Andy's Pens
Hi Andy – Tell us how it all began? I started collecting pens about 10 or 12 years ago. I bought a couple of vintage pens from online dealers. My first pen was a burgundy and black Conway 479. After reading Frank Dubiel's repair manual I decided to try my hand at repair and restoration. When I next looked around, I had about 20 pens, most of which I didn't’t use. I thought why not sell some of the pens I am not using regularly, and so I set up a website – andys-pens.co.uk. I first listed half a dozen pens, and within a week or two they ware all sold. It has just snowballed from there really. It seemed to gain its own momentum. My website has grown steadily over the last few years, as I have added to the range of new pens that I sell, but the vintage pens still make up the core of the website.
When was the store opened? The official opening was the beginning of August 2009, though we did have a few customers wander in whilst we were still setting up and stocking the shop. Nearly all the setup work was done by my wife and me.
One of the reasons we decided to open a shop was because we were often asked by customers if they 
could try a pen or a couple of different pens before they decided to buy. In the shop I can more easily offer advice where it is needed, and of course, the customer gets the chance to handle the pens, which is very important.
One big advantage of the shop is that we don't have our spare room full of stock any more!
How many staff do you have? Apart from a work experience girl we are having for a week in June, it is just my wife Amanda and I. Oh, and Digger the Jack Russell who is our self-appointed head of security. With only the two of us, holidays are just a fond memory, and although the shop is only open from 09:00 to 16:00, I am often working – replying to e-mails and answering phone calls – into the evenings, and even on Sundays.
Are you passionate pen collectors? The whole business started with a small vintage pen collection. Although I don't actively collect at the moment, I am basically spoiled as I get to use up to 20 different vintage pens every week. I sometimes even keep a pen I especially like back for “extra testing” for a while if I really take a shine to it. 
Amanda also has an interest – she is the proud owner of a couple of Pelikan M400s –and she also has a passion for ephemera and advertising materials, and part of her collection is displayed in the shop window. As a pen restorer I get to see and use a lot of vintage Conway Stewart pens, and one of my favourite models is the Conway 55 – it is a similar size to the 58, has a lovely large Duro nib, but for some reason is usually significantly cheaper than its more famous cousin. Of the modern Conway’s, my favourite is probably the Churchill, with the lever fill option of course!
How much do you depend on the internet for sales? Internet sales still account for perhaps 75% to 80% of my business, but we envisage (and hope) the shop's impact to increase steadily over the next few years as more people get to know where we are. There are very few independent writing equipment specialists in the South East, and we hope to help fill the gap for customers who prefer to purchase from a “real” shop.
How has the internet changed the way you deal with customers e.g. email communication rather than customers walking in? Well, the question is a bit inside out for me. I am most used to customers via 
e-mail and telephone calls as the internet business preceded the bricks and mortar store by some years. I have always tried very hard to provide superior customer service, and customer care is always our top priority. The challenge has been to carry that on from the internet and into the shop.
Do you attend Pen Show Exhibitions? We have been to the London Pen Show a couple of times, but only as spectators. I haven't exhibited at a show– I really cannot spare the time away from the shop at the moment as there is only the two of us.
What makes your store special and why should customers contact you? The store is really an extension of the website. Although we do not have every item from the website in the shop, we do try to stock as much as possible. Over the year that we have been open, we have added several new cabinets, and now the shop is basically chokka. Many of our shop customers are impressed by how much stock we have managed to shoehorn into a small area. We try to stock unusual items that may be difficult to find elsewhere, and leave some of the 
more common brands to the large high street chains where we cannot hope to compete. We even import a couple of brands ourselves from Europe to make sure we have as much choice as possible. Because we see the shop as an extension to the website, all prices in the shop are the same as on the website - bringing internet prices to a physical store - including all our special offers.
We bring Digger to the shop every day, and he now has his own fan club with local schoolchildren dropping in regularly to see him. He will sit in the window every afternoon watching all his friends return home from school.
Andy Evans
Kent, England