The problem with following Cult Pens on Twitter is that it's an incredibly easy route to spending money--particularly where my friends are concerned. And when Cult Pens tweeted about the Cocoiro pens I was curious enough to and have a look. I didn't bank on promptly falling in love with either the choice of shell colours or the fact they have mint green and rose pink inks. After some humming and hawing I finally splurged on two shells in my favourite colours, three brush pen refills and an ever-practical black rollerball refill.
They arrived today in an A5 padded envelope and the first thing that struck me was that they were a little smaller than I was expecting, although to be honest I'm not wholly sure what I was expecting. From base to cap the shell is around 11.2cm. I chose shells in Duckegg Blue and Green Apple (neither of which have any justice done to them in my photos as the weather is a bit iffy here and my camera is moody), both of which are lovely. The blue in particular is a very pretty and delicate shade and I'm already considering buying a couple more to go with my additional refills.
The refills come with their own protective caps which don't fit with the pen once they're combined so can probably be thrown away unless you've got more refills than pens, and a brush protector for the brush pens. Being the kind of person who doesn't read instructions--which are provided on both the letter pen and refill packets--I did have a short struggle with figuring out how to add refill to shell (I'm bright like that) until I realised the refills have a thread and you screw them into the base.
Once fit together they look both comical and sweet, a little like they've outgrown their refills, but it is a useful way to see what colour is in which pen at a glance, although I don't imagine it helps you tell the difference between the black ballpoint and black brush pen.
With the body shaped as it is you might expect it to feel a little cumbersome to hold, but in reality it's surprisingly comfortable. The curve of the shell fits neatly in the curve of your thumb, although the edge of the casing at the bottom might rub against your thumb joint if you're not careful.
The first thing that struck me about the brush pens is that they're more solid than I was anticipating. They'll probably loosen up with use, but it took a moment to get an unbroken line out of the rose pink. They write with a beautiful and vivid ink with the colours exactly as advertised.
Apologies for my handwriting. Yes that does say 'rose' and not 'nose'!
I'm looking forwards to experimenting with them and I think if I'm not careful they could end up as a guilty pleasure--or an addiction. All I need to do now is start hand-writing things more often...
This is a lovely review! I've fallen prey to Cult Pens Twitter ways! I very almost bought these, but convinced myself to wait until pay day! This review makes me want them right now!!
ReplyDeleteTheir Twitter is a dangerous, dangerous thing! It's very almost payday though, right? ;)
DeleteThey are really lovely though, the brush nibs do seem to relax the more you use them and the blue-black colour in particular is very easy on the eye. I'm actually already pondering getting more shells (apparently the "hoarfrost" glittery one looks lovely with a refill in) and a black brush nib.
I do hope you'll reply again when you get some, I'd love to know if you're enjoying them--and I'll admit to loving finding out what colour casings people buy!