I was intrigued by the Pop Dots series when I was just starting to get interested in the 849 series. These are like the bobble head Funko Pops of the pen world… a new colorway appears every time you hit refresh!
I got ‘just one’ to satisfy my curiosity; an Opal Green version with patches of bright green, deep teal and pistachio that overlapped in an array of contrasting dots. It was simultaneously old school, like screen dots from the color film separation process (i.e. where we got the 72, 144 and 300 dpi / dots-per-inch print jargon), and cyber-futuristic like the mashed up and distressed geometric collages from underground techno club flyers.
Over the years, I keep coming across pictures of the full set and I gradually lost my aversion to Pink and the lower contrast of the Light Blue model. Ok, I want them all… only it’s 2025 now, almost 10 years after they were released in 2016!
Checked, eBay: nada. Mercari and Yahoo Japan Auctions: almost zilch, and probably used / worn. I turned to Google and luckily found an Italian e-store that still had them in stock. 2 weeks later and they’re finally here. Phew! 