Episode 8 - Jon Chan's Future
Jon and his partner Liz run Wonder Pens, a fountain pen, ink and paper store in Little Italy neighbourhood in Toronto. I am a faithful customer and admirer of their work. Not just because they run a successful pen and paper store in 21st century, but because they do that with charm and dedication while also building a community around their passion and their business. This is the future Jon imagined.
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AI Generated Transcript
BF: I'm Bojan First and you are listening to Futures Possible. It's been a long time, I know. Much longer than I wanted. Life just got busy and a lot of odd at times, but good odd. I apologize for the lack of episodes, and I certainly owe an apology to the next couple of guests who I interviewed a long time ago and am only now getting around to producing the actual episodes. So, let's get on with this first episode in 2026 and I will do my best to give you the rest of the season on time. So today, my guest is John Chan. John and I never met, but John and his partner Liz are pretty important people in my life. How's that possible? Well, besides making podcasts, I also happen to really enjoy writing with fountain pens and on really nice paper. And John and Liz run Wonder Pens, a stationery in fountain pen store in Toronto that supplies all of my needs for ink, fountain pens, and the best notebooks you can get your hands over. If you never used a Nakabayashi or Midori notebook, I envy you. I will never again have the experience of touching that magical paper for the first time and feeling my fountain pen glide effortlessly across the page, in ways I honestly could not imagine possible. And if you are in Toronto, I envy you even more, because you can stop by the store in the little Italy neighborhood anytime you want and pick up a writing pad or a notebook or a bottle of some exotic ink. I have so much admiration for what John and Liz do. Sure, they run a small business, which is hard enough, but they're also doing that hardest of all things. They're building a community. So here is the future John imagined.
JC: My name is John. I am one of the owners of Wonder Pens in Toronto. I run this with my wife, Liz. We've been doing it for around 13 years now. We've bounced around the city quite a few times just with the way Toronto real estate is and how landlords are. We've had to do that. But we've been very fortunate to have grown a community here and a following with repeat customers and very nice people who support our business.
I am very pleased to see that people are still turning towards it. Last night we ran our first journal writing club and we in the past have done letter writing clubs. Letter writing is still is still a thing people are interested in despite everything happening with Canada post and all of those different things. But journaling especially there's this real appetite for people to learn how to journal or an interest in seeing how other people are using journaling in their lives, be it as a mental wellness tool or a way to come up with new ideas or different things like that. I am the fountain pen world, especially this industry the different pens and inks and paper. When we first started this business, we carried only a handful of different products. So for people who are familiar with it, we carry brands such as Lamy and Kaweco and and some of these other very well-established legacy brands. But nowadays, with all of the interest, there are many new products coming out all the time. And it's really interesting because it gives people and it gives people a chance to pick and choose the type of product that best suits their personality or the feeling. It's really fun because the community is very supportive also. People love talking about it. There are different meetups globally, but more specifically, also locally, where people actually just meet up over a beer and talk about the different pens they have or the different inks they have or the different papers they're using. And also how they're using and how they're using, how they're using and also how they're using all of these things. I feel really great about it. I think it's really the community that has somehow organically evolved into this really supportive group and people have made lifelong relationships over it. Just the other day, a customer wrote to us and said we run this pen pal meetup that we've done from time to time over the years where Liz will organize and match up people to be pen pals with each other. And it's a lot of work, so we don't do it every year. But a customer wrote to us and said they met their partner now, now, now, now, now partner through this pen pal matchup. And it's just what a surreal experience that we think we're just here selling these pens and papers, going through the motions here and servicing our customers. But the fact that we were able to reach this customer and make such an impact in their life, it's really amazing.
Yeah, I don't know what it is. It's, I think it's specifically the Toronto market. When we started, Liz and I were, like, other than I'm going to give a mention to Ley Wines, who's been in the business for many, many years. They are an institution in Toronto. We were pretty much the only gaming town. It's, it's, it's, it's a little bit different now. It's a little bit different.
