A Tiny Pen Shop at Christmas

And a short tour of some of my art supplies

Dec 05, 2025

When I was little, we lived near a store called Maloney’s Stationers.

It was something like a Hallmark store crossed with a Staples; closer to the feeling of a Paper Source. Of course, Staples, Paper Source, and the like didn’t exist yet. That made Maloney’s one of the few places you could load up on notebooks, greeting cards, and pens in a single location. They also had their own Santa Claus and free warm apple cider for the holidays.

At the age of 6, walking into Maloney’s at Christmastime was like my own Miracle on 34th Street. There were no long lines, like the ones for the mall Santa, and I was completely surrounded by aisles of pens and notecards. I loved pens and notecards, and all the infinite possibilities they brought with them. Getting to peruse them while sipping free cider, like a grownup, was true Christmas magic.

Part of my Copic Classic and Copic Sketch collection

Of course, in the 90s, at least as far as I know, there were no terms for pen lovers and paper collectors. The fancy neologisms for estilophiles/stylophiles and papyrophiliacs didn’t exist yet. I just knew, I really liked pens and notebooks.

Now there are entire magazines, like Flow,1 committed to paper lovers; Subscription supply boxes, like Sketchbox & Scrawlrbox; And, of course, my local Paper Source, ready to sap away all my money and storage space.

But I still get that magical feeling of infinite possibilities whenever I step into my art supply closet….

So, if you’re looking for me this holiday season, I may just be sitting in the closet with my coffee, staring at my pens and washi tape, deciding what to make next.