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Brick And Mortar Meccas?


mtbradley

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Did anyone mention Dromgoole's in Houston?

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

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Amber: I'm pretty sure that Dromgoole's has already been mentioned.

 

From the Glenn's Pens great shops list already linked to, I must stump for Origami Ink in Asheville, NC. Jonathan is an enthusiast, and he's more than happy to put a pen in your hand. He always has a Safari or Al-Star tester inked up at the register counter, and a fair selection of Faber-Castell, Lamy, Pilot, Noodler's, and other pens, lots of pretty stationery, and Noodler's, Faber Castell, J. Herbin, and Iroshizuku inks.

 

Please support him. If he doesn't leave his front door propped open during business hours, people mistake his shop for an annex of the Well-Bred Cafe, next door.

Edited by Arkanabar
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fpn_1542527466__img_4700.jpg

 

Not sure about Mecca, certainly there are both in Riyadh and Jeddah.

I used to travel to Saudi on business quite often (at least once a year) several years ago.

There are so many things you cannot do in Saudi, but certainly shopping is one thing you can.

Shopping malls were present there long before we started seeing them here in Europe (where the smaller shops tend to resist), if nothing else because if you build shops inside a mall and aircondition the whole place, life is much easier.

(I would typically go during October on occasion of a local expo, and average temperature I recall around 43°C (110° F)).

Saudis love luxury, so most pen shops are Montblanc boutiques. But I also recall one smaller shop selling mint Parker 51s.

Gold souks are incredible places, whole streets of jewerly shops, one after the other endlessly, with shop windows full of 21k gold jewelry, and all the doors open, no alarms, nothing... you just walk in, look, buy, walk out. Like a grocery store...

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  • 3 months later...

Should anyone find themselves in south central Pennsylvania, and/or within driving distance of York, Pippi's Pen Shoppe is definitely worth the visit.

 

[instagram: @pippis_pen_shoppe]

 

The proprietor has limited hours (currently, 10-4pm Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays) and almost no web presence, but the small shop(pe) itself is chock-full of pens, inks, and ephemera-- a truly old-style Emporium! In addition to stocking some of the newest releases from modern companies, the store regularly features auction/estate finds and various other stationery and office supplies from the days of yore. You never know what you might spot in a nook or cranny, of which there are many.

 

A fun stop!

 

~ S.

 

 

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Papier Plume is a great one to visit. You can make a whole day out of exploring the french quarter in New Orleans, and stop in along the way.

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I do envy you in the States, all those awesome pen stores!

 

I'm not sure what else there is in the UK but how about The Writing Desk in Bury St Edmunds? It's a bit out of the way for all you Americans - and for quite a few Brits too but it's my local and they're very good.

 

Of course they have a website too but the bricks and mortar store is a great place to browse if you get out to Bury St Edmunds. I'm currently trying to avoid it at the moment because whenever I go in I buy something new and I'm trying to save up for something special so the least I can do is point other customers their way. Check the website for opening times though - they're not usually open at weekends though if you're coming a distance I'm sure they'll be flexible. Good selection of pens, loads of ink and some nice notebooks.

 

Another suggestion is Present & Correct in London (not visited in person but love their website) for artfully arranged vintage-style stationery - more stationery than pens as such but worth a visit if you're in London.

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In fact there are luggage and perfume shops in Mecca which sell luxury goods like fountain pens. Theres a store called Gazzaz at the Hilton next to the grand mosque where I stopped in to check what they had.

 

They had a lot of montblancs and pricey items. When I asked them for what the cheapest item they had available, they showed me a Waterman Phileas or similar.

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Perhaps my very favorite B&M shop is in Taipei, Taiwan - T. Y. Lee's Pen shop. Be sure to Google it, as it can be challenging to find. The prices are good and on par with most, but the ink and paper prices were very reasonable.

