thank you my friend
Dear everyone of Art Brown,
I miss you already! Sure, you really don’t know who I am or my name, and I always forgot your names (because I was too shy to ask directly), but I remember you and both spaces. I’ve been coming to terms with the news since I first learned of your final closing and then read further confirmation. I feel the loss of each small business, each friend.
Thank you for being you.
Thank you for putting up with my wandering through each aisle 20 times but not knowing for what I searched. Thank you for not complaining when I spent half an hour debating between two ink colours…Thank you for never pressuring me to just buy something already. Thank you for being patient while I bought my first Lamy and my delight as you changed it to an EF nib. And the second. For looking for a nice box for the j herbin rollerball I was picking up as a gift, and surprising me with one for my selfish acquisition as well! Thank you for the many sheets of paper in various formats that i could look at and touch (and sniff) before I bought. Thank you for the regular boring muggle pens and the scrap paper left there so I could try them out and pick up the one I needed for my non-special-ink writing. Thank you for the ink selections and never complaining when I asked to see the swatch books, again. That you for being kind even without saying a word. Thank you for not questioning when I would spend a long time in a back corner with items I had collected, review them, debate them, and then finally come forward to ask a question. I’ll never forget the day I wandered in during a pen sale caught totally unawares and wondering if I could just pick up the new notebook I needed.
I’m sorry I didn’t visit as much recently. My work is no longer just a few short blocks away, but I tried to visit when I could. The next time I’m nearby I know that when I start to walk toward 45th I will feel the loss all the more acutely then.
Thank you for the memories. I’m saddened I didn’t do more. I will miss you.
your friend,
/penny
(note: not all pens or paper pictured were acquired at Art Brown. Most were.)
Dear Reader: Please support a local small business you respect and admire in memory of Art Brown – The International Pen Shop.