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			{{Infobox podcast transcript
			\| name = The Pen Addict
			\| number = 667
			\| title = President of Stationery
			\| date = May 28th, 2025
			\| hosts = [[Brad Dowdy]]<br>
			[[Myke Hurley]]
			\| guests =
			\| link = [https://www.relay.fm/penaddict/667 Episode 667]
			\| audiolink = [https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/mgln.ai/e/613/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thepenaddict/The_Pen_Addict_667.mp3 Audio Episode 667]
			\| length = 53
			}}

	* From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode 667. Today's show is brought to you by Enigma Stationery and the St. Louis Pen Show. My name is Myke Hurley, I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi Brad. What's up Myke Hurley, how are you? Good, I'm excited for our main topic of the show later on, which people can look forward to. Yeah, I'm super curious about how this is going to go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But first, we have some follow-up. Follow-up to the follow-up to the follow-up. And this story's not going to end because I still have questions. Okay.		* From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode 667. Today's show is brought to you by Enigma Stationery and the St. Louis Pen Show. My name is Myke Hurley, I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi Brad. What's up Myke Hurley, how are you? Good, I'm excited for our main topic of the show later on, which people can look forward to. Yeah, I'm super curious about how this is going to go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But first, we have some follow-up. Follow-up to the follow-up to the follow-up. And this story's not going to end because I still have questions. Okay.

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			[[Category:The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript]]

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	== Review of the Colotino Pen ==		== Review of the Colotino Pen ==

	* Coming up. Coming up soon. So, the Colotino, Myke, if you are on the ~~stationary~~ internet, you've probably seen this going around. It's fun when companies, like, send out a product to, like, all the reviewers and all the pen influencers. And we all kind of post it, like, around the same time. I don't know why. I get the biggest kick out of that. And I always have to, like, make some kind of joke about it because I think it's funny. But it's also good because every person who tries out a pen has their own opinions because, like we're talking about in the stub nib conversation, I have a certain visual that I want to see in the nib. And with the Colotino, I can't say. I just should call it the Colopinto now. That's going to bother me every time. And it's also going to get too confusing. So, let's just let everyone forget everything that we've been talking about for the last few minutes. The Colotino, you know, it is a stunning pen. Like, but in the end, I'll, like, go ahead and work backwards from here. This ended up being a form of a function pen. And I think that's very much something to consider. Like, we talked about the Agiotto, their pocket pen, you know, a few weeks ago and how, like, I really, really liked it. But I don't know that I'm actually going to enjoy using it that much. Like, it's a very particular pen. The Colotino falls into that same category. If you look at this pen and it's sitting there on a desk and it's capped, you might think, like, this is, like, a really, really cool pen. Like, I think it is. And you uncap it and it's like, yeah, this looks great. Like, it's kind of, you know, got the, my particular model, and we'll have a link in the show notes to my review, is in a full brass model. They make an acrylic barrel model that uses a brass grip section. And I'm going to relate to that. I'll circle back around to that here in a little bit. But what I, I like the style and shape and the design. I like pocket pens, right? So, it's just a very cool, small, nice fountain pen.		* Coming up. Coming up soon. So, the Colotino, Myke, if you are on the stationery internet, you've probably seen this going around. It's fun when companies, like, send out a product to, like, all the reviewers and all the pen influencers. And we all kind of post it, like, around the same time. I don't know why. I get the biggest kick out of that. And I always have to, like, make some kind of joke about it because I think it's funny. But it's also good because every person who tries out a pen has their own opinions because, like we're talking about in the stub nib conversation, I have a certain visual that I want to see in the nib. And with the Colotino, I can't say. I just should call it the Colopinto now. That's going to bother me every time. And it's also going to get too confusing. So, let's just let everyone forget everything that we've been talking about for the last few minutes. The Colotino, you know, it is a stunning pen. Like, but in the end, I'll, like, go ahead and work backwards from here. This ended up being a form of a function pen. And I think that's very much something to consider. Like, we talked about the Agiotto, their pocket pen, you know, a few weeks ago and how, like, I really, really liked it. But I don't know that I'm actually going to enjoy using it that much. Like, it's a very particular pen. The Colotino falls into that same category. If you look at this pen and it's sitting there on a desk and it's capped, you might think, like, this is, like, a really, really cool pen. Like, I think it is. And you uncap it and it's like, yeah, this looks great. Like, it's kind of, you know, got the, my particular model, and we'll have a link in the show notes to my review, is in a full brass model. They make an acrylic barrel model that uses a brass grip section. And I'm going to relate to that. I'll circle back around to that here in a little bit. But what I, I like the style and shape and the design. I like pocket pens, right? So, it's just a very cool, small, nice fountain pen.
