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Some fountain pens are pieces offine art. Some fountain pens areexcellent writing instruments. APLimited Editions seeks to create a foun-tain pen that is both.

Anuj Poddar’s long-held reverencefor art and pen collecting began in hischildhood in India and continuedthrough his teenage years in England andhis immigration to the United States. Inestablishing AP Limited Editions, Poddarbenefited from the years he spentresearching art forms that could beapplied to pens and the technologyrequired to create high quality writinginstruments.

Initially turning out fine maki-epieces with the aid of Danitrio principalBernard Lyn, Poddar launched his brandat the Los Angeles International PenShow in 2006 with the aid of retailerEddie Kallman of Airline International,who handled the sales. “We sold 16 pensin one day at $18,000 each,” Poddar mar-vels. “That gave me the platform tolaunch this business.”

Poddar also sought out the bestartists in the Russian schools ofFedoskino and Palekh miniature art toadorn pens with thematic scenes ofnature, religion, legend, and history.Nearly all of AP Limited Editions’ outputfalls into the categories of maki-e andRussian miniature art.

The creative process begins withPoddar and his team of three others, oneof whom is his wife. Before each yearbegins, they always have a productionplan in place, which includes the artisticthemes they are interested in exploringand how many pieces to produce, butthey are small enough to change theirminds and deviate from the plan.

They must also determine whethereach project will be rendered in maki-eor in Russian miniature painting. Thedecision is often based on the theme’scompatibility with the medium and alsothe artists’ enthusiasm for a giventheme—Poddar has scrapped ideas thatthe artists couldn’t get excited about,knowing that they will do their best work

BY JOHN CHANDLER

Absolutely, Positively Luscious

AP Limited Editions

Goldfish; Rabbits in a Summer Garden

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on subjects they take pleasure in. One projecteveryone was clearly excited about is the Tree ofLife, shown with this article and also on ourcover. Poddar calls it the most exciting project hehas ever worked on. Crafted by master maki-eShi Kosetsu San, the Tree of Life traces the jour-ney of the ordinary soul to enlightenment.

Many times decisions on themes are guidedby or even determined by the demographicgroup for which a particular pen is intended.For example, Poddar creates pens for the Indianchain store William Penn (see PW, October2014), but the retailer is interested only inIndian themes. Middle Easterners tend not tolike faces of people depicted on pens, he says.Poddar has found that themes dealing withnature and wildlife are universally popular, asare depictions of myth and legend. Recent pens

from AD Limited Editions depict goldfish,Bengal tigers, giant pandas, and fluffy rabbits.

Despite all the variables, one constant in APLimited Editions pieces is that they all have astory to tell through exquisite artwork.

The brand’s collections come in two cate-gories, the luxury Connoisseur Series and therecently added Writers Series, which offers luxu-ry pens at a more affordable price point—mostlyfrom $1,800 to $6,500 but with some priced aslow as $900. This allows many customers accessto AP Limited Editions that was previouslyunavailable. A wider range of nib widths andstyles, with customization by U.S. nib specialistJohn Mottishaw at no additional charge to thecustomer, is available in the Writers Series,including extra-fine, fine, medium, broad, stuband fine italic.

From top, three pens offered in limited editions of nine pieceseach—Writers Series Le Cirque, paying tribute to the historicalcircus of Russia; The Lovable Giant Panda; and The Celebrations atthe Private Garden of Emperor Qianlong.

At the other end of the price spec-trum, a bespoke pen service has recentlybeen introduced allowing customers todefine what they want on one-of-a-kind,individualized projects. One early clientwas the Sultan of Oman; a current clientis a Chinese customer who wants a penthat depicts his Buddhist garden.

“I want people to be able to sit downwith me and discuss what they want. Wecan really do almost anything,” saysPoddar.

Poddar attributes much of APLimited Editions’ success to personal con-tact with dealers, artists, and customers.On the road for as much as six months ofthe year, Poddar visits each of his dealersat least twice a year, as well as all theartists engaged by the brand, and thefeedback he receives is critical to develop-ing future pieces.

In the next year, while wildlife themeswill continue in the Writers Series, mosaicpatterns and designs will be directedtowards the tastes of consumers in theMiddle East, an area where Poddar would

like to develop an even greater presenceafter being featured by the English-lan-guage Middle Eastern paper Gulf News.AP Limited Editions will also be intro-ducing a line of inks later this year, whichbrings us back to writing.

Poddar is passionate about producingwriting instruments that work perfectly.While acknowledging that the high pricepoint of most AP Limited Editions pensmeans that most of his pieces are pur-chased by collectors who will never inkthem, he says, “I am selling pens, not justart. If I’m selling a beautiful pen that does-n’t write well, I might as well be sellingpictures or plaques hanging on the wall.”

After nine years producing beautifulart pens, Anuj Poddar is still a collector atheart. During the course of our discus-sion he noticed my pen, a Franklin-Christoph, and asked to examine it. Hetakes a great interest in what others in thepen business are doing and appreciatesquality in pieces other than his own. Afterexpressing his approval of my Model 29,he showed me the pen he likes

Poddar’s travel pen—a customizedPlatinum.

Simple and elegant Writers SeriesRed Lamont, available in nine eachof rollerball and fountain pen

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Writers Series maki-e Prayer Wheel pen,inspired by the Tibetan prayer wheel used byBuddhists. The inlays are abalone, mother-of-pearl, and coral.

The Almighty Shiva pen depicts one of the mostenigmatic deities of the Hindu pantheon borneupon the back of the Divine Nandi. The editionis limited to nine pieces.

to carry when traveling, a simple black Platinumthat one of his maki-e artists embellished into abeautiful one-of-a-kind jewel. “I love Japanese nibs,”he says.

He doesn’t share the view of some that the penmarket is dwindling—but he acknowledges it hasshrunk in some areas and grown in others.

“I think the most important thing is to havestaying power,” he says. “Consistency. In this busi-ness you must be customer focused, knowing whatthe customer wants—that’s why it is so importantthat I communicate with my dealers, to know whatthe customers are saying, what they like, what theydon’t.”

Examining many of his beautifully crafted pieceson the small table in front of me, I was overwhelmedwith the exquisite detail and quality of craftsman-ship so readily apparent. I simply didn’t possess thesuperlatives necessary to adequately express myself.

I was reduced to “Wow!”

Visit aplimitededitions.com

AP Limited Editions display at the renowned Singapore retailerAesthetic Bay

The Tree of LifeMany cultures across the world understand the symbol of the Treeof Life. The Buddhist version of this symbol is represented on thenew Tree of Life pen from AP Limited Editions, the company’smost intricate maki-e project to date with nine pieces available.

Says Poddar, “The hidden meaning of life and evolution of thesoul is intricately woven into the roots, trunk, and branches of atree as it stretches outwards to the Great Void, while rooting itselfinwards, deep inside the soul of Mother Earth. The art on the pentraces the journey of an ordinary soul on the path to discoveringand achieving the divine state of the Great Buddha. Buddhismbelieves in the enormous potential vested in human life.

“The Tree of Life is the enlightened state of the Buddha—theOne who has crossed all the inner and outer realms of existence.”

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