So, we are going through some large personal changes right now in terms of a move. We're moving to, closer to be, to be closer to, we're moving and are going to be closer to the shop. One of the main reasons for our move, though, is for the kids to be closer to the school. They just started a new school this year. But with everything, with being a small business owner, we've also had it in mind to be also closer to the shop. We like the neighborhood that we're in. We've been in it for quite a long time now. And we're very comfortable in this neighborhood. So, that's the big thing that we're working on right now as a family.
Many people are surprised when they first come into our shop because we are obviously selling many of these tools that are, for many people, they seem like, they feel like they're no longer relevant or less relevant. And the question is, is how's business? How long have you guys been around? And I think people are always surprised that we've been around for even 13 years. It's tough for any small business to be around for that long, let alone one with tools that are a bit, what some people feel like are outdated. And with AI now, we think about this also, even at my kids' schools, there's the implementation and use of AI in terms of whether kids are doing their homework themselves. Our kids are still quite young. So, he's just reaching that stage where in the next few years, when AI is going to be evolved and growth to a certain point, where he will have to be well-versed in using AI. And it's going to be changing the landscape of how he studies and what kind of job opportunities he's going to have because he still has maybe like a five to 10-year horizon until he even enters the professional working landscape. In terms of our shop, I think ever since we've opened our shop, even 13 years ago, the question has been, where are we going to be in five years? And I think we're just, there's no way for us to predict that. We're going to take it step by step and see where things go. And 10 years ago, we were wondering whether we were going to make it until the next year and whether people would be still interested in this form of writing and expressing yourself.
It's interesting because we see people in the technology field who like writing things down on paper, the tactile feeling of having pen to paper and jotting your notes down in your own mind and in your head, taking the time to do it. It's actually brought many people who are using technology every day back to writing. It's a very popular trend now for different leaders and different thought leaders to do morning journals, gratitude journaling, and just having some time to escape into your thoughts.
I am both very excited to see where things are going. I think I have just the right amount of fear in me in order for us as a business and for my kids and for our kids to think about where things are going. So I'm constantly on the lookout for it. I'm naturally someone who's anxious and thinks about these different types of things. But I am also very excited. I see many new opportunities for many different people in different fields, and it's an exciting time. It reminds me of when I was a kid, I was a big Star Trek fan, Star Trek The Next Generation. And this just reminds me of where we are entering the future. So it's both scary and it's also a little bit exciting also.
The most obvious thing that I struggle with is whether pens and stationery and inks are going to be obsolete in the future. That's something I think about very closely. I keep thinking to myself whether something new will come along that people will no longer want to write. And then I remind myself, whenever we travel, we've traveled several times to Taiwan over the last few years. But also whenever we go to Japan or anywhere in Asia. I'm Liz and I are from Hong Kong. So so when we've gone back to Hong Kong, we see that actually there is this culture and hunger for people to still continually write. People have been writing for forever. And I don't think there's going to be a time anywhere in the near future where people are going to stop. Writing with pen to paper just sort of triggers something different in your mind in terms of how you remember things and how you process things. So for the near future, I, I, I think nothing is like, like we're hoping things are going to be the same, but that's what I struggled with the most with the future. I think for us, for, for Liz and myself, we've always chosen the direction of where our family needs to go first, I must say. And then the business always comes after. And obviously the business is very important for us. We have an amazing staff here and team that have been with us for a long time. And we, we, we like not, not to be cheesy, but we consider them family and, and we have a responsibility to, to them also to make the right moves for the business and to stay in business. And hopefully the more, the better we do the like, like we can offer them more opportunities also. But at the end of the day, um, we've always moved where our family has needed it. So moving to a new location to be closer to the shop and closer to the business, uh, it just so happens that it will also help our family be closer to theirs. Our kids be closer to their school. Uh, but also we'll get to come into the shop more. Um, uh, our kids will get to come in also more. It'll be a pro and a con for them. Uh, hopefully they'll, uh, appreciate it more a little bit more when they're older.
