Visiting Australia - Any Pen Shops Of Note?

[ronw]

I am in Australia, and will be visiting New Zealand as well.

 

Are there any pens shops that would be worth a visit? I know for sure I will be in Brisbane, Sydney (where I am now), Melbourne, Auckland, and Christchurch. But I am here on business, and may be making (or could arrange to make) stops in other places as well.

 

Any good spots to visit for a pen fanatic?

[vitali57]

I am not sure Sydney or Brisbane has much to offer? Having said that, Pen Ultimate is in the Queen Victoria Building (QVB), which is worth a visit. Nothing like my experience in Shanghai, where my head exploded!

[msolok]

Not really. Fountain Pens really aren't very big in Australia, nobody uses them. There are a few pen stores in Melbourne, but the prices will be more expensive than what you are used to back home in the US. We get stooged by just about everyone with prices.

The places which do exist are:

Pen City: A small shop but have a fair few pens and lots of inks. The people in there are friendly and helpful. Prices are pretty good compared to other places. Located at 250 Elizabeth Street (short walk up from Flinders Street Station, and a short walk down from Melbourne Central shopping center and station).

Tafts: A larger store but doesn't particularly have more stock. Prices are far from great. Located at 259 Collins Street (short walk up from Flinders Street Station, a bit of a walker down from Parliment station)

The Pen Place: The smallest of all 3. Still carries a decent amount of items, but no where near as much as the other 2. Located at 155 Queen Street (which is kinda in the midddle of Flinders STreet, Melbourne Central, and Southern Cross stations)

There is also a Montblanc Boutique but the one time I went in there they had no clue about their pens, were out of stock of most of their inks, and would not budge at all on price. They are located at 175 Collins street (so nice and close to Tafts).

 

Outside the CBD You have Melbourne Pen Depot. This is a family run shop operating out of Chadstone Shopping Centre. This is my favorite BAM store, I drive over an hour basically just to go there!

 

For stationary stuff (paper, journals etc) I have heard a place called Classy Paperie is good. They have a lot of paper stuffs and other stationary. Located at 206 Camberwell Road, Camberwell (would catch a train to Camberwell station and walk down).

 

As for outside of Victoria, I'm really not sure. I haven't been elsewhere since being into pens. I do know, however that there is a pen store at Pacific Fair in Queensland. They have excellent prices for Pelikan Edelstein inks ($20 a bottle). They are called Pen and Ink:

https://www.penandink.com.au/

 

 

Thnere is also a pen chain called Pens Deluxe / Pen Ultimate which has many stores through Brisbane, Sydney and Perth.

http://www.pensdeluxe.net/

 

 

If you are interested in buying online there is Notemaker.com.au. They are honestly fantastic. Great service, and a good range of items. If you are looking for a Kaweco buying it here is a good choice. Their prices are on par with the cheapest I have found on the net. http://www.notemaker.com.au

 

There is also an online retailer called penshop. I have never dealt with them so no idea what they are like

http://www.penshop.com.au/index.html

 

 

Hope all this helps! Enjoy your time in Aus!

Edited August 29, 2013 by msolok

[oldmatekev]

When I was in Brisbane I visited a nice little shop called 'The Pen Shoppe'.

Its in the Brisbane Arcade, which runs between the the Queen St Mall and Adelaide St.

 

https://maps.google.com.au/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&q=Brisbane+Arcade,+117+Adelaide+Street+QLD&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x6b915a035de13fdb:0x991a6e17d902163,111-117+Adelaide+St,+Brisbane+QLD+4000&gl=au&ei=vO4fUrHZOseziQfthIDoCA&ved=0CC4Q8gEwAA

 

Nice place, chock full of luxury brand stuff, but I doubt that you'll find anything there that you can't get in the USA a lot cheaper. That's just the way it is here, very small market.

 

There was another one that wasn't quite as olde world, way up beyond the top of the Queen St mall, but I can't remember what it was called.

[ronw]

Thanks for the leads, everyone. We make a brief visit to Melbourne this coming week, but I will be back there a week or so later and will have a chance to check out some of these places.

 

Much appreciated.

 

(Where I live in the US, there's not much around pen-wise, either. I'm not so much hunting for deals as just to see what's around.)

[bdez]

When I was in Brisbane I visited a nice little shop called 'The Pen Shoppe'.

Its in the Brisbane Arcade, which runs between the the Queen St Mall and Adelaide St.

 

https://maps.google.com.au/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&q=Brisbane+Arcade,+117+Adelaide+Street+QLD&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x6b915a035de13fdb:0x991a6e17d902163,111-117+Adelaide+St,+Brisbane+QLD+4000&gl=au&ei=vO4fUrHZOseziQfthIDoCA&ved=0CC4Q8gEwAA

 

Nice place, chock full of luxury brand stuff, but I doubt that you'll find anything there that you can't get in the USA a lot cheaper. That's just the way it is here, very small market.

 

There was another one that wasn't quite as olde world, way up beyond the top of the Queen St mall, but I can't remember what it was called.

Agree - good spot and the staff a VERY knowlodgeable.

 

Nice arcade as well for other shopping.

[OldGreyGuy]

 

There was another one that wasn't quite as olde world, way up beyond the top of the Queen St mall, but I can't remember what it was called.

There is another shop towards the end of Queen Street near Customs House. I think it is called Pen and Paper and is at 410 Queen Street. Not sure that they have as much stock as The Pen Shoppe although some of their ink prices are slightly lower. Edited August 30, 2013 by OldGreyGuy