A tale of the birth of the Capillaris fountain pen, or where can an aircraft designer find a challenge 50 years after the moon landing?
Dear reader, please forgive me this momentary weakness: since this story is very important and defining for me, I cannot resist the temptation to tell it twice right away. After all, every story has (at least) two sides – just like a vinyl record. So, obeying the rules of dramaturgy and the alphabet, here come the pages:
The Capillaris story: “A” side
The 6-year story of the capillaris pen – created alongside family and work – is also the story of my last 6 years. That is, the transition of my little son from kindergarten to school, my wife's long-delayed return to work after maternity leave, the tumultuous years at my workplace, and the storm caused by covid. Since these are adventures experienced similarly by almost everyone, presenting the capillaris on the marketing secrets blog is a good opportunity for me to try to piece together fragments of the story from a different perspective, leaving out the above.
Somewhere, thanks to the almost cliché admiration for „watches and pens” among men of my age and the temporal coincidence of a kind of burnout experienced at my then workplace, I convinced myself that a certain – no longer manufactured for many years and considered „legendary” by many – fountain pen, which was already many times the old retail price, could be produced in a slightly more modern form and would surely succeed in the small market of fountain pens. So I set off on this path, although as an aircraft designer – at that time we lived in Vienna and I worked on Airbus development projects – I had no relevant experience. Since then, I know that I was functioning as a textbook example of the Dunning-Kruger effect, and paradoxically, this allowed me to remain relatively unshaken by the countless internal thoughts of „this is impossible – forget it” and external opinions. I simply went to the 2015 manufacturing technology exhibition at BNV with a fountain pen in my pocket and looked for suppliers for the realization. At that time, I was so unprepared that, in hindsight – with no small amount of goodwill – it could be called more of a reconnaissance trip, but in my mind, a high castle in the air had already been built.
In the following period, however, the pen fundamentally changed and took on a completely unique form. The reason for this was that, approached along the lines of manufacturing technology, many parts of the pen were modified, and my own ideas about a „dream” pen also developed. Thus, essentially, the aircraft designer engineer, who can be considered a fundamental part of my personality, took over the control regarding the design and details of the pen.
For the 2016 exhibition, I set off with a ready product specification and technical documentation. In some places directly, in others indirectly, I managed to find a few entrepreneurs who showed interest. Although at that time I felt that the intellectual work I had already done was sufficient for the project's further success, I was unfortunately disappointed. The following year, I had to experience that workshops could only work based on production-ready documentation, and although my drawings reflected a final product, in reality, they only described a prototype that still had much to be developed.
Soon, the project took a completely new direction. By then, I had already worked out many details of the manufacturing technology – still without relevant practical experience and minimal theoretical training – but to better understand the challenges, I enrolled in an evening school for machine operator training and over two semesters, I was able to acquire some basic knowledge and immense enthusiasm. Even more importantly, however, I encountered a small machine in the course, which I felt, although low-powered, would be suitable for creating simpler prototypes.
Thus, it happened that from scratch – with a not insignificant financial investment for me – I built a small workshop around the new machine in a rented space and started carving. The following years could thus be spent actively. Meanwhile, I got to know the machine manufacturer, the machine designer, tool dealers, and through them, other workshops, all of whom I could receive countless professional assistance from.
Although when I bought the machine, I intended it only for making test pieces, I acted like Forrest Gump: since I had come this far, I might as well go further. Thus, in the end – although quite slowly – over time, I reached my goal.
The Capillaris story: “B” side
Although I like to call it a project, the journey of the Capillaris pen towards market readiness is much more personal than business-oriented.
In fact, the entire execution is practically a disaster from a project management perspective: at the end of the work, the pen appeared in a completely different form and price, far exceeding the early ideas and estimates. The question is, does it matter?
For me as a creator, it very much matters that by going through a very personal journey – where I got to know many kind and interesting people up close and in the meantime I could gain insight into various professions – I was finally able to create a product in which I was involved in every detail of its creation. Thus, in the end, the pen actually transcends the original idea, and that is why the project could change and grow to such an extent for me.
