The pen shop in Athens that's been open since 1935

By Quynh Vu · July 9, 2026 · 4 minute read

There's a pen shop in Athens called Evangelidis that's been run by the same family since 1935, and the walls are covered, truly covered, in fountain pens. We wandered in, and a man named Alex spent almost an hour with us, just sharing everything he knew.

The kind of shopkeeper you hope for

You could ask Alex about one pen and he'd bring out three, the one you asked about, one he thought you'd like better, and one that just had a story worth hearing. At some point he could tell I wasn't just a tourist buying a souvenir. After that he really opened up.

The poster contest

I asked about a Pelikan, and he showed me one from the M600 Art Collection, then told me the story I didn't know: Pelikan used to run poster contests, going back roughly a century. Each pen in the Art Collection is an interpretation of a winning poster. So you don't just get the pen, you get the poster it came from, and you can hang it up. I thought that was so cool.

The brown one

I already own a plain black M600, and honestly I didn't think I wanted an Art Collection pen, the first ones he showed me were boldly colored, greens and oranges, not my thing. Then he brought out the third one. It was brown, and I love brown, and I had no idea that much light could come through that material. It glows.

The smartest tip of the day

My black M600 at home has a fine nib, and I usually live in fine and extra fine. Alex pointed out that Pelikan nibs are interchangeable, so instead of doubling up, I took this one in medium. I've noticed I write faster with a medium, and lighter inks actually show up, a pale ink in extra fine can almost disappear on the page. Same pen family, totally different job.

Piston fillers, for the curious

This pen is a piston filler, no cartridge, no converter, the mechanism is built in. You dip the nib, twist the end, and the ink draws up into the barrel. Most pens at this level are piston fillers because once you've used one, it's hard to go back. The nib is 14 karat gold, dual tone, silver and gold swirled together in the finish.

Best souvenir I've ever brought home. This one I get to use every day.

Quynh