Art Browns Closing For Good Friday...

[tmenyc]

The news at Big Apple Pen Club's monthly meeting this evening is that Art Brown's, the venerable midtown Manhattan pen shop, is closing tomorrow. A huge loss...they were nice to customers, not patronizing if all you wanted was ink. A real shame to see another brick and mortar shop sink into memory. That will only leave one store in NYC. I buy on online, so contributed to their loss, but it is still a shame to see it happen.

 

Tim

Edited August 2, 2013 by tmenyc

[newtimer]

That is sad news indeed! They had wonderful customer service. I guess the cost of keeping a bricks and mortar store, especially in the heart of one of the most expensive cities, was too much.

[MisterBoll]

When I lived in NYC it was always a special treat to go to Art Brown. I got all my first 'real' fountain pens from there and have always appreciated their advice to seer clear of modern mont blancs.

[lightless]

(bleep). Seriously? I went there for ink just this Monday. (bleep). I bought my first real fountain pen there, a Lamy Safari, a little over a year ago. Are they going to have a clearance sale? I can't even access their website anymore. (bleep).

Edited August 2, 2013 by lightless

[Florida Blue]

This is such terrible news!

 

I loved Art Brown's. I used to take the train into the city from NJ when I was in college some afternoons to buy ink and notebooks. Art Brown was such an amazing shop to visit. They had the world's best selection of inks and a huge array of Rhodia and Clairfontaine notebooks. I will be very, very sad to see them go

 

I tried to access their website too, but it appears that they sold off the domain name.

[Sh.Andrews]

Wow, that is bad news. I just went to their website about 5 minutes before I saw this post and found the domain name up for sale.

 

I have purchased from them (website) before and will hate having one less choice.

 

Yes, very high cost of living in NYC - it's a wonder they lasted this long.

[PatientType]

I did a pilgrimage to Art Brown's a few years ago and got the "cooks tour" from one of the owners. It was at their old location and, inside, was like a dream world of fountain pens. Illuminated glass cases... hunreds of different pens... dozens of brands... the most brands and colors of ink I'd ever seen in one place. I know of no other shop that is its equal.

 

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/116748-visit-to-art-brown-nyc/

 

http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae87/patienttype2/NYC%20Art%20Brown%20Pens/2050_1231NY_NovaScotia0006.jpghttp://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae87/patienttype2/NYC%20Art%20Brown%20Pens/2050_1231NY_NovaScotia0002.jpg

[avlisyar]

This is truly sad as they were my source for ink and

Rhodia products. As a matter of fact, I was there this

past week for some ink. They will be missed!

[CapeClear]

What a shame. Art Browns was my first NYC pen shop experience. I went a few times over a period of a week and easily spent $600 spread out over the visit. They seemed to have a steady stream of regulars buying ink and paper along with big shots making big money purchases. I guess the stinging reality of rents got them in the end? Such an utter shame, all the best of wishes to the former staff and owners who were a pleasure to deal with.

[ziptrickhead]

 

One of my favorite stores in Manhattan to go visit... I won't even get a chance to make one last visit either. Wish I had known sooner.

[wimg]

Oh no!

 

This is where I bought my first Noodler's inks ever, 8 or 9 bottles , when on a guided tour by a fellow FPNer when I visited the US a bunch of years ago.

 

Very pleasant memories indeed.

 

Warm regards, Wim

[sargetalon]

Very sad news. I was able to make 2 trips there this past year and was impressed with the selection. Ended up buying a stipula passaporto and a pen wrap from them. I would take the train in from Philadelphia. So few shops left where I can actually handle a pen before purchase. We have just 2 in Philly that are overly pricey and of limited selection and FPH in NY which is a day trip.

[whichwatch]

This is such a sad sign of the times. I was in NYC a while back and of course added a day so I could make my first visits to FPH and Art Brown's. Both were terrific.

 

I am very sad to read this news.

[Garageboy]

NO, this cannot be happening...

Art Brown's selection of everything was amazing. Plus, unlike FPH, they opened weekeneds and had a real ink selection.

REALLY bummed to hear them go...

 

This leaves FPH and Altman Luggage as the only two NYC stores I can hit up =(

[Jadie]

.....darn it, I didn't even get a chance to visit the store before they closed.

[warblerick]

Sad to hear. Like the hat shops in NYC, there are very few anymore. Plenty of tee shirt shops, but hat shops, not so much...

[lightless]

I went. Going in, you wouldn't even know it was the last day - no signs or anything, everything was set up just like any other day. Mr. Brown came by as usual and asked if I needed help. I was just looking, though. I looked through at a few more displays before passing by him again.

 

"Is it true that today's your last day?"

 

"Yep," he replied with the casual terseness that I've gotten used to. I always laugh a little to myself when I consider that he probably resembles the popular image of a New York City store owner. I'm no regular, but I've been here several times in the fourteen months or so that I've indulged in fountain pens, and I can't help but wonder if I'm at least a little familiar.

 

I continued looking through the cases. It always hits me how small pens look in person, or at least, in a display case. Pictures do a whole lot to dramatize our hobby.

 

A few more customers come in, and I overhear some conversations as I continue my little museum trip, and become aware that some people are visiting for their first time on this store's last day.

 

 

"Today's the last day? Are you moving somewhere -"

 

"Nope."

