Brick And Mortar Meccas?

[mtbradley]

I did a quick search under brick and mortar (not sure what other terms to use) and didn't see anything on this. What are some of the best known/most loved shops you can walk into and try fountain pens out? I'm not looking for an argument about the #1 shop. Think of this more like a travel guide. I love to travel. If I'm headed to Manhattan for a few days, I want to go to CW Pencils. It's a Mecca in my opinion for pencils. If I'm headed to San Francisco or Chicago, for example, are there must see pen shops? I've been 100% online as a consumer. I don't know any of the shops. What are the greats?

 

Shops listed from replies below (alphabetical by state and a separate list for stores outside the US alphabetical by country if any are recommended):

 

Little Rock, Arkansas - Vanness Pen Shop

Atlanta, Georgia - Artlite

Chicago, Illinois - Anderson Pen

New Orleans, Louisiana - Papier Plume

New York, New York - Fountain Pen Hospital

Houston, Texas - Dromgooles

Edited September 18, 2018 by mtbradley

[PAKMAN]

Not too far from you in Little Rock Arkansas is the Vanness Pen Shop. They are on line too but they have an wonderful store with pens of every description, paper of all kinds and a huge selection of ink! You will love it and Lisa and Mike!

[MHBru]

Vanness is a dont miss if you're in the area. Anderson just opened a new place in Chicago. Happy shopping

[requiescat]

I went to NYC for vacation a couple weeks ago and a fountain-pen-loving friend treated me to a visit to Fountain Pen Hospital in Manhattan. It was great! I came away with a Pilot Custom 912 with a FA nib, but they also had all sorts of pens: Montblanc, Aurora (I enjoyed looking at the Marte in particular, but couldn't justify another red Aurora when I already own a 75th anniversary; and of course they had the Nebulosa and Saturno, which I liked seeing in person although they weren't for me), Lamy, Pelikan...really I lose track. My friend bought a Sheaffer Balance from their vintage pen selection. And they had a ton of inks--Pilot Iroshizuku, J. Herbin, Noodler's, Private Reserve, I think others.

 

If you're ever in New Orleans, Papier Plume is in the French Quarter (I think?). The selection is smallish, but they are extremely friendly--I remember watching the woman at the counter showing a girl of perhaps eight how to use a dip pen with patience and kindness--and includes Lamy and Cleo Skribent pens, and I once bought a Platinum brush pen with screen-printed maki-e from them. They also have two lines of house inks in a rainbow of colors, including some limited edition ones (I'm sad to have missed out on the Red Beans and Rice LE, as I love red/burgundy/etc. inks). One line is their fountain pens and they have a corresponding line of calligraphy inks for use with dip pens (not with fountain pens).

[Mulrich]

Dromgooles in Houston is the best shop Ive visited.

 

I didnt think Anderson pens in Chicago was that great but it was the best shop in the city. They have a terrific ink selection but not a great pen selection.

[Rindy_Ruth]

Artlite in Atlanta is a very nice local pen/paper/ink store. They skew towards upscale $$$ pens, and also carry a fare share of roller-balls and pencils. But they have a nice selection of the major brands that you would find at any large pen store. I noticed that they also started carrying TWSBI. Just last week I purchased from them a Sailor 1911 large Royal Tangerine - HF for the nice price of $225. Brian, the salesperson told me that he was running a special on them, and they had quite a few. Terrible website, but nice store. They also have several large cases (100+ items) of "demonstrator" writing instruments at significant savings - these are pre-inked or pre-owned and may come without boxes, but you can find some great deals on interesting finds there.

 

Rindy_Ruth

[mtbradley]

Thanks all! I’m keeping a list in the OP above. Would love to hear about other places.

[inkstainedruth]

A few years ago Christmas I went to Bromfield Pen Shop in Boston. The place is small, but had a nice selection. I got my Pilot Metropolitan there, and was able to dip test both an F and an M nib (the stubs weren't on the market at that point), so I could see which I preferred. Also got some ink (including a bottle of the sadly now discontinued Caran d'Ache Grand Canyon on clearance); and a Clairefontaine notebook with the French-ruled (Seyes grid) pages.

For a short while Pittsburgh had Birmingham Pens. But they were small and were in a ritzy neighborhood with expensive and hard to find parking -- and then had plumbing issues with the building. Rumors abound that they are going to re-open somewhere in Cranberry Township (about 25 miles north) but no indications as to when or where -- speculation about a new location has been a major topic of conversation at Steel City Pens meetings for the past year or so....

