(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!.)
I was fortunate to spend Fountain Pen Day (and the day after) at Flax Pen-to-Paper last weekend and wanted to share some pictures from the trip!
Flax Pen-to-Paper celebrated Fountain Pen Day with a Kenro trunk show, as well as handwriting classes by yours truly!
The prize wheel and prize ball machine greeted you upon entering the store.
I love that the prizes included Flax merchandise (like the cute tote that you can’t quite see behind the wheel), personalized notebook, bottle of ink and more!
Ryan Sirignano from Kenro Industries and Jeremy Saumere from Flax starting the FPD celebration!
I love the packaging on the new King of the Night by Esterbrook, especially the pen wrap/cape, which has a magnetic closure!
Folks got a preview of the Kenro trunk show and had a nice time meeting fellow pen enthusiasts.
Flax customer James is checking out the various pen binders from Kenro.
Ryan Finnegan (left) of Saiko Stationery, Ryan Sirignano and customer Farina are all smiles about FPD! Managed to get Jean-Luc in the photo too!
Super excited to see that Schon Dsgn pens are now available at the Flax store!
Saiko Stationery’s pop up shop!
SO tempted by the washi, but I was good! These notepads are so fun!
OMG, these Duckhead umbrellas are so cute! I still haven’t been able to pick one out yet! Does anyone who lives in a drought-prone state need four umbrellas? Asking for a friend, lol.
This amazing, new Leuchtturm display wasn’t here when I last visited a couple months ago! Wow!
Also new is this Leuchtturm cart where they can personalize your new notebook! And the machinery is theirs, so this personalization service is available year-round!
I didn’t take as many pictures as I usually do because I was busy preparing for and teaching my class (Elevate the Everyday: Improve Your Handwriting) on Friday and Saturday! Both Jeremy and I forgot to take pictures during the classes (you’d think one of us would remember after forgetting to do so after the first class, but nope), but I did take selfies with the class afterwards!
Friday afternoon’s class.
Saturday morning’s class (I almost forgot to ask for a selfie but managed to get them before they left, which is why they’re all standing, oops!)
Saturday afternoon’s class included a mom and her son (with the emoji face), as well as Laurie, who took the day off from Flax to take my class!
It was such an honor to learn a little about what bothered folks about their handwriting and to be able to share some things I’ve learned as part of my own handwriting journey. It was awesome to see people having their own a-ha moments when they started figuring out what things they wanted to focus on when they practiced. I was especially happy to see the boy (and his mom) in my Saturday afternoon class - he was writing along with everyone else and was picking out a notebook afterwards so he can practice some more! I’m hoping to do more of these classes next year including at pen shows, shops, and other events, so stay tuned!
Just because I was busy teaching and not taking enough photos doesn’t mean my wallet left Flax unscathed.
My Next Read acrylic stamps from Everyday Explorers, Dog note cards from Crane, Sheaffer VFM, Otto Hutt 03 Lila Orange (I couldn’t ignore it after seeing the Bossman get this last year), sticker sheet from Saiko Stationery, Tono & Lims Pumpkin and Cinderella inks, two inserts for my Traveler’s Notebook, and a personalized Leuchtturm notebook in Dusty Rose (one of four new 2025 colors.)
Happy 13th Fountain Pen Day! (Ink used was actually Diamine Thunderbolt because I didn’t get the FPD ink until after I made this.)
I hope everyone had a great Fountain Pen Day and to Cary Yeager who thought of this 13 years ago! A huge thank you to Jeremy Saumere and the Flax Pen-to-Paper team for having me, to Ryan Sirignano for penabling me (again), to the folks who came and took my class, and to everyone I’ve had a chance to interact with, in person or online, about this crazy little rabbit hole called fountain pens! Until next time, stay safe and stay inky!
