Flax Pen to Paper - Road Trip!

(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!.)

First of all, Happy First Friday of November AKA Fountain Pen Day! There’s a lot of stuff going on today/this weekend to celebrate FPD, but if you’re in the Los Angeles area on Saturday, November 5th, you can stop by the Flax Pen to Paper shop from 11am - 5pm to celebrate Fountain Pen Day with Kenro Industries and Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio. In any case, keep reading!

I recently drove down to Los Angeles, CA to check out Joey Feldman’s latest art show Of An Infinite Solitude - I highly recommend checking it out in person, showing now through November 9, 2022, more info on his website. Also true story, Joey loves the Montblanc 149 and he has several in different nib sizes, but I digress. While I was down there, I made sure to set aside time to visit Flax Pen to Paper, in the Westwood Village area of LA, not far from the UCLA campus.

I met Jeremy Saumure, Jaime Perez and Ryan Finnegan at the SF Pen Show a few months ago and had a great time chatting after-hours, so when I planned my trip to LA, I knew I had to check out their store. In 2020, previous owners Joan (granddaughter of Meyer Flax, who started Flax Art in 1931) and her husband, Phil, passed the Flax torch to Jeremy (right around his “5th year Flaxiversary” as he likes to say), who, along with Jeremy Schuster, Gabriela Acevides-Medes and Ryan Finnegan, have been running both the online site and physical store. True story, Jeremy Saumure is “Jeremy” and Jeremy Schuster goes by “other Jeremy” – if you say “hey, Jeremy”, you get Saumure and if you say “hey, other Jeremy”, Schuster will respond, lol!

Flax Pen to Paper — *Flax business partners ”Other Jeremy” Schuster and Jeremy Saumure.*

*Lamy pens in one of several well-lit glass displays.*

*There are multiple displays like this along on both sides of the store.*

*Ryan proudly showing off the swatch book in front of their ink station.*

*Let’s be real, I saw these gigantic pens before I noticed the inks. Jeremy/Other Jeremy, are these for sale?!?*

*S. T. Dupont - best snap cap in the business!*

*Diplomat Pens - their snap caps are pretty good too!*

*Kaweco BP, Pencils and FPs and yes, even pocket knives from Laguiole in the right.*

*The latest Sailor Manyo Pro Gear Slims.*

*More stationery products like pencils, ballpoints, gel pens as well as stickers and other fun items.*

On the other side of the store, there are more paper goods like cards, notebooks/paper, bags and more.

*Individual greeting cards for birthdays, thank you’s, and whatever last-minute reason you need a card!*

While Leuchtturm and Rhodia continue to be big sellers, Flax continues to expand their paper offerings. They have a nice selection of Traveler’s Company items as well as paper products from Maruman and Midori.

*Lots of Maruman (left) and Midori (right) in different sizes.*

In addition to fine writing instruments, inks, stationery and paper, Flax has a variety of gifts and products for the home, including candles, the aforementioned Laguiole knives and even stuff for the pets! I really like that they carry stuff not typically found in your average stationery store.

*Books, crafts and toys for the little ones.*

*I had to get one of the Paddywax candles because they smelled great and were beautifully made.*

*Flax sells a variety of items from Fritz Glass on Cape Cod - these glass salt and pepper shakers are so cute!*

I’ve been looking into tote bags lately but wasn’t familiar with Bellroy bags until I came here. Maybe it was the variety of bags in various shapes and sizes, or maybe it was the somewhat creepy mannequins that were showcasing them, but now I want one. I was eyeing the Tokyo Tote - I just need to decide on size and color!

*Fred and George (or is that George and Fred) Weasley often spook visitors browsing bags and accessories. I’ve heard that their costumes change throughout the year too!*

While no longer a cornerstone of their business, Flax still has a custom stationery department where you can have personalized cards, invitations, etc. custom-designed and created just for you. You can also buy individual sheets of specialty papers.

This is the kind of neighborhood store that I could easily spend hours in (as it was, I spent almost two hours here), browsing the latest products to arrive, flipping through the ink swatch book and chatting it up with whomever is working that day. As with most brick and mortar stores, you may be paying retail prices but being able to try out products coupled with the friendly service makes it worth it to me.

*A tired Jean-Luc (yes, as in Picard) chilling out - he’s usually in the back with his dog brother Wesley Crusher who was being camera-shy during my visit.*

*I love this dog sign on their door - their sense of humor shows through.*

*I couldn’t resist the beautiful hardbound Flora sticker book, Sailor Manyo Fuji and Troublemaker inks that they just got in. They threw in some samples as well as some fun Flax stickers!*

You can find Flax Pen to Paper at 1078 Gayley Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90024, 310-208-3529 or online at FlaxPenToPaper.com. The store is open Tuesday - Friday from 11 am - 6:30 pm and Saturday from 11 am to 5:30pm; they are closed on Sunday and Monday.

Posted on November 4, 2022 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Travel.

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 537 - Adjusted in the Wrong Direction

Montergappa Tutankhamun — *Montegrappa doing Montegrappa things.*

Oh boy, this was a fun one! We went status quo at the start, with a Currently Using segment, followed by my own personal (read: overly dramatic) Horror Story. And then Myke found his new favorite pen, much to my enjoyment.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

Pen Chalet: Click the ‘podcast’ link at the top of the website and enter the password 'penaddict' for this week's special offer, and to get your code for 10% off.

Kanilea Pen Co: Choose your Aloha today!

ExpressVPN: High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service. Get an extra three months free.

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Podcast.

Gravitas Delrin Fountain Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

I'm continuously surprised and delighted by Gravitas Pens. I've rarely seen a pen creator dive into the job with such playful abandon. Ben Walsh is trying something new every few minutes and the results have been phenomenal.

The newest model to cross my desk is the Delrin. It's similar in design to the Sentry, but made of engineered plastic, with an Orange Cerakote-coated stainless steel grip section. The body is slightly tapered, and both finials come to an angled point. The cap screws on and it posts securely if you're the posting type.

The body of the pen feels smooth but it's lightly textured, so it's easy to grip. It's also extremely lightweight. Nearly all the weight of this pen is in the steel grip section. It feels perfectly balanced when writing, as the weight of the pen sits in your hand and the length helps keep it stabilized.

The grip section is gently ridged to keep your fingers from slipping, and the Cerakote has a rough texture to it. It's comfortable and gives great control when writing, but it does get ink in it, leaving some marks that are a little tricky to wash away. It doesn't bother me, but if you like your pens looking pristine, this one might not be for you.

My pen came with a medium nib that writes very well, with smooth writing and great ink flow. It's a #6 Jowo nib, with some scrollwork but no branding.

The pen comes with a converter, though it can also take standard cartridges, and it can be eyedroppered (though some additional silicone grease is recommended if you do this).

Like many Gravitas pens, this one is underpriced at 95 Euros. I appreciate and admire the affordability, even if it feels a little wrong.

Of all the Gravitas pens I've tried, I like this one a bit more than the metal ones, and only slightly less than the polycarbonate ones. It has a special quality to it that when I pick it up, it makes me want to write even when I don't feel like writing. Maybe it's all of Ben's wild creativity traveling through his creations to other creators. Whatever it is, I can't get enough of it.

(Gravitas Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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