The club - represented by a host of cartoon characters, including Len the Pen and Penelope Pencil and others - will launch at the Petts Wood store over National Stationery Week (Monday 31 March - Sunday 6 April 2014), extending into the schools’ Easter holidays in mid-April. Websters see this as an ongoing initiative, hoping to engage with younger customers - offering new incentives every month, including free gifts and competitions.
The scheme is very much store-based at this stage and is about encouraging the younger generation in the art of penmanship and letter-writing. It’s the National Stationery Week’s initiative ‘Get Britain Writing’ and ‘Get Kids Writing’ that has really captured Websters’ imagination.
Len Webster - who founded the business along with his wife Jacqui in 1972 and is rumored to be the inspiration behind Len the Pen - says, “People are fast forgetting how to write with any kind of style. This year is the centenary of the World War One, an era of war poets and prolific letter-writing in Copperplate script.
“With the exception of an occasional greeting card, people today very rarely communicate in handwritten form. Emails and texts have their place,” he continues, “but it’s transient. A letter takes effort and will be read, re-read and often kept forever.
“It’s not just about neat handwriting,” says Len. “It extends beyond that, it’s about taking time and care to write something worth saying, perhaps to someone who will be deeply touched by it.”
Websters hope that the Pencil Case Club (PCC) will evolve over time. Each character has been given personality traits and it’s hoped the club members will help create a back story and future adventures for them all - ideally handwritten.
From the end of March, under 11s can join the club for free at Websters’ Petts Wood store at 23-28 Chatsworth Parade. They will initially receive a numbered membership card, postcard and competition quiz sheet. Club members will benefit from discounts, promotions, freebies, competitions and events.
Latest promotions will be publicised through the Websters online customer newsletter and various social media routes.
Websters will again be managing the Lamy pop up shop in Bluewater during the school summer holidays, running from 28 July - 7 September. The Pencil Case Club will have a strong presence at the venue.
For more information on Websters Pen Shops visit: www.websterspenshop.co.uk