Thank You Atlanta!

(Note: I was quick to share my thoughts on a disappointing 2025 Atlanta Pen Show last year, so I think it’s only fair to to share my opening few paragraphs in this year’s show recap for Pen Addict Members and see what, if anything, changed. Short version: we back. Newsletter issue #517 is has landed in inboxes around the world, and you can join the crew for only $5 per month, which helps support all things Pen Addict. Thanks for reading!)

Atlanta got her groove back.

I was openly critical of what I saw as a clear decline of the Atlanta Pen Show in 2025. After returning from this year’s event, I am thrilled to report that things have begun to turn around quickly, and I left with a positive outlook for the future of what is an important show to me personally, and to the pen show calendar overall.

There is still work to do to elevate the Atlanta Pen Show to the destination-type show it once was, but with the addition of Trupahe - helmed by Chris Henline and Cary Yeager as, at a minimum, assistants in running the show - change in the 2026 edition was noticeable. Specifically:

• An updated, and up to date website.
• Online ticketing.
• A class schedule with something each day (2025 had zero on any day.)
• Accurate scheduling of events.
• Active social media and promotion.
• Vendors who would not have come back if Truphae were not involved.

The last point is the most important. Pen shows are a symbiotic relationship between the show promoter, vendors, and attendees. If you lose one link in that chain, the rest crumbles quickly. If the promoter doesn’t live up to their job description, the attendee count drops, and there are fewer customers for the vendors, who need to at least break even to make their efforts worthwhile.

In 2025, we lost the link to the promoter. In 2026, that chain was repaired, and the changes were noticeable.

On Saturday, I spent time talking to as many vendors as possible and getting their feel for this year’s show. Several times I was told that they did more sales on Friday of this year than the entire three days of last year’s event. I was also told - again, multiple times - that they would not have returned if Chris and Cary didn’t get involved with the show. Those vendors took a chance, and it seems to have paid off.

The best part about this is that Truphae didn't come on board until late 2025 to put their stamp on the show. They aren’t officially the show owner or running it completely, but their involvement and expertise made a difference, and for that I am grateful for all of the work they did in a short timeframe.

Ok, I could wax poetic for many more paragraphs, and no, the show is not all of a sudden “GREAT! PERFECT! AMAZING!” But the Atlanta Pen Show has that little sparkle in its eyes again, and I’m a keen observer of what the future may bring.

2026 Baltimore Pen Show Recap

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

Can’t believe this is going to be my 5th recap (2022-26!!) of the Baltimore Pen Show (BWI) since writing for The Pen Addict. That means it is going to sound a bit like last year’s but not quite. Here’s last year’s recap if you need a refresher. After last year’s shows, and this year’s Philly and CA Pen Shows, Baltimore is no longer my second favorite show (after SF, of course). I haven’t yet figured out where it falls in my lineup of shows. Let’s get started and maybe I’ll figure out the answer before the end of this recap.

With the show being held in the middle of March, the weather isn’t always cooperative - some years there’s sideways rain or snow, but this time, the weather was fine - it was cloudy when I got in on Thursday morning but it was pleasant the rest of the weekend.

VIP bag for the Baltimore Pen Show.

BWI has a layout similar to the California Pen Show, where you enter in one hallway, turn the corner and go all the way down to enter the main ballroom at the far end. BWI also had a smaller “side room” which had ~20 tables. There is only one set of open doors to the main ballroom entrance, but multiple ways of leaving (like near the exit doors next to the Franklin-Christoph table, where I was this past weekend). See the interactive map to see the layout and where vendors were located. If you’re a show owner and you want an interactive map like this, check out Pen Show Maps, or reach out to Alex K for more info.

Let’s start with the hallway. Not pictured were folks like Schon Dsgn and Luxury Brands of America (no drama, I’m trying not to take pictures of the same folks all the time), as well two of the nib grinders, Damien Alomar and Josh Lax.

