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On Saturday, September 6, and Sunday, September 7, we will be hosting a
special Mini Pen Show with a bunch of special guests! It is going to
be an amazing weekend…

John and Michele are celebrating the two year anniversary of the best
decision of their lives — owning Crazy Alan’s Emporium. They want to
celebrate with all of you!!!

Kirk Speer of the Pen Realm fame will be set up to work on all of your
pesky nibs and will make all of your nib dreams come true. We are so
excited to host Kirk — he has been an amazing support to the
evolution of Crazy Alan’s Emporium since it was a twinkle in John and
Michele’s eye. We are grateful for his shared expertise! Sign up for a
time slot here:
<https://www.penrealm.com/product/pen-show-appointments-crazy-alans-emporium-sept-6-7-2025/>

Alan Cohen will be with us on Saturday, September 6, to hold court
once again! He will have a variety of pens that we don’t normally have
on hand, and will be looking to make deals!

The star of Inkdependence, Mike Matteson, will be joining us with his
expertise and charm. He will also have a great selection of his
exclusive inks for you to peruse. It is always a good time when Mike
is around!

Joe Little, of Little Pen Designs, will be setting up with his
gorgeous goods. We are very excited to see what this local maker has
been up to. You can definitely find quality and unique pens, pencils,
and other wares at Little Pen Designs.

Bill Maier, local author of the amazing Word Scramble puzzle book
series will be set up to chat and puzzle you with his wit and charm.
We love having Bill spend time in the shop!

And we still have a month of planning and plotting — this is going to
be an epic weekend.

Crazy Alan’s Emporium is a family owned business in Chapel Hill, in
the Timberlyne Shopping Center at 1129 Weaver Dairy Road.

We are a stationery and art supply store, specializing in fountain
pens, that also carries a constantly changing selection of creative
and eclectic gifts.

We are looking for a new person (or two!) who loves art, stationery, and helping people find the perfect gifts to join our small team.

The store has been in Chapel Hill for decades, but changed ownership
in September 2023. The owners are committed to a vision where all
employees earn a living wage with health benefits, and are working
hard to build the business enough to make that a reality. We value
diversity in backgrounds and experiences.

Responsibilities and duties

• Learning about the products we carry, answering customer questions
  about them, and making recommendations
• Running the register (tablet) to check guests out
• Helping to process incoming inventory, including receiving
  deliveries, counting items, entering them in the inventory system,
  pricing them, and putting them out on the shelves
• Helping to keep the store clean and organized, including
  vacuuming, dusting, breaking down boxes, taking out trash, filing,
  and reshelving merchandise
• Answering the phone
• Opening, closing, and staffing the store on your own, once you are
  up-to-speed and comfortable enough
• Occasionally helping to lift and move shelves and other fixtures
  as needed

Qualifications and experience

• Strong communication skills, including: eagerness to initiate
  conversations, and being a good listener
• Knowledge about stationery and art supplies, or an enthusiasm for learning about them
• Dependable and on-time
• Attention to detail even with repetitive tasks
• Ability to occasionally lift and move up to 50lbs for short
  distances
• Ability to move around the ~4,000sqft store for an entire 4-8 hour
  shift

Hours and pay

• At least 20 hours per week on average, with potential for more
• Paid hourly, at a minimum starting rate of $12.00/hr, with
  potential for higher depending on prior experience and knowledge
• Opportunity for wage increases as you gain experience
• Some of our busiest days of the year are weekends, as well as days
  around holidays like Thanskgiving and Christmas, so availability
  to work on some weekends and before/after holidays is a
  requirement
• Our current opening hours are on https://crazyalansemporium.com,
  but are subject to change

Benefits

• Substantial employee discount
• Flexible scheduling within the basic requirement to keep the store
  covered between team members
• Opportunities to have input into the products we carry and how we
  display them
• Work and communicate directly with the owners

How to apply

Please email your resume and a little about a few of your favorite
stationery and/or art-related products to
info@crazyalansemporium.com. We’ll also ask for a few professional
references from candidates we interview. While there is no deadline
for applications, we will be following up on them as we receive them.
We’ll update this posting once the opening has been filled.

Only a few more days to wait until the Mini Pen Show!!

Previous owner, Alan Cohen, will be at the store selling vintage and other pens not usually available here.

