💙 From France With Love ❤

French style is unlike any other. Beautiful yet practical, fine craftsmanship over planned obsolescence, quality over quantity. The question is... this apparently effortless sense of style...

How do they do it ?

Join us in solving this mystery and celebrating French inspiration and style with some of our fountain pens, stationery, and leather goods from France. Allons-y!

Founded in Paris in 1872, S.T. Dupont never asks the customer to choose between pure beauty and durability, comfort, and reliability. They have no slogan, just one word: Exceptional.

We need be extra sure we always have a good stock of G.Lalo stationery. Favored by the Royal Street poets-for-hire and southern gentlemen in white linen and bow-ties, there is no substitute for this classic French stationery. In the most subtle way, it is utterly luxurious.

G.Lalo dares to please the traditionalists with classic Verges de France tablets of full and half sheet letter paper (in triptych, left with the S.T. Dupont Line D Blue Guilloche). Coordinating with lined envelopes, subtly embossed with their tiny logo, this paper is light but crisp (and of course, fountain pen friendly). A classic laid paper, right down to the subtle translucent lines formed in the drying process, the “vergeures”, as this stationery line is properly named.

Bordered notecard sets with matching lined envelopes (above, right and with the Palladium Goldsmith, atop, left ) are elegant single cards and a perfect solution if you just want to write someone a quick, tasteful note. They are also available as thank-you notes.

The deckle-edge notecard sets (above, right) are a smaller, stylish version available in fun colors.. The hidden advantage to these and the larger bordered version is that single cards, as opposed to fold-over notes or letter sheets, have less space to fill up! Efficient but still impressive.

Struck by the presence and elegance of his work, we sought out Frederick Faggionato in 2017. If ever a pen expressed its maker's passion for the symbiosis of beauty and ultimate purpose, it is those made by Msr. Faggionato. The level and precision of craftsmanship conveyed patience and immoveable standards, true respect for the raw materials, and most profoundly, a deep love for fountain pens.

From his home studio in Saint-Maximin came many one-of-a-kind masterpieces in ebonite, cellulose acetate, Japanese lacquer, vegetable dyed acrylic resin. But he also made the more affordable petraque collection, a smooth utterly simple silhouette rendered int multi-layered cotton celluloid like the elegant Majestic. With one notable exception (see above) all of his pens are easily identified by the gentle curve of his trademark clip, faintly engraved with the double "F". His signature nibs have no engraving or logo, just quietly, perfectly mirror smooth, available in gold, titanium, or steel.

Some of his pens are so powerful and individual as if they are alive.   The Ba mboo Petrarque (above), with its clip cast from a twig of bamboo, the simple but iconic ringed Kai (lower right), both required several months of curing multiple layers of Urushi over a sculpted ebonite core.

Just as Mr. Faggionato was achieving his richly deserved recognition, he left us. He passed away, and we still are trying to make sense of it.

Last year as his widow was clearing out his workshop she discovered two trays of finished pens. Msr. Faggionato wanted his pens to be used, even the most exotic ones. So these last pens are available, prices unchanged except for shipping cost.

The balance and precision of these pens can't be put into words. You can  see them all here and peruse the Faggionato section in our online vault aka Le Museum. Seeing his past masterpieces helps one understand the scope of his amazing talent.