Finding Pen City

Unlike Italy, Australia isn’t known for its pens. Two well-known ink manufacturers, though, call Australia home: Robert Oster and Van Dieman’s. I’ve visited pen stores on even smaller pretenses, so I didn’t worry about convincing Sherry that Pen City was a must-see. Plus, Russ and I sneaked to the pen store while Sherry was taking a nap. She had no chance to stop us.

Located in Ravenhall, a suburb of Melbourne, Pen City is a bit tricky to find. Apparently, Google Maps drops you just around the corner with no view of the storefront. At least, that’s what our Uber did. We wandered the wrong way around the block, chasing the misplaced dot on our maps, and wondered if Pen City had closed. Russ called the store and got someone on the phone who complained about Google’s misplacement and walked out the the store to find us, just as we found the store. After a good laugh, we walked in about 3:15PM. The store closed at 4:00PM, so I knew we had to hurry. The guy at the counter — the same guy who answered the phone and the only one in the store — said as long as he closed up by 4:20PM, he’d still make his train. That was awfully nice of him to stay open a little longer, because we needed that extra time! I should have taken a picture with him. I didn’t catch his name, but he and I had a great time nerding out over pens while Russ poked around the store and listened in.

Pens, papers, inks, and displays filled the store. They had a large case of vintage pens that sparkled in the light. I wanted them all! Russ got a picture of me in one part of the store.

I wanted to shop carefully, but felt the time pressure of our new mate’s train. I saw a Ducati rollerball on discount and grabbed it. Too much of a bargain to pass up! Here it is:

Most of the focus was on getting Russ a new pen. He has a Conklin fountain pen and a Levenger rollerball I gave him when he visited last March, and he’s discovered the joys of writing with better pens. He says he journals a lot more now. So I showed him a few pens, steering him away from both the cheap and the mega-expensive pens. I tried showing him a Lamy 2000 fountain pen, telling him what a great, workhorse pen it is. He turned up his nose. Too plain. I laughed and said, “I guess it’s a pen for straight people.” He chuckled at that.

He ended up choosing a Nahvalur Horizon Glacier fountain pen with a fine nib. I got one to match. And I also bought us matching Van Dieman’s inks: a blue called “Le Grande Jete.” Here’s a picture of the pen and ink:

Russ has already written with his new pen and loves it. I’ve done a few New York Times Sunday Crosswords with my Ducati and it’s perfect. And our delightful new mate just made his train. A perfect pen outing!