How to Start an Awesome Floaty Pen Collection

Floating action pens (floaty for short) are the official name of those cool little souvenirs you'll find at airport and other gift shops that have a place or product name on the side and a sliding design in the barrel that "floats" up and down or side-to-side. You'll have to go a ways to beat me, as I'm inching up on 500 pens, but I welcome any and all floaty lovers to the club!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 
    

   Start me up! Floaty pens are a great collectible for all ages because they're:
   a) cheap
   b) much easier to transport and display than snow globes
   c) readily available in a wide variety of designs
   d) ubiquitous not only at gift shops, but also fun to look for at flea markets and on the web.

2. 
    

   Start with a specific category for your collection. Of course, it's fun to have floaties from city, state or travel destinations, but I've also expanded my collection to include promotional pens given out as advertising for various companies, Disney and other character floaties, Vegas, vintage and foreign language pens as well. They pretty much all float my boat, but you might want to begin with one category--say, amusement parks. All the parks I've ever visited sell floaties in their gift shops. And they're cheaper than T-shirts!

3. 
    

   Look for the Eskesen label. The only pen a true collector like me really values is the "official" version manufactured by Eskesen in Denmark. These will have the Eskesen logo and the words "Made in Denmark" either on the metal clip or on the top or side of the pen. These pens are always well-made, have no air bubbles and are of the highest design quality. If you're a true fan, you can travel to Copenhagen and tour the factory. I've never been, but a girl can dream...

4. Spread the word. When family and friends travel, ask them to pick up some pens for you and offer to pay them back. Tell them they shouldn't be paying any more than five bucks. Most pens run around $3.50. Most are glad to participate in your project, especially since pens are so easy to pack!

5. 
    

   Buy doubles to trade. I'll often invest in a couple of extras of a cool-looking pen so I can have some available to trade. Your first swapping stop on the web should be at www.floatabout.com, run by collector extraordinaire Diana Andra. She has an amazing website, a newsletter you can sign up for and pens for sale and trade. Ebay is also a great resource.

6. 
    

   Now show 'em off. Pencil holders (and even coffee mugs) are an easily accessible and inexpensive way to display your pens. I have my floaties in mugs on a shelf, organized by category and listed in a database. That way, I can keep track of which ones and how many I have. Happy collecting and keep on floatin'!

Tips & Warnings

• Check out www.eskesen.com for more info.
• Beware of pens made in China or anywhere else but Denmark. They're not "real" floaty pens.