Editing The Pen Addict 226/transcript (section)

== Toronto Stationery ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, speaking of everyday life, in Toronto, I guess probably people outside the area wouldn't really think of it as necessarily a fountain pen or pen or stationary hotspot. But it kind of is. I mean, Toronto is a big international metropolitan city that I don't think gets a lot of credit for that.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But you actually have a pretty good pen scene going on there in Toronto, right?

'''Michelle Leung:''' Yeah, we are very lucky. Toronto is, I believe it is the biggest city in Canada. And definitely, you know, within North America, I think it could rival a lot of big American cities. But still, we are very lucky because even places like New York, San Francisco, which I visited, I'm surprised they don't have as many pen, ink, and stationary stores as Toronto. So, yeah, we're very lucky. We have a lot of independent stores, you know, two within walking distance of my work. So, I've spent lots of money during breaks there. But there, the Mont Blanc store is only like five minutes away from my work. So, it's really funny because I work right downtown. Yeah, we have like lots of Japanese paper stores, you know, very unique kind of niche products and a lot of pen stores. You know, shout out to Wonder Pens, Leywinds, and also Take Note. Stationery is a new pen store that opened about a year ago in the west end of the city. They're doing very well. And then we have two Mont Blanc stores that I know have there. We might actually have three. And like I said, lots of kind of craft and art stores as well in the city. So, I feel very lucky. The community is very vibrant. I've met lots of great people. So, there's a lot of things to do and a lot of people hang out with in Toronto that are into the same stuff that I am.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, I've noticed, I think, from, you know, your Instagram feed or maybe a few other people that those stores are also embracing the community as well. Like, I saw there was some event at Leywinds that, you know, I saw a bunch of pictures from. And I know Liz at Wonder Pens, who is just really amazing. I hope to get to meet her one day. You know, she always has something going on for the community as a whole. Do you see that kind of growing within that community there?

'''Michelle Leung:''' Yeah, absolutely. Liz is great for the community. She hosts a lot, like you said, a lot of events in her store. She has a very popular kind of letter writing social that she does. And she does a lot of kind of sales and vintage pen meets on every few months, I believe. She does them on Sundays. Yeah, the stores are really embracing the community. They welcome us with open arms. And obviously, I've gotten to know a lot of the store owners. And we have our Toronto Pen Show, which we're going to talk about, which is getting larger and larger every year, which I'm excited to be a part of.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So I asked this question, not necessarily expecting an answer, but I can't help but think this. Why is this successful in Toronto and not in Atlanta or in other? Like, I mean, I say Atlanta because that's what I'm close to. We don't have anything like this. I mean, we have a couple of pen stores, but you'd be hard pressed for anyone to tell you the name of them, you know, much less that they shop there or go to an event there. And I think you see that in a lot of other big cities. But something about certain areas like Toronto, they get it. I'm trying to like rack my brain on why that is, but I find it like really, really fascinating.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Toronto's cooler than you, Brad. That's what it is.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's no joke. I'm moving.

'''Michelle Leung:''' Yeah, I find it fascinating, too. And I don't really have a good answer, except the fact that I guess it's just serendipitous that we have all these awesome people, you know, in the community. And when I first got into Pens, I was super surprised myself. I would have thought I could not have been able to get people together for a Pen meet. And now, you know, our Pen meets are frequent and large. Like, I don't even have time to get around to all the tables to talk to people. And sometimes I feel really bad because we have 50 people come out, you know, to our Pen meets. And it can be really difficult to get around to speak to everyone. But everyone's been really awesome. And as you know, what makes the community is the people. So Toronto definitely has some of the best people that I've met that are into Pen. So I feel very privileged and lucky to be in this city.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So she said it, Myke, and I don't think she realized she said it. She's basically saying Toronto is cooler than we are.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. Yeah, I'm afraid that that seems to be the case. At least they call them Pen meets and not writing equipment meets.

'''Michelle Leung:''' I thought that was really funny. Anyway.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Man, that's, yeah, that's, we need to, we need to do something about that London Pen show. Maybe we'll, we'll put that on the calendar one day, Myke. So, so speaking of Pen shows, I noticed, I've seen the Toronto Pen show like pop up in the calendar, like in years past. But last year, something changed a little bit. It was out there and it was more upfront and there was more talk about it. And I'm, I hope this isn't too far of a stretch to say, I think that's because of you, right? I mean, like you were really involved in what the Toronto Pen show does.

'''Michelle Leung:''' Yeah, that's very flattering. Thank you. I was happy to help. Last year was the first year that I got super on board and, and, and, you know, with the organizers to help out. Cause I have a marketing kind of public relations background. So I was really able to spin the story and I told them that people would find it very fascinating in the digital age. And I'm friends with a lot of journalists. You know, I was able to get the organizers on a lot of radio shows and media attention. So that's how I helped last year to get it more front and center. And each time I told, you know, my colleagues, my friends who are journalists in the city, they were so fascinated. They're like, I can't believe that you guys have a Pen show. And, you know, thousands of people come and they line up. And I said, yeah, I'm not kidding. You have to come check it out. And they brought in cameras. So we got more media attention than we have in the past, which kind of spirals into more interest in the show for everybody involved. So that's really fun. And we're looking forward to this year. I've attended, this will be my third year attending. And each year it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. So obviously this year is bigger than last year. So we're very psyched and excited for October 30th.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's very cool. So do you have any direct involvement with the show? Otherwise, like you're, are you, do you get to go attend the show? Or do you help, do you do any working on that, on that day?

'''Michelle Leung:''' This year I'm actually going. So last year I was working. I mean, I still had time to walk around, walk around. But this year I'm actually going to be a vendor. I'm helping out my friend. And her name's Yolanta. She works at Take Note Stationery, which is Toronto's newest pen and stationery store. So she's excited. She'll be exhibiting there. So I've decided to help her out. So less on the organizing side this year and just being a vendor. And I'm actually excited to see what it's like on the other side of the table. I'm sure I'll have, I'll have some time to walk around. But as you know, when you're working a pen show, you're just working, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yes, that is the truth. And since, like, that's a one-day show there. So, I mean, people are getting in and they're there to shop. I mean, it's going to be busy. Like, have y'all seen, like, already an uptick? Do you already expect, like, a bigger crowd this year than last year? And I know last year was, like, really, really good.

'''Michelle Leung:''' Yeah, definitely. The last two years that I attended, yeah, thousands of people streaming in. There was never a non-busy moment at the tables. I talked to the vendors. Everyone was really happy with the attendance. So we expect even more people this year. So I'm expecting definitely crazy crowds again this year.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, this sounds like a world tour event, Myke. I mean, Atlanta, London, Toronto. That's a pretty legit pen addict world tour, don't you think?

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think so.

'''Michelle Leung:''' Yeah, and I'm always trying to convince, you know, I have a lot of pen friends, obviously, in America and abroad, too. And I was like, our dollar is so bad. You guys are going to get so much bang for your buck coming to Toronto because each time I go to an American pen show, I have to attack on 30%, right, with the exchange and all that. But seriously, like, you're going to find so many deals because of how much your dollar is worth.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So I want to get into some more pen shows because that's where we first met in person at the DC Pen Show two years ago. But first, let's hear about one of my favorite companies in the world, Michael, and that's Harry's.