The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 661 - Breaking Through The Barrier

It’s Drew time! Come listen to my conversation with the new President of Fahrney’s Pens, the one and only Drew Brown. Drew and I break it all down this week, and dig in to what the future of traditional brick and mortar can be in the stationery space.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

Enigma Stationery: Join Enigma's support of LGBTQIA+ youth. Visit their fundraising page now.

Kenro Industries: Esterbrook introduces the new Estie Coffee Monsterz Co pen. Click to buy now.

Factor: Healthy, fully-prepared food delivered to your door.

Montblanc Boutique, Honolulu - Shop 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!.)

My family and I spent spring break in Oahu, Hawaii and I managed to finagle a few minutes away when we went to the Ala Moana Mall in Honolulu. Aside from getting lunch (which was their primary goal,) I also wanted to check out the Montblanc Boutique. The Ala Moana Mall is one of, if not the, largest outdoor malls and it is worth checking out, for all the food and shopping, even if you’re not into pens (but you are, which is why you’re reading this, amirite?).

Montblanc Boutique, Honolulu at the Ala Moana Mall.

The sign outside on a sunny day.

Montblanc is a luxury brand, known for more than just pens, such as accessories, leather goods and watches.

Sunglasses, suitcases, and other fancy things!

Leather accessories like wallets, portfolios, briefcases, etc.

Watches (if y’all think pens are expensive, watches are next level.)

This 1858 Geosphere will set you back $6,000.

Let’s be real though, I didn’t stop in the shop to look at accessories and watches, I came to see pens!

More limited edition pens on the wall, like Jane Austen, Gatsby, Maria Callas, and more.

The Origin Collection - The Coral ones on the right are extra stunning.

Around the World in 80 Days Collection.

I knew about Montblanc’s Bespoke customization program but I thought it was just for special nib sizes. I had no idea they could do other fancy designs too! I wish I had more time to spend at the shop, because the staff can help design a bespoke nib for you on their computer. Maybe someday when I win the lottery.

Check out this one-of-a-kind rabbit engraved nib with a set-in ruby!

They had these cool postcards and encouraged me to take one of each design as a souvenir!

Once I picked out a postcard to send to myself (something I forgot to do for the rest of the trip, oops), they asked if I needed a pen to write with!

I picked the BB (since I can’t write with obliques). What a fun nib!

Then you drop the postcard into their very cool mailbox and they will stamp it and mail it for you.

Carl Saito was such a kind, friendly salesman, who answered lots of questions and showed me various pens that I couldn’t afford, lol. His personal daily carry is this stunning Montblanc Solitaire Le Petit Prince ballpoint! If you see him, tell him I said hi!

They didn’t have the Renoir ink I was looking for but I thought this Coal Blue ink, along with my postcard, would also be good souvenirs of my visit!

Quick swatches of the Coal Blue ink - it’s much more of a grey than blue.

The Montblanc Honolulu boutique is located in the Ala Moana Center, at 1450 Ala Moana Blvd Suite #2215, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814. The store is open daily from 10am - 8pm. You can reach them by phone at 1-808-942-4810 or via email.

PS - if you do go to the mall and like poke bowls, head down to the garage level and go to Foodland. You won’t regret it.

This was one of two poke displays, each with different kinds of poke. It was utterly mind-blowing, amazing and delicicious.

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Sun-Star Stickyle Stamp 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 Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

I'm always on the lookout for any tools that can help me reign in the unbridled chaos that is my task list. I do tend to keep things in list format, so these Stickyle Stamps from Sun-Star seemed like a fun way to add some color-coding to my planner.

There are both pros and cons to these, and one person's pro might be another's con, and vice versa, depending on how you use your tools.

These stamps come in a lot of color varieties. Each stack of stamps has five colors, and they're all nicely themed and complement each other well. Some sets have closed circles, some have open circles, some have squares, and there are even hearts. The five colors are stacked so that the bottom of each stamp is the cap of the next color, and the final cap at the top of the stack has a metal clip. Joined together, they make a nice shape that fits well alongside pens and markers.

The five stamps connect with a single twist. You line up the join and twist them in place, instead of snap caps. This ensures that they're always properly aligned. I've only had them a few weeks, but the single twist cap does seem to keep them properly sealed. I've had no drying out. Which is actually kind of a bummer, because my main complaint about these stamps is that they're too wet.

With the Tomoe River paper in my planner, I'm used to ghosting, and a bit of show-through doesn't bother me at all, but these stamps bleed aggressively, even through thicker and coated paper. I would go so far as to say they're not useable for anything where you need to use both sides of the page. Still fun for single-sided lists, though I'd lean more toward the open circles than these closed ones. The saturated ink in these makes it hard to mark off tasks.

But that's just an issue with how I've used them. I wanted to use them in my planner to make task lists to check off, and they haven't worked for that. But they'd still be good for color-coding notes or marking important calendar dates. A set with lighter colors might have worked better for me, too.

In any case, they're well made and reasonably priced. Each set is $7.50, which is right in line with similar products from other makers. I may try some of those other stamps eventually to see if they work better for my uses. Perhaps, with the power of polka dots, I will finally become master of tasks. That's all it is, right? It's not the crush of overwhelm that's preventing success, it's just the wrong dots. All problems can be solved with stationery!

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

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!