Now in its third generation, the Vanness family continues to serve central Arkansas. Orville Vanness began repairing razors in the Snodgrass and Bracy drugstore in the early 1930s and soon added fountain pen repair to his services. He dreamed of having the ‘Vanness’ name on a sign for his own shop, so, around 1938, Orville opened a place in downtown Little Rock and passed his skills on to his sons.
Dennis and Van Vanness continued the family tradition with added locations and retail merchandise. Today, Orville’s grandson, Mike (Dennis’ son), carries on the family tradition.
Mike Vanness was trained by his family (grandfather, dad, and uncle) to continue the family business of all things pens, inks, and paper.
Meet Lisa Vanness and view a vast range of Vanness products at the Baltimore/Washington International Pen Show March 10-11-12, 2023.





