Link Love: The Sad News Edition

This week has been full of stationery melancholy following a stream of news from around the community.

CW Pencils Sidewalk Sale

First, CW Pencils held a sidewalk sale over the weekend as a final farewell to their brick and mortar days. The website is still up so if there was ever a pencil you wanted, now is the time to buy. Items are selling out fast.

Papier Plume ink recall

Then, I received an email from Patrick at Papier Plume informing me that there was an issue with some of their inks. He was able to quickly identify which inks have issues and when they were produced and is offering to replace any bottles. This will be a sizable expense for a small business and I worry how much of a burden this will be to Papier Plume’s finances. Most small businesses have little expendable income. Please, if you have a bottle of this ink you would like replaced, try to pool your request with friends to cut down on the shipping charges (especially since we have entered the USPS’s increased shipping rate season). If you can wait, find out if Papier Plume will be attending a pen show near you soon and exchange your ink then — and also make a new purchase or two.

Next, a blog post from Pencil Talk appeared letting the stationery community know that long-time pencil blog Contrapuntalism created by Sean Malone is gone.

NockCo email

Finally, I received an email on Monday that NockCo was closing. While I know that Brad has many other projects in the works, the products developed at NockCo created a new category of pen and stationery cases that other makers will continue to refine and develop. So, while NockCo will no longer exist as a business entity, the influence that they had on the stationery community will live on.

On the heels of hearing that these stationery businesses are closing or are dealing with product difficulties, I am more committed than ever to try to save the ones we have left. If you believe in these businesses and shops like them, please continue to support them. (Side note: Jeff Bezos does not need anymore of your money.)

And, now for our regularly scheduled Link Love….

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Other Interesting Things:

We need each other. Please support our sponsors and affiliates. Your patronage will let them know you appreciate their support of the pen community. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

Written by

2 comments / Add your comment below

  1. Thank you for this reminder that we need to patronize small businesses if we want to keep them going. I was about to purchase a bottle of ink – it’s one dollar less plus “free” shipping for Prime subscribers if I buy through Mr. Bezos’ company, or I can purchase it from a small shop that needs my business. It’s not like I need that ink tomorrow, but I do need those small businesses to exist.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.