BOMApens are members of the hardworking, ballpoint pen family. That's the complete list of what's normal about them.

Some products work best when they can be used with absolute transparency; without provoking a single thought about themselves. A BIC®, the world's most efficient pen, fits this model perfectly. BOMApens are the opposite and (very important) are specifically for people who want the opposite.

BOMApens are based on playing what is sensed and perceived against layers of detail and knowledge–they are an exploration of the rich relationship between what is seen and what is known. BOMApens are celebrations of the simplest principle of all, I call it the Iceberg Principle. It's the principle that one thing leads to another and only a very small amount is visible at first. Exactly what leads to what and how, is the fabric of reality and the playground of the curious.

It starts like this: visually BOMApens are smooth, clean and modern; lacking the conventions of clips, rings or other encirclements. First impressions are they're nice, simple, slim pens. Touching one reveals another side–they're astoundingly, even shockingly, heavy. Such raw mass in such a small package is an unexpected delight and the first sign that things are not as they seem.

Curiosity will suggest two paths: short term is the question of what the heck the pen is made of that makes it so heavy–which leads into the world of materials (ever-expanding coverage on this website). Longer term use reveals that the pens are seductive, even addictive to hold and to move and to write with because they drag gravity back, front and center, into your consciousness. Your sense of touch is saying "Gravity!" while your mind is saying "Gravity?." When was the last time you actually noticed gravity?

Next impression: they write smoothly because of their mass and precisely because of their tip design and they feel good in your hand because of the finish–strangely smooth yet grippy. It's a sandblasted finish which is not common because such finishes usually scuff...but not this one because it's exterior has been transformed into tungsten carbide, a material harder than sapphire.

Just visible to the naked eye is the Inkling logo laser engraved onto the pen. You can just make it out–you have just an inkling of it (double meaning fully intended). Next to it is a very small, very dense engraving that resists recognition. Pull out a ten power magnifier to examine this come-hither adornment and behold: it's a wonderful beast, a Balinese BOMA, with the words "Write No Evil" inscribed beneath it. To the right of the logo, completely unseen by unaided eyes, is three lines of text: the pen model, the pen's individual serial number (in a limited edition of 8888) and the Inkling website address...the gateway that leads to this page and others.

Even the pen's box echos these themes. Its overt design is to be an attractive counterpoint to the pen: the pen is round, the box is angular; the pen looks cool and mechanical, the box is warm and organic. On the side of this nice little box is a small slot (called a "reveal") that begs to be looked in (it's the visual equivalent of the little bottle in "Alice in Wonderland" that has "Drink Me" written on it.). The slot goes clear through the box but a pen inside partially obscures the window–a look inside gives a view of both inside and outside depending on your eye's focus. One thing leads to another. Just below the slot is the tease: the word and company name INKLING.

BOMApens have been created with sufficient complexity and detail that discovery of what's next is largely up to the curiosity of the beholder. With time and an inquisitive owner, BOMApens aspire to stimulate questions about what is hidden and what is seen; about the role that human nature and knowledge plays; about what past and future truths we could see if we only knew how...