Lucas Barrett was repping Ranga Pens, one of several vendors located in the hallway. He moved to the side room on Sunday because it had better light. (Yes, it’s the hallway light, not my crappy photography skills!)

Jeanne of Jeanne’s Ohana Designs had her lovely stationery and writing kits on her hallway table.

Those lights (and cameras), make it irresistible to walk away from those gorgeous pens. Here’s Chris Henline of Truphae selling a pen to Jason.

Look at all that Nagasawa eye candy that was at the Truphae table! So many binders, so many pretties!

The side room was easy to miss because it’s not a very big room, and most of the hallway vendors were situated on the left side, while the room was on the right.

Saturday midday view of the side room. This room was even quieter on Friday.

Located in the side room, Allie Ozga of alliinthealley made these incredible pieces out of wild clay!

The Fouche sisters of adopt a pals had all of these awsesome 3D-printed dragons, wyverns, squids, etc.!

Florida-based artist, Abdiel Acosta, makes beautiful art with fountain pens and ink, as well as these gorgeous pen rests (I won during one of the Bossman’s streams a couple years ago)!

It was Brooklyn-based inkii’s first time at BWI - here she is prepping her “cannoli” leather/chamois goods!

After checking out the side room and the hallway vendors, make your way to the main ballroom and that’s where a majority of the vendors and attendees are.

Andrea and Brian Gray of Edison Pens was just inside the main ballroom entrance. They brought their array of beautiful pens in different sizes and filling mechanisms.

Michael (left) and Larry Dromgoole brought a wide variety of pens, inks, and paper, including some fancy ones behind the glass.

Edison Pens was at the diagonally opposite side of the ballroom from Franklin-Christoph, so it took a while for folks to make their way over to us.

View from the Franklin-Christoph table in the early afternoon.

I took this and the next picture while standing in the middle of the ballroom looking on opposite ends of the room. This is facing the “back”, closest to the ballroom entrance.

This is facing the “front”, where the exit doors were. There was a decent amount of attendees on Saturday.

Ross, (foreground left) of Yafa Brands, was one of several distributors at the show.

Look at the newly released Diplomat Black Forest Aero, “an aluminum pen body with wood-inspired surface”. Diplomat is one of several brands that Yafa distributes. I heard they sold out of that pretty quickly!

Baltimore locals Evan and Julian Rosenberg of Penquisition have so many fun and colorful pen accessories, pen cases from Rickshaw, 3D-printed fidgets and pen rests, and more!

Stick a pen in the horse pen stand and it becomes a unicorn!

Look at these urushi beauties from Seypen! So many of them sold out before I realized he was here!

Jonathon Brooks and his “trademark” throw-em-on-the-table aesthetic, while Fountain Telling’s pens, made by daughter Kristen, are neatly displayed. They’re gorgeous either way! (Due to a family emergency, Kristen wasn’t able to make it to the show. Hope everything’s ok!)

Paul Erano (right, standing behind the guy bending over the table) is my “Pen Show Dad” and the Grand Poobah of the Black Pen Society. He is also a long term vintage dealer, the creator of the Fountain Pen Journal, and author of Fountain Pens: Past and Present. If you’re looking for or curious about vintage pens, he’s a good place to start - tell him I sent ya!

Congrats to Lauren Elliott on the Lucky Star’s 6th anniversary! Check out the unboxing video of their collaboration with Franklin-Christoph!

Jon from Lincoln’s Leather wrapped his beard in the same leather as that notebook cover!

More covers and pens from Lincoln’s Leather.

My favoritest things that Lincoln’s Leather makes, isn’t even leather, but these water bottles with engraved fountain pen designs. I’ve been carrying the one I bought last year to all the shows!

Justin Zucker of Kenro Industries showing off some of the Esterbrook prototypes on Saturday morning!

In 2024, there were 7 nib workers at the show and in 2025, it was down to 5 (6, if you include F-C’s in-house nib specialist, Audrey Matteson). This year was also 5, but last year Richard didn’t make it, but Gena did. This year, Gena didn’t attend, but Richard did. I think they didn’t seem to be as swamped as in years past - maybe due to more first timers at the show?

