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Pen, Ink, And Paper Shopping In San Francisco


DilettanteG

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I don't know of any pen stores at the airport. SFO is the airport. And Montblanc wouldn't count.

 

NBC seems to just be the name of the company that owns the stores called Maido and Kinokuniya Stationery and Gift. For some reason, maybe just here, Kinokuniya stationery is separate from Kinokuniya bookstore. I've only gone to one other Kinokuniya, the Uwajimaya one in Seattle, where I knew it would all be under one thing.

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  • 4 years later...

For fountain pens alone, the best is still Flax. For pens plus all kinds of related products, there's a new kid on the block: Itoya Topdrawer, 1840 Union Street, between Octavia and Laguna, in the Marina district.

 

The shop's subtitle for itself is "Tools for Nomads," and that is a good description. In addition to fountain pens, there is a truly resourceful selection of papers, notebooks, all kinds of small containers, and mark-making devices of all kinds. Not especially Japanese. They have, for example, a lot of stuff from Lamy. Also work by local craft artists.

 

For sheer number and variety of thingies, Flax is way ahead, being a much larger store. But Itoya Topdrawer has an unusually pleasant staff and is worth a visit if you're anywhere near the Marina.

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Now that it's years later, the Japanese stationery stores are now all called Maido. They stopped using the name that confused them with the book store.

 

The answer to where to get good pens in the Bay Area is the SF international pen show. You're either a month late or 11 months early in asking. But there is time for Pan Pacific Pen Club.

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For fountain pens alone, the best is still Flax. For pens plus all kinds of related products, there's a new kid on the block: Itoya Topdrawer, 1840 Union Street, between Octavia and Laguna, in the Marina district.

 

The shop's subtitle for itself is "Tools for Nomads," and that is a good description. In addition to fountain pens, there is a truly resourceful selection of papers, notebooks, all kinds of small containers, and mark-making devices of all kinds. Not especially Japanese. They have, for example, a lot of stuff from Lamy. Also work by local craft artists.

 

For sheer number and variety of thingies, Flax is way ahead, being a much larger store. But Itoya Topdrawer has an unusually pleasant staff and is worth a visit if you're anywhere near the Marina.

This place might require a Posse expedition...
MB JFK BB; 100th Anniversary M; Dumas M FP/BP/MP set; Fitzgerald M FP/BP/MP set; Jules Verne BB; Bernstein F; Shaw B; Schiller M; yellow gold/pearl Bohème Pirouette Lilas (custom MB-fitted EF); gold 744-N flexy OBB; 136 flexy OB; 236 flexy OBB; silver pinstripe Le Grand B; 149 F x2; 149 M; 147 F; 146 OB; 146 M; 146 F; 145P M; 162 RB
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  • 1 year later...

I visited Itoya and Maido today.

Itoya was a big disappointment. I decided to buy a $200 pen, but the only one in the color I wanted was the display pen, which had a scratch in the finish. They offered to give me a 10% discount, which was not enough. It showed me there is a weakness in the finish too. I did buy a Kolo notebook, which is a new brand to me. The salesperson assured me it was made for fountain pens, but it has terrible bleed through problems. It was a waste of $20. Most of the stuff there was overpriced and not of the best manufacture.

Maido is much better store, and so far the only staitionary store in SF that I have found on my visits. I spent $300: a Pilot Falcon (a pen I didn't want to buy without trying it out), a really great notebook, a Rhodia dot grid pad, and two bottles of Japanese FP ink. The Apica Premium C.D. Notebook (soft cover) is fantastic. Perhaps many of you know about it already, but it is new to me. The staff was very helpful and knew a lot about fountain pens and the rest of their stock. Also, if they didn't know something they were honest about it. I really appreciate that.

My only complaint about Maido is that when I bought a membership to Kinokuniya through the pen sales person at the Seattle store she said I could use it at any Maido, but that is not true. I can only use it to get a discount on pens and stationary at stores where Maido and Kinokuniya are housed together. It doesn't matter that Maido in Japan Town is about fifty feet from Kinokuniya under the same roof. Oh, well, if I want to buy a pen from Maido I will have to do it in Seattle. I still buy enough books at Kinokuniya to make it work my while to buy a membership.

Perhaps I'll have time to visit Flax in Oakland in the next day or so.

There is also Castle in the Air in Berkeley, but I haven't been there in a year. They sell Kaweco, Pilot and Retro, paper, art supplies, as well as a few books on Steampunk and other frilly stuff. For a small store they pack a lot in.

The best shopping and service experience is Maido, either in San Francisco or Seattle.

Edited by Dally
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I visited Itoya and Maido today.

Itoya was a big disappointment. I decided to buy a $200 pen, but the only one in the color I wanted was the display pen, which had a scratch in the finish. They offered to give me a 10% discount, which was not enough. It showed me there is a weakness in the finish too. I did buy a Kolo notebook, which is a new brand to me. The salesperson assured me it was made for fountain pens, but it has terrible bleed through problems. It was a waste of $20. Most of the stuff there was overpriced and not of the best manufacture.

Maido is much better store, and so far the only staitionary store in SF that I have found on my visits. I spent $300: a Pilot Falcon (a pen I didn't want to buy without trying it out), a really great notebook, a Rhodia dot grid pad, and two bottles of Japanese FP ink. The Apica Premium C.D. Notebook (soft cover) is fantastic. Perhaps many of you know about it already, but it is new to me. The staff was very helpful and knew a lot about fountain pens and the rest of their stock. Also, if they didn't know something they were honest about it. I really appreciate that.

My only complaint about Maido is that when I bought a membership to Kinokuniya through the pen sales person at the Seattle store she said I could use it at any Maido, but that is not true. I can only use it to get a discount on pens and stationary at stores where Maido and Kinokuniya are housed together. It doesn't matter that Maido in Japan Town is about fifty feet from Kinokuniya under the same roof. Oh, well, if I want to buy a pen from Maido I will have to do it in Seattle. I still buy enough books at Kinokuniya to make it work my while to buy a membership.

Perhaps I'll have time to visit Flax in Oakland in the next day or so.

There is also Castle in the Air in Berkeley, but I haven't been there in a year. They sell Kaweco, Pilot and Retro, paper, art supplies, as well as a few books on Steampunk and other frilly stuff. For a small store they pack a lot in.

The best shopping and service experience is Maido, either in San Francisco or Seattle.

There is a Pan Pacific Pen Club meeting on Saturday in Foster City. PPPC meetings tend to blow away most retail outlets when it comes to pen shopping.....

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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