A penchant for Pez

I have a confession to make. I also collect Pez, the rectangular shaped containers with funny heads which flip back to dispense rectangular candies.

In the summer, Red Gryphon discovered that there is such a thing as Pez-themed floaty pens. Imagine how thrilled I was to receive them just before Christmas.


The designs are fabulous, both front and back.

Undesirable floaty pens

Here is a surreptitious snapshot of a container of pens in a shop on Carnaby Street in London. The pens are exactly the type the world does not need. They are not made in Denmark by the Eskesen company. It is impossible to tell where they are made because it is not stamped anywhere on the pens. They are not well made and the pictures aren't very good. The stuff inside doesn't float very well.

Companies in England apparently do not have to state where a product originates, unlike in Canada where it is obligatory. This same type of pen is sold in most tourist shops. It makes me wonder if all the tourist shops are owned by the same company.


At any rate, it is very odd. I wouldn't buy any of them anywhere. There seem to be precious few good quality floaty pens in London considering the size of the city and the possible range of designs.

Parisian pens

The pen selection in Paris was unique. These are all Eskesen pens made in Denmark, but the styles are quite different.


The clothing seems to disappear when these pens are tilted back and forth. In actual fact, it seems that there's a tube of black floating up and down inside the pen. The places where the clothes appear are cut away and on a different level so the black can slide between. Clear as mud?

The reverse side of these pens show the backs of the subjects.


Note the unique floaty quality of the green pen. It is the background that slides back and forth to create the day and night effect.

As yet unseen

Righteous pen

The Frank Lloyd Wright pens I ordered arrived today. When I was in Chicago in June I made a trip out to the suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, where I saw the FLW floaty. It was in the gift shop at his home and studio (detail of home pictured below). I went on a tour of the house and I forgot to return to the shop for a pen before I left.



At least, I think I forgot.

I phoned the Shopwright store last week to order a few pens (extras for fellow collectors). When the pens arrived by mail today I noticed the quality of the image is not great and I wondered if I had subconsciously decided not to buy one.



It's got both Robie House (pictured below) and his Home and Studio on it. The Chicago skyline is in the background.



Still, it's great to have an FLW pen to add to the collection.

I think I'll keep the black one and give away the white and red ones.