 

I'm made a little more conscious of all the expenses that must've gone towards just keeping a presence here when Mr. Brown puts the air conditioning on full blast to blow away the heat.

 

 

A woman strolls in determinedly, passing behind me as I look at the Omas display. She embraces a tall man who's been in the store for a while now, talking with Mr. and Mrs. Brown, and starts to cry.

 

"We tried," she says, with sad mirth.

 

The day is made a little more surreal as employees start to come in and attend to customers and regulars, conversing at length with the latter. After working up some courage, I catch a spare moment and ask Mrs. Brown if there's a discount today. She tells me something around 25% MSRP, and I imagine that if I had frequented the store or had the stones to haggle it might've been a little more. It's only 5% more off their usual discount of 20%, but I can't help but feel a little like a vulture come at last to feed.

 

I keep looking, especially at the Italian pens. I've never quite taken my time around the store like this.The Montegrappa Miya is beautiful in the yellow and red celluloid that they have on display. The Omas Milord Noir catches my eye too - it's bigger than I thought it was, stately and modern. I look below and see the Paragon Noir, which borders on ridiculous.

 

 

Ultimately, I left without buying anything after taking one last loop through the store. I got a chance to fondle an Omas 360 in white, which was comfortable for me. With the closing of Art Brown, NYC's oldest pen store passes on to history, leaving FPH as the last dedicated pen store in NYC, with Altman Luggage complimenting it. Kinokuniya nearby also has a selection of Japanese fountain pens, I think. There're probably a few stationery stores stocking a limited selection of fountain pens. Montblanc boutiques too, I guess. Joon went last year, and now Art Browns joins it after 89 years. I haven't been at this long, but it's sad to think that there might one day not be any pen stores left here. I'm 21, and sometimes I wish I had a little more of life behind me. It's probably been a common sentiment through the ages, but it seems that all the conditions are in place to accelerate change to a potentially intolerable pace.

 

Anyways, I've gone on for long enough. A good day to everyone!

Edited August 2, 2013 by lightless

[fourseamer]

If anybody's planning to drop in to the store today and doesn't mind snagging a few extra bottles of ink, I'd happily pay for any of his Noodler's exclusives: Manhattan Blue, Legal Blue, Brooklyn Brawn, Pinstripe Homage, Subway Series Sepia, and any others I'm unaware of. Will pay for shipping to Ohio and can cross ship you a bottle or two of some extra ink I have (iron gall Lamy Blue-Black, J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite, and Aurora Black).

 

Sad to see this store go. If I had lived in the NYC area, I'd have loved to check it out.

[Elizabeth in NJ]

This is all very strange. Do we have any actual reasons to believe that this is because the rents were too high and/or they weren't bringing in enough money? Because the oddness of the way this went down suggests that there must be other factors at work. What they might be, I have no idea, but this is no normal store closing.

 

Unlike what Lightless experienced, I saw no indication at all yesterday that anything unusual was going on. I was only there for 10 minutes, but still. I noticed that they were missing a bunch of Iroshizuku colors, but that was it.

 

Since I was going to the Big Apple Pen Club meeting and wanted some Aurora Black and Dragon's Napalm, I figured I'd swing by and pick it up on the way. I called to make sure they had the inks on hand, and let them know that I'd be by very shortly before close (6:15 pm) because I was coming in from Jersey after work. I arrived at 6:05. I noticed a small sign saying some pens were on sale, but nothing about which ones. I got the 2 inks, and decided to get some international cartridges, when I noticed that they had Private Reserve long internationals. Great! I picked up only one package, thinking I'd get more on a future trip. I mentioned to the woman who was working there that I had never seen PR in that size before and she just commented that they weren't easy to find. I got a new Lamy nib, paid for the stuff (6:13 according to my receipt), and left, none the wiser.

 

Frankly, I'm pretty annoyed that they didn't tell me that I might want to grab some more of those cartridges while I could. And I would have very much appreciated if they had told me on the phone that it would be my last chance to shop there, because I would have definitely made some more time to spend there. They had some oddball stuff in there that I might have liked to get! And I'd have definitely purchased the 3 exclusive Noodler's inks that I don't have. And I'm talking about stuff I would be buying at the marked price, not even with a discount!

 

Some at the pen club speculated that they might be moving to online sales only. Well, I guess that's not happening if their site is defunct.

 

 

So why did this closing go down in such an unusual way? Why were they not making an extra effort to sell what they had on hand? There has to be some kind of explanation.

 

And what are they going to do with the stock? It was a large store with a ton of merchandise related to all kinds of writing instruments. It has to be going somewhere. Where?

 

 

ETA: I sound more annoyed than sad about this above. I am annoyed about a few things, but mostly sad to see them go. They had an incredible selection and the ink aisle was heavenly! The only other time I had been there, I spent a lot of time and received great service. I like to support brick and mortar where I can, which is why I went to Art Brown for those items instead of taking the easier (and probably cheaper) route of just ordering them.

Edited August 2, 2013 by Elizabeth in NJ

[lightless]

No clue. It's definitely a very strange closing, like you said. I was thinking that they'd try to sell off the stock by advertising their closing and putting things on sale, but they just offered a small increase in the discount they give over MSRP. Are they planning to sell off the stock in bulk or at pen shows? I have no clue. I wanted to pick up Subway Sepia, but they were out. It's really very odd. I'd like to pass by on another day and see what's become of the place.

Edited August 2, 2013 by lightless