My wife hinted she wouldn't mine a fountain pen for her B'day coming up. Any place to contact regarding one. I have no idea what to look for. I figure a budget around 200.00 or whatever depending on the recommendation. I live in Washingtone State if that makes a difference. Thanks
Goulet Pens for sure in the USA. They have so much information on their website, and extensive stock.
I love my TWSBI pen, intermediate level (aka not a solid gold nib or Montblanc name premium) and doesn't needlessly break the bank. Mine has a clear reservoir which lets you see the beautiful ink therein.
For paper, Rhodia pads are nice and Tomoe River is quite unique in that it's onion skin thin but does not bleed through. It's the best bet for showcasing ink sheen (surprising variation in color resulting from the physics of a very thin layer in some parts of your writing, not to be confused with shimmer which comes from shiny particles within the ink. Each ink has its own colour of sheen, which can be more or less pronounced), though I find it's too easy to crumple.
For very fancy paper, when writing Christmas letters and such, I use G. Lalo pads. The texture is amazing.
For ink, there are so many good options, but you can't go wrong with Iroshizuku, any of their colours. It's great ink all around and comes in beautiful bottles that make for a lovely gift. Kon-Peki is probably the most popular and I agree that it's awesome. It's a beautiful unique blue with a red sheen.
I would add: you can buy extra nibs of different styles. Typically nibs have rounded points and will not provide any of that italic style from calligraphy. For that you would need a specifically italic nib, though TWSBI make a nice stub nib which is a combination so that it has style but also writes smoothly. Their replacement nibs are some $30 and so you could have a fine nib plus a stub, extras like sweet paper and ink, and still be within your budget. While you're at it, a simple rubber bulb thing from the pharmacy (I think used to shoot saline into ears?) Is very useful for flushing out the ink from a nib when changing inks. I also like to use a syringe (also from the pharmacy) sometimes for precise refilling.
Or you could go with Jan's advice above and take your wife shopping. It's certainly also a valid suggestion, just likely to be far costlier, and under pressure from salespersons. Different target audience that's all.