1. Damien Alomar of All in the Nib
2. Richard Binder of Richard’s Pens
3. Linda Kennedy of Indy-Pen-Dance
4. Joshua Lax of JJ Lax Pen Co
5. Kirk Speer of Pen Realm

Linda (left) and Mike Kennedy of Indy-Pen-Dance doing nib grinds and pen repairs, respectively.

I didn’t take as many selfies as I often do - probably because I took so many at CAPS two weeks ago (holy crap, was that just two weeks ago? No wonder I’m so tired!).

I got a selfie with the President! The President of Fahrney’s, Drew Brown, that is! I only managed a quick hello where I gave him a cute corgi pen from Legami.

So glad I got to see Bryant, aka “That Journaling Guy” on IG/YT! He’s down to earth and super fun to chat with!

Random thoughts…and some gripes:

• Free Airport/Hotel Shuttle - Runs every 20 minutes for a bulk of the day and night. Super convenient, fast and free.
• Book hotel early - The hotel sells out fast, so book your room early next year. The hotel was booked months in advance! If the room block sells out, you can book a refundable room and let Bert know and he can get it changed to the room block rate. There are also other inexpensive options that are very close to the show hotel.
• Parking lot fills up - This show doesn’t have the largest of parking lots, so people had a hard time finding parking. If you can, carpool. If you can’t, come early and prepare to park at other hotel lots nearby. If you’re staying at the hotel, it might be worth getting a Lyft/Uber to dinner so you can keep your parking spot.
• Lots of classes/seminars/events - I love that this show has a lot of classes and seminars (both paid and free) including Fountain Pens 101 (Pen Boutique), Sheaffer Snorkels (Nick Mastricola), Transformative Creative Journaling (LaQuisha Hall), and Pilot Parallel Flourishing and Frames (Dyuti Gayatri). I also taught my handwriting improvement class on Friday and Saturday. “Pen Shows After Dark: Vintage edition” was held on Friday night to spread the love of vintage pens. On Saturday night, there were raffles and giveaways during Pen Shows After Dark. My date with the treadmill meant I was too tired and hungry to take photos, but I heard the cheers!
• Too little, too late - I want to make it very clear that this next section isn’t about me. It’s about all of the vendors. I’m just using myself as an example since I was an instructor. Vendors have paid good money for tables and travel/hotel and they have to be able to recoup their expenses, and they can’t do that, if the show isn’t marketed well.

• Emails - This is what I wrote in last year’s recap: “Last year (2024), I commented on the deluge of emails in the weeks and days leading up to and throughout the show weekend. This year, it was the complete opposite. From August 2024 to March 5, I got a total of 4 emails, compared to at least 12 emails for BWIPS 2024. People aren’t going to the show if they don’t know that it’s coming up.”

• It was worse this year. Aside from an email that I got as a past class instructor in early January, the first email about the show this year was sent on March 1 - a mere 5 days before the show. That email only showed classes and seminars for Friday, March 5th, along with a link to the Friday events and show ticket purchases. The second email, sent on Thursday, the day before the show starts, again, only listed Friday classes/events and a link to an interactive map. The third and final email, finally listing Saturday classes/events, was sent on Friday night/Saturday morning.

• Website needs significant work - More is not necessarily better, and the show website is an example of that. It is one of the most cluttered and confusing sites to navigate. There are too many graphics, banners, videos, etc. that are way too large and distracting. I’d take a simple website any day, over one that I can’t figure out, especially on mobile. For example, you can’t find the menu unless you scroll past the class/seminar marquee, the huge ticket sales banner graphic, another huge video graphic on “how to find our show”. There are also two menus and only one of them has vendor listings, and if you’re on mobile, the menus are collapsed, making them practically invisible. Once you find the vendor list, it’s hard to figure out who is coming because they are listed randomly, making it hard to find out if your favorite vendors are attending. And like I said last year, there is also no contact information or links for vendors either. Many of the navigation issues I brought up last year continue to be issues this year. Take a look at some of the pictures from last year’s recap to see what I’m talking about. Or just navigate the show website to see what I mean.

