(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!.)
A couple weeks ago after the Chicago show, I did a quick walkthrough of the Anderson Pens store in downtown Chicago. My last visit was when they were setting up the store for the first time in May of 2018. For most of last year and this year, they’ve had to shut down their store when the historic Palmer Hotel, in which they are located, closed for 15 months due to Covid. The hotel has since reopened, though not to full capacity as of this writing, but this allowed the Andersons (Brian and Lisa) to reopen their store as well.
Brian and the rest of the Anderson Pens staff work at their main location in Appleton, WI while Lisa runs this Chicago location. They officially reopened on September 20, 2021, a week before the Palmer Hotel’s 150th Anniversary. As of my visit in early October, masks are required to enter the Palmer Hotel and therefore, also required for the stores inside.
The historic Palmer House, located at 17 E. Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois where you can find Anderson Pens Chicago.
The Tiffany Peacock doors inside the Palmer House. Anderson Pens did a collaboration with Retro 51 to produce the exclusive Palmer rollerball which was inspired by these doors. I can’t believe I forgot to bring mine for a photo op!
The Anderson Pens shop greets you with its brightly lit and spacious interior.
As you enter, on the right, there is a wall of paper and notebooks from many different brands and countries.
Leuchtturm, Rhodia, and Clairefontaine, anyone? -more paper-Itoya Profolio, Life notebooks and those adorable pen cases!!
On the opposite side of the shop is another wall, this time filled with inks from Sailor, Aurora, Lamy, Iroshizuku, Jacques Herbin, Colorverse and more!
Sailor? Iroshizuku? Kobe? Yeah, they got those.
Jacques Herbin? Colorverse? Esterbrook? Caran d’Ache? That and more!
And if you need to see what those inks look like, they have binders with ink swatches (that you’ve probably seen on their website) as well as an ink testing station for the Iroshizuku inks too.
Ink swatch binders are so helpful when making ink buying decisions.
Paper and inks are great, of course, but let’s not forget the pens! Pens from all the major brands are represented here, from Pilot and Sailor to Esterbrooks, Lamy, Retro51 and more!
Esterbrook Esties, JRs, Camdens (can you spot Patience the pen rest and Honey the book holder?)
Pilot Metropolitans in a rainbow of colors (top) and along with Y-Studio, including the Classic Fountain Pen in five new colors!
Colorful Retro51s and Lamy Studios, Aions and L2Ks galore!
During my brief visit, John Lane from Coles of London was there to show off their beautiful Visconti and S.T. Duponts. I was so busy chatting it up with John and Lisa that I forgot to take pictures of the pens! I hate it when I do that, lol! Brian was busy helping a customer which is why he and some of the other pen displays are not pictured.
You can tell John Lane and Lisa Anderson are smiling underneath their masks because their eyes are smiing!! And if you zoom in, you’ll see a couple of Duponts that will be coming later this fall! (Permission was given to include the pens in this picture.)
So, if you’re in the Chicago area and want to see a smiling face who can help you with your pen and stationery needs, definitely go check out the Anderson Pens store in Chicago. Store hours are Monday-Saturday from 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM and Sunday from 12:00 PM to 4:00pm. Most of the time, you’ll see Lisa but occasionally, you might catch Brian too. They plan on looking for part-time help as the holidays get closer, so if you’re local and would love to share your passion for pens and stationery, you should definitely reach out. And if you go, tell them I said hi!
(Neither this article nor my brief visit was paid for, nor sponsored, in any way by Anderson Pens. I’m just a shopaholic with a stationery affliction and LOVE pen stores!)