Whether this journey I went through matters to the future buyer will be decided by them. What is certain is that if someone buys a Capillaris fountain pen, they are essentially receiving a reflection of an essential part of my personality.
As I mentioned above, if the plan is realized according to the first idea, the pen could have been quickly distributed on some crowdfunding platform with a good design and a series produced in smaller or larger quantities, and the whole thing could have been wrapped up in a take-the-money-and-run manner – provided, of course, that a businessperson experienced in project management is in charge of the process...
While I, due to my background in aircraft design, increasingly lost myself in the details of the product and its manufacturing – the components of the pen that I insisted on strongly influenced or made its economical production impossible – similar, albeit simpler products began to appear on social platforms. Soon, serious price competition developed among them; and behind the designs – which, although they emphasized minimalism, were minimalist more in their production than in their style – were companies far from us that exploited their workers and the environment. This kind of approach is fundamentally distant from my personality, and slowly, I began to envision the pen and the brand built around it as a counterpoint. This was further contributed to by the fact that, although primarily for my own entertainment and a kind of future nostalgia, I tried to document the important milestones of the journey on Instagram from the very first day of opening the workshop.
Although continuous presence on social media, especially growth on such platforms, is a labor-intensive task – I did not set high expectations for myself in this regard, so I did not push myself too hard – I received a lot of positive energy from interested people with various backgrounds who followed the steps with persistent attention.
However, later I began to hope that the quantity and quality of the uploaded content could facilitate the communication of the brand's values. Thus the website, where the product can be ordered could also remain simple, and according to my vision, marketing could proceed along social media. The product's first appearance will also happen with the help of a micro-influencer – who, moreover, operates as a blogger in their main profile and also as a vlogger – through this opportunity, the brand can step out of the confines of Instagram and reach broader audiences. Although it may be just a detail, it will still be important to me whether it was a mistake not to be present on the largest social platform, and if necessary, whether it can be rectified later.
The project has a certain aspect that may be interesting to the blog readers, namely the brand construction of its visual appearance. When the very first prototype was completed, there was already a need for a professional graphic designer's work, because I wanted to have the conceived capillaris logo engraved on the pen. The graphic designer not only beautifully organized the word image but also immediately created a very original logo. At first, I was definitely resistant to using any logo due to my extreme distancing from the corporate image, but I soon realized that this form could greatly assist in the appearance across the many different media (from the logo of my Instagram profile to the embroidery of the scarf that forms an organic part of the packaging). Fortunately, thanks to the professionalism of the graphic designer, in my opinion, the logo became very positive and personal in its aura, and completely alleviating my initial concerns, it was able to become an organic part of the brand.
There was a great temptation earlier, as I am also a fan of graphics and typography alongside fountain pens, to consider this my own task following the „do-it-yourself” (and moreover cheaply!) illusion created by the countless website and logo building programs. But in the end, common sense prevailed, and I did not regret the financial investment, as it paid off a thousandfold with the support and enthusiasm I could receive from a professional. Additionally, it was a great honor and uplifting feeling to watch the creative process of a true artist as a client – in a profession of which I am already an enthusiastic fan.
Finally, the packaging box creation, which was another serious task that I delegated from my hands – to an excellent bookbinder lady both in her profession and personality – became a source of special joy for me. The value that the work of a true craftsman, whom I admire, also appears alongside the pen, in my feeling, became the real icing on the cake of the brand.
”C” side (freely after Douglas Adams)
Capillaris presents a very difficult decision for the prospective buyer. Namely, because although the capillaris appears in the premium fountain pen price category, it does not possess a single generally accepted characteristic that represents added value. In other words, it does not have: precious metal, gemstone, carved ornamentation, coatings, clip, gold nib, or a patinated brand name.
However, the pricing was directly based on the invested work. The titanium alloy I used is a material that is difficult to process, and behind the simple form stands a multitude of unique and time-consuming manufacturing processes, and the work invested in the development has also swelled considerably.
So behind the simple exterior lies a lot, but is a single Instagram feed enough to show this?