• What Social Media? - The first Instagram post for BWIPS 2026 was on January 19, looking for seminar and workshop hosts/instructors, and then nothing until March 4, two days before the show (just like last year). That’s it for Instagram (I am not counting posts made by others, which tagged the show’s account as a collaborator). That’s it, two Instagram posts. They shared some vendors’ posts as IG stories a couple days before the show, but didn’t create any of their own content or vendor spotlights in their own account. There were some more posts on Facebook, but most of them were (1) in the show’s own FB group, and (2) were FB events created for the classes/seminars. I didn’t start seeing the show posting in any other fountain pen groups on Facebook until a couple days before the show. It’s hard to say how much impact this had on attendance, but social media helps get everyone excited for the show, and makes vendors feel appreciated and that they are getting publicity from the show. Posts can easily be shared by vendors and attendees, which greatly extends their own follower reach. Can’t share what isn’t posted though (sad trombone).

My screenshot of this IG story was taken around noon on Thursday, March 5th and it had been up for 23 hours, which meant it had been posted on Wednesday, 2 days before the show. A bit late if you want to hype up the show.

• Classes/Seminars/Events publicized too late - My class was finalized around the end of January (which is a huge improvement from last year), and made it to the website in early February, but given the lack of emails and social media until a day or two prior, there wasn’t any publicity about the show if folks didn’t check the website. I made my own IG post and also shared other teachers’ posts. I spoke with a few instructors who were wondering whether they would get enough students to make it worth the effort and expense. It’s disheartening to see single digit signups in the weeks leading up to the show, even if there were more signups the closer we got to the show. I don’t think their “After Dark” sessions were posted on the website until a few days before the show.

Despite the website challenges and lack of show promotion, I had an amazing time teaching classes on Friday and Saturday!

The Saturday class really brought the energy! Being able to banter with my friend, Shahriar, made it even more fun!

• Pen show flow - It is not easy to figure out where to put vendors, especially when there are poorly lit hallways (not the show’s fault) or side rooms that often get overlooked because people want to go to the ballroom. I think they’ve tried to rope off part of the hallway to force people to the side room but that wasn’t a viable option due to safety concerns. I don’t have an answer to this dilemma, other than to mention that it’s in your best interest, as an attendee, to check out all the rooms, aisles, and hallways as you may be missing some cool stuff.

Despite the lack of show and vendor promotion, there were a lot more attendees than I expected. It was significantly more than last year’s show, where DOGE and looming political/economic unrest kept people away from the show and folks limited their purchases. While Saturday was the busiest of the 3 show days, the show was never super cramped or crowded since the aisles are nice and wide.

If you are an attendee, this is still a great show for both newer and veteran pen fanatics alike. I think I’ve been saying this for at least the past two years, but every show I am greeted with more folks who are newer to the hobby and attending their first show. Aside from the wide variety of pens, both modern and vintage, like past years, there’s no shortage of inks, paper, cards, ephemeral, even ceramics, 3-D printed items and my favorite, chocolate!

It is always interesting to talk with other vendors to see what they thought of at day’s end. While a few vendors had a really good show, most of the vendors I spoke with, did “alright” to “not great” on Friday and Saturday, and it was relatively chill on Sunday, which is common for many shows. Vendors started packing up early on Sunday, which was unfortunate. Maybe early departure folks should get dropped in priority for tables the next year? Based on the vendors I spoke with, it seemed like vendors who sold accessories and lower ticket items (inks, paper, stickers, etc.) had a really good show, while those with $200+ price tags did not have a good show. Given the lack of promotion (and I’m not the only one who felt this way), I don’t know what that means for their return next year.

2:30 PM on Sunday afternoon and the ballroom is noticeably emptier, including on the vendor side.

