We’ve survived the Valentine’s Day web-promotion fandango! Phew – congratulations all ’round. Amidst all the rosy-hued retreads there was probably a decent fountain pen or two somewhere, but for a bit of variety we’ll just mention Lamy’s ‘Vibrant Pink’ ink. Another of their limited-edition offerings, it follows hard on the heels of the well-received but infuriatingly unobtainable Dark Lilac and the widely remaindered Petrol. So, good for obsessive pink fans, but the question remains; if there’s no chance of buying it again when you run out, why buy it once? Available at all the usual emporia while you ponder that conundrum.If you want to make your inks work harder, you can do remarkable things with a squirt of bleach. If that sounds like the sort of thing best left to professionals, now you can get some professional training – for the Inkdom’s very own master of the art is running a workshop on the 17th of March! Click poster below for more details.

If you’re looking for something to put future ink purchases in, some of us are already rather excited about the forthcoming offering from Ensso. One of their exotic Piumas is doing the rounds of United Inkdom reviewers as we speak, but the ‘XS’ pocket pen in the works looks even more temptingly portable – and the Kickstarter price is more tempting still (link on the pic).

While the XS will be coming all the way from California, sadly there’s no sign yet of Robert Oster’s new pearlescent Shake’n’Shimmy inks making it here from Australia. Nevertheless, here are some depressingly sparkly images of what we can’t have. We’re never short of cheer!

Finally, as increasingly customary here’s something you won’t want. Yes, it looks colourful, thanks to using the same technique as Kaweco’s famous ‘fireblue’ pens. Yes, it’s named after a very naughty drink which is going to compete with even your finest inks for interestingness [not actually a word]. But no, Montegrappa, a steel nib is really not OK on a pen which costs over £300. What were they thinking?