Stationery to Stationery

Here’s a quick recap of some recent stationary acquisitions. Normally I get most of my pens as souvenirs when I’m travelling. I bring them back from hotels or seek out fountain pens from stationery shops. But since I haven’t travelled anywhere in almost a year, Like to poke around dusty old bargain shops, the only stores that are open under lockdown. Last Friday I was delivering Valentines Day cards for residents of a local long term care facility when I stopped in to a weird sort of grocery/housewares store at Bloor and Lansdowne. I’ve clocked it before but never gone in because it is just out-of-the-way enough that I’ve always skipped it. After going inside I quickly realized that my instinct was right — mostly weird off brand chips and cookies. But I did find some Diet A&W Root Beer and these po-mo looking pens which match my pastel scissors.

I also dug up my old Cross Century II after reading that this was the pen that President Joe Biden uses to sign official stuff. Ages ago, when I was working in Scarborough, there was a hardware store in the mall at Victoria Park and Ellesmere. And in that mall was a hardware store that always had tables full of random things like As a Seen On TV gadgets and what I can only assume where deadstock pens. I do know that around this time (I think 2006) Cross stopped making their pens in the US and sales briefly dipped. So I ended up buying tons of these ballpoints for about $4 each. I gave them out at presents but kept one for myself. This is that pen. I think they retail for about $70 today.

I also picked up some Lunar New Year stamps for sending out post cards to my pen pals. Freebie letterhead and post cards where another favourite souvenir to bring back from my travels but I’m afraid that I’ll soon run out.
I also have some watch-related stationery to share but I can’t take pictures tonight. I will save for tomorrow.