NYC Stationery Tour 2016

I don't have a review or anything for you all this weekend, but if you've been following along on Instagram, you'll know I've been posting some photos of my trip to New York City, including the various - and all too brief - stationery shopping stops I've made around town.  Today is my "free day," so I'll have more time to explore. Stay tuned. I should have some good stuff to show off later this week. 

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Kinokuniya Bookstore has the full array of Midori Travelers Notebooks and refills. 

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And, of course, I stopped by C.W. Pencil Enterprise on the Lower East Side.  This is an older picture. Unfortunately I couldn't take a new one because their outside storefront is under construction. 

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A view of the Freedom Tower from outside my hotel in Battery Park City

For further reading, please check out my Top 5 Stationery Stores in New York City post from last year. If I run across anything new, I will be updating this list in the coming weeks. 

Weekend Update: This Week's Travel Kit

Apologies that the blog's a bit light on content--I just finished a long, work-related travel weekend that saw me make a run from Nashville to New York City on Thursday, from New York to Chicago on Friday, and return home from Chicago on Sunday.  Multiple cities on a short itinerary exhausts me; hence this brief recap.  An inveterate tinkerer and gear nut, one thing I aways do after a trip is evaluate my "travel kit" that I carry.  My kit from this trip:  

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From left:  Kum-Palomino long point two-hole sharpener; Tombow Sand Eraser; Uni Kuru-Toga Mechanical Pencil (0.5mm); Tombow 2558 (B); Palomino Forest Choice Pencil; Pilot Hi-Tec-C in orange (.4mm); Baron Fig Confidant; and Baron Fig Apprentice.  Not Pictured:  Lamy 2000 Ballpoint, review on the way.  In the background:  a couple Kum single-hole magnesium long-point sharpeners I picked up at Kinokuniya.  

Trying to figure out how to work pencils back into my life, I didn't travel with any fountain pens this time.  Pencils are great for travel:  no need to worry about leaking, spilling, blobbing, etc.  I've never had many problems traveling with fountain pens, but sometimes it's just nice to not have that nagging thought in the back of your mind.  My travel gear may be pencil-heavy for the foreseeable future.  Oh, and if you're in the market for a ballpoint pen, I will be reviewing the Lamy 2000 ballpoint soon.  For those situations where you find yourself in an overcrowded hotel conference room having to write in a pocket notebook balanced on your knee, the ballpoint pen is perfect, and the Lamy 2000 is among the best I've used.

But all work trips have some downtime, and during the Thursday afternoon lull in my itinerary I walked down to the Lower East Side to grab 20 minutes or so in C.W. Pencil Enterprise, where I picked up a few things: 

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From the top: Viarco Desenho B (No. 1); Tombow 2B triangular pencil (mini jumbo); Viarco Eco HB (No. 2); Tombow Mono 4B; and Triangular Mitsubishi Penmanship Pencil (4B).  Yes, I exercised some self-restraint. 

The Mitsubishi 4B Penmanship pencil could become a new favorite.  Time will tell whether it sticks in the rotation, but for a 4B pencil, smearing is minimal and it's quite possibly the smoothest writing pencil I have ever used.  I also have a thing for thick cores in a normal-sized pencil, especially with quality graphite that can sharpen to a long point.  This one fits the bill. Thanks to Caitlin and everyone else in the shop who makes stopping there such an enjoyable experience!  

DISCLAIMER:  All products reviewed in this post were purchased with my own funds, for my own use. 

A Drinking Town with a Writing Problem

Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Robert Frost, Shel Silverstein, Jimmy Buffet… do you see a trend here?  At some point all of these writers lived in, or spent significant time in, Key West, Florida.  We’ve technically not been staying in Key West itself.  With a young child, it’s not practical (i.e., too expensive) to rent enough space in Key West proper, so we’re a few miles up the Overseas Highway in a very nice little house in the lower Florida Keys, on the water.     

There’s a reason people who like to write migrate down here.  The pace of life is much slower.  It’s easy to concentrate.  I’ve written more this week than I have in the past month.  I’m on vacation, but I’m actually inspired to work for a few hours each morning.  The one disappointment I have, and one that’s been echoed by some locals I’ve spoken with, is that there really is a "writing problem," as the town of Key West itself loses its flavor as a literary town and becomes more commercialized and corporate.  Key West always has been a tourist destination, but I’ve noticed a marked difference from even five or six years ago.  Many of the old standby “classic” Keys restaurants have taken on that “chain restaurant” feel and are now serving what is obviously frozen seafood.  Since 2011, three bookshops have closed, and a town with the literary tradition of Key West threatens to be left without a bookstore.  