	* But it's not a good writer for me. And I think it's not going to be a good writer for a lot of people because it has this massive step down from the brass barrel into the grip section. So, it's a triangular barrel, which looks great. And when you design a triangular shape into a cylindrical shape, you end up with various, you know, peaks and flats around that connection. Right? So, if you're like me and have a traditional grip, my grips kind of run up the flat sides. But they're still kind of like a big edge, even on the flats. And then if you have a little bit of an off grip, you really get into these huge peaks of the triangular barrel. And it's just an uncomfortable situation between the grip and the barrel. Like the step down is really large. So, you either have to grip it really, really low. Which if you do that, you still kind of touch the flat. Or you come all the way up on the flat. One of the things I enjoy, and I just, I didn't want to put too many more pictures. But if you go to like the Colo product page for the Tino fountain pen, there's like someone holding it like way up in the barrel on the flat. Like way above the grip section. And then there's another person like holding it like way down on the nibs. Like they don't even know where to hold it. And I found that to be kind of humorous when I was looking at the product shots. It's like, yeah, they don't even know how to hold this pen.		* But it's not a good writer for me. And I think it's not going to be a good writer for a lot of people because it has this massive step down from the brass barrel into the grip section. So, it's a triangular barrel, which looks great. And when you design a triangular shape into a cylindrical shape, you end up with various, you know, peaks and flats around that connection. Right? So, if you're like me and have a traditional grip, my grips kind of run up the flat sides. But they're still kind of like a big edge, even on the flats. And then if you have a little bit of an off grip, you really get into these huge peaks of the triangular barrel. And it's just an uncomfortable situation between the grip and the barrel. Like the step down is really large. So, you either have to grip it really, really low. Which if you do that, you still kind of touch the flat. Or you come all the way up on the flat. One of the things I enjoy, and I just, I didn't want to put too many more pictures. But if you go to like the Colo product page for the Tino fountain pen, there's like someone holding it like way up in the barrel on the flat. Like way above the grip section. And then there's another person like holding it like way down on the nibs. Like they don't even know where to hold it. And I found that to be kind of humorous when I was looking at the product shots. It's like, yeah, they don't even know how to hold this pen.
	* So, all that's fine. Like maybe you can work around that. Maybe you can't. But the issue, the bigger issue I had is the length of the pen unposted and posted. Neither of those hit the sweet spot for me. So, unposted it's too short. And posted it's too long. Which is like really hard, really difficult to do.		* So, all that's fine. Like maybe you can work around that. Maybe you can't. But the issue, the bigger issue I had is the length of the pen unposted and posted. Neither of those hit the sweet spot for me. So, unposted it's too short. And posted it's too long. Which is like really hard, really difficult to do.
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	* Make more notebooks everywhere. Let's bring manufacturer back home. Bring it back home, baby.		* Make more notebooks everywhere. Let's bring manufacturer back home. Bring it back home, baby.
