Stationery shopping in Taipei, part 1
I spent a month in Taipei and did a lot of stationery shopping (my excuse was that it was an incentive to explore the city more). This time I’ll talk about my experience with specialised stationery shops. These might be a little more out of the way, but are well worth the visit for an enthusiast.
Note: I was just a tourist and I’m only writing about the ones I actually visited in person. Locals would have more recommendations. You can also check out the blog posts by Inkantadora and Inksharks on this topic.
Stationery events
Okay, this one is not a shop in particular. But I’ve previously posted about the 2023 Taipei Stationery Fair, and I also visited something called the Eslite Ideal Stationery Fair. Do investigate if there are any events going on where you may find new products or exclusives.
Ink bottles at the Eslite event.
Molly Lifestyle
The most convenient on the list, it’s right by Zhongxiao Xinsheng MRT station. Impressive range of fountain pens, inks, and other aesthetic stationery crammed into a small space. Every nib size for Pilot, Sailor, and Platinum’s entry level gold pens are available to try at the counter. I believe their Japanese pens are grey market which is why you can get them at close to street price; it’s where I got my Sailor Pro Gear Slim.
Plain Stationery, Homeware and Cafe
Hidden on a side street just opposite Molly Lifestyle. It’s focused on pencils, aesthetic journaling supplies and stamps. For me the standout is the cafe where you can sit to try out the stationery you’ve just bought.
Juspirit (website)
An entire apartment’s worth1 of fountain pen ink! And each has at least one beautiful swatch card. Very friendly and helpful staff. Make sure to check out the more hard-to-find Taiwanese and Japanese inks (for me, the highlight was Lennon Tool Bar, they also have their own brand Ink Institute). Plus fountain pen paper, some elegant pen cases, and a lot of fountain pens out on the desk for you to try - notably Opus 88. As an ink lover, coming to a shop which is clearly made by and for people like me was a lot of fun.
Ty Lee Pens (website)
This place reminds me of a Western pen shop, but a very impressive one. The first floor is a veritable fountain pen museum with a huge display of pens - including the most rare, expensive, and ridiculous ones - from both Asian and Western brands. Definitely the most variety of any shop I’ve been to. They make some pens of their own as well. In the basement are inks from around the world (do ask the assistant for the swatch books, there are at least two), fountain pen friendly notebooks, and a good variety of leather pen cases and sleeves.
Humungous. I regret not asking the shopkeeper for an explanation about these.
Gazing Far (website)
A unique shop which allows customers to try out every single product in store. They sell their own fountain pens, sleeves, and ink. They also stock specialised Japanese fountain pen paper like Takasago Premium, Graphilo, etc. which I hadn’t seen elsewhere. You can bring along a pen and refill it from one of the owner’s display bottles for free, which is a fun way to try a new colour.
The chaos at the testing desk while the owner was kindly allowing me to try out the different papers and inks.
The half empty bottles you can see on the right are the ones you can refill from.
This is part 1 of 2 about Taipei; next time I’ll write about some less niche places. Have you been to the ones I mentioned so far? What am I missing? Let me know!
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Literally. It’s hidden inside an apartment building. You can check on Google Maps to be sure what the entrance looks like. ↩︎