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Pens of Montreal

Where to shop and what I found.

Last week I covered some of the paper stores I found in downtown Montreal during my trip – this week I’ll cover where I found some great pens and stationary.

Nota Bene Papeterie, 3416 Av Du Parc, Montreal
Nota Bene Papeterie, 3416 Av Du Parc, Montreal

First up is Nota Bene Papeterie, a cool little two story shop near the northeast corner of Mount Royal Park. This store had the best selection of stationary – rows of Clairefontaine, Rhodia, Field Notes, Leuchtturm1917, and many more. Their pen case had some great offerings and they carried a lot of accessories like cases and ink (Lamy, Caran d’Ache, Waterman, etc). The staff here was great and we chatted about the hobby, and they even tried out my Lamy Al-Star with the 1.9mm nib. There is a ton of stuff crammed into what appears to be a small shop from the street, but step inside and prepare to wander around the piles of paper and pens for a while.

DeSerres, 334 St Catherine St E, Montreal
DeSerres, 334 St Catherine St E, Montreal

About a mile walk from here is DeSerres – which is similar to Dick Blick in the states. They had everything you needed for drawing, painting, drafting, crafting and a little of everything in between. I found some inks I had never had the chance to play with before from Royal Talens Ecoline, Liquitex, and Sennelier. Their pen case was a bit empty during my visit but they did have some Lamy Safari and Joy models on display. Regardless this place is worth a visit as there is so much else to see and once again a very friendly staff to guide me in the right directions.

Papeterie Casse-Noisette, 441 St Sulpice St, Montreal
Papeterie Casse-Noisette, 441 St Sulpice St, Montreal

My last stop on the pen tour was a shop that was in the paper post last week Papeterie Casse-Noisette (Nutcracker Stationary). They are located right across the street from Notre Dame Basilica. While they had a smaller selection of stationary compared to Nota Bene, their pen case was quite well stocked with a huge variety of pens. The staff was quite happy to let me try a variety of different pens, but it was a bit overwhelming to be honest – too many choices!  The usual suspects were in tow for stationary from Clairfontaine, Rhodia, Moleskine and Quo Vadis.

So if you happen to find yourself in Montreal and get the itch to seek out some new pens or paper check out these stores – so much to see and some beautiful architecture and history on the walks between them.

 

The Pen Case at Casse-Noisette
The Pen Case at Casse-Noisette
Inside Nota Bene
Inside Nota Bene

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