Pencils, Pens, Paper

Perhaps every teacher loves stationery— clips, folders, pencils, pens, erasers, and notebooks. Every year before school began I found myself roaming the aisles of stores dedicated to aficionados. Unfortunately many of the stores that catered to stationery lovers found their client base shrinking. Apps replaced paper. Of course all those items were still available at box stores or on line— but nothing replaces the feel of paper. Is the paper coarse, smooth, will it bleed when using a fountain pen?

Fortunately there is a store close by that , while not dedicated to only stationery items, still has an array of good paper notebooks.

So when the CW Pencils opened up a storefront store in New York City I was delighted. Recently they started carrying mechanical pencils. I never knew that “ the most iconic surviving mechanical pencil company is Autopoint, which was founded in 1919 in Chicago.”

And they are not only surviving, but doing well. A field trip calls.

I discovered that there are numerous people who eschew ball points, roller pens et al and love fountain pens. Back a bit I discovered an online pen store that carries a wide variety of pens and inks. The owners are young and knowledgeable. There are videos showing everything from the component parts to how to clean pens. Inks are analyzed and charts show the difference between brands when looking at specific colors. You can order samples of colors.

And when you order anything and open the package you find a book mark, thank you card with the packer’s name and a lollipop—and of course what you ordered.

And keeping with social media there’s an active pen and ink artists group on Facebook. Checking in there is akin to finding soulmates.