Anderson Pens is the joint effort of Brian and Lisa Anderson, two long time pen collectors who actually met through the collecting hobby, fell in love, got married, and founded the company in 2010.

We used to bid against each other on Ebay for vintage Esterbrook pens, back when the bidder names were still visible, and we cost each other a great deal of money in the beginning, until we called a truce after about 2 years. We met in person in 2003 at the Chicago Pen Show, and we were instant friends - two collectors who shared the same passion for the Esterbrook brand. We even had some of our pens photographed together for a fountain pen book.

Lisa wrote an article for the now-defunct magazine Stylophiles, and had several of her pens professionally photographed. She sent the pictures to Brian, and they included a very rare doctor’s pen with an unusual name engraved on it. Brian emailed back and sent a picture of a pencil he owned – the same very rare model, complete with the same unusual name. What are the odds of that? We each owned two halves of the same set!

We lost touch for a few years, and then found each other on Facebook of all places. We discovered that we had a great deal in common besides pens, and in December 2008, Brian flew to Tampa to visit Lisa. Six months later, Lisa and her kids moved to Brian’s home in Appleton, Wisconsin.

2010 was a busy year for us – we got married AND founded Anderson Pens – life has never been better! or busier! We started our online store, and attended pen shows all over the country, generally 12-15 shows a year. In November 2013, we opened a retail brick & mortar pen store in downtown Appleton, and we would love to meet you if you are in the area - please stop in!

We have over 50 years of combined experience buying, selling, collecting and using vintage and modern fountain pens, inks, and fine papers. We are both members of the Pen Collectors of America. We encourage you to check out their site and become a member! Lisa is a past President of the PCA.

 

Brian’s collecting focus includes Esterbrooks, hard rubber pens from the 1920's, and vintage Japanese pens. Aikin Lambert, Paul Wirt, John Holland and Sailor are finding their way into the pen chest more often than not these days. Brian has studied pen repair with Joel Hamilton and Sherrell Tyree as well as completing Richard Binder's intensive three day nib workers' course (twice). Brian takes care of all the pen repair and answering all those minutiae on Esterbrook you can think of.

Lisa’s collecting focus also began with Esterbrook, but she has expanded into the old style faceted Pilot Vanishing Point pens. Other favorites include Italian and Japanese pens, such as Aurora, Pilot, and Sailor. Lisa is your Ink and Paper Expert.

We could not do what we do without the help and support of our Amazing Anderson Pens Team!! And we do mean that sincerely. Our staff is the best!

Dave

As Store Manager, primary customer service contact person, and family friend for over 25 years, Dave juggles many hats at work. Dave accompanied Brian to Nashua, New Hampshire to study and train with Richard Binder in the art of grinding, smoothing, and tuning nibs. He is also a very devoted husband and father, accomplished chef and keen baseball fan. Dave loves enjoying the outdoors. This includes gardening, exploring Wisconsin's parks, and his annual camping trip with his daughter at the end of each school year. A music major in college, he still performs and is the treasurer for a local community band in the area. Dave has a very calm demeanor, and is very intentional, so when he cracks a joke or zinger one-liner, it hits you twice as hard!

Justin

Award-winning filmmaker Justin came to us from a job in television that required him to be at work every day by 3am. Besides gaining several hours of sleep each day since joining us, Justin has become a vital part of our Creative Team. Justin is credited (or blamed) for all AP videos and is the creator, animator, and voice of Lisa's favorite AP video character, Ink Bottle Dude. Justin is left handed but tilts his head to the right when thinking hard. He likes hamburgers, cameras, and once single-handedly ended a high-speed car chase. It is a favorite challenge for Brian and Lisa to make Justin laugh during podcast filming. So far, Justin is winning this battle. Justin insists that he does not collect Parker Jotters or funky-patterned socks - but no one believes him.

 Eric

The leader of the Anderson Pens Creative Team, (aka The Funny Farm), Eric comes to us with decades of experience and creative energy. Known for establishing InCoWriMo, founding FP Geeks, and organizing the Philadelphia Pen Show, Eric never fails to inspire, motivate or coerce the rest of the company into all sorts of mischief. Eric enjoys jumping on random city buses just to "see where they go." He tries (but fails) to keep his pen collection to a maximum of twelve. Eric doesn't like pink but claims that pink likes him. In his spare time, he takes his skateboard to the skatepark and pretends he's back in California. Eric speaks English, Spanish, recently took French lessons, and was named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2006.

Lindsay

Lindsay worked for us for several years in almost every capacity from shipping to ink samples, but found her groove with the Creative Team. Lindsay is an accomplished artist, photographer and photo editor. She left for a couple of years to work toward a Graphic Design degree and briefly lived in Minneapolis, but she has recently returned to the Appleton area and to the Funny Farm. Lindsay likes to LARP on the weekends. She is an avid cat lover and has adopted a handsome young cat named Sebastian. She hoards notebooks and spends far too much time making the very important decision of which ink should go in which pen. Lindsay’s artistic talents can be seen in our revamped Think Thursday ink reviews, and can occasionally be found as a guest host on APTV. 

Karr