A necklace pencil sharpener in a lovely red enamel heart? What’s not to love? It’s on sale. $14.99
(via Modcloth)
Field Trip: Daly’s Pen Shop in Milwaukee
While on the road this week, we got to make another stop. This time, we got to visit the legendary Daly’s Pen Shop in Milwaukee, WI. Daly’s has been in business since 1924. The location has changed but its one of the oldest pen shops in the US. Its a lovely shop filled with all the lots of great stuff including a wide variety of pens, inks and paper. The owner Brad Bodart was friendly, helpful and patient with all my questions.
The first thing I gravitated toward was this vintage Sheaffer case. The bottom row are mostly vintage Esterbrooks. The beautiful Parker Duofold on the right on the middle shelf is actually a reproduction with a ballpoint from the 70s. It explained the $35 price!
Across the back wall of the shop was a fabulous vintage Parker Duofold clock with 1920s-style tortoiseshell celluloid frame and framed original trolley car advertisements.
Sheaffer custom-built this glass and aluminum display case for Daly’s with grooves to hold pens and a secret cubby to store inks (Skrip, of course!). When the shop relocated over the years, this is one of the items that they always made sure was moved to the new location. They also moved a wooden case that runs the length of one wall full or narrow drawers to hold pens, ink and accessories.
The Daly’s advertising calendar behind the cash register is fabulous and I was tickled that it hadn’t been changed since my birthday. Brad said that he always knocked it off the wall while trying to change out the date cards so he had stopped chainging it. He promised to leave it my birthday for awhile so if you go in, check and see if its still up.
In the front corner of the store was a case full of vintage ink bottles. I love the labels! I particularly like the box of vintage Quink “reproduces best for V-Mail” box. Amazing.
The billboard was actually a framed photo but I like to pretend that we passed it on our way in to Milwaukee. Of course, now most of Daly’s business in online. I got a peek in the backroom with shelves of pens and accessories for their massive online shop.
If you didn’t see it, there was an audio interview with Daly’s Pens on NPR in November 2013. Its worth a listen.
Thanks, Daly’s Pen Shop! We’ll be back to visit soon!
Field Notes Field Trip!
Yesterday, Bryan at Field Notes/Coudal Partners kindly toured us around the world headquarters (AKA their offices in Chicago). We had great time and got to take a peek at the inner workings of Field Notes. It was an all-access pass and I am so thankful that Bryan took time out of his busy schedule to humor me.
Ready for some pictures?
Bryan greeted us at the door, ready to show off all the fabulousness that is Coudal and Field Notes.
Behind the door, was the front desk and sales counter for walk-in customers and pick-up orders. Its a really pretty work space.
Bob peruses some of the leather covers available from Field Notes while I just ogle.
We got to see some of the uncut press sheets from the Arts & Sciences edition. It’s so good to see how much attention to detail they take to get the Field Notes Colors Editions just right.
In the stockroom are piles and piles of the County Fair editions which are some of my favorites. I have sets from every state I’ve lived in.
In the shipping area are bins filled with individual County Fair books for the Road Trip kit.
The packing area is efficient and well-organized and the team was busy packing up orders.
Bins filled with the Arts & Sciences edition buttons sat prominently on the counter in Well-Appointed Desk-approved green bins.
Totally industrial looking stenciled boxed lined the walls.
I had a great time and Bryan was to ally patient with us. Thanks for a great tour!
Expect to find a thank you note in THIS mailbox soon!
Link Love: Text Messages
This week’s Link of the Week has to be the handwritten text messages. The link was sent to me by my friend Chris P. and has me wondering if I should challenge myself to text or tweet all handwritten this week. Are you with me?
I Sent All My Text Messages in Calligraphy for a Week (via The Atlantic)
Pens & Ink:
- Pilot Iroshizuku Yama Budo (via Alt. haven)
- Kaweco Paradise Blue Ink (via Pens! Paper! Pencils!)
- Now & Then Eco-Essential Pen & Pencil Set (via The Pencil Case Blog)
- Organics Studio Blue Merle Ink Review (via The Pen Addict)
- The Field Notes Bic Clic (via From The Pen Cup)
- Sailor 1911 Black Luster M Nib Fountain Pen (via Clicky Post)
- Diplomat Optimist Rhombus Fountain Pen (via Inkdependence)
- Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen (via The Pen Habit)
- Kaweco Allrounder Fountain Pen (via My Pen Needs Ink)
Pencils:
- Flic Your Bic Pencil Sharpener (via Fancy)
- Tombow Zoom 505 Mechanical Pencil 0.5 mm Brown (via No Pen Intended)
- Worther Shorty Clutch Pencil (via Pens! Paper! Pencils!)
