Fountain pen store suggestions in San Francisco?

[Tiggercat]

For the second year straight, I have to miss the Baltimore Pen show. This time I will be in San Francisco for the week. I have looked online for places to get my pen fix, but I was wondering if anyone could suggest pen shops in the area. Maido looks interesting for Japanese stationery, but I would appreciate it if anyone could suggest a good fountain pen shop.

[Jerome Tarshis]

Alas, there is no dedicated pen shop in San Francisco, good or bad.

The best selection of new pens, mostly at list price, is to be found at Flax Art, on Market Street and Valencia. Not very far from downtown, and an excellent art-supplies shop.

A far smaller selection, but still worth a look if one is interested in currently-produced pens by major manufacturers, may be found at the main store of Patrick and Company, a family-owned office-supplies chain, at Market Street where it intersects with the beginning of Sutter Street. (At Sansome Street, I would guess.) This is in the heart of the financial district.

Maido, in the Westfield shopping center at Market and Fifth, does have a nice selection of Japanese fountain pens. Still downtown, near hotels and department stores.

An outlier in many senses, the Itoya shop on Union Street, in the middle of the torrid zone between Van Ness Avenue and Fillmore Street, many many shops, is in general a very pleasant place. Its subtitle is, IIRC, Tools for Nomads. Although it's a Japanese-owned shop, it offers a range of Lamy fountain pens and is in general not confined to Japanese products.

[Tiggercat]

Thank you very much! That information definitely helps.