Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s Saturday! The weekend. So I thought I would share about some chocolate chip cookies we made the other day. We’re spending more time in the kitchen these days, making messes, estimating measurements, setting off the fire alarm.
June 06, 2020 — wonderpens
The View from Above the Shop: Strike Days

The View from Above the Shop: Strike Days

The teachers in Ontario have had a few strike days recently, so I’ve had Caleb at home. I feel very fortunate that I’m in a position where Caleb can “come to work” with me very easily, although of course I also feel a lot of gratitude and admiration for teachers who are in our classrooms.

February 11, 2020 — wonderpens
Wrapping up 2019

Wrapping up 2019

Happy New Year!

Another year in business. This was a year filled with adventure, growth, luck, some good, some less so, learning, slogging away, good books, mediocre books, huge moments, tiny moments, airplane rides and train rides and bus rides, new pens, surprises, hurdles, Google translate, diaper changes in unusual places, spilled ink, celebrations, reading lessons, waiting, finger crossing, coffee, good company, good customers, good staff, new relationships, changes, stickers, snacks, some relatively low level disasters, painting, and some pretty okay stationery.

December 31, 2019 — wonderpens
Christmas and Holiday Hours

Christmas and Holiday Hours

I can hardly believe it’s already coming up to that time of year, but with the snow on the ground here in Toronto, it’s starting to feel like it. Every year, as the temperatures start dropping, and the days get shorter, we start planning and preparing for the craziness of the holidays in the shops.

November 20, 2019 — wonderpens
Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

In case you missed it, Thursday was Halloween. I sometimes feel like I can hardly keep up with all these festive holidays and all their corollary activities: going to the pumpkin patch, carving the pumpkins, getting costumes, buying candy for trick or treaters. The kids are only young once, though, and so we are embracing these traditions that we’re only vaguely familiar with ourselves.*

November 02, 2019 — wonderpens
The View from Above the Shop

The View from Above the Shop

Following a Herculean display of procrastination lasting, I kid you not, literally almost two years, I managed to make it to not only one but two personal appointments at a bank (the first one scheduled by Jon for me, the second one scheduled two hours after the first because I managed to show up belligerently unprepared), and now am feeling overcome with a shocking feeling of productivity. Is this how the rest of the world operates? 
October 07, 2019 — wonderpens
Wonder Pens Weekly Specials

Wonder Pens Weekly Specials

If you’ve been clicking into our website over the last couple of months, you may have noticed a new Weekly Special. Every week we’ve been picking a few items here or there to put on special. Sometimes it’s a line or an item we’ve gotten a good deal on, or something new that we’re just trying out, sometimes it’s something we’ve got a good amount of stock on or are clearing out, or sometimes it’s just something fun.
September 25, 2019 — wonderpens
New Sunday Hours at the Main Shop

New Sunday Hours at the Main Shop

It’s been a long time coming! And if you are subscribed to our email newsletter, you may have already heard, but we are now opening on Sundays from 11 - 6.

September 09, 2019 — wonderpens
Studio Shop Summer Hours

Studio Shop Summer Hours

It’s officially summer here, as the doors are open all day long and it’s iced coffees and ice cream as often as we can get it.

June 24, 2019 — wonderpens
One Year in Our Little Italy Shop

One Year in Our Little Italy Shop

To recap, in 2017, we were cosy in our beloved 250 Carlaw location in Leslieville when we found out our rent was increasing 30%, a bit too substantial for us to maintain. While there were a few other factors in there, with the increase in rent, our cards were dealt. So we began our hunt, and after an exhaustive, lengthy search through Toronto’s commercial real estate market—and there were some crazy places out there—we found our new home at 52 Clinton Street, in Little Italy.
May 23, 2019 — wonderpens