6/2/2014

SHOP LOKAL: Written in ink: the Strtz Fllfederhaus | www.gat.st

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_Rubrik : Bericht

Kontakt: Kate Howlett-Jones

SHOP LOKAL: Wr itte n in in k: the Strtz F llfe derh aus

Graz has a wealth of s mall creative businesses and t raditional s pecialis ed shops woven into its urban fabric , which bind community and architec ture into a living cit y centre. It s a valuable asset that could dis appear if we dont sust ain it by shopping local. In the sec ond of t he Shop Local series, Kat e Howlett-Jones tak es a look at the St rtz Fllfederhaus on Jakominiplatz , Graz. While Im talk ing to t he owner of the Strtz Fllfederhaus, Wolf Lang, a little girl comes into the shop to look for her first school ink pen. He carefully talks her through the range, and she settles on a s imple model in yellow plast ic. Lang gives her a free packet of patterned ink cart ridges to go with it. The s ale is probably worth all of 10 euros, y et he takes the same serious care as if it were one of his top-of-the-range Mont Blancs (one of whic h he rec ently sold for 17,000 euros). These are my most important c ustomers, because t hey are lifelong, Lang tells me, as the girl skips out of t he door. I still have people coming here 30 years later saying, I bought my first school pen from you. The interior is the kind of t reas ure trove that delights children and adult s alike. Hundreds of jewel-like fountain pens, biros and penc ils are laid out in rows under the glas s-topped counter. There are ant ique rarities and c urious wall displays, and a beautiful pewtery old safe. On a shelf, a glass box cont ains a meticulous scale model of the Fllfederhaus, about 50cm high, in minute det ail right down to the bubble gum machine on t he facade. The building itself is one of the oldest hous es in Graz. Its clay floor cellar once served as the well chamber where local people collec ted their water. Today, signs painted on t he c ellar wall still read Luft schutzk eller air raid s helt ers from t he S econd World War. It has since become somet hing of an oasis , located as it is on Jakominiplatz opposit e the budget supermarket (until 15 years ago the Opernkino c inema), tuck ed back from the st reet and squeezed between the pizzeria and the derelict Reformhaus wit h it s broken windows and peeling blue paint (now a deep freeze unit for a cut -price bakery). It is not easy for a business lik e this t o survive here, high rents being one challenge, and als o the drift of business es t o out-of-town locat ions lawyers, for instance. They us ed to drop in on their way bac k from c ourt trials to their offices in the Graz city cent re. If t hey lost , theyd buy a pen to c omfort themselves , if they won, they d buy a pen to celebrate. A heap of parc els is s itt ing on t he c ount er ready to be collected. Repairs and refills st ill represent a large part of Langs business, heartening to s ee in our age of the throwaway c ult ure. This is one of the las t shops of its k ind in Europe, howeveryou would have to go as far as Bologna or Paris to find anything s imilar. Originally, when Mr. St rtz opened the Fllfederhaus in 1918, six as sist ants sat in the bac k room c onst antly fixing seals; Lang st ill has some of the original tools dat ing back to then. He himself learned servic ing skills at the Mont B lanc headquarter in Hamburg. Lang also shows me his specialist arc hitect pens, including a 0. 2 width lead drafting pencil, c hunk y neon clut ch pencils and a top-qualit y fountain pen that can draw a perfect ly even stroke over one met re long. It is hard not to be infect ed by his st eady enthus iasm for all of his pens, from the quietly gleaming luxury models, to the immaculate biros, t o the vibrant s chool inkpens. I imagine the little girl at home now with her bright y ellow pen, taking it in and out of its box and arranging the cartridges ready for sc hool in September, just as delighted as t he owner of the 17, 000 euro fountain pen bought on Jakominiplatz. Ve rfasser / in: Kate Howlett-Jones

Th e F llfe derh aus toda y : Kat e Ho wlet t-Jo nes

Je wel and pencils disp lay : Kat e Ho wlet t-Jo nes

Owner Wolf Lan g : Kat e Ho wlet t-Jo nes

http://www.gat.st/news/shop-lokal-written-ink-stoertz-fuellfederhaus

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6/2/2014

SHOP LOKAL: Written in ink: the Strtz Fllfederhaus | www.gat.st

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Artikelempfehlungen der Redak tion SHOP LOKAL "DruckZeug" In the first of the S hop Loc al series, Kate Howlet t-Jones takes a look at the Bauer prin Das knnte sie auc h interessieren Writte n in ink: The Strtz Fllfe derhaus The second of the Shop Local series tak es a look at the St rtz Fllfederhaus in Graz _K ate Howlett-Jones, B ericht

http://www.gat.st/news/shop-lokal-written-ink-stoertz-fuellfederhaus

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