A Visit from Pilot

It’s no secret that I love when our distributors or manufacturers come for a visit. They get to check out the shop, we get to chat a bit, but of course, my favourite part is that usually come with some treats! It’s like Hallowe’en for stationery shops! (I guess the trick is usually when they announce a price increase on their way out…)

We enjoy trips from the famous/infamous Mr. Pons of Lamy – I’m not really sure how he has become so well-known in the Canadian pen market. Of course Lamarche brings special treats from Rhodia and Clairefontaine and others, and even (!) banana chocolate chip muffins. You may recall last year, we had a special visit from Mr. Kaweco himself (i.e. Mr. Gutberlet) all the way from Germany, as on offshoot of his trip for a New York gift show, where we got to see a few exciting new things for Kaweco. I was too bedazzled to take any photos.

We had a very exciting visit from Crestar, Pilot’s distributor in Canada, over the weekend! Mr. Robert Goldenberg, Vice President of Crestar, strolled into our tiny shop!

A kind customer offered to take a photo of all of us, but (HAHA) like I would be caught dead in a photo with two men over 6 feet tall. 

Robert left these decals or stickers to put on the floor, but I think our landlord might have a few things to say about that. After he left, it occurred to me I should’ve had him holding the decal! Jon reluctantly obliged so you can use your imagination to merge the two photos together.

Lots and lots of exciting things! Fancy new pens and markers and even highlighters that erase! Pointy and bright. We got a chance to talk about some of the Pilot and Crestar and you know, that crazy pen market.

But most exciting of all, some new things coming in…

Some of you may recognize the Kakuno, which may be arriving on our shelves sometime soon! How could anyone resist a smiley face on a nib. We couldn’t be more excited for all the things happening with Pilot and Crestar and we’re hoping to get going on some of these in our shop.

One of the most interesting things is that Robert joked that Caleb, asleep during the visit, would be up and sweeping floors and stocking shelves in no time, a true family business. He himself is actually an expert in this because his father founded Crestar, and he has been working at the company since he was but a small fry. It’s so wonderful to hear about the companies and people we work with as other family businesses, because this is one of the real reasons our business, Wonder Pens, has survived and thrived – through families and customers that support us, and through working with local businesses in Canada. 

As a side note, I’m pretty sure Robert signed the letter he brought with a ballpoint. We’ll forgive him this once.