Posts filed under Store Visit

M. Lovewell - A Quick Visit

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

During my trip to Southern California last weekend, I was able to stop by M Lovewell, a stationery store in Downtown Santa Ana, California. There is also another location in Orange, CA, which shares its space with a coffee shop. This writeup is for the DTSA location.

M. Lovewell opened its door in 2016 when two friends, Liz and Mel, fulfilled a dream to build a shop like the ones they’d visit when traveling to places like Portland, San Francisco, Boston and London.

*This is the view that greets you once you step inside!*

*Notebooks, clips, and pencils are nicely displayed for you to check out.*

The store is bright and airy, with tables full of products vying for your attention.

*More notebooks, paper pads, pouches, pen cases, steel boxes.*

Even though there were a lot of tables and products, it didn’t feel cluttered or overwhelming.

*I love seeing all the Hobonichi notebook covers in person.*

*I was tempted by the stamps as well as Shachihata stamp pads. They also had sketchbooks and some art supplies too.*

*I love me a good sticker wall, and this one had stamps too!*

*Oh no, not washi tape! So hard for me to resist!!*

*There were some glass displays with fountain pens. One of them might have jumped into my basket.*

*Wall of fountain pen ink, along with fountain pen friendly paper.*

*I love seeing binders filled with ink swatches.*

*Lots of standard pens, markers and pencils to try and buy.*

I avoided the front of the store when I walked in because that’s where I saw all the pens, lol. Instead, I made my way to the back room and found a treasure trove of art supplies, papers, and all kinds of books, and more!

*Events and workshops are listed on the wall behind the register and also* *online*.

*Space dedicated for workshops and other events!*

I love that they have an area in the back part of the shop where folks can take workshops and classes. Such a cute and inspiring place to learn and create, with lots of bright light and room to spread out!

I wasn’t able to get one of my notebooks monogrammed/personalized because the folks who usually do this were traveling in Japan during my visit. Guess I’ll have to come back!

*I couldn’t resist the 2024 Hobonichi HON (which was on sale, yay!), Midori foil transfer stickers and some MU acrylic stamps.*

*I couldn’t resist this cute* *mini fountain pen* *from a company called Papier! It was only $22!*

M. Lovewell is located at 305-103 E. 4th Street, Santa Ana, CA, and is open from Tuesday - Sunday from 12pm to 6pm. Their other location is at 115 N Orange Street, Orange, CO, and is open Tuesday - Sunday from 11am - 5pm.

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Posted on July 5, 2024 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Store Visit.

DIY Kaweco Event at Flax Pen to Paper

I was so excited when Kaweco announced that they would be releasing a special DIY (Do It Yourself) Kaweco but it would only be available at in-store events. I kept seeing events popping up at vendors at times/places that I couldn’t attend so I thought I’d just have to hunt for a used one down the road. Thankfully, the stars and schedules aligned and I was able to make the trek to Flax Pen to Paper this past weekend and assemble my own Kaweco! Spoiler alert: this article contains pictures of the DIY process, so if you’re planning to get one done and you don’t wanna see what’s involved, scroll to the bottom and look at the haul instead 🙂

I love the signage for the DIY event as well as Custom Nib Studio and Saiko Stationery!

Ryan Finnegan of Saiko Stationery also did a pop-up at the store! I was good and didn’t buy any washi tape but I might have picked up some other stuff…

After the first rush of customers, I was able to start working on my DIY Kaweco! I’m so excited!

This big box is shipped to the vendors around the world who had signed up to participate in the DIY event.

The various pen parts are inside, including different nib units, grips, etc.

Here are the parts for my pen (not including the box and sticker.)

I put the inner cap onto the metal post thingy (yes, that’s the technical term and I’m sticking to it, lol) and then put the cap on top of that. The inner cap helps prevent evaporation.

Time for the finial to go on the cap!

Voila!

Time for the nib to go into the pen!

That was easy!

*All done! *

All of the steps were very easy to follow (especially since Ryan walked me through it!) and the machine was also very easy to use - no significant strength required! I did not keep any of the packaging as there was nothing highlighting that this was a DIY Kaweco, other than the silver engraving on the pen cap itself. It does not come with a converter.

Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio was on hand to work their magic on folks’ pens, including my newly created Kaweco!

Can you believe that, all this time, I only wrote on their sample pad and never in my notebook? Oops 😃 Glad I finally took my own advice!

