Omoi Zakka Shop Visit - Philadelphia, PA

(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!.)

Knowing that I was going to the Philadelphia Pen Show earlier this year, several friends suggested that I visit the nearby stationery shop Omoi Zakka, since it is only a couple miles away from the show hotel in the Old City neighborhood. Since it was a bit chilly in mid-January for this California girl to walk there (and back), I took a Lyft for the short trip instead.

Omoi Zakka, or Omoi for short (it rhymes with “oh boy”), is a stationery and lifestyle products shop that has been around since 2006. I highly recommend you check out their About Omoi page to find out more including a brief history of the shop.

This cute storefront just beckons you to go inside!

One step into their store and you will see that it is neither too big nor too small to house a wide variety of products ranging from pens, inks, papers, stickers, and other stationery goodies to bags, clocks, books and more.

What a wonderful sight to behold when you walk in the door!

Is anyone surprised that I spent the most time along this wall?

Some of the fun stickers and ephemera.

Some Sailor, Y-Studio and TWSBI in this case but there are more pens in the shop!

Kawecos and Kakunos with inks, paper and some pouches from The Superior Labor.

Ferris Wheel Press inks and Tomoe River paper pad as well as the Yamamoto Paper Collection.

Midori, anyone?

10th Anniversary Stalogy notebooks/pads.

MOAR paper!!!

A nice selection of Bellroy bags and accessories to carry all your pens and paper!

In addition to stationery goods, Omoi has a bunch of “lifestyle” products like books, home decor and more.

Lots of cool products along the right side of the store.

Candles, slippers, lamps and more!

I love the “not typical” selection of books that they had.

Tick tock!

I didn’t intend to stay very long since I was tired from my red-eye flight but I ended up spending over an hour discovering fun new things every time I revisited different parts of the store. As with many brick and mortar stores, you will be paying retail prices but being able to check out products not found in typical stationery stores as well as the quiet, laid back atmosphere makes it worthwhile.

I picked up the Traveler’s Company Diner set for a friend and also got two Omoi postcards as well as their zine, “Heavy”.

You can find Omoi Zakka at 41 S. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA (between Chestnut & Market Streets), (215) 454-6910, or online at OmoiOnline.com. The store is open Monday - Saturday from 11 am - 7:00 pm and Sunday from 12 pm to 5 pm (any last minute hours would be posted on their Instagram Stories.) Note: While there is no mask mandate currently, the staff continues to mask for their own as well as their customers’ safety. I appreciate that they also offer complimentary masks for anyone who needs one.

Yoseka Stationery - 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!.)

One of the newer shops to have joined the stationery world is Yoseka Stationery. Starting with pop-up shops in 2017, owners Daisy and Neil first opened their brick-and-mortar store as a way of introducing Asian stationery to the US. Originally located in the Sunnyside neighborhood in Brooklyn, Yoseka recently moved to the Greenpoint area in 2020 and is currently located at 63 West Street, Brooklyn.

I have ordered from their site multiple times and I really enjoy their posts and videos on Instagram too. So I knew I just had to visit their shop during a recent trip to NYC, even though I knew I didn’t have a lot of time (this is what happens when you get on the wrong subway train, but I digress) …

The shop itself is fairly small but also spacious at the same time. Pieces of antique/vintage furniture alongside the clean lines of bookshelves and lots of wood everywhere - all of it gives you a sense of warmth and coziness and modern organization.

Look at this gorgeous cabinet filled with goodies from the Traveler’s Company!

There are shelves on both sides of the room with a variety of stationery goods and accessories including washi tape, hourglasses, stamp pads, letter sets, stickers, pouches and more. Display samples are available in front of many of the items so you can feel the texture of the paper or see how a pen case opens.

Desk accessories in all shapes and sizes.

I have been on a washi tape buying ban but it was hard to resist some of these cute tapes!

The main focal point of the store is in the middle of the room, where a long table is lined with writing implements of all kinds. There is room and paper for you to try out their pens, markers, and yes, fountain pens and inks too!

Finally saw 3 of the 4 Pro Gear Slims from the Sailor Sound of Rain series.

The staff was approachable and helpful, periodically checking in to make sure I didn’t have questions or needed help, without being pushy or overbearing. It really made shopping there a calm and chill experience. In the end, my willpower was mostly intact, though I did break my self-imposed washi tape ban, haha!

A bottle of their exclusive ink and washi tape of Esther’s paws - I just HAD to!

So if you’re ever in or near New York City, make the trip to visit Yoseka and give yourself plenty of time to explore this wonderful little store. And if you can’t get there, check out their website - there are a lot of gems to be found, including 3 or 5ml ink samples in their adorable glass vials or this cherry blossom washi tape set from Bande. I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to visit again, so until then, I’ll be doing some “research” on their site too!!