Being new to the scene, I've been searching to see what's available in Orange County. There doesn't seem to be much. With the exception of a Paradise Pen Store and the Montblanc store, there doesn't seem to be much here for the FP enthusiast. I couldn't find any independent dealers, clubs, meets, etc.

I see that LA has some great treasures, for example, LA has the fine folks at nibs.com (whom I know strictly through this board, though I hope one day that may change) . I also did a search for Noodlers dealers and found a handful in LA but nothing in OC (with the execption of Paradise).

Anyone know of anything, anywhere in Orange County?

There's The Fountain Pen Shop, Inc in Monrovia that's run by Fred Krinke. He has both vintage and modern pens and does repair. They're having a pen show this weekend (Thursday - Saturday?)

http://www.tmgp.com/cgi-bin/nph-tame/penshop/index.html

I know what you mean, I can't seem to find anything local, or pen shows for that matter.

I recall visiting a pen shoppe in the Orange County Mall(?) near downtown Orange.At least i think it was that mall.Anyways,they had a rather decent selection of pens and watches both.The name escapes me.It was in february so i don't know if they are still there.Thats how malls are.In one day out the next.

Jim

I'm in San Diego and we don't have anything worthwhile here either except for a group that gets together on one Saturday morning each month.

My suggestion is to save all your in-person FP shopping for the LA Pen Show in February. There are more pens to see there than in any shop anywhere and they generally have good prices, great seminars, and lots of fun. A bunch of FPN folk usually get together to hang, eat, and try and snag one of Windoc's coveted Wine, Beer, Sake, snacks, and pens parties.

I've been at the last two shows, Thurs-Sun in 06 and Fri-Sun in 07. Don't know what I'm doing this year but I will try to go for at least Saturday or Sunday.

The show is actually in Manhattan Beach, so I don't know if that is LA County or Orange County, but it isn't too far from the line either way.

Andy

I echo Andy here.I went to this years event and had the pleasure of meeting Andy and many others.It was a great deal of fun.
And yes,pens galore!!!!!

Jim

Orange County is not as shallow as some might think. I'm an east coast kind of guy and live in DC, but I've done a lot of business in Orange County, and I've had occasion to meet a lot of intelligent and stimulating people there. It will probably never be the fountain pen capital of the world, as the delightful Southern California climate encourages fascination with surfboards and other outdoor equipment. The same can be said for Florida. If you want to find high concentrations of serious fountain pen users, you generally have to go to the colder climates where the bad weather forces people to find indoor sources of entertainment.

I live in LA County and work in Orange County and yeah that means like many Southern Californians, I live in my car! . Orange County is not as bad as Hollywood makes it look. Melrose Place was no more real that Baywatch as my relatives discovered when they came to town. TV always plays things up way out of porportion.

I think there is a Paradise Pens in the South Coast Mall (the most expensive place on earth, the mall I mean) .
There is Flax Pen to Paper in Westwood near UCLA. Several of the art stores around sell fountain pens and ink:
Art Supply Warehouse in Westminster (Orange County)
Graphiads, Pearl Arts (Pearl is in LA and Orange Counties)

If you look for specialty stationary stores in LA-Orange area, a lot of them sell pens along with pen friendly paper.

I am looking forward to my first pen show in Feb at the LA International Pen Show (I just missed it last year)

Joi

The store i was thinking of is Precision Time in Westfield MainPlace,which is Santa Ana i guess.At the back of the store,in the glass case they had Omas,MB,Etc.In fact,when i was there they had a 50% off sale on Omas.I regret not buying an Omas Arco rollerball for $200!!

And yes,that South Coast Mall is expensive but fun!The Paradise Pen located there were very helpful and had a good selection of pens,ink and accessories.

The MB store there was a complete waste of time.Talk about snooty!!!

Save your money for the LA pen show.

Jim

Theres a Kinokuniya near OCC (Costa Mesa) and Downtown Los Angeles as well, You can try going there. I usually avoid Paradise Pens @ South Coast Plaza because their items are often priced above MSRP.

I've been doing a bit of online shopping to try and overcome some of the shortcomings locally. It's a bit of a pain not being able to check out something you are interested in. Picking out a FP, paper, and ink really is something that needs to be done in person as it's such a sensual thing. It really involves being able to touch, handle, and experience the way different components interact together.

I wonder what it would take to be able to start a little shop or something. Carrying all that inventory though really would be scary though, some of the pens are quite pricey.

I'll have to check out precision time, sounds like an interesting place. I was at paradise pen the other day to pick up some ink cartridges. I read somewhere, a few years back, that South Coast had the most revenue / sq foot of any mall in the US, and somehow, I'm not surprised. I think I'll swing by Pearl when I'm visiting Kinokuniya.

Thanks for the pointers and hopefully see you all at the LA pen show.

Oh I forgot to mention, there is another pen/art shop that's in Irvine off Jamboree. It's called Sterling arts or something like that, I checked it out, they have MB, Krone, Lamy, Retro 51, Acme, Waterman. They have a catalog of all the major manufacturers from which you can order, and you get fifteen percent off both in-store and special orders.

But that's in L.A. county.

Yes, whatever you see on TV is exactly true about OJ county.