While many of you have been busy visiting Little Craft Fest this week in Houston, I took a break from pen-related travel to work on some upgrades to the shop, namely installing some new displays and reorganizing the floorplan so that we can display more items out on the main floor. Having everything out in the open also reduces the time it takes for me to find and pull items for online orders. For those who have been in our shop or who are thinking of coming to see us in the future, here’s what’s new and shiny:
I’m actually really proud of my new pegboard display! This took a full day to assemble but it’s created so much space.
New Larger Displays for Jetstreams, Anterique Pens, and A4 Paper. While I’ve had most of our Uni Jetstream selection on spinning racks, they were pretty flimsy and made it difficult to view all of the various options that we carry. Our new larger display racks use pegboard hooks to allow visitors to browse all of the various colors side-by-side, and I’ve also been able to move items off the tops of our counter displays, which makes it easier to view pens in the cases.
New Testing Station. I’ve retired the standing desk testing station in favor of a true desk, which will have sharpened Blackwing pencils (plus a sharpener), a few inked fountain pens, and various types of paper for testing once I have it stocked up! Eventually I want to have expanded ink testing - perhaps a daily bottle that’s on the desk and available for people to fill their pen?
All of the Washi Tape Is Now Available to Browse. Based on my experiments at the last two pen shows (Arkansas and Atlanta), I knew that I wanted to have a bigger in-store washi display. The entire trunk of washi tape is now sitting in the entryway, ready for people to dig through!
Finding a testing station layout that works has taken some time and experimentation. I’m going to take the desk approach for a while, and I also have a stamp for those who want a souvenir for their notebooks.
All the Washi. Come and get it!
So What’s Up Next for the Space?
I have a lot of ideas, mainly for in-store events that I’d like to host, but one thing at a time. I’m in the process of cleaning up our backroom warehouse to make room for a larger table for classes and meetups, and since that floor isn’t carpeted, it may make for a better area to play with ink. Because I’ve finished my first round of pen shows this year, I will plan to be in the shop fairly regularly (with maybe a weekend or two off for vacation) through the end of July, after which I will be attending the D.C. and San Francisco Pen Shows in some capacity. If you’re in the Nashville area, we’d love to see you! Regular hours are currently Thursdays and Fridays from 1-6, and Saturdays from 10-6.
Be sure to check out this page for updated hours, and we also regularly update hours on our Google Profile.
