There are many ink properties to explore down here at the bottom of the fountain pen ink rabbit hole. Sheen, shimmer, shading, viscosity, permanence, saturation. The list goes on. But shading is, far and away, my favorite ink quality.

February has been a month for thinking through how to size my pen collection. Am I curating a small perfect-for-me assortment or accumulating sets of models I enjoy? Am I building a collection that can continually surprise me?

I’m considering that these goals may miss the point. Perhaps there is no “right” size to a pen collection. My trays might simply need to include pens that make me smile — and bring joy to my writing.

My thinking last week was that the proper size of a collection — for me — may sit somewhere between accumulating complete assortments of pens and between having “one of each type” of writer represented within your collection. How one might tell when they’ve achieved full pen-ness? Is representation my goalpost?

What if I, instead, measure success based on how interested in writing my collection keeps me — and not on accumulation/curation?

I’m continuing to think my way through how large or small my pen collection should be. Part of the equation, for me, is driven by curation. What do I want the final collection to look like?

I suspect there are two general goals for a collection. One is accumulating. The other: curating. This post thinks through both as they pertain to my own goals — without judgment. We all wear many sizes.