Penchant for Pens

Nerd news just in: That ballpoint you’ve been carrying in your pocket protector is getting some wild competition from pens that moo, bowl, golf and dress up in ties, cowboy hats and even smoke cigars.

Call them the anti-pen.

Their creator, Keith Fishman, does.

“The pens are an attempt on my part to take a whack at the last really sacred accessory. I’m just trying to change the gestalt of writing instruments with my designs,” says Fishman of his tongue-in-cheek creations (available at Macy’s and FAO Schwartz, from $18 to $32).

Fishman, a former art teacher with a degree in fine art and design from Hartford Art School, is president of Agoura Hills-based ClipArt Inc., which manufactures the pens. He hopes the artsy instruments will be “as wearable as they are writable.”

More than 100 designs--in limited editions--appear like mini-works of art on a clip as the tops peek out of shirt pockets. A bug-eyed alien, an LAPD doughnut shop, King Kong, a robot and a martini glass are just some of Fishman’s favorites.

And, says Fishman, “I have enough pen ideas for the next 15 years.”

Now, that’s a pen for your thoughts.