i have been looking for a quality pen to accept pilot g2 refills, when some cross-site research brought me to karas' website. my wife expressed her preference of fountain pens, so after looking at karas' line of fountain pens, i decided to make the short drive to mesa to pick up a pen or two.
ended up with three.
my daughter (2 y/o) and i made it to the shop and were greeted by a friendly young lady. i let her know which fountain pen i was intending to purchase (turquoise decograph), she retrieved the pen body, then called over another gentleman to put the pen together, right there on the spot. i specified the nib type and hardware and watched in awe as it was assembled. i opted to pick up a g2 conversion kit as well, just in case my wife runs out of ink, and was shown how to switch the pen from fountain to rollerball and back. it was rather straightforward after watching it done, but he took his time to ensure i understood how to do it. also picked up some of their fountain pen ink, havasupai falls teal, which is a really pretty ink color. for myself, i ended up with not one, but two of their bolt pens, the bear lake monster dragonskin and matte olive mkII. the dragonskin bolt has been in my pocket since i bought it, the grip is rather comfy for class use. the mkII stays in my backpack on standby.
come time to exchange some money for goods, and they apply some discounts, one for purchasing in person (saves them on shipping fees), and another for paying in cash (saves them from processing fees). they even threw in some stickers because my daughter was with me. (note to self: always come in with either daughter)
i will definitely be purchasing more pens, in person, in the future. they're an awesome local company putting out a quality product, with super friendly staff. read more