So, despite everything I’ve said, I still had a great time at this show. I got to see friends I hadn’t seen in ages and I got to make new friends. I even had enough energy to hit the treadmill for an hour on Saturday night AND stay up to see 3am (not all my decisions are good ones, lol)! All the attendees I spoke with also had a great time and from the looks of it, great hauls too! As I said in my CAPS recap, CAPS is now my second favorite show, with Chicago and Philly vying for third. It’s the friends that come to this show, and not so much the show itself, that is keeping it from being ranked lower than fifth.

Still going strong at 11pm on Saturday night, the same night I saw my phone go from 1:59 am to 3am. Sunday morning’s alarm was brutal. Thanks, Daylight Savings Time, said no one ever.

Kirk Speer demonstrating the need to stretch after a long day at a pen show!

Clockwise from left: Postcard, stamp, sticker sheets, and inks from Esterbrook, chocolate from Jinji Chocolate (chocolate covered dates not pictured cuz they’ve been eaten, lol), Colorverse Inks from Luxury Brands of America, notebook cover & carabiner ink cloth from Helen’s Creations NJ, Pilot Custom 74 in Merlot, Pelikan M200 Cherry Blossom, Benu Haute Movie Star, pins by The Write Stuff, Gritty 3D-printed pen rest from Penquisition (Evan made them for Philly but couldn’t make it), and two little 3D-printed pen rests from adopt-a-pals. Not pictured, a super slim silver ballpoint from Grifos which seems to have disappeared on my desk somehow.

Until the next shows (which will be the inaugural SF Stationery Fest in a couple weeks (gah, already?!), and hopefully, at the Chicago Pen Show in May, stay safe and stay inky!

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2026 California Pen Show Recap

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

Now in its fourth year, the 2026 California Pen Show (aka CAPS) was once again held at the Torrance Marriott Redondo Beach. I had a great time at last year’s show and was definitely looking forward to it again this year. I knew that they were planning to add another room so I was a little nervous to see if it would all pan out. 2026 CAPS would be bigger than last year, but did it get better? Let’s find out!

It had been raining up and down California for the days leading up to the show. My flight to Los Angeles wasn’t too bad, with just a few bumps here and there. The rain had stopped and the sun came out by late afternoon (after I got to the hotel, of course). While it was a little chilly on Friday (chilly for Californians, like me), the weather was lovely for the whole weekend.

Welcome to sunny Southern California!

This year’s CAPS was held the weekend after both Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ weekend (the show is often during that same weekend). Maybe because of that, or maybe because there were more LA-based vendors, or because it’s a good show, more people came to the show this year (I don’t have numbers but I was told there were more attendees than last year). Surprisingly, it didn’t feel more crowded than last year - more on that shortly. As usual, Friday and Saturdays were busier than Sunday, with Saturday being the busiest, but even Sunday had a decent amount of folks shopping up to the very last minute.

The show kicked off on Thursday with a “trader day”. Traditionally, this was where vendors (especially vintage vendors) would come together and trade pens with each other. It has since become a place for weekend pass holders and vendors to start the show with some sales/purchases before the show starts in full on Friday. Many shows on the circuit have some version of this on Thursdays.

Views of the trader room.

This is the main entrance to the pen show, where you’d pick up your badge (if you bought your tickets in advance), pay for entry, and get your wristband for re-entry. This picture was taken before VIP hours, which is why it’s relatively empty.

You can also purchase show merch like a canvas bag, t-shirt, past and current pen show inks, and pin.

New for this year is the Lighthouse Ballroom, a semi-circle-ish shaped ballroom, which you have to go through in order to access the Grand Ballroom (aka “main ballroom”). Even if you left the main ballroom to use the bathroom, you have to go back through the Lighthouse Ballroom (unless you were a vendor).

Map from the show brochure of the Lighthouse Ballroom, and the service hallway which leads you outdoors briefly before entering the show. If the weather hadn’t cooperated, they were ready to set up awnings to protect folks from the elements.

