JM Pennifeather

JM Pennifeather is a perfectly quaint little shop in the picturesque village of Hampstead that peddles its particularly period wares — fountain pens.
As a lover of fountain pens and pen paraphernalia, I was keen to check out the supplies available at this shop and made the special trip up to Hampstead. The selection of entry-​level pens was excellent, which I appreciated. Not all fountain-​pen enthusiasts are looking for writing utensils in the £60+ price bracket. Some good Lamys were on offer, as were some interesting-​looking, English-​made Platignum pens (a brand I’ve not come across) in exciting primary colours for a mere £12.90.
What let the shop down, however, was what appeared to be a quite limited stock of fountain pen ink. Once you’ve found your fountain pen of choice, you have little desire to keep buying MORE fountain pens and instead look to buy fun and exciting inks to put IN your fountain pen. I saw only a handful of Lamy, Pelikan and Waterman bottled inks behind the counter and about the same selection of cartridge inks.
Also, there was a pokey gift-​shop area at the back, which contained gloves and scarves and the like; this struck me as being particularly weird and out of place. The shop was so small that I would have preferred to have seen that area at the back dedicated to more inks, for example, than to purses and knick-​knacks.
I’ll probably return to buy inexpensive Lamys (as the selection here was far superior to what you’d find at your local WHSmith), but I’d look elsewhere for my inks, which is what I find myself in the market for most often.

I remember being one of those nerdy kids who wanted a calligraphy set for Christmas. I just loved to write, and the fancier the result the better as far as I was concerned. Not that I want to write in Gothic or Elizabethan script much these days, but I think there’s something to be said about a fountain-​penned love letter or postcard, the result is so much more charming.
J M Pennifeather is a sanctuary to this lost art, and stocks every well-​known brand including Waterman, Du Pont and Parker. There are all types of inks too and of course an engraving service, so this could be the perfect gift for a keen writer. They also sell diaries and even aromatherapy scents. I was considering mixing the scent with the ink with the scent — not sure if you’re supposed to do this but would make for a very fragrant love letter!