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Alright, here's an interesting question for you.
When's the last time you received a handwritten note?
Well, this year, my husband sent me three.
You know, putting pen to paper is still a very important part
of human interaction, and creativity.
Especially, in this age of technology, and here to rekindle
our love affair with this age old art form are Heidi Gagnon
and Ramon Kingsly from the legendary brand, Cross Pens.
So great to have you guys here.
Thank you very much.
Alright, now Ramon, I know you designed many of these
collections, and they're so gorgeous, and I can't wait to
talk to you about that a little later, but Heidi, I want to turn
to you first and ask you, you know when we receive a pen as a
gift, it's one of those defining moments in our lives.
Why is that?
A fine pen is like a true work of art.
As you can see from our beautiful collection here, a
fine pen embodies precious metals, beautiful patterns,
stones set in the top and beautiful craftsmanship.
So, really, it's such an important piece.
I bet if I asked you who was the person, and when they gave you
your first Cross pen, you'd know about it.
I know.
Yep.
Right?
Absolutely.
Well, it's because it's such a defining moment in your life.
It's a signature moment, that's what we call it at Cross, so
when you think about it, every great idea, every great poem,
novel, even a beautiful thank you note, it all starts by
putting pen to paper.
I love that saying.
Putting pen to paper.
When we think about history, and how many documents were signed
and all that encounters.
Ramon, Cross pens has been a real part of that American
history, and world history.
Tell me about that.
So A.T.
Cross dates way back to the 1800s.
It was founded in 1846.
It started as a jewelry company, and then later got into the art
of fine writing instruments, and applied some of that jewelry
aspect to the instrument as we know them today.
In 1889, one of the founding members created the Peerless
collection.
Peerless Collection, okay.
Which is our patent for a fountain pen, and it was called
Peerless because there was no other design that matched it in
its time.
Now, 100 years later, 1946, the Classic Century was born, and
that, today, is our most iconic pen design.
A lot of dignitaries, Queen Elizabeth, four of the last
presidents have used our pens to sign, you know, mark important
documents, yes.
It's one of the oldest and most iconic American companies.
That's so interesting, and Heidi, as we've entered this age
of technology, how has Cross been able to adapt?
We feel at Cross that writing will always be a part of the
human experience.
It should be.
It will never ever go out of style, however, we know that we
need to keep pace with the trends in technology, so we've
been able to adapt our classic pens, so that they can not only
write on paper, but also on digital devices.
That's wonderful.
I want to try some of these.
Now, I love that this has a very masculine design.
Absolutely.
So this pen right here, this is actually one of our latest pens.
It's a Peerless 125.
It's perhaps one of the most luxurious in our collection.
This is a very special pen.
Some of the features, I'll show you, it has that conical shape.
There's a jewel stone in it.
This particular design is a screw on, screw off, and it's a
rollerball.
A roller ball.
Oh wow, that's so effortless.
Very nice.
That's gorgeous.
Oh I feel very important with that.
And this collection we've known about for a while, so familiar
to me.
So this is our most popular, most famous design.
This is the Classic Century.
Okay.
That I was talking about, and this is a ball pen.
This precious metal pen, slim shape, streamlined.
Beautiful.
And this is a ball pen.
A ball pen.
Oh yeah.
Very popular writing technology for us.
Just signing my name over and over, but I can't get away from,
this is new, right Heidi?
What collection is that?
That is Cross Botanica.
It is a beautiful female collection.
It has jewelry quality accents.
The pattern was actually inspired by a henna design.
Okay, it looks like a henna tattoo, a little bit.
Exactly.
That's exactly what it is.
And I love this, Ramon.
This is - This is wonderful.
This is a fountain pen.
Oh a fountain pen!
That's a very special piece.
It's a limited edition.
I love that jewel.
It's our cherry blossom.
Okay.
If you look at the pattern, it's inspired by the cherry blossom.
Matter of fact, I'm even wearing my hankie.
It's a cherry blossom pattern.
Alright!
A lot of people, I love fountain pens.
Not many people use them, but I just get a kick out of them.
That is gorgeous.
Oh!
Wow!
Thank you.
Alright.
Heidi, I want to talk to you about technology, and you've
really created a pen, and it's called the Multifunction Pen?
Absolutely.
Tell me about that.
It's called Crosstech 3 Plus, multifunction pen.
What's fantastic about this product, it's ideal for the tech
savvy consumer who needs to write on paper, but then also
quickly navigate on a digital device.
So, what's great about this product, it's easy to use, you
just twist, and you can see that's a red ball-point pen, and
then a mechanical pencil, and also black, and on the opposite
end is a stylus, so that you can navigate on your digital device.
It's a great multifunctional tool.
So, you just have thought of everything.
Absolutely.
What a beautiful and decadent way to express yourself on
paper, or on a digital device, or to give the gift of
creativity to someone you love.
All of these designs offer a lifetime mechanical guarantee,
and are available at Cross.com.
I want to thank you so much for joining us.
This was really fun.
Thank you.
Good to experience.
Good to be here.
Now, to get your guy or gal one of these beautiful pieces of art
head straight to TheBalancingAct.com You know, I
just love this.
I love this.
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