Phidon Turns 13!
More so than any other month of the year, September is a time of endless excitement here at Phidon Pens. Why? Because it's when we celebrate our anniversary! It's hard to believe it, but in the blink of an eye, our humble little shop turned 13 this year. Since we first opened our doors in 2008, the unending kindness and enthusiasm of the stationery community never ceases to amaze us. Whether you are a longtime visitor or a new customer who only just discovered us, we want to thank everyone for your continued support. Without you, we wouldn't be where we are today.
We can’t believe our little shop across from Cambridge City Hall is turning 13!
The Ever-evolving Phidon Family
Year 13 was full of many changes, some exciting, and some bittersweet. This year, in August, we said goodbye to our dear Madeline, who was our longtime shop assistant turned blog writer and newsletter organizer. If you haven’t already noticed, our small team wears many hats, and Madeline tackled every project and every task with gusto. We certainly would not be able to grow as we have continued to during the past year without her help. As she moves on to her next adventure as member of the staff and faculty at Wilfred Laurier University, we wish her the very best, and can’t wait to see her during her next visit to the shop.
As we bid a fond farewell to Madeline, we also welcomed two new members to the team. Cate, who joined last Fall, has been invaluable to our growing online shop and holding down the fort whenever things get hectic in the store, too. If you have placed an order with us through the website in the past year, there’s a very good chance that your order was carefully packed and sealed by her. She is also the one to unpack and sort through the deluge of new shipments arriving each week, making sure each item finds their right place in the shop (or in the backroom). Without her superb organization skills, we would be completely lost.
We also welcomed Meghan to our team this month. Meghan, who’s a student completing her Master’s studies at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, has already started assisting with the day to day operations of the shop, and will soon be taking on the blog as well. She is very passionate about all things paper, and we have no doubt she will have lots of tips and personal favourites to share with all of you in the coming months.
Lemonades And Silver Linings
Next time you come to our shop, make sure you stop by the “inspo-desk” at the front to check out the latest and greatest in stationery!
As many of you know, this year, we continued to experience a number of lockdowns and shop closures. Though frustrating for sure, they also gave us a bit of quiet time to do some housekeeping and spruce up the store without worrying about making a mess in the meantime. In typical Phidon fashion, we faced these challenges with enthusiasm and optimism, creating many fun opportunities for the team along the way. We especially love the new setup of a writing desk at the front of the shop. It has added an extra touch of coziness to the store and provides so much inspiration for our visitors.
We also took the opportunity to reorganize the backroom—creating more space for storage and order processing. One of our biggest challenges when we first opened the online shop was maintaining enough inventory so that customers wouldn’t be disappointed by frequently sold out products. As the months went on, we learned to plan and manage our inventory better, and in the past year, we started to carry much more products on hand than ever before. Of course, that means we’re now bursting at the seams with stationery in every nook and cranny we can find. What used to do double duty as our stockroom and lunchroom (and even triple duty as our weekend workshop space) has now been completely transformed with floor to ceiling shelving for pens, paper and inks. It’s quite a sight to behold, to be honest, and the stationery lover in us absolutely jumps for joy each time we walk into the back.
Our physical shop is where the magic all started, and we cherish this space for its ability to bring together people from all walks of life. From children choosing their first fountain pen to friends and families celebrating momentous occasions, our shop has made it possible for us to take part in events both quotidian and extraordinary through the simple pleasure of beautiful stationery. The many, long absences of visitors during past year only highlighted for us the importance of brick-and-mortar retail in community building. In the coming months, we hope to continue transforming our space to create a better, more enjoyable experience for every visitor.
As we enter our anniversary celebrations this weekend, we reflect on the past year with joy and gratitude. Every little change, every little bit of growth, brings for us so many wonderful adventures and memories. As we leave behind Year 13 and enter Year 14, we thank you—our customers, our collaborators, our friends—for being a part of our journey. We can’t wait to continue sharing our love for creativity with you.
Anniversary Celebrations the Phidon Way
To celebrate the happy occasion of our 13th Anniversary, we're holding an exciting weekend-long sale in-store and online. From 12:00am EST on Friday, September 17th until 11:59pm EST on Sunday, September 19th, enjoy 25% off almost all in-stock products. There's no need to enter any discount codes, the offer will apply automatically when you hit the checkout page. Pick up that new limited edition that you've been eyeing, or stock up on some favourite staples, there are plenty of goodies to choose from.
As with past sales, the discount will only apply to purchases made during the promotional period, and cannot be retroactively applied to orders made outside of September 17th-19th, nor can it be combined with any other existing offer codes. There are some exclusions to the storewide sale, so make sure to visit our FAQ page for further details. Because we expect a large volume of orders during the 3-day sale, there may be some delays in processing times. Rest assured, we will process all orders in order they are received, and you will receive shipping confirmation when your package is ready.
If you are planning a visit to the store, we look forward to welcoming you in-person on Friday (11am to 5:30pm) and Saturday (10:30am to 4pm). As we are increasing staffing to handle the large volume of orders, we will limit visitor capacity in the store to 4-persons. If the shop is full when you arrive, we kindly ask that you wait outside until someone exits the shop. This way, we can prevent overcrowding and maintain a safe environment for both our customers and our team. Don't forget, you can also shop online and select "Store Pick-Up" as your delivery option to beat the crowds!
Special Treats for Stationery Lovers
Our 13th Anniversary Grand Prize is sure to be a treat for the eventual winner.
With every anniversary, we always have lots of fabulous giveaways and prizes to be won. This year is no different. The first twenty shoppers online and in-store will automatically receive a small RHODIA Notepad and a CARAN D'ACHE 888 ballpoint pen or a PLATINUM Preppy fountain pen with their purchase. Of course, there are also plenty of other prizes to be won for everyone who shops with us throughout the weekend, including a KAWECO AL-Sport Fountain Pen, some LEUCHTTURM1917 notebooks and a set of CARAN D’ACHE Swisscolor Watercolor Pencils. So be sure to check your parcel or shopping bag for surprise goodies!
In addition to these exciting goodies, every shopper will also be entered into a draw to win our 13th Anniversary Grand Prize, consisting of an ANGLEPOISE 90 Mini Mini Lamp, a writing set from GRAF VON FABER CASTELL (including a Tamitio Fountain Pen and a bottle of Stone Grey ink), and a G. LALO Toile Imperiale writing pad. This is a fantastic collection of products to upgrade your writing set-up, and we can't wait to see who's the winner.
Last but not least, we’ll also be hosting a special giveaway for our Instagram followers. Keep an eye out for the announcement coming soon!
We would like to thank each and every one of our vendors who so generously donated the many prizes to be shared with our customers. Your support makes our anniversary weekend that much more special, not only for us, but for all of our fellow fountain pen enthusiasts and stationery aficionados.