- Monteverde One Touch Tool Mechanical Pencil (via The Writing Arsenal)
- A Pencil Addict’s Survival Kit (via The Writing Arsenal)
- Sun-Star Safety Pencil Knife (via Pencil Revolution)
Paper:
- Gallery Leather Oporto Journal (via Pencil Revolution)
- Gallery Leather Oporto Journal (via Woodclinched)
- Rhodia Ice 80th Anniversary Notepad (via Ed Jelley)
- Baron Fig Road Test and Quick Tips (via Modern Stationer)
Everything Else:
- Sidekick Pen Holder (formerly known as the PenLoop) (via Gourmet Pens)
- The Rest of the Nock Co Kickstarter Pen Cases (via FP Quest)
- El Casco Chrome Tape Dispenser (via Better Living Through Design)
- Kesito Desktop Organizer (via Better Living Through Design)
- Dress Your Tech (via DesignLoveFest)
- Modern Mailboxes (via Better Living Through Design)
- Art Supplies, Provence and Paris (via Leigh Reyes)
- Top 10 Challenges of Being a Pen Collector (via Pen Pursuit)
And don’t forget:
Pen Chalet is offering a 10% off for Well-Appointed Desk readers. Enter the code wellappointeddesk at checkout to get this added discount.
Please support the shops that help support this blog. Thanks!
Eccentric Envelopes
Stephanie Fishwick posted some loose but lovely envelopes with her tips and techniques for creating fun envelopes for non-calligraphers. She recommends using watercolors but ink samples would also work and i a great way to use up all those samples you’ve accumulated.
Her best tip is that imperfections make it more awesome. Use a limited color palette and repetition to pull it together. No one will complain if they got a hand lettered envelope in the mail ever. It will make their day. So, start playing.
She recommends good quality envelopes like Original Crown Mill cotton or Crane. Big box office supply shops usually carry 100% cotton envelopes in the section with invitations and resume stationery.
Maybe your kids will want to make some of their own envelopes too and send a letter to Grandma? That would be a fun, rainy day activity this summer.
If you do want to improve your writing, Stephanie also has some recommendations for getting started with calligraphy and the tools, web sites and books she uses for great calligraphy.
Most of all have fun and be inspired!
(via Stephanie Fishwick)
Stick it to Me: City of Industry
How could you not love the clean graphic simplicity of the enamel jewelry created by City of Industry? I particularly like the Correspondence Set ($20) that includes both an enamel pencil and envelope lapel pin.
The Ruler Enamel Necklace ($28) is also darling. It includes a gold plated 30″ chain. There are also some summer themed options as well. Enjoy!
(Shout out to StoneZebra for the tip!)
Smart Travel Tips for Pen Geeks
I’m about to embark on a little holiday getaway which always leads to seeking out good travel tips. Buzzfeed posted one of their silly lists called 13 Travel Tips to Make You Feel Smart. There are a couple good tips on the list but most will be things you’ve probably already heard.
My favorite tip: Ask the desk at your hotel for cords or chargers if you forgot to pack yours. It sounds like their is inevitably a box of random cords and chargers that get left behind so they might have one for your device.
Now for some travel tips for the pen-and-paper inclined:
- Check the locations you’ll be visiting and find out if there is a pen shop nearby. Make time to visit the shop. This will improve even the most boring business trip.
- Stop in local drugstores, book shops, truck stops or tourist shops (museum shops, state park offices, etc) to seek out postcards. I find these are the best places to find cheesy tourist postcards to send home or keep as souvenirs.
- Tourist destinations can often yield cheap, fun souvenirs in the form of pencils. Isn’t it time you started a tourist pencil collection?
- If you’re worried about fountain pens leaking on flights, store them in a plastic ziploc bag for the flight. You can also travel with the cartridge removed and pack a few spare cartridges to use at your destination. For more pen travel tips, check out the article I posted awhile back.
- Put together a Letter Writing On The Go kit.
- Don’t forget to pack stamps. Or plan to visit the local post office to pick up stamps and meet the locals. If you let them know you’re visiting, they might just hand cancel your postcards if you ask nicely.
I discovered the Rock County Historical Society in Janesville, WI which is on our route this summer and home to the Parker Pen Collection. And I might get a peek inside the Coudal/Field Notes HQ in Chicago.
Are you traveling this summer? Business or for fun? Did you find any great pen-related goodies? Can’t wait to hear!