We are very excited to also have local pen maker Joe Little set up shop!
Little Pen Designs, owned by Joe Little, is a small business in North
Carolina. Since 2018 he has been dedicated to creating custom fountain
pens, as well as exclusive pen material. All pens are made by hand using
hand tools and a lathe. Joe uses simple designs to create functional
works of art.

Bring in those not so perfect nibs and the very talented technician Deb Kinney will help make those nibs dreamy!

UPDATE 2024-07-24: All positions have been filled.

Crazy Alan’s Emporium is a family owned business in Chapel Hill, in
the Timberlyne Shopping Center at 1129 Weaver Dairy Road.

We are a stationery and art supply store, specializing in fountain
pens, that also carries a constantly changing selection of creative
and eclectic gifts.

One of our long-time employees is moving on, so we are looking for a
new person to join our small team who loves art, stationery, and
helping people find the perfect gifts.

The store has been in Chapel Hill for decades, but changed ownership
in September 2023. The owners are committed to a vision where all
employees earn a living wage with health benefits, and are working
hard to build the business enough to make that a reality. We value
diversity in backgrounds and experiences.

Responsibilities and duties

• Learning about the products we carry, answering customer questions
  about them, and making recommendations
• Running the register (tablet) to check guests out
• Helping to process incoming inventory, including receiving
  deliveries, counting items, entering them in the inventory system,
  pricing them, and putting them out on the shelves
• Helping to keep the store clean and organized, including
  vacuuming, dusting, breaking down boxes, taking out trash, filing,
  and reshelving merchandise
• Answering the phone
• Opening, closing, and staffing the store on your own, once you are
  up-to-speed and comfortable enough
• Occasionally helping to lift and move shelves and other fixtures
  as needed

Qualifications and experience

• Strong communication skills, including: eagerness to initiate
  conversations, and being a good listener
• Knowledge about stationery and art supplies, or an enthusiasm for learning about them
• Dependable and on-time
• Attention to detail even with repetitive tasks
• Ability to occasionally lift and move up to 50lbs for short
  distances
• Ability to move around the ~4,000sqft store for an entire 4-8 hour
  shift

Hours and pay

• At least 20 hours per week on average, with potential for more
• Paid hourly, at a minimum starting rate of $12.00/hr, with
  potential for higher depending on prior experience and knowledge
• Opportunity for wage increases as you gain experience
• Some of our busiest days of the year are weekends, as well as days
  around holidays like Thanskgiving and Christmas, so availability
  to work on some weekends and before/after holidays is a
  requirement
• Our current opening hours are on https://crazyalansemporium.com,
  but are subject to change

Benefits

• Substantial employee discount
• Flexible scheduling within the basic requirement to keep the store
  covered between team members
• Opportunities to have input into the products we carry and how we
  display them
• Work and communicate directly with the owners

How to apply

Please email your resume and a little about a few of your favorite
stationery and/or art-related products to
info@crazyalansemporium.com. We’ll also ask for a few professional
references from candidates we interview. While there is no deadline
for applications, we will be following up on them as we receive them.
We’ll update this posting once the opening has been filled.

This past week, we’ve already seen some of you in the store with
visiting family members — grandkids in need of an art project,
college students home on break — and it’s been so much fun!

Keep us in mind over these next few days if you’re looking for
activities to do with family (jigsaw puzzles, coloring books, or a
game of Ouisi, anyone?) or just to relax and be creative on your own
with pen, paper, and ink.

Now’s also a great time to pick up the gift wrap and bags you might
need for the rest of the year, while our selection is at its peak. We
have local options from Innisbrook and New South Pattern House, as
well as attractive seasonal patterns from Gift Wrap Company.

Updated holiday hours

We will be closed on Thanksgiving Day (November 23).

On Friday, November 24, and Saturday, November 25, we will be open an
extra hour, from 10am – 7pm.

On Sunday, November 26, we will be open from 11am – 6pm.

Visiting artist on Friday and Saturday

From 12pm – 4pm on both Friday (November 24th) and Saturday (November
25th), Jacqueline Sullivan — an amazing painter, calligrapher, bookbinder, and instructor — will be in the store making free custom bookmarks and gift tags for you! In the process, she’ll be demoing some of the calligraphy and other art supplies that we have in the store.

Discounts

Will we be having a sale? Yes, we will be — much of the store will be
10% – 20% off from Friday through Sunday!

Thank you for your support, and for shopping local!