The average Bic ballpoint pen is roughly 15 cents…the team at Ensso have built an incredible upgrade to a classic design.
When all the metal pen makers started to create pen bodies for the Hi TEC C and other pen refills, I have been wanting one for the Bic Cristal. I always come back to this cheap pen when I am sketching or working in a composition notebook. The different link weights that you can make with this pen can’t be beat and it always seems to work.
The designers at Ensso have been making pens since 2015, and are well known for their minimalist approach, especially the flagship pen, the Uno. While their products look and work well, I have been put off by their high-brow approach to marketing. They promote how many awards their pens have won, which I believe is warranted, but it hasn’t ever made me want to buy their pen. After talking to Carlo however, I have come to appreciate his work. (More on the owner, Carlo Aiello, below.)
This all being said, they sold me on their latest design which is called the ARIA. It launched on Kickstarter in November 2020 and after successfully funding, they quickly delivered an incredibly well-balanced pen. The aluminum pen body weighs 0.85 oz and 6.25in long. They also offer the pen in brass which weights considerably more at 2.45 oz.
The best aspect of this pen is the simple twist mechanism at both ends. The cap twists on when not in use, but when you open it, the cap fits perfectly on the back ‘posting’ it.
For as quiet as this company is in its marketing and communications, they do make some amazing products. Check out their site for some very minimal and well-designed items.
I had the privilege of talking to Carlo Aiello about this pen and his company Ensso. I haven’t found any interviews online with Mr. Aiello so it was interesting to find out more:
1. How did you come up with the design for this new pen?
Each pen that we design is an answer to something that is familiar but not exactly available on the market. We all know or have used a BiC ballpoint pen, and although they are excellent writers, they are seen as disposable objects. It is very common to have a few of these pens forgotten around the house. We wanted to create something beautiful and timeless that would give new life to all these refills. We are very excited with the response that we have received from our customers and we might offer the pen in different materials in the near future.
2. How many prototypes did you go through before you got everything perfect? I imagine there is a lot more work involved in this pen than it appears in its minimal design...?
Our design process starts with old-fashioned sketching. After the idea has been conceptualized and imagined, it is drawing to scale using 3D computer software. Afterward, we proceed with many plastic 3D prints which we use to test the design for function and aesthetics. Finally, we make real metal prototypes with CNC machines. If we discover something that we don’t like or doesn’t work along the process we go back to step one. For the ARIA pen we did two rounds involving the whole process.
3. How many people work at Ensso?
We are a small family company (husband and wife). My name is Carlo Aiello and I am an architect and product designer. Although I spent the majority of my time designing buildings, I have a passion for writing instruments. I decided to start this venture in 2015 and since then we have launched 8 different products. We try to develop and launch 2 writing instruments per year. Our suppliers and machining experts in Southern California have experience in precise CNC manufacturing that involves a large range of products from micro components to aircraft parts.
4. Do you have any new products coming soon?
We are currently developing two pens. The first is a new pocket fountain pen that uses large #6 nibs and has a wide section. Although very practical, pocket fountain pens usually have a very slim profile that is difficult to grip and the nibs are usually very small. We wanted to create something very compact, but that would be very comfortable to use and have a large nib. The second project is a new iteration of our GIRO ballpoint pen.
I highly recommend getting on their mailing list as they do not make large production runs on their products. They also offer generous discounts on their Kickstarter launches as I was able to get this pen for $29 compared to the $45 it costs now. Once they sell out of something, it does not come back and there are only 65 of these black pens left!
As always, I purchased this pen and did not receive anything from the company. My thoughts are my own - free of ads and paid affiliation.
Cheers,
Mike
