Whether we consider him a visionary or a designer of timeless aesthetics, the first technical director and co-founder of Italy’s oldest fountain pen manufacturer, Heinrich “Elmo” Helm, knew what he was doing when he created the Elmo 02 pen a century ago.

Pen aficionados trace the origins of the notion of writing instruments as objects of art to the first Italian fountain pen manufacturer, Montegrappa. The family-owned company from Bassano del Grappa has earned this reputation by continually pushing the creative boundaries in the design of its products while embracing new technologies that allow for the realization of artistic imagination without compromising the mechanical, functional brilliance of the writing instrument.

Graduation is one of life's big milestones that is certainly very joyful, exciting, but stressful at the same time. Because for both the graduate and their parents, this transition to adulthood means an overflow of feelings, new perspectives and corresponding expectations, organizational challenges.

The time of year is in full swing when many of us are thinking about choosing graduation gifts. And here the problem is, for those who want to hit it right on target with the gift, choosing the right, appropriate one, which generally means avoiding clichés and sending a message that will beautifully mark the moment: congratulating the graduate on the successful completion of an important chapter in life and sending encouragement, that is, sincere wishes for the graduate's new challenge.

One aspect of Pininfarina's vision in creating the Pininfarina Segno writing instrument collection is to open up new perspectives in this sector by overcoming the conceptual limitations imposed by the traditional representation of the pencil, which has remained virtually unchanged for more than two hundred years since Nicolas-Jacques Conté's patent.

“The pen is the language of the soul”, believes the author of Don Quixote, the great Miguel de Cervantes. This notion of his is particularly relevant today when we mainly use keyboards, physical or virtual, for writing, whose practical advantages cannot be disputed. But are there still things that cannot be expressed in any other way than with the good ‘old’ pen? The general answer boils down to signing important documents when the dignity of the moment and the authenticity of the signature can only be assured by a premium writing instrument, which for these reasons is inevitable in professional environments.

The founder and CEO of Hart.mk, Dragan Janevski, recently visited the headquarters of Pininfarina Segno, in Ravenna, Italy, where he met with the international sales manager Andrea Tritapepe, as well as Martina Barbato from the same department of the Italian company. Hart.mk is the Macedonian partner of Pininfarina Segno, the new chapter in the history of the design house Pininfarina, founded in Turin in 1930, dedicated to writing instruments and accessories.

Begun more than a century ago (in 1912), Montegrappa’s constant search for new “formulas” to realize the magical relationship between human thought and paper has produced many exceptional writing instruments enjoyed by many exceptional people.

Most writing today, in the age of digital devices, is typing on a physical or virtual keyboard. But there are still everyday instances when we instinctively reach for pen and paper to save an important idea or information we’ve just received from oblivion.

We probably don't need to convince anyone of the beauty of Italian cities - it's a fact we all agree on. And perhaps it was best described by the famous American writer Mark Twain, who said that "the Creator created Italy after the designs of Michelangelo". Here, Twain was referring to the brilliant Renaissance artist, meaning the unfathomable perfection of his works. We will borrow a lyrical expression for the above-mentioned praise of Italian beauty from the most important Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, who experienced Italy as "a dream that returns to you for the rest of your life".