The entrance to Alan Lloyd's fantastic shop in Kendal |
Hello
Hello! Well, it's been a few weeks since my last post, and I have exciting news
to report. The bindery is humming with interesting work, and our 2014 desk
calendars are flying off to their new homes even faster than last year's. Amid
all this, we decided it was high time to update our website for our wonderful
clientele. And so, with great effort from our talented designer, Parvum Opus, has been completely redesigned. It's had great reviews so far-- we invite you to take a peek and let us know what
you think!
One of the many treasure-laden shelves in Alan's shop. |
A pair of charming travelling inkwells. |
I've
also had the great pleasure of making a wonderful new long-distance friend, Mr. Alan Lloyd, who, for the
last 25+ years, has owned and operated this gem of a shop in Kendal, England.
It's the sort of shop that I adore: tiny and characterful, and
absolutely bursting at the seams with gorgeous pens, inkwells, inkstands, pen wipes
and more.
Another pair of travelling inkwells, this time in the whimsical form of hats and umbrellas: the inkwell is in the hat, and the pen is in the umbrella handle. |
A boar bristle pen nib wipe in an appropriate form. |
Alan’s
shop features
beautiful new pens, limited edition pens and vintage pens along with their
appropriate inks and accessories. It also houses a fantastic collection of
antique inkwells, pens and pen wipes that Alan has acquired over the years.
These are incredibly rare and almost impossible to find now, so it’s wonderful
to be able to see these pieces up close and hear about their histories from the
erudite Alan.
In the corner of another display: circular pen nib wipes in a feminine style. |
18th Century treen pen wipes: the laces on these tiny boots would have provided the wiping surface. |
These inkwells
and pen wipes, often from the nineteenth century, evoke romantic musings about
their original owners. In a time when most people could neither read nor write,
we can only wonder along with Alan, whose desks they adorned, and what sorts of
letters came from those desks.
Alan
shared a story that resonated with me: he said that as a 10-year old boy, he
was in the habit of carrying 3 pens in his jacket pocket. Of course, most young
boys have no real use for 3 pens—it was obviously just something about them
that he enjoyed. I think anyone who counts him/herself among the family of
collectors can recall a similar early passion for objects… For me, it was
books, pens and Japanese paper- no surprises there...
One of the many beautiful antique pens in Alan's shop |
A pair bird-shaped inkwells in another corner of the shop |
My
dear husband travels to Kendal frequently on business, and had the privilege and pleasure of
both discovering Alan's shop and meeting Alan in person. He took all of the pictures you see here on his last visit. I look forward to joining
him on one of his trips to Kendal soon: I’m sure I’ll find some way to occupy
my time while he works…