It's not really a dream of ours for our kids to really take over our business. We want them to do, do what they want to do in the future and, uh, whatever their passions are. But I think it would be really interesting while they are still with us under our roof to help us out in the shop. And I think there's something, uh, something when we talk to other parents or other people who are business owners and they have their kids come in the shop, them being quote unquote shop kids. Uh, they already come in to help us. They are very young. So we have a three-year-old, an eight-year-old and an 11-year-old and they come in and they, and, and they make, help us make ink samples sometimes. Or they write notes to customers from time to time or help us pack orders or sweep. And I think it's something that actually builds character for them, uh, doing these hard work and also seeing, practically speaking, where their parents are earning a living from, putting in hard work and helping them, uh, pay the bill. Like this, this is what brings in to pay the bills and put a roof over our head. Um, I think there's something nice about that.
You know, I'm, I'm still what most people consider to be a pretty, pretty young guy. Um, I'm, I'm 39 years old and I'm going to be turning 40, 40 next year, uh, like a big milestone. Um, this, this year, actually, I was actually, uh, diagnosed with gout, uh, which, which is, uh, it's, it's, it's a bit of, I, I felt as though it was a bit of a, I was a bit ashamed to tell people because there's a negative connotation for the term gout. Obviously it's someone who's not in great shape or eats really rich foods or it's an older guy, uh, uh, disease. Um, um, and it was the first time in my life, uh, where I felt my age sort of creeping up on me a little bit just now. Like I can feel that when I stand up, it, it, it takes me a little bit longer. And when my son, uh, wants me to chase him or wrestle with him, I'm a bit slower than I used to be. Um, so yes, in the next five years, uh, I think, um, especially as my kids start to get older, becoming teenagers and different things like that. Um, I, I, I need to take better care of myself personally and changing my diet and all those different things, exercising more. Um, but just trying to, I feel like appreciate the moments a little bit more, uh, being, being in the moment and appreciative of the time I am here now. Uh, rather than always worrying about where I'm going to be in the future, which is how I've acted for the last 15 years. like where we're going to be in the future. Um, just try to appreciate where I am right now.
just hoping to find meaning in what we're doing and, um, hoping that. We are not just a shop that just sells stuff to people and just fulfills orders, but that what we're selling and the items we use have meaning to it. And I'm always pleasantly surprised when customers find the meaning for us and the way that these products and the, even the way that maybe we, we ourselves use them. And we've shown people that we use them or the passion that our team has here for these products and how they're using them, uh, inspire different customers. And also, um, so I think there is a lot of a business that we're using our customers on how they can use it in their lives also. And how they can write their next book or what color is best for writing a traffic ticket, which, which we do have some, um, people who, who, who use it for, for, for the, for that purpose. Liz is, uh, uh, and, uh, and, uh, and, and she's, she's pushing our kids to journal more. And Liz has, uh, some of these, uh, one line, um, a day journals that she, she also keeps memories in and she reads back to us. And it's always just so magical having these records and these notebooks that are filled up with memories and thoughts and ideas. It's, it's always special. Yeah.
BF: Thank you for listening. That was John Chan from Wonder Pens, a small pen and stationery store in Toronto. If you are in Toronto and looking for a nice piece of stationery or a perfect gift, check out John and Liz's store. And if you are not in Toronto, subscribe to the newsletter. Sure, it's marketing, but it is also a personal note on the small moments our lives are made of from the folks following their passion. And I'm so glad they are. Again, thank you for listening. Making Futures Possible is a joy and I hope you find these episodes as interesting as I do. I am Bojan First and I make this podcast in St. John's on the island of Newfoundland. If you'd like to subscribe to the show or see the full transcript, visit futurespossible.com. And I'm so looking forward to many more episodes in the coming year.
Bye.