The Gold Standard

Last week, we had the pleasure of interviewing Shu-Jen Lin of Taccia Pens about her latest pen creation, The Palatial Pearl Collection. Using mother of pearl and abalone with deep, colored resins, Shu-Jen was able to create her, in my humble opinion, best mother-of-pearl pen series to date.
Goldspot: To give our readers some background information on you and Taccia pens, please briefly explain how you started Taccia and your goals for designing pens.

Shu-Jen: I founded TACCIA on my core belief that pens should be affordable, stylish, and well-built. I believe pens are the perfect accessory –fun to collect, display, and wear, and an intimate form of communication often lost in this internet age. Inspired by many cultures, including traditional and modern American, Asian, and European styles, I strive to develop and produce pens that cater to both males and females, young and old, for all occasions – casual and formal. A pen, like a watch or a car, can help define a person’s style. TACCIA currently carries several colorful and attractive lines, and we will be releasing many more in the future.

GS: Taccia is one of the few pen manufacturers that still use mother of pearl and abalone in manufacturing pens. Why do you believe that is so?

SJ: At TACCIA we are always trying to come up with innovative new ways to apply beautiful materials on our pens. Our tradition with Mother of Pearl dates back several years and collections—all of which have been very popular and successful with pen aficionados and as a fine luxury accessory. This experience with mother of pearl and abalone gives us an formidable technical and artistic background to design and produce great-looking pearl pens. We believe the Palatial Pearl is our most beautiful pearl pen yet.


GS: Would you be able to explain how mother of pearl is technically used in the pen-making process?

SJ: Strips of mother of pearl and abalone are hand-cut and hand-inlaid onto a precision-cut barrel. Each piece needs to be cut to precise, exact standards to ensure a perfect fit and seal.

GS: What was your inspiration behind the Palatial Pearl? How did you come to decide the pairing of the color resin cap with the barrel?

SJ: In 2009 and 2010, we launched 3 Limited Edition lines that have gone on to build TACCIA's name and help us push forward a streamlined design and a solid technical build. The Palatial Pearl is a culmination of the experience and style TACCIA has become known for both from our Limited Editions and from our pearl pens.
With the Celestial Pearl Collection, we began experimenting with colored resin to be paired with pearl. The results and feedback were very positive all-around, so we chose to continue that concept with the Palatial Pearl.

GS: The previous mother of pearl pens (Pantheon, Celestial) have been gargantuan, but the Palatial seems a bit thinner and not as "clunky" to hold. Was this a choice made based on user feedback?

SJ: From the beginning, we designed the Palatial Pearl to have a more modern and sleek look. Many of our pens vary in size and girth, and, like many others, we ourselves saw the need to move towards a more compact design.

GS: Are the new bi-color steel nibs (with Taccia Logo) going to be standard on all the higher-end model Taccia pens?

SJ: We are currently discussing this standard. For the time being the Palatial Pearl will ship with two-tone steel nibs.

GS: Any thoughts on the next pearl line or any other upcoming series that Taccia is working on?

SJ: For now we are just working hard to produce and promote the Palatial Pearl. We have a couple new collections that are currently in the prototype phase that should be introduced very soon!

Big thanks to Shu-Jen for giving us the time during a busy move to answer our interview questions. You may browse our entire selection of Taccia Pens or behold the beauty of the Palatial Pearl for yourself.