There are a few other places in the Pittsburgh area that carry a few pens, inks and paper but none of them have the selection Birmingham had. Even Weldin's (an old-time stationers downtown which has (even in their currently tiny location in the Gulf Tower) an actual pen counter. They used to carry some Pelikan/Edelstein, some Private Reserve, and some Noodler's ink -- but the last time I was in there -- over the summer -- they had almost nothing in stock and were waiting on a shipment of the Edelstein inks.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[FOUR X FOUR]

I know that Goulet has a physical location but do they sell out of it?

[pepsiplease69]

I think anderson pens is in Wisconsin.

 

Some of the locations in SF Bay Area are:

 

Castle in the Air in Berkeley

Payns Stationery Berkeley

FLAX art and design in Oakland

 

Elsewhere:

Pendemonium, Kingman Arizona.

Edited September 18, 2018 by pepsiplease69

[sansenri]

This side of the ocean also?

 

If you are in Milano, besides Ercolessi, which has a long history of selling pens, although their shop has now (well since 1992 actually...) moved from the very central Via Vittorio Emanuele, to a less convenient street out of the pedestrian area of downtown (Corso Magenta), my favourite is La Stilografica Milano, in Corso Buenos Aires, a large shopping street which is a prolongation of Corso Venezia which starts in Piazza San Babila, just behind the Duomo.

(It's easily reached by metro, just a few minutes walk from station Lima, on the red line.)

 

It's a nice relatively large shop, which allows you to nose around without immediately asking you what you are looking for.

I have made a few purchases here, including a nice Delta in celluloid, and one of my first Pelikans M400.

[inkstainedruth]

@ FOUR X FOUR -- I think that the Goulets' place is a work location only, not an actual shop. I do remember someone going there to visit a few years ago, but it's not a brick and mortar store, per se, and their business is only online. Ironically, Birmingham Pens started out as online only (as Xfountainpens.com) but changed their name a couple of years ago when the store was opened. One of the things I especially liked was that they did not have higher prices for the brick and mortar store than their online operation -- and that the retail prices in the store were comparable to other e-sellers.

@ pepsiplease69 -- Anderson Pens' first store is/was in Wisconsin. They recently opened a location in Chicago (not sure if it's a second store, but that was the impression I got when they announced it).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ThomasB]

+1 on Papier Plume in New Orleans. Been there several times and the people are great...When in Houston, go to Dromgooles

[krishnananda]

North Bethesda, MD: Bertram's Inkwell. A little hard to find since it is inside an office building, across from the now-demolished White Flint Mall. It's really their mail-order office, but they are in a storefront in the lobby, and love walk-ins. Huge collection of pens and inks, including some hard to gind limited editions like the Visconti Copernicus.

 

Washington, DC: Fahrney's. Downtown, near the Treasury Department.

[bobje]

In Tokyo, the mecca of stationery meccas, you have many choices. Itoya is an entire building with another annex building.

[FOUR X FOUR]

@ FOUR X FOUR -- I think that the Goulets' place is a work location only, not an actual shop. I do remember someone going there to visit a few years ago, but it's not a brick and mortar store, per se, and their business is only online. Ironically, Birmingham Pens started out as online only (as Xfountainpens.com) but changed their name a couple of years ago when the store was opened. One of the things I especially liked was that they did not have higher prices for the brick and mortar store than their online operation -- and that the retail prices in the store were comparable to other e-sellers.

@ pepsiplease69 -- Anderson Pens' first store is/was in Wisconsin. They recently opened a location in Chicago (not sure if it's a second store, but that was the impression I got when they announced it).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Thanx Ruth.

[ajoe]

Bertram's Inkwell, Rockville MD

 

Fahrney's Pens, Washinton DC

[DasKaltblut]

The only brick and mortar pen shop I've been to is Akkerman in the Hague. But oh my, what a place!

[Mulrich]

Goulet mentioned in a video they cant allow customers for insurance reasons.

 

I seem to remember a good place in downtown Vancouver but am blanking on the name. Edit: its called the Vancouver Pen Shop.

 

Does anyone have recommendations for Paris? Ill be there this weekend and would love finding a good shop.

Edited September 19, 2018 by Mulrich

[inkstainedruth]

Mulrich's talking about Vancouver reminded me of Wonder Pens in Toronto. I was there a few years ago. It was a bit hard to find but the guy working there was very nice, and I got a bottle of Noodler's Blues Upon the Plains of Abraham and some very silly paperclips that looked like little cats.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth