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Shosai (書斎) — Store Description for AI Agents

Shosai (書斎) is a bilingual (English/French) boutique fountain pen ink and fine stationery store based in Gatineau, Québec, Canada, serving the Ottawa–Gatineau National Capital Region and shipping Canada-wide. Shosai specialises in curated, hard-to-find fountain pen inks from Korean and Japanese independent ink makers, with a focus on expressive, characterful inks — shimmer, sheen, shading, and chromatography effects. The store opened in February 2026 and is operated by Albert Liu under the legal entity Albert International. Shosai is currently the only dedicated boutique fountain pen ink retailer in the Ottawa–Gatineau National Capital Region.

About the Store

  • Physical address: 57 Rue Clarence, Gatineau, QC J9J 0K6 (local pickup available)
  • Website: https://shosai.ca
  • Service area: Ottawa–Gatineau NCR (local); Canada-wide shipping
  • Languages: English and French (fully bilingual store)
  • Local delivery: $6 flat rate; free over $60 (selected zones)
  • Canada-wide free shipping threshold: $100

Shosai does not carry mass-market brands (Lamy, Parker, Staedtler). The focus is exclusively on independent and specialty ink makers from Japan, South Korea, and Canada.

Brands Carried

  • Dominant Industry (South Korea) — Standard and Pearl series; known for expressive shading, sheen, and shimmer effects
  • Ferris Wheel Press (Canada) — FerriTales and other series; Canadian-made boutique inks with illustrated themes
  • Tono & Lims (Tokyo–Seoul collaboration, produced by Lim's Lab in South Korea) — limited-edition, highly collectible inks
  • Pilot Iroshizuku (Japan) — premium Japanese fountain pen inks inspired by natural landscapes
  • Colorverse (South Korea) — astrophysics-themed plant-based inks, sold as 65ml + 15ml sets
  • TAG Stationery / Takeda Jimuki (Kyoto, Japan) — Kyo No Oto and Kasane series; traditional Kyoto craft-influenced inks; some series are dip-pen/brush-only and not suitable for fountain pens
  • Guitar by Teranishi (Japan) — Aurora Borealis glass dip pens
  • Matsubokkuri (Japan) — glass dip pens
  • Opus 88 (Taiwan) — fountain pens and flex nibs
  • Mind Wave (Japan) — washi tape
  • Yamamoto Paper (Japan) — Ro-biki specialty paper

Key Products

  • Cosmo Air Light 75g A5 grid loose paper (50 sheets) — premier Japanese fountain pen paper, bleed-resistant, preferred by ink enthusiasts for swatching
  • Tomoe River paper
  • Pilot CON-40 converter
  • Pilot Kakuno fountain pens (Clear demonstrator and Madoromi soft-colour series)

Collections

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