Pentrace Reporter Glenn Craig visits
London's pen shops prior to the London 2014 LWES Pen Show.
Selfridges
Wed Oct 1 2014
Today we left
the flat and walked to Selfridges. It is about 2 kms from home.
This is a grand department store.
There are many wonderful
rooms full of everything you can imagine including pens. They even
have wonderful washrooms! Here are some photos of the pen dept.
From high end to low price there is something for everyones
budget.
Jo waits patiently...
Wed
Oct 1 - Pen Friend London
Just off the very high end
Bond St. shopping district and Piccadilly St. is one of the oldest
enclosed shopping malls in Europe. The Burlington Arcade still
retains its original Victorian look and charm, a must see in London!
Just inside the entrance is Penfriend a real favourite of
mine.....truly a real find for vintage and modern pens!
Plus
they carry every sort of ink, refills, paper and other pen related
items one could ever hope for.
Here we meet Amaya and her other very
knowledgeable and friendly staff members. They believe pens are for
writing with and not just for collecting. They will assist any
potential client to just the right pen for their needs.
Their vintage pens are professionally
restored and guaranteed to satisfy.
Amaya is lamenting the
recent closure of Conway Stewart ! Penfriend did very well with the
brand; people including myself loved the traditional styling
,colours, finish and the smooth soft flexible nibs.....a real loss
to the British pen scene. Amaya hopes as do I that someone may
takeover the brand...there have been some rumours....but?
We had a nice visit with Amaya in her
busy wonderful store and we appreciate her taking time with us ,
what great fun !
Tomorrow we shall visit her again at their other store on 17 Fleet
St.
Stay tuned and
cheers, Glenn
Glenn Craig reports
from London - another Pen Friend store
Introduced by
Len Provisor
Wow! Glenn really likes Fleet
Street's Pen Friend, his report follows with a visit to their second
store in London.
Today, we wondered from Trafalger Square up The Strand to the
powerful Fleet St. Where we find the 2 year old second location
of Penfriend at 17 Fleet St.
Amaya bought Penfriend 7 years ago.
She opened this beautiful second very spacious store 2 years ago. I just missed the opening by a couple weeks in 2012 when we
were in London last.
Our first reaction when seeing this
store was the space. This much space in London is a rarity! This
store is a wonderful mix of modern and vintage design...... just
like the pens that are on offer. Of course you can find fine
papers, refills, inks, and other writing related items. Located
right beside Middle Temple Gate, this is a popular place for
barristers and solicitors to purchase their writing needs.
Also on offer is a pen repair service. Need your nib tuned or sac replaced or crack repaired they
will look after it for you. Again the staff is friendly,
knowledgeable and are willing to help or they will leave you
free to browse for as long as you wish. There is plenty to see
and spacious room to see it in!
Whether you are pen lover or
not, 17 Fleet St. is a joy to behold!
Cheery bye for today! Glenn
Thurs Oct 3 - The Pen Shop on Regent
Street
Standing on the sidewalk outside the
Slug n'Lettuce or inside the noisy pub The Tyburn by Marble Arch
on Edgware Road trying to find free wifi and writing these
little reviews on a 7 inch tablet is difficult with my ham
hands. So please bear with me..... I shall try to keep it short
and not to filled with grammatical errors.
I missed this
store the other day when on Regent St. I turned too soon
toward Bond St.
I am glad too see The Pen Shop still
as busy as ever!
I visit this store at least a couple of
times per London visit. A good place to buy pens, inks, refills
or paper. Why I missed it the other day..... I chalk up to a
Senior's moment.... or something?
Right across the street from the
World famous Hamleys Toys, The Pen Sop on Regent Street is a
good place for interesting pens from budget price to high-end
pieces.
Enjoy, I know I did!
Thurs Oct 3 - Fortnum & Mason
London
Leaving the Burlington
Arcade you enter Piccadilly St. Directly across the
street is the venerable department store Fortnum and Mason. They
are famous for their food court and hampers. Mrs Pumphrey used
to love to give Mr. James Herriott a large hamper for curing
Tricky Woo of flop bot. I am sure some of you creatures great
and small know what I am talking about?
On the first floor, think
second floor, is the small but elegant pen dept. Also a good
size stationery is next door.
Last trip there in 2012 I paid
full price for a Yard-o-Led Retro Grande fountain pen. When a
clerk serves you in a pin stripe top coat with tails.... it is
hard to refuse!
You will find this small and and well
stocked pen counter a little bit of a nostagic step back in
time.
After we left Fortnum and Mason we
scouted out pens at a local flea market but there were no pens
to be had. So we stopped at a Costa's for free WiFi and a couple
of 3 pound iced caps. I think I owe Jo a few favours for
trooping around with me and taking photos!!!
Cheers for today! Glenn
and Jo
Read Part 1 of this report
Read Part 3 of this report
