A few years ago, I purchased a good supply of Crane's kid finish Monarch sheets and matching lined envelopes. I *thought* it was a 'lifetime' supply [making it easier to rationalize] but was wrong. Waaay wrong. Now I'm out, and need to replenish. Unfortunately, the national chain that carried Crane [Birk's] across Canada no longer does so.

I've looked for alternatives locally, but no luck - I'm in New Brunswick. It's not exactly a hotbed of independent stationers. Farther afield, even the Paper Garden in Halifax has closed.

So, I'm looking for suggestions for sheets and lined envelopes that are an approximation of Crane's kid finish, and a Canadian source. I'm willing to but from the US if I really have to, but shipping and duty really diminish value for money.

Any advice to offer?

Thanks.

-- David

Duly Noted Stationery in Halifax might carry something suitable. They opened fairly recently and overlapped briefly with the Paper Garden, if I have the dates roughly correct, and now seem to be picking up where the Paper Garden left off. I'm not the best judge of paper, though, and I've never written on Crane's, so I can't recommend anything in particular that Duly Noted carries which might be close to Crane's in quality. Here's a link to their page of contact information.

-CG

Thanks CG, that's really good news. I'll be sure to check it out.

I was disappointed to find that Paper Garden had closed. Until a few years ago, I found them to be very well stocked, and quite helpful. Then there seemed to be a change of management and much less appeal.

And it's nice to see another Maritimer on the forum. <g>

-- David

You're welcome. I've dealt with Duly Noted several times and have found them quite helpful. Their range of fountain pens is modest but promising. (And who can blame them? Halifax doesn't have the population to warrant sinking loads of money into stocking fountain pens, I'm afraid.) When I was last in, they had a pretty good assortment of pens by Waterman, Parker, and Lamy, if memory serves. They were also happy to run special orders for items by Lamy that they didn't have in stock (Safaris with italic nibs, etc). Their selection of inks was a bit limited -- Waterman and Parker Quink, I think, but that's more than I can find at the local Staples, so they're definitely heading in the right direction.

Hurrah for local independent stationers! (no affiliation, etc etc)

-Chris