	* All right. Last one. I'm a party of the people, not for myself. So we're going to make Fountain Pen Day a worldwide government-recognized holiday. We're going to sit with all the other countries. And we're going to get this on the calendar and make it an official day. A day of celebration for our community. Not just, you know, a one-off day here, you know, randomly for retailers. Let's make it a worldwide holiday. Let's bring writing back to the people. Thank you, everyone, for listening to this, for putting up with us. And for voting here, you know, coming up in a few weeks. We're going to have a big vote. Wow. And, yeah. No, I mean, we're not. But, you know. I look forward to it. I look forward to becoming president of Stationary. Yeah. President of Stationary. Myke Hurley, or president of Stationary. Brad Dowdy. You have heard our platforms. Let us know what you think. I'll let you be vice president, if you want. Yeah. We'd be a good team. Yeah. You could be vice president. You're a little bit questionable. I'll meet people at least once a week.		* All right. Last one. I'm a party of the people, not for myself. So we're going to make Fountain Pen Day a worldwide government-recognized holiday. We're going to sit with all the other countries. And we're going to get this on the calendar and make it an official day. A day of celebration for our community. Not just, you know, a one-off day here, you know, randomly for retailers. Let's make it a worldwide holiday. Let's bring writing back to the people. Thank you, everyone, for listening to this, for putting up with us. And for voting here, you know, coming up in a few weeks. We're going to have a big vote. Wow. And, yeah. No, I mean, we're not. But, you know. I look forward to it. I look forward to becoming president of Stationary. Yeah. President of Stationary. Myke Hurley, or president of Stationary. Brad Dowdy. You have heard our platforms. Let us know what you think. I'll let you be vice president, if you want. Yeah. We'd be a good team. Yeah. You could be vice president. You're a little bit questionable. I'll meet people at least once a week.
	* You nailed it. This episode is brought to you by Enigma Stationary. Enigma Stationary offer unique items from in-house designs, made from in-house designs, along with top brands and hard-to-find imports. It's time to export worry and import joy with Enigma's new, lower prices throughout the shop. That's right. The Enigma team says, Tariffs Schmariffs. Yeah. It's time to treat yourself with the best prices yet on both regular items and a refreshed clearance page. And on top of all those great prices, Enigma have a limited-term offer for anyone purchasing a new fountain pen. From now until July 31st, every fountain pen sold for $150 a war will receive a special gift with a value of at least $30. No code required. So forget about those duties and focus on doodles of your pen-abling friends at Enigma Stationary. Head on over to ~~enigmastationary~~.com slash penaddict. And you can also use the code penaddict25 at checkout right now. That is ~~enigmastationary~~.com slash penaddict to get your hands on all of Enigma's great discounts, plus a free gift and free US shipping on orders of over $50 or more with that code penaddict25. Our thanks to Enigma Stationary for their support of this show and relay.		* You nailed it. This episode is brought to you by Enigma Stationary. Enigma Stationary offer unique items from in-house designs, made from in-house designs, along with top brands and hard-to-find imports. It's time to export worry and import joy with Enigma's new, lower prices throughout the shop. That's right. The Enigma team says, Tariffs Schmariffs. Yeah. It's time to treat yourself with the best prices yet on both regular items and a refreshed clearance page. And on top of all those great prices, Enigma have a limited-term offer for anyone purchasing a new fountain pen. From now until July 31st, every fountain pen sold for $150 a war will receive a special gift with a value of at least $30. No code required. So forget about those duties and focus on doodles of your pen-abling friends at Enigma Stationary. Head on over to enigmastationery.com slash penaddict. And you can also use the code penaddict25 at checkout right now. That is enigmastationery.com slash penaddict to get your hands on all of Enigma's great discounts, plus a free gift and free US shipping on orders of over $50 or more with that code penaddict25. Our thanks to Enigma Stationary for their support of this show and relay.
