I was in San Francisco last week and I bought lots of stuff for my FP, paper and organization fetish.

First, I ordered aluminium disks from Myndology, which I had shipped to my hotel. They were waiting for me when I arrived. That way, I saved on international shipping. They are so cool.

I was staying at the Marriott on 4th so I went to Westfield Mall and made a fangirl of myself at Maido Stationary store. I looked and touched e-ve-ry-thing and bought three Pilot Petit1 (lime, wine and blue-black; yes, I should have bought more, one YELLOW! Paltinum Preppy and a beautiful, wonderful, marvelous, Pilot Décimo, in gray, F-point. I have a Vanishing Point, but I find it too big for my hand. The Décimo is just right. I also went to Stylo Fine Pens, on Sutter street and looked at their stuff. Bought some Pilot Ink. Talked with the owners. Pined over a Caran d'Arche Écridor that was on sale at 350$. But I had just bought a Décimo for 145$, so my pen budget eas gone...

I also went to Japantown at Kinokuniya Stationary Store and bought some more stuff, including a plastic folder with this marvelously surrealistic pseudo-French quote that only the Japanese can come up with, as well as a beautiful green furoshiki wrap for my collection of lunch boxes. To round out the shopping trip, I also went to Ichiban Kan and bought bento boxes to add to my collection at home. They were so cheap, I cried in joy!

I also bought other things that have nothing to do with pens, stationary and organization. Oh, and I also visited the city.

The Petit1 is one of our favorite small fountain pens too. We also are fans of the Kinokuniya in Sunnyvale as well. Hope you had fun in SF! If you're around during the weekend you should visit the Farmer's Market in front of the Ferry Building. You can also pay around $2 for the rail line that goes up and down the wharf and to downtown for shopping.

Sounds like you had a lot of fun! Next time, see if you can make a pilgrimmage down to Bittner. It's sensory overload for a pen lover.

San Francisco is a WONDERFUL city. I rank it with New York City as one of the best two cities in America. I've been there a lot on business over the decades, but I've never gone penshopping there. After reading your post, I'm getting ideas for my trip to SF next fall.

IANAN checks his itinerary for the forthcoming three weeks, leans back in his chair and smiles broadly.

Meanwhile, downstairs, his wallet cries quietly and tries to strangle itself...

I posted pictures of my loot here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tournevis/set...57604237841049/

How do the aluminum disks work? I've never seen myndology notebooks before, and just looked them up, so please pardon my ignorance.

~Kim

They're designed for use with mushroom-punched paper. I hope the pic at that link helps.

They are the coolest thing!

Excellent! I have a Rollabind punch...

I'm going to play the provincial card and bemoan the loss of Michael's Artist Supplies on Sutter.... "Back when I was a kid... you could buy a fountain pen for FORTY-PERCENT OFF once a month at Michael's.... Yep, there was a line, stretched clear across the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.... And we liked it that way."

The aliminium disks work wonderfully. I have a lot of rollabind/circa/myndology stuff and they are interchangeable. HAPPY!

I remember when all this was fields...

The first time I went into Kinokuniya in Japantown I went a little wacko. I think I spent $80 on doo-dads. I couldn't tell you now what I bought but all sorts of little "things." I loved it. Oh one was a tiny little truck with teensy brooms that collected crumbs when you pushed it across the table. I love that store!

I have to parade my ignorance here. I'm still clueless as to what those aluminum disks are for. As soon as someone can tell me, I'm sure I'll need some.
What are they for again?
cheers
skyp

I gather one stuffs them in the edge of paper, where they take the place of rings for binding sheets together.

I remember when the coast line bordered Jackson Street... and that was called the Barbary Coast....

Those were the days....

Wouldn't it be nice if the San Francisco Pen Show were to return? I can't think of a better city in which to celebrate fountain pens!

Disk binding systems are quite common and date from the 1940s. Several companies sell them, most notably Levenger, Rollabind, Atoma and Myndology. Myndology has disks made of aluminium rather than plastic. Go take a look at the Circa section of Levenger.com and you will see how it works.