About Us

One of the joys of retirement is finally having time to pursue the things we love. PenDen is a place to share our pen world adventures with people just like us – Pen Nerds.

PenDen is set to offer personalized repair services, and provide you access to unique products that come with the assurance that we won’t sell you junk. You will be able to listen in on our kitchen table pen chats through blog posts, and share in our excitement as we acquire items for sale that may be of interest to our Pen Friends.

Mark Harcourt has been active in the pen community for decades and he has earned a strong reputation for his repair and restoration skills as well as knowledge about almost anything pen related. He will also talk your ear off about history and politics.

Sharon Townsend has had a varied career with creativity and management being a common thread. She is a musician as well as an exuberant pen collector that loves all things old. The PenDen home is full of conversation and pens. If the conversation is not about politics, then it is likely pens or recipes. PenDen is an adventure in the making and we are excited to see where it takes us. We welcome your feedback and suggestions.

I was born in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and have lived from Halifax to Vancouver and as far north as Yellowknife, NT. I began actively collecting fountain pens in early 2000.

I often found myself purchasing and collecting pens that were in need of cosmetic and mechanical repair, so I necessarily began to study and actively remedy the various concerns that come with vintage articles. It wasn’t long before I gained some notoriety locally for my repair skills and knowledge and began fixing pens for friends – and friends of friends. Having purchased several lots of pens from various countries, I became acquainted with many rare and varied pens and my repairs gained scope and proficiency, eventually leading to a position in a local pen shop well regarded for high end pens and discerning clientele.

Having my own Pen Shop has been my aspiration for decades. I now have the time that retirement brings to play with pens any time I want. I am a happy man.

My love of handwriting and all that it entails launched me into the world of fountain pens. I have been doodling alphabets on restaurant placemats and writing names of cute boys on scraps of paper since the second grade. I still doodle alphabets (Palmer Method) to this day.

My enjoyment of dip pens and calligraphy gave me a longing to make my personal handwriting more stylish. I began the hunt to find a writing instrument that would help me do just that. A friend told me about owning a Pelikan M1000 which he said was the size of a cigar… but suggested I consider a smaller size for my hand – ‘you will never regret it’ were his words. Richard, was right… not only did that M600 fit me perfectly, it also sent me down a rabbit hole of epic proportions. I still own that M600 pen and it is by far my favourite writer.

I own ‘writers’ as pen junkies like to call them, and then there is this entire world of pens and pencils that are simply fun, or beautiful, that call my name loudly. I consider myself a squirrel in that regard. Shiny, tiny, old… even odd and I am right there. The older the better.

I met Mark within the online Canadian Fountain Pen Community just before we experienced the Covid lockdown. Gregarious, knowledgeable, and talented. He suggested that he could fix the derelict old fountain pen I had discovered in my mother’s kitchen junk drawer while we were preparing her house for sale. It sounded crunchy when you moved the ‘lever thingy’, and the nib was severely mangled. I was certain it was destined for the junk pile. Mark performed his magic and returned to me a Lady Patricia Onyx (circa 1930’s) that almost brought me to tears. For me, it was a piece of family history that I could now actually use. That was the beginning of my love affair with pens and the beginning of an enduring friendship with Mark. We can honestly say we fell in love over a fountain pen (a Duofold Mandarin to be exact). I now bring a career full of admin skills to PenDen paired with my love for people and pens. Retirement bliss.

PenDen brings joy to both of us… and we hope to impart that joy to you through this site.