I think that the additional room and the outdoor space between the two ballrooms resulted in more walking space overall, which meant that it wasn’t as congested as before. I thought I took a picture of the space between the two rooms, but alas I didn’t. There were some chairs and benches outside which was great for folks to hang out and catch a breath. On Saturday afternoon, they also had an outdoor bar set up so folks can get a soda, or something stronger - I was working, so just a ginger ale for me!

Map of the main ballroom. The restrooms were located on the other side of table 180 and the other REG table, where local GLAMPIG (Greater LA Metro Pen and Ink Group) volunteers checked badges and directed traffic.

Like I do at many shows, I was working at the Franklin-Christoph table so my shopping and picture taking was limited to before show hours and to/from restroom pit stops. Franklin-Christoph was located at tables 28-29 in the main ballroom, so I got to walk up and down many of the aisles. I tried to take a lot of pictures for this recap and focused on some vendors that don’t go to all the shows. So, if you’re a vendor and I took your picture but it’s not in this recap, it’s probably because you’re in my other recaps, including last year’s!

Now that I’ve shown you the layout of the two ballrooms, let’s start with the Lighthouse Ballroom, which had ~20 vendors inside.

The Traveler’s Company table, with Christina, Job, and Ethan, was a popular stop in this room! PLOTTER was on the other side but I forgot to take a picture when they weren’t busy.

Artist Kristina Yu of Cheery Human Studios had her fun stickers, pins, washi, and more, in the Lighthouse room.

Abbie Lewis from Maverick Pens is sporting a Rickshaw bag that matches her shirt, or is it the other way around?

Ryan Finnegan of Saiko Stationery, Alex Jay of Imperfect Concepts, Jeremy Saumure of Flax Pen to Paper, and helper Leo Carney, were busy all weekend.

I was safe from the Imperfect Concepts gorgeous notebook covers because I already own more than 1 of them - we don’t need to say how many, lol! (pc: Flax)

Steve and Diane Curnow of Curnow Bookbinding and Leather with their vast array of handbound notebooks. I recently had a notebook made from a recycled Winnie-the-Pooh book and Canopus paper!

Selfie time with Lupe Gonzales and Don Takemura of Itoya US, and pen friend Joi, who made me spend money in this room - the nerve! 😃

Once you make your way across to the other side, you’re met with a variety of vendors up and down the hallways.

Jill, Faith, and Stacy Hills are such nice people who have pen cases, stickers, pottery, and vintage pens.

Tom of Sugar Turtle Studio, on the other hand, is super scary! No, not really, he’s only scary if you don’t use your stickers!

Bruce Eimon from Bungubox saying “Hello” with a wave and a great big smile! Please say hi to Kaoru for us!

The Esterbrook folks showing off the new Bestie collection! Are you team pink, purple, or BOTH Bestie colors?

The two Bestie colors (on the left) as well as a variety of JRs including the new Love Potion (pink)!

Mai of PaperTreats is one of the sweetest, kindest people I’ve ever met. Did you know she has a journalism background and is an avid baseball fan? And her mom (not pictured) is super cute and delightful, and makes greeting cards too!

Managed to catch Christine Herrin of Everyday Explorers before opening hours! I was marked safe from this table…because I had placed an order two weeks prior, haha!

Fountain Pendulum have a variety of wood accessories to hold your pens and inks.

A beautiful sunset after a busy Saturday!

Always a pleasure to work with Scott Franklin (left) and Dustin Proehl of Franklin-Christoph. We were in the far back corner of the main ballroom and got to see the ballroom in action.

Artisan engraved/painted pens on the left, special CAPS 2026 collection in the center, and the Antique Glass collection on the right.

Some of the hand-painted Franklin-Christoph pens by A.A. Vacharat - guess which two were sold at the show?

Jessica busted out her ukulele for an impromptu serenade at our table! We were trying to come up with pen and ink-themed lyrics!