	* Less duties, more doodles. That's a campaign platform right there. Yeah. Tariffs Schmariffs also. Big fan. Mm-hmm. Big fan. All right. Let's hit some ass TPA. Okay. Rain this madness back in. Gustavo wrote in and said, I recently moved from San Jose to Denver, and the difference in local availability of stationery beyond greetings cards is stark. There's a part of me that's considering embarking on the long journey of starting up a brick-and-mortar stationery store of my own. I've run a family business in the past, but never a stationery shop. Could you beautiful people either talk me out of it or give me some sage advice on how to build a community hub the likes of Atlas or Yoseka? What makes a good shop? This is a great question, and I will never talk anyone out of doing this as long as you realize it's going to be insanely tough, right, in this market. I don't think we even have to tell that to Gustavo. Yeah. I think that's understood. Here's the thing that I'll say to begin with, Gustavo. Are you okay with making no money for a while? Mm-hmm. Because that's kind of the realities of something like this because you need to establish yourself with vendors, you need to establish yourself in the community. And then, you know, I'm sure that like ~~stationary~~ retail is a pretty thin margin business. Mm-hmm. I would expect anyway. Unless maybe you're working kind of directly with some independent makers. I think the fact that there is such a strong distributor presence in the business, right, would make it quite hard for the margins to be pretty decent is my expectation. I don't know, but that is my expectation.		* Less duties, more doodles. That's a campaign platform right there. Yeah. Tariffs Schmariffs also. Big fan. Mm-hmm. Big fan. All right. Let's hit some ass TPA. Okay. Rain this madness back in. Gustavo wrote in and said, I recently moved from San Jose to Denver, and the difference in local availability of stationery beyond greetings cards is stark. There's a part of me that's considering embarking on the long journey of starting up a brick-and-mortar stationery store of my own. I've run a family business in the past, but never a stationery shop. Could you beautiful people either talk me out of it or give me some sage advice on how to build a community hub the likes of Atlas or Yoseka? What makes a good shop? This is a great question, and I will never talk anyone out of doing this as long as you realize it's going to be insanely tough, right, in this market. I don't think we even have to tell that to Gustavo. Yeah. I think that's understood. Here's the thing that I'll say to begin with, Gustavo. Are you okay with making no money for a while? Mm-hmm. Because that's kind of the realities of something like this because you need to establish yourself with vendors, you need to establish yourself in the community. And then, you know, I'm sure that like stationery retail is a pretty thin margin business. Mm-hmm. I would expect anyway. Unless maybe you're working kind of directly with some independent makers. I think the fact that there is such a strong distributor presence in the business, right, would make it quite hard for the margins to be pretty decent is my expectation. I don't know, but that is my expectation.
	* That you would have to, you know, you really have to be shifting a lot of product for it to be something that's good. But I feel like Denver, that feels like a place that could have a good store, right? Right. My understanding is like Colorado's pretty hip.		* That you would have to, you know, you really have to be shifting a lot of product for it to be something that's good. But I feel like Denver, that feels like a place that could have a good store, right? Right. My understanding is like Colorado's pretty hip.
	* Yeah. No, Denver would be a great place, I would think. So the challenges in an odd way play a little bit into like some of the positives. And what I would do if I was starting a brick and mortar is you're going to be forced to start small, right? You're going to be forced to be very particular about what you carry because no one's going, no new one-off ~~stationary~~ retailer that's not a chain, right? Like Kino Kaniya, like a massive, massive chain is going to come in big, right, into a community.		* Yeah. No, Denver would be a great place, I would think. So the challenges in an odd way play a little bit into like some of the positives. And what I would do if I was starting a brick and mortar is you're going to be forced to start small, right? You're going to be forced to be very particular about what you carry because no one's going, no new one-off stationery retailer that's not a chain, right? Like Kino Kaniya, like a massive, massive chain is going to come in big, right, into a community.

	== Starting a Brick-and-Mortar Stationery Store ==		== Starting a Brick-and-Mortar Stationery Store ==

	* But if you come in with like the right selection of products and can tell the story and share the stories of these products and participate in the community as like an open sharing space for hangouts, like I would have like, I would have a shop space and I would have like a hangout space in any ~~stationary~~ store I built, right? And like that's giving up some of the very expensive, you know, retail footage that you need. But I think people need to be comfortable once they find you is to like spend some time and learn and share and bring in other people into the community and holding events and educating the community.		* But if you come in with like the right selection of products and can tell the story and share the stories of these products and participate in the community as like an open sharing space for hangouts, like I would have like, I would have a shop space and I would have like a hangout space in any stationery store I built, right? And like that's giving up some of the very expensive, you know, retail footage that you need. But I think people need to be comfortable once they find you is to like spend some time and learn and share and bring in other people into the community and holding events and educating the community.
