News
La Rentrée, and the September Reset
September has always felt like a beginning. In France, they call it la rentrée, the great return to life after summer. For me, it also marks the Jewish New Year, and the anniversary of opening Layw...
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Design, Craft, and Italian Elegance: A Visit to Pinetti
Founded by architects in Bergamo, Italy, Pinetti blends timeless design with refined utility. Their refillable journals, notepad holders, and desk accessories are handcrafted in durable Italian lea...
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Canada Day: Reflections from a Small Shop on Shifting Ground
This year, Canada Day feels different. In his latest blog post, Peter reflects on what the day means for a small independent shop—celebrating new Canadian makers we’ve discovered, while acknowledgi...
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The Enduring Appeal of Yard-O-Led
Falling for Yard-O-Led is less a choice than a charming inevitability. Handcrafted in sterling silver, these timeless writing instruments aren’t just tools—they’re companions. At Laywine’s, we love...
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Pelikan Toledo: A Masterpiece of Craftsmanship and Tradition
Among connoisseurs of fine writing instruments, Pelikan holds a reputation for excellence, blending precision German engineering with elegant design. But within their collection, one series stands...
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I used to like summers in Toronto. The timeless evenings when dusk seemed to linger for hours, and the nights were balmy and made for ice cream. Somebody once said to me – the great thing about s...
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My getaway for the past few summers has been a ‘camp’ in the Adirondack Mountains. It is a series of rustic cabins scattered around an old farmhouse, with a raging little river running adjacent. ...
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Depending on your sense of nostalgia, writing with a pencil can be a “Madeleine moment’. For me, the smell of wood shavings and sharpened graphite can recall the slow walk from the wall-mounted pen...
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The people closest to me will gently point out that I tell the same stories again and again. If you’ve heard this one, please forgive me. I opened the shop in mid-September of 1987, a shop dedic...
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I have been selling fountain pens for 35 years. My first day in retail was the day I opened the shop, back in September of 1987. But it wasn’t the first pen I ever sold. That was in the summer...
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