Gena ground the broad Kaweco nib to a Cursive Italic and I inked it up with Robert Oster Napa.

In addition to the DIY Kaweco, I couldn’t escape the store without buying these goodies from Flax and Saiko Stationery.

I couldn’t choose between the different packs of stickers from Saiko Stationery, so I got several! Also love the wine “juice box” sticker from Flax and underneath is a Bellroy Lite Sacoche, the link is for Black, but mine is Clay.

I also bought some Uni-ball One P and F gel pens, a PLOTTER Bible-size Fastener Case, Midori metallic transfer stickers and some awesome cards.

I had a great time at the event! Aside from assembling my very own Kaweco, it was so fun meeting people and chatting with them while they shopped or tried Gena’s tester pens (highly recommend, even if you’re not getting anything done). Thank you to Flax Pen to Paper for hosting this event, to Ryan for helping me with the Kaweco (and bringing some super cute Saiko Stationery goods) and to Gena for making the nib extra special! I believe the Kaweco box of goodness will be making its way to the next stop soon (though I was unable to find a list on the Kaweco website), but if you have the opportunity to assemble a Kaweco at your local pen store, I highly recommend the experience!

(Disclaimer: All products and nib services were purchased by me at Flax Pen to Paper.)

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Kaweco, Fountain Pens, Store Visit.

Two Hands Paperie - A Quick Visit

While on vacation in Colorado, I knew that we would pass through, but not stop in, Boulder and I begged my husband to take a quick detour and thankfully, he agreed! I had wanted to visit Two Hands Paperie, a stationery and art store in Boulder, last year but it didn’t work out but I was able to eke out a half hour visit!

*I love Two Hands Paperie’s whimsical front window display!*

Two Hands Paperie got its start in 1993 as a book binding shop that also sold decorative paper. It has since grown to include art supplies, cards, stationery, writing instruments of all kinds and more.

*Pencils, notebooks, and loose paper like wrapping paper, tissue paper, watercolor paper, etc.*

*The right side of the back room had a lot of paper and really* *cool collage sticker books* *like this one (that I forgot to take pictures of, oops.)*

*This is some of the “more” that you would find at Two Hands Paperie - projects like Bookmaking Kits, Friendship Bracelet Kits, paint by number, quilling, puzzles, games, and more!*

*Build your own correspondence kit - pick different sized papers and envelopes.*

*The ”Make My Notebook” station is really neat!*

This was probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while - “Make My Notebook” - where you pick out the paper size and type (grid or lined, etc.) from the left side, then pick a cover from the right side, then what color you want for the spiral binding and a Two Hands team member will assemble it for you! I was so tempted to get one of these but alas, the paper fort is overflowing, as are the suitcases. Might have to order one when I get home though!

Check out upcoming events on their chalkboard - better yet, sign up for their online newsletter or check out the website for more events. Just be sure to check out the various links because there isn’t a single page that lists them all.

*Some of the notebook cabinets at the front of the store.*

*Two Hands Paperie is a Traveler’s Company Partner Shop, which meant they sometimes have exclusives that non-partner shops don’t carry and also their own Traveler’s Stamp!*

*Behind the front counter is a cute display of their fountain pen ink selection, as well as converters and other parts.*

*Glass displays make pen photography challenging, but you can still see their collection of budget-friendly pens from Pilot, Lamy, Traveler’s Company, and Caran d’Ache.*

*Look at all the pretty Kaweco fountain pens, pencils and ballpoints!*

*Higher-end pens from Sailor, Pelikan, Visconti, Pilot, and more.*

I spent so much time picking out some notecards and chatting with one of the staff members that I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the front of the shop as well as the products in the hallway leading to the back room, oops again. There is a large variety of greeting cards as well as postcard packs, blank card sets, and even stationery sets. I wish I had more than 30 minutes to spend at this store so I could explore it all.

In the end, I picked up some note cards and a stationery set so I had something to send to the kid at camp. And of course, I couldn’t go to a Traveler’s Company Partner Shop without using their stamps! Can’t wait to put them in my Diner journal (which I had brought with me to the shop.)

Two Hands Paperie is located at 803 Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado, and is open Monday - Saturday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and on Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00PM. They have a lot more products in-store than what is shown online, so if you have some time to spend in Boulder, I highly recommend this shop!

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Posted on June 14, 2024 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Travel, Store Visit.