After losing his job of almost eight years at Nordstrom, Nelmar Cornes will be off on a new adventure – becoming an entrepreneur and opening the unique Toronto Pen Shoppe store this summer in Toronto’s Distillery District.
Cornes, whose position with Nordstrom ended June 13 as the American retailer exits Canada, confirmed the new store will open sometime in July.
“The Shoppe is going to be selling writing tools – pens, fountain pens, anything you can think of to write. And we’re also going to have stationery from Canada. We’re also going to have it from all over the world – Switzerland, Japan, Germany. A lot of international brands are going to be working with me as well,” he said.
“We’re also going to have small gifts that are locally made as well. For me, I’m trying to promote more of the Canadian designer, Canadian made products. So I will have custom made content that are made in Guelph, Ontario. Some notebooks made from Montreal.”
The store will be 575 square feet.
“I’ve always had an interest in stationery. When I was at university (studying visual contemporary arts at Simon Fraser) I started using fountain pens for drawings, sketching and also writing during classes. I just kept using it. And when I started with Nordstrom I kind of had to pull back and stop using fine pens because I couldn’t use it to write a receipt and stuff like that,” he said.
“But I still did use regular ball point pens and through that I was actually selling some stationery when I was a salesperson when I was at Nordstrom. So I had a little bit of knowledge.”
When Cornes was looking to find a location for his new store, he was mainly focused on Toronto East. He said in midtown and West Toronto there already exists several stationery and pen shops.
“In the Toronto East side, I’m the only one in this area,” he said. “I have a huge range and area for customers and this side of the city is one that’s growing and also I was able to work with the Toronto Distillery District management team to offer me a lease in that building.”
“We were approached by the owner Nelmar Cornes and he is a very experienced retailer,” said John Berman, Partner of The Distillery District. “He was one of the managers at Nordstrom and he understood the Distillery. He understood the boutique nature of it. He wanted to open a store with a lot of character and charm and something that is unlike other stores in Toronto. So we liked the concept he had immediately upon his presentation to us. He’s going to have some very unique pen lines. It’s a stationery store as well. It will have a lot of character. It will fit in perfectly with the boutique atmosphere and approach for the Distillery.”
We live in a day and age when everything is on a computer, keyboards and smartphones.
“A lot of people still write their ideas on a piece of paper to write out real fast and cross out easily,” said Cornes.
“And also sometimes people just want to get away from that technology side and have that peace and quiet mentality to write their thoughts on a piece of paper such as journaling.”
At Nordstrom for close to eight years, he started as a sales person in Vancouver in 2015. He began his career there at the flagship store. He became a Counter Manager specializing in men’s fragrance and grooming, working with many high profile international brands. After that he became an Assistant Manager for jewelry and watches. Following that he became Nordstrom Rack Inventory Manager in Langley. In September 2022, Cornes moved to Toronto and became a Department Manager for jewelry and accessories for Nordstrom at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
Now he prepares for a new adventure in the world of entrepreneurship.
