Pen & Paper

Linda helped us with our wedding invitations and we could not have had a better experience. She was respectful of our budget, quickly understood our taste, provided a great deal of education to help us make decisions, and was diligent about timing and proofing. We could not recommend her more highly. We are so appreciative of her help in setting the tone of our wedding through the invitations!

Our daughter’s wedding invitations were handled by Linda the owner and with her expert advice and efficiency they were just what we were hoping to find. Linda has been in the business long enough to have the knowledge and knack to know what you are looking for in guiding your decisions. I feel it’s very important to support local independent businesses and her store is excellent. I highly recommend her business. It’s a great store with a owner who is committed to detail.

This is one of the Main Line’s little gems. It’s a pretty chaotic buying experience, because Linda runs all over the place and throws a thousand different ideas your way. You have to drive her through the process to find what you want.
That said, within an hour we had figured out what we wanted for our wedding invites. She knows her subject well and navigated the different suppliers quickly.

Please, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE! The owners of this store are so incredibly rude. I’ll never, ever, go back into their store again. There are plenty of other alternatives in the area… please use them, and spare yourself this dreadful experience.

I have tried this place twice now and both times their customer service has been dreadful. It’s very simple, greet your customer when he or she walks into your business. It’s not like it’s a huge store! As far as the product, sure it’s okay. They keep their paper stock by the front door so the elements affect the paper every time you open the door. I don’t want to buy crinkled paper. The paper was wrinkled because it’s been damp lately. Ugh, I love independent businesses, but this one leaves a lot to be desired.

This store is totally adorable! I searched for the nearest stationary place and this was my result – I love that it’s so close to the Bryn Mawr train station.
I came here looking for cute thank you cards. Unsurprisingly, the selection is pretty overwhelming. They sell sets and individual cards, which is nice. The prices are a little steep but the cards are beautiful; much more high-​end than what you would find in a pharmacy.
They sell tons of other gift items as well: candles, stationary sets, artsy office supplies, the works. I saw many things that I know would go over incredibly well for the holidays.
The only reason that I am subtracting a star is because the owner is a very loud and a bit aggressive, to be honest. The entire time I was shopping she was half yelling at people over the phone in a highly authoritative and intimidating way. It felt sort of awkward to interrupt her at the register!
Still, I’d probably come back if I needed some sort of specialty invitation made. The products themselves are lovely, even if the experience there is a little unnerving!

Be forewarned,
The owner is very old school, but there is nothing wrong with that! Great selection of premade cards at cheap prices, with more originality than a CVS or Walgreens. I quickly checked out their custom stock and the variances seemed endless. Great shop if you’re looking for originality. Pay cash for small purchases.

Much of this tiny, packed store’s business is fancy invitations, but the stock of paper and cards is irresistible. It is right off the main drag in the little curve across from the library. Every town needs a nice stationery store. I give this one extra credit for selling fountain pens; she has cool and affordable styles, and tons more of clever ballpoints if you write with those. Great place for a quick gift. Save the little silver Spaulding pen for me!

I have used Linda for years and she is the very best. She has a photographic memory and knows things that you cannot imagine. She is a big stickler for details. She will call and say you didn’t mention valet or some detail. She double checks addresses you give her just to make sure they are right. This is a woman you want to have your back for any occasions. She not only goes the extra mile she goes the extra 10 miles.

Linda Broder, the owner of Pen and Paper, is a complete rockstar. I live in NYC and recently got married in Nantucket. Getting the invitations right was very important to me even though I knew i wanted a relatively simple design… I was psycho and often needed multiple proofs to get each piece exactly right. Linda not only indulged me, but she helped move the process along as quickly as possible and helped me come away with really classy letterpress invitations at a reasonable price. I also waited WAY too long to start thinking about placecards and programs… Linda again swooped in and helped me get everything completed in time and looking beautiful. The breadth of Linda’s offering is fantastic and definitely just as good as any high-​end stationary store in NYC — in fact I found her because she was the only store on the main line to carry dauphine. I ended up with something that looked just as nice as the pricey dauphine offering at about half the cost after meeting with Linda for the first time. Can’t say enough good things about pen and paper!

I live in NYC but got my wedding invitations here. They have all of the chicest stock but in an intimate environment. The owner really went the extra mile for me – even bringing the books up to NYC one day when I was torn (we all know how brides get). Highly recommend.

The crème de la crème for papergoods. Think New York on the Main Line. The store is small and bursting with trinkets — I walk in for one card and leave with ten things.
Owner is busy, but knows her stock like the back of her hand and provides incredibly fast and personal service. This is the place to go for cards, stationery, and invitations when you’re looking for something special.

Are you sick of Hallmark’s common cards and cliché lines? Do you seek «handmade», «artsy», «unique», and «special»? To me, a hand-​written note in a quality card does the trick when a thank you, apology, or thinking of you is in order.
My boyfriend recommended this small shop as a place to buy really nice cards and he was right. Although cards are up to $ 6 a piece, it’s worth it if you want a card that is truly thoughtful or cute. Some cards are nice enough to frame.
If Unilocal offered half stars, I’d give Pen & Paper 4.5. I took a half star off for the sales associate talking obnoxiously loud on the phone. It’s a small store and if you talk business in the front, your customers can hear!
Anyways, don’t miss this cute little shop on Bryn Mawr Ave near the hospital and right next to Bravo Pizza.

The owner operates her shop in a frenetic frenzy, dividing her attention at whim between customers. The process of purchasing and proofing custom invitations was generally unpleasant as I felt rushed during every communication with the owner.
A couple of lessons learned:
1. Invitations are a commodity. They cost pretty much the same anywhere, so buy from someone able to provide you with solid service.
2. Companies such as William Arthur, who sell their cards through stores like this, also have web-​based card creation tools that you can use to layout, proof, and buy cards direct at very reasonable prices.