The Addiction
There’s all kinds of retail therapy, and by far the BEST for me is pens, paper, and all stationery and art supply materials! Walking into a well-stocked shop makes me lose track of time and enter a sort of dreamy state (comparable to the ‘week at the knees’ feeling you get when you hear a rumbling V8 engine). It’s as much about seeing all the materials nicely stacked (the multitude is definitely inspiring), as it is about picking things up, feeling the paper quality, testing pens and pencils and wanting to buy the lot (which sadly isn’t possible). A dose of pen and paper retail therapy always works wonders – and when budget is too low to shop I love sorting through the pens I have; lining them all up and then sharpening and testing them (and obviously drawing), I may be mad, but there really is something very satisfying about pens :)
The Online Experience
With the tactile element missing from any online shopping experience, you could assume that it would be less satisfying to buy pens over the internet… This is what I thought until I found this UK site: Cult Pens who stock practically every fabulous pen and pencil you could dream of! They make up for you not being able to hold the products by supplying nice images and well written (enticing) product descriptions. Having now placed my first order, I am convinced that these guys employ copy-writers who study ‘penaholics’ closely and know exactly what makes us tick :) Subtle use of words such as ‘satisfying’, ‘really nice’ & ‘classic’ combined with history, images and pen facts – mimics the feeling of being in a real shop, ensuring that the dreamy state remains all the way to the checkout page :)
The Pens…
Having searched for a place that stocks Caran D’Ache fixpencils for ages, I was positively thrilled to discover them online (being couch bound with the flu may have influenced the instant need for retail therapy, but I’ve happily decided not to over-analyse…). The images below are from the cult pens website – this being a post about a pen addiction, I just simply HAVE to show you images – and as I’m still waiting for my order, I’ve made do with these professionally photographed and highly inspiring product shots for now ;)