	* And, you know, it's going to be a lot about the products are going to what gets your door open. But figuring out how to build community is, is going to be what gets your growth and continued to growth, continued growth. So I'd start looking at these other retailers that you mentioned, you know, look at someone like, um, and like, I generally do not know how to say this name. It's bomb Kukin, uh, out of Los Angeles. Like if you're, if you're looking at this, you probably run across them. They started like a pretty small retailer retail shop. They really focused on like, um, like the education aspects of products in store, like not really even like online. And, um, you know, they've just continued to grow and continue to build and like have the, uh, just a great community of people that support them. So figure it, find these small stores and small communities that may not be the biggest, um, you know, the biggest online presences, right. And figure out what they're doing to thrive in their local markets. Um, and, you know, decide even if you want to run an online, you know, retail shop, like, um, um, the, the shop in Chicago, is it pen, pen, paper, pencil, Chicago? I forget the exact name. I apologize. Um, they don't even run an online, uh, retail operation, right? They're like on Instagram, they share everything, but they want you to come to the store, right? They don't even, um, they don't even have online retail. So that's a decision like you have to make. That's a, that's a man. That's a tough decision. Like, I don't know if I could do that. Right. Um, but like, that's also the habit that I've been into is, is running some online. So does the online, does the Instagram, um, paper and pencil, Chicago. Gosh, I, I can't remember the exact name. Okay. Um, but like, it's easy to find and, um, we'll put a link in the show notes because I'm, it's, you know, I'm all, I'm all over the name, but, uh, give me the correct name. Paper and pencil, Chicago. Okay. I just couldn't, I wasn't sure. So they do not have online retail, right? But they are really driven by growing the local ~~stationary~~ community. Yeah. Right. So that's, what's keeping them going. And that's a really neat business to, um, to follow and learn from. Um, they're the ones who did, um, the Chicago ~~stationary~~ fest earlier this year as well. Right. That also. Great. Then if you can sell something like that, you're doing good. So like, this is a great, great thought.		* And, you know, it's going to be a lot about the products are going to what gets your door open. But figuring out how to build community is, is going to be what gets your growth and continued to growth, continued growth. So I'd start looking at these other retailers that you mentioned, you know, look at someone like, um, and like, I generally do not know how to say this name. It's bomb Kukin, uh, out of Los Angeles. Like if you're, if you're looking at this, you probably run across them. They started like a pretty small retailer retail shop. They really focused on like, um, like the education aspects of products in store, like not really even like online. And, um, you know, they've just continued to grow and continue to build and like have the, uh, just a great community of people that support them. So figure it, find these small stores and small communities that may not be the biggest, um, you know, the biggest online presences, right. And figure out what they're doing to thrive in their local markets. Um, and, you know, decide even if you want to run an online, you know, retail shop, like, um, um, the, the shop in Chicago, is it pen, pen, paper, pencil, Chicago? I forget the exact name. I apologize. Um, they don't even run an online, uh, retail operation, right? They're like on Instagram, they share everything, but they want you to come to the store, right? They don't even, um, they don't even have online retail. So that's a decision like you have to make. That's a, that's a man. That's a tough decision. Like, I don't know if I could do that. Right. Um, but like, that's also the habit that I've been into is, is running some online. So does the online, does the Instagram, um, paper and pencil, Chicago. Gosh, I, I can't remember the exact name. Okay. Um, but like, it's easy to find and, um, we'll put a link in the show notes because I'm, it's, you know, I'm all, I'm all over the name, but, uh, give me the correct name. Paper and pencil, Chicago. Okay. I just couldn't, I wasn't sure. So they do not have online retail, right? But they are really driven by growing the local stationery community. Yeah. Right. So that's, what's keeping them going. And that's a really neat business to, um, to follow and learn from. Um, they're the ones who did, um, the Chicago stationery fest earlier this year as well. Right. That also. Great. Then if you can sell something like that, you're doing good. So like, this is a great, great thought.
	* Um, and you know, it could be a great experience. It'll be super, super difficult. Like I, like, I feel like I don't need to say that, but like, I think, you know, that, but you know, if it's, if you're like really, really dedicated to it and you take, if this is your only job, like you're, you know, take an oath of poverty for like a year or two, because that's what it's going to take to, to build something like this. But yeah, I think it could be good, especially in the right place, right location.		* Um, and you know, it could be a great experience. It'll be super, super difficult. Like I, like, I feel like I don't need to say that, but like, I think, you know, that, but you know, if it's, if you're like really, really dedicated to it and you take, if this is your only job, like you're, you know, take an oath of poverty for like a year or two, because that's what it's going to take to, to build something like this. But yeah, I think it could be good, especially in the right place, right location.