers from around the internet. I even made some "business cards" to promote the blog. 
• A few days later, I went to my first DC Pen Show. I was still a little stunned by the huge show, but I'm glad that I went to the Raleigh show first. It was a pretty awesome trip, and I came home with a bunch of neat things. 
• Last month I had over 4000 unique views, and this month is on pace to almost double that. I imagine that some of that is from people who are looking for gifts, but it's still pretty unbelievable to me. 

I've made some good friends and acquaintances in the fountain pen world, and I'm looking forward to another great year. The fountain pen community is expanding online, and I urge you to check out the new fountain pen communities that are growing on Google+ and over on Reddit. 

I hope your year-past was just as excellent and I hope your year-to-come is going to be better than the last.

Word.
Mike