 

Also Glenns Pens website highlights some great pens stores: http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/storesofnote/index.html

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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Peyton street pens 239 Peyton St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, États-Unis very friendly and nice batch of vintage and second hand pens

Morastylos in France Rue de Tournon in Paris. very friendly and nice batch of vintage and second hand pens

Empire de l'écriture, Rue Haute 3, 2013 Milvignes, Suisse very friendly and nice batch of vintage and second hand pens

Pens are like watches , once you start a collection, you can hardly go back. And pens like all fine luxury items do improve with time

 

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Peyton street pens 239 Peyton St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, États-Unis very friendly and nice batch of vintage and second hand pens

Morastylos in France Rue de Tournon in Paris. very friendly and nice batch of vintage and second hand pens

Empire de l'écriture, Rue Haute 3, 2013 Milvignes, Suisse very friendly and nice batch of vintage and second hand pens

 

Alas, we are not a brick and mortar store. Online sales and the San Francisco Pen Show only!

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My favorite place in the US is Pierritz Bros in Oak Park, IL. They're on South & Ridgeland, right across from the el. They have a small selection of new and vintage pens, ink and decent paper. Not a big place, but they have the essentials. As far as selection and variety go, Fountain Pen Hospital is the best US store that i know of.

 

I'll add a couple good ones that haven't been mentioned yet : Nota Bene in Montreal & Maruzen in Tokyo.

 

We've lost a couple in the past few years : Daly's in Milwaukee is now an eBay store & Court Street Office Supply in Brooklyn went under. I would rather avoid buying ink online, so i like to use local stores if possible.

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+1 to T.Y Lee in Taipei, great selection of Japanese pens and large selection of inks!

In Hong Kong, Hop Cheung Pens and Lighters shop and Winners Pen Shop. Very small shops but surprisingly well stocked. Very good prices too

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My favorite is Fahrneys, my hometown store. Nice people behind the counter and you can always dip a pen and try it out. They also have a website where you can see whats in stock before you visit.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

In addition to the places already mentioned for the San Francisco area, there is also a Montblanc

boutique downtown, and a store similar perhaps to the one mentioned already in NYC: called Maido,

it's in the Japantown Mall near Geary and Fillmore, 2nd floor across from Kinokuniya bookstore. Lots

of Japanese paper, hundreds of kinds of ballpoint and gel ink pens and pencils, but also a small

but interesting selection of mostly Japanese fountain pens. Best, perhaps, is their selection of

inks, including some that you normally can't get in the US even by mail order (like the Sailor

numbered 100 inks). They also have non-Japanese inks I believe.

 

Regarding Flax art supply in Oakland, I'm told they have very few actual fountain pens and they may

not be worth the trip. I plan to try the stationery stores mentioned in Berkeley, and I'll stop in

at Flax too, and report back about their selection.

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In addition to the places already mentioned for the San Francisco area, there is also a Montblanc

boutique downtown, and a store similar perhaps to the one mentioned already in NYC: called Maido,

it's in the Japantown Mall near Geary and Fillmore, 2nd floor across from Kinokuniya bookstore. Lots

of Japanese paper, hundreds of kinds of ballpoint and gel ink pens and pencils, but also a small

but interesting selection of mostly Japanese fountain pens. Best, perhaps, is their selection of

inks, including some that you normally can't get in the US even by mail order (like the Sailor

numbered 100 inks). They also have non-Japanese inks I believe. Staff is friendly,

but not all of them are at all knowledgeable about fountain pens.

 

Regarding Flax art supply in Oakland, I'm told they have very few actual fountain pens and they may

not be worth the trip. I plan to try the stationery stores mentioned in Berkeley, and I'll stop in

at Flax too, and report back about their selection.

Edited by Paul-in-SF
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Pen Boutique in Columbia, MD (between Baltimore & Washington) has an excellent assortment of pens, inks, and some paper.

 

When I visited them 5 or so years ago, they were smaller and tended towards upscale pens. The Pilot Metropolitan had just come out and, when I asked if they planned to stock it, was politely told that it was beneath them. I stopped in a few weeks ago and they are twice the size with nearly every modern pen you could want, from Pilot disposables to Mont Blancs. I believe their last addition is the Benu line.

 

Definitely a store for enthusiasts now as well as the person who wants an impressive signature pen.

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