It's been over 10 years since I (Tom) purchased my first Edison Fountain Pen. Since that day, I knew there was something special going on in Milan, Ohio - the birthplace of Thomas A. Edison. In 2009, Brian Gray was still using a manual lathe, producing custom line pens that you could have altered and tweaked to your heart's delight. Years later, Edison introduced the concept of a production line - a limited menu of acrylic pens sold by retailers. It was the next step that required a higher manufacturing capacity. This put a strain on the growing company.
Responding to the demand, Brian increased the number of employees, moved out of his garage and into a larger facility, and brought on more advanced machines to handle the increased output of pens. With all of the change happening in the last few years, he couldn't take on requests for retailer exclusive designs, despite my relentless e-mails and phone calls. In November 2019, the Goldspot Exclusive "Newark" design finally became a reality.