Pen Shopping in Paris and Copenhagen

Round 2: Shopping in Paris and Copenhagen.

Paris has a number of excellent pens stores but the one that really stood out to me was Mora Stylos.

 

Mora Stylos Paris

This beautiful little shop has the best selection of quality pens that I saw on my entire trip.  So what do they offer?  In addition to most major brands, they had a very nice selection of mint to near mint vintage pages as well as a beautiful selection of new old stock pens.  They also have an impressive selection of highly optioned Nakaya pens. The sales woman showed me one where the clip had been painted in the same midori urushi lacquer as the barrel; she was proud to say that this was a custom option that had only been done for their store.

The real star of the store though is Oldwin pens, these pens are made specifically for the shop and feature huge customized number 7 and number 8 Bock nibs.  What really stands out with these pens are the materials used.  They select very old materials like hard rubber from an 1930s bocce ball and vintage celluloid used by OMAS.  The result is a stunningly beautiful collection of pens.  Each pen is a one off; no two pens are the same.  I got the chance to write with a medium nibbed Oldwin with a”cracked ice” (black with white veins) celluloid body and the pen wrote beautifully.  The nib was a true medium and not the overly fat medium I am accustomed to with many European pens.

I did not buy an Oldwin but I do hope to add one to my collection at some point.  It is advantageous to be a foreigner when buying an Oldwin pen because when purchased through Mora’s website you get the VAT removed from the price and free shipping.  The sales women also stated that when you place an order you can request minor customizations to the nib, to increase or decrease the flow of the pen free of charge.

If you only visit one pen store in Paris, this is it.

Copenhagen:

I am sorry to say that I was only able to find one pen store in Copenhagen and while they had a large selection of new Montblancs, and Lamy pens that was really about it.

Stelling A/S Copenhagen

On the plus side Copenhagen did have some amazing food:

Geranium Copenhagen
“Dillstone”: Mackerel, Horseradish & Granita from Pickled Cucumber

 

Geranium Copenhagen
Jerusalem Artichoke, Rye & Walnut

Midori World Meister’s Note Vol. 1 “Dainel” Notebook Review

Midori World Meister's Note Vol. 1 "Dainel"

The Midori World Meister’s Note series features collaborations between Japan and other countries.  The Dainel is the first in the series which Midori describes as ” A marriage of French leather paper and Japan’s MD paper, developed for the best writing comfort”.

Midori World Meister's Note Vol. 1 "Dainel"

The color of the cover is a bit more brown and less grey than the picture shows.
The color of the cover is a bit more brown and less grey than the picture shows.

Let’s start with the cover and then make our way inside.  The cover is made in France out of “French leather paper” and according to the packaging:

“[Dainel] stands for ‘suede’ in France.  In a town some 200 km east of the capital, Paris, 30 years of experience with suede work have created a one-of-a-kind technology unique in the whole world.  This unique technology has crystallized in this gorgeous leather paper.”

Midori World Meister's Note Vol. 1 "Dainel"

To me the cover looks a bit like suede but I was disappointed when I touched it; it feels like a mediocre felt.  The more I use the notebook the more I like the cover; it is a lot nicer than a paper cover but it certainly isn’t leather.  The cover has “Dainel” pressed into the front of the cover and “The World Meister’s Note” pressed into the spine.  This cover is the light brown color and I believe they come in four or five other colors.

Midori World Meister's Note Vol. 1 "Dainel"

This notebook is extremely well made and dare I say, better than anything else I have seen in its price range. The notebook is nicely stitched this notebook lays flat.

Midori World Meister's Note Vol. 1 "Dainel"

Midori World Meister's Note Vol. 1 "Dainel"

The inside of the notebook features 91 A5 pages of Midori’s exceptional cream colored MD paper which holds fountain pen ink beautifully.  There is no bleed through even with juicy pens and almost no feathering.

It's a 91 page notebook because the first page has this logo printed on it.
It’s a 91 page notebook because the first page has this logo printed on it.

Midori World Meister's Note Vol. 1 "Dainel"

No bleed through and minor ghosting.
No bleed through and minor ghosting.

At around $13 this notebook is not cheap but the combination of the quality and the branding make it a winner.  I look forward to getting my hands on the other notebooks in this series; I believe they are up to volume 3.