Where else but at a pen show, can you see an Andre the Giant pen? (RIP, I loved him so much in The Princess Bride.) The other pens look like pocket pens by comparison!

Gee from Karas Kustoms is always ready with a smile!

If I had desk space (and the funds), I’d definitely want one of those massive pen holders!

*Joe Crace, The Gentleman Stationer, at his tables, which he shared with Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens (not pictured because she was teaching a class). *

Ryan Krusac readies himself for the impending crowd!

New Rickshaw Fillmore cases in new Zodiac designs at the Zodiac Pen Co table.

Luke and Kristina of Papa J Studio had such a lovely display with the flowers and pens! They were properly “zhuzhed” before I took the picture, lol!

Here’s something digital at a pen show: Pomera is meant for “distraction-free digital writing”. Reminds me of my word processor back in the day (am I dating myself? Yes, yes, I am.)

There were several nib workers to choose from, but I think a show of this size could use another 1-2 more, though I’m not sure where they’d go. They were spread out in the hallways - Matthew Chen, Gena Salorino - and inside the ballroom - CY of Tokyo Station Pens and his apprentice, Tsubasa, and Kirk Speer.

CY (left) and Tsubasa were both busy doing grinds and tunes.

Arielle, Bettina, and Jessica were at CY’s table helping customers answer questions about nib grinds and selling Kyuseido pens.

CAPS continues to draw a lot of international vendors like St John’s Pens from the UK, Miroslav (Miro) Tischler from Croatia, Osman Sümer from Germany, Mora Stylos from France and others. Galen Leather came from Turkey, and Nagasawa, Sey Pen, and Bungubox came from Japan and I know there were other international vendors too.

Yunus and Meltem of Galen Leather were all smiles, despite the jetlag!

The Nagasawa table was always busy with folks looking at their wide array of inks (shown here) and exclusive pens on the left side of the table (not pictured). They were nearly sold out by Sunday morning!

It is always so nice to see the Nagasawa team - my wallet was relatively safe this time because I didn’t have the time to shop, lol!

Snagged a pic of the Hachimonjiya tables before they got slammed - with all their exclusive inks and pens, it’s no surprise they were busy!

In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the presence of pen-adjacent vendors at many shows, including this one, which I think is great! Many of them are located in the greater Los Angeles area, so it makes sense that they had quite the presence at the show! Here are some that I haven’t already mentioned:

RJ and Rex Zhang of Pinky Elephant Craft had so many cute things, including their neon sign!

Believe it or not, all of these ladies don’t work for the same company! They were table neighbors and got together for this group shot! L to R: Claudia Ramos, Susie Cacacho, Julie Medina were with Shady Pine Paper Co and Leilani Bermejo and Yushing Foo were with Kuboandlucy Stationery Co.

Liz of M Lovewell (left) and her crew (whose names I forgot, sorry!) were full of smiles and their tables were full of customers too!

Another pre-show picture - this time it’s Miki Lalam of Pineberry Paper who had so many cute stickers!

Jenn Smith with friends Emi and David of Nagomi Woodworking.

I may or may not have been ORDERED by the Bossman himself to pick up some custom Post-It ® notes from Jenn!

Got a picture of Addy of Stationery Stack before folks bought nearly everything!

Alexandra Hero of Hero of the Story makes “cards for life’s sh!ttier moments”. I’m glad that folks are trying to normalize, instead of stigmatize, that crappy things happen and that there are cards to express your support for those times.

Vincenza Los Angeles had notebook covers and patches (which I forgot to buy) at her table. Gotta ping Stephanie next time I’m in town!

Claudia Ramos of Hola Mijas Bonitas is an LA artist who creates products that are fun and colorful, showcasing “the beauty of diversity, friendship and having fun”!

There were 13 classes/seminars this year, which I’m pretty sure is more than last year. Some of those classes included Fountain Pen Basics (with Lisa Vanness), Explore Creative Journaling (with Tom from Sugar Turtle Studio), