I’m lucky to have made some amazing pen friends over the years, including ones who have various pens they are no longer using and want to send them to me, to give to you. One of you, anyway. This lightly used Diplomat Elox Orange Rings Fountain Pen with a Fine Steel nib is a fantastic pen for any fountain pen fan, and the winner is:
Congrats Mary! I’ve sent you an email to collect your shipping address.
(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.
Blink and you might miss a new Sailor pen release. And you know what? I’m good with that. The volume of pens they must move to keep this pace up must be immense. We discuss the new Jellyfish series, Lamy’s more metered releases, and Kaweco, which falls somewhere in between.
Also, it’s Baltimore Pen Show time!
This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:
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