We bought a company and then nothing happened

Both of my main pens are made by Lamy, which until recently was family-run for three generations. Now it is owned by a giant conglomerate, and I am terrified. I am terrified not because of the recent scandal regarding Lamy. I am terrified because companies getting bought like this never ends well.

Lamy really is one-of-a-kind: a rare family-run company that both embraced craft and made stuff for the masses. Its Safari pen, only $20, is the introductory fountain pen. I use one daily for my morning journaling. Its flagship 2000 pen is what I use during client work; design-wise and performance-wise, there is nothing like it.

Lamy is the rare pen brand that embraces minimalist formalism while also performing well. I don’t want a Montblanc, or pens that look like a Montblanc. I want something with clean lines and a good stroke that I can bang up and really run with. And I want it to look like I would own it.

The closest to Lamy is Kaweco, whose Sport line is very similar to Safari. Kaweco is owned by a makeup conglomerate, weirdly enough, and I almost feel like that’s okay because at least makeup conglomerates are more likely to leave the weird, tiny pen company alone. I own a few rollerball aluminum Sport pens and keep one in each of my bags. They hold up well, patina well, and individual cartridges last for a long time.