Where to shop in Atlanta to find the perfect pen

Illustration by Vené Franco

In a world obsessed with artificial intelligence and all things digital, using a pen on paper feels like an act of rebellion. Whether you’re a writer, artist, engineer, or to-do list maker, embracing tactile tools is a joyous way to express yourself. For those drawn to an analog, slowed-down world, perfection is not the point. Ink dribbles, and wonky lines create unexpected textures, revealing the human hand behind them with an effect not only endearing but also desirable.

You couldn’t pick a better month than March to upgrade your pen collection. The Atlanta Pen Show takes place the last weekend of the month at the Sonesta Atlanta Northwest Galleria. Wander the vast tablescape of vendors, attend workshops (including one on pen-and-ink drawing by illustrator Scott B. Jones, author of Vintage Fountain Pen Therapy), join the after-parties, and spend hours talking about nibs, barrels, and ink reservoirs, if that’s your nerdy pleasure. Among the vendors, look for the Georgia-based Mythic Pen Company, which specializes in vintage-inspired fountain pens that it calls “heirlooms in the making.”

If an exquisite, rarified Montblanc is all your spendy heart desires, head to the shop at Lenox Square. But for stylophiles seeking a populist option, family-owned Binders Art on Piedmont Road offers a more casual vibe for browsing. Marvel at the long wall of pens, which starts at one end with a giant tower of Posca paint pens and ends with a sizable display of charcoals and colored pencils. In between, you’ll find an almost overwhelming assortment of pens, including Le Pen fine liners, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist pens, Chartpak AD markers, Prismacolor pens, Copics, Pentel products such as Slicci gel pens, Uniball pens, Micron pens, and Sharpies for days.

At Ponce City Market, Archer Paper Goods has a select stash of pens and pencils amid stationery, greeting cards, and wrapping paper. Attention grabbers include the rollerball pen from Rifle Paper Co., pastel-colored Lamy fountain pens, and boxes of Blackwing pencils, including (swoon) the 140 culinary series, a graphite pencil that has a metallic silver finish and writes “like buttah.”

Down in Summerhill, Press Shop ATL sells everything from pens and fine papers to wines and specialty food items. The pen selection is limited, but you may come across a gift-worthy Caran d’Ache pen or mechanical pencil. For about $3, you can pick up what the shop owner calls the ideal pen for journaling, the Pilot G2 gel pen. The retractable pen has a thick rubber grip and black ink (shopkeeper’s preferred color choice). Your diary entries will never look better.

In Virginia-Highland, Paper Source has scores of quality writing and art-making pens, including German-designed Leuchtturm1917 pens and Reclaim recycled ball pens. A long table lined with butcher paper offers plenty of space to take them for a “test drive.” 

For lovers of Japanese stationery and pens, Maomi Bookstore in Chamblee’s Chinatown is an oasis amid the dim sum action. Try your hand at calligraphy brush pens, or stick to the display tables of pens and notebooks. Items include brass fountain pens by Traveler’s Company, Kokuyo pens, Mono Graph Tune mechanical pencils, Zebra ballpoints, and Pentel Tradio Pulaman pens. More colorful options include “clear crayons”—which are actually translucent oil gel crayons—pastel highlighters, and sets of ramen- and sushi-shaped erasers. Beautiful diaries, notebooks, and sketchbooks (many by Japanese company MD Paper) are here, too. They are hard to resist, but who says you should? Pens are nothing without paper, after all. 

This article appears in our March 2026 issue.

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