Pens in Vancouver, BC

[elena]

I will be visiting Vancouver this summer, staying on Robson St. I know there are many pen stores, and am seeking personal recommendations on any.

 

Oh, and I also love stationery.

 

Thanks, elena

[Maja]

I will be visiting Vancouver this summer, staying on Robson St. I know there are many pen stores, and am seeking personal recommendations on any.

 

Oh, and I also love stationery.

 

Thanks, elena

Hi Elena,

Sorry I didn't see your post---work is very busy and I don't have a lot of time for FPN lately....

 

Well, anyway, I am copying what I just sent you via PM in case there are other people who are coming to our beautiful city as tourists (or perhaps new residents!):

 

You're quite fortunate because there are no less than 4 pen stores in the heart of downtown Vancouver!

 

(a.) The Vancouver Pen Shop - 512 West Hastings St.

(b.) Charals - in the Sinclair Center mall- 757 West Hastings St (just 2 blocks from (A)!

(c.) Perks - in the Bentall Center Mall (corner of W. Pender and Burrard)

(d.) La Swiss -in the Pacific Center Mal (the shop is in the part of the mall that is on the corner of Granville and W. Georgia)

 

If you go to www.mapquest.com, you can see how close they are to each other.

 

If you decide to go to North Vancouver via Seabus (transit) and get out at Lonsdale Quay--a popular tourist destination on the waterfront--there is a Perks store there too. Also, there is one across from Oakridge Mall in central Vancouver, which is south of downtown (website for that store is www.perksperks.com ) . As far as I know, that Perks near Oakridge is the only one that carries Noodler's Inks (it's the store where we have been holding our pen club meetings lately)

I don't think there is any other store in the Vancouver area that carries Noodler's. Oh, and there is a La Swiss store in Richmond Center mall, but that is in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver.

 

As far as downtown goes, (a.) and (b.) had the largest # of pens for sale, but (c.) and (d.) are so close, too. Not sure about the type of paper they sell (I'm not really a paper person :embarrassed_smile: ) but I did see Clarefontaine, Rhodia, etc at the Vancouver Pen Shop and some Letts stationery at LaSwiss in the Pacific Center mall.

 

Glenn Marcus has a great site with info on pen stores around the world ( http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/index.html ) but he doesn't have the LaSwiss stores listed and he only mentions one Perks store.

 

Hope this helps,

~Maja

[goldkiwi]

Hi Elena,

 

To add to Maja's suggestions, I would recommend Paper-Ya on Granville Island, as they have (as the name suggestions) some interesting notebooks and stationery, as well as a small selection of fountain pens, inks (J. Herbin), sealing wax, and seals. The Essence du Papier located in Sears in Pacific Centre also carries a selection of pens, inks (Herbin, Waterman, Lamy?), and Crane's stationery.

 

My personal preference for pen/ink/paper shopping in downtown would be the Vancouver Pen Shop, as it's fun to just spend some time looking around. Personally I would not really recommend the Perk's in Lonsdale Quay (North Vancouver) as they only have Lamy ink, their pen selection didn't really excite me (but your interests may vary!) and the clerk was rather condescending and seemed uninterested in helping me, but the one near Oakridge Centre in Vancouver is great, and the owner is very friendly and easy to talk to. The staff at the Vancouver Pen Shop are also very helpful.

 

A word of warning though- if you're travelling here from outside of Canada, it might not be the most cost-effective shopping experience, unfortunately. In most of these places, the relative strength of the Canadian dollar isn't reflected in the pricing so unless it's something that you can't get elsewhere, the prices might be a turn off.

 

Sabrina

[elena]

Thank you both for the shopping tips. There are no pen stores here in Hawaii, so I am excited to see any.

 

Mahalo,

elena

[Maja]

Hi Elena,

 

To add to Maja's suggestions, I would recommend Paper-Ya on Granville Island, as they have (as the name suggestions) some interesting notebooks and stationery, as well as a small selection of fountain pens, inks (J. Herbin), sealing wax, and seals. The Essence du Papier located in Sears in Pacific Centre also carries a selection of pens, inks (Herbin, Waterman, Lamy?), and Crane's stationery.

 

My personal preference for pen/ink/paper shopping in downtown would be the Vancouver Pen Shop, as it's fun to just spend some time looking around. Personally I would not really recommend the Perk's in Lonsdale Quay (North Vancouver) as they only have Lamy ink, their pen selection didn't really excite me (but your interests may vary!) and the clerk was rather condescending and seemed uninterested in helping me, but the one near Oakridge Centre in Vancouver is great, and the owner is very friendly and easy to talk to. The staff at the Vancouver Pen Shop are also very helpful.

 

A word of warning though- if you're travelling here from outside of Canada, it might not be the most cost-effective shopping experience, unfortunately. In most of these places, the relative strength of the Canadian dollar isn't reflected in the pricing so unless it's something that you can't get elsewhere, the prices might be a turn off.

 

Sabrina

 

Hi Sabrina,

Thanks for adding to my list (I told you I wasn't a paper person! :lol:)

I actually bought a pen from Paper-Ya on Granville Island---a red Schneider "Base" pen---but, as you mentioned, their selection is pretty limited. I've never been to the Essence du Papier store downtown, so I'll have to make sure I stop in one day.

Re: prices---I agree with you 100% there. Buying pens from a US online retailer (even taking into account shipping to Hawaii, where Elena resides) or US brick & mortar shops that offer some discounted pricing is definitely cheaper than buying locally here in Vancouver in my experience. I have and will continue to buy pens from local brick & mortar stores, though, as I want to support them financially, but when I do buy something it is usually ink and/or accessories.

 

Oh, and if you do decide to go to Victoria, BC (on Vancouver Island), there is a pen store near "antiques row" (the latter is on Fort St.) called Simply the Best. Check to make sure they are open before you plan a special trip there, though, as they might not be open (even if their store sign indicates otherwise )

[Sky Fountain Pens]

There is also Opus, on Granville island, they usually have a selection of inks and pens but the selection is small and they have only(?) Lamy pens. (In my experience)