But all that aside, there’s still a distinct “writerly” vibe here, Some things to do (besides write) if you ever get to spend time in one of my favorite places on earth: 

• Drink.  This goes without saying.  There are approximately 400 places to buy alcohol in a two square mile radius.  
• Visit the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum.  Hemingway spent 10 years living and writing in Key West, from 1931 to 1940, when he moved to Cuba.  The house itself was built in 1851 and has a colorful history.    
• Sloppy Joe’s Bar.  The bar that has made millions billing itself as the place where Hemingway drank.    
• Captain Tony's Saloon (aka, “The Original Sloppy Joe’s,” 1933-1937.  The building allegedly is a former city morgue.) From what I can tell, the bar now called Captain Tony's is probably the place where Hemingway really drank (or at least the place where you’d like to envision Hemingway drinking).  There’s a great article here on an ongoing dispute between these two fine establishments, though knowing my own personal preferences, I'd probably have one hell of a night at Captain Tony’s, while at Sloppy Joe’s you might find yourself debating the merits of respective cruise line all-you-can-eat buffets with the guy on the next bar stool.)    
• If you visit Key West in early January, attend the Key West Literary Seminar.  
• Go fishing.  Boats advertising charters are everywhere.  
• Read.  But soon you may have to bring your own books.  Shockingly, Key West Island Books is the last bookstore left in Key West.      
• Just do nothing.  I've been doing a lot of this.  

And for those of you who will inevitably ask, no, there's not a pen store, but if I ever decide to hang up this lawyer gig, it's not out of the question.  

View From My Back Deck.

A little cloudy, but I'll take it. 

Captain Tony's Saloon

"The Original Sloppy Joe's"? 

Photo courtesy of Sam Howzit. Licensed via Creative Commons.

Sloppy Joe's Bar

The "New" Sloppy Joe's Bar.  

Photo courtesy of Eric Kilby. Licensed via Creative Commons.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy New Year Everyone!  Other than the head cold that just wouldn't die, my Holidays were outstanding and I hope yours were too.  For our first post of the year, I refer you to On Fountain Pens for the "12 Days of Christmas" series, to which Maybelline graciously asked me to contribute.  Please visit her site, and especially this most recent project, which includes submissions from: 

• Alt. Haven
• Pete Denison
• Fountain Pen Day 
• No Pen Intended

and many others!  

Link Here. 

Washington D.C. Fountain Pen Supershow 2014

Yesterday I booked my hotel room and plane tickets for the 2014 Washington D.C. Fountain Pen Supershow, held August 7-10 at the Sheraton Premiere in Tyson's Corner.  The D.C. Show's traditional website can be found here, but lately most of the updates have been on the facebook page. 

So why should you take the plunge and go?  Because this year it looks as if an All-Star cast of pendom will be in attendance, including:

• Brian and Lisa Anderson of Anderson Pens
• Richard Binder
• Bryant Greer of Chatterley Luxuries and Pentime
• Brian Gray of Edison Pens
• Vanness Pens with their bottles of Akkerman Ink, and they will be accompanied this year by penmaker and nibmeister Shawn Newton
• Fountain Pen Hospital from NYC, which typically holds a huge vintage pen and parts blowout sale on Friday
• Total Fine Writing from Atlanta
• Pendemonium
• Nibs.com (although John Mottishaw will not be in attendance--apparently they will be taking orders and Mr. Mottishaw will be adjusting nibs remotely and mailing pens home)
• Write Notepads
• Sarj Minhas, the One-Man Pen Show
• Stipula

And many, many more that I've not included here, simply because I don't have space.  This will be the third DC Pen Show I've attended.  The first year I was there (2012), I was privileged to witness Eric Schneider (formerly of FPGeeks) and SBRE Brown storm the ballroom in full-on tuxedos.  I also picked up a Montblanc 146 and a Stipula Etruria at ridiculously steep discounts.  2013 was a good show, but I don't recall it being as well attended as 2012.  I bought mainly ink and some parts to restore some vintage pens I was working on. 

So why should you attend? Well, the full-on pen geek immersion factor is something you really can't get anywhere else, except for maybe the L.A. show, which I have not attended (yet).  The DC show is the largest, with two huge ballrooms and a third lobby area full of pens.  You can meet all sorts of interesting people who are eager to tell you about anything pen related.  Second, the opportunity to shop for pens, ink, and paper in person is unavailable anywhere else.  The option to "try before you buy" and to save on shipping is great, especially if you live within driving distance.  Finally, it offers you a chance to prioritize:  with the opportunity to try so many different pens/ink/paper, you can comparison shop and determine what you love and can't live without, as opposed to things you merely "like," end up not using and regret purchasing later.  Assuming you have (1) a budget, and (2) self-control (there are many people there with neither), you can make more informed purchases instead of internet impulse buys.  

And, finally, no trip is complete without a late-night run to Ben's Chili Bowl, which may even top the Pen Show.  See you in August!  Please get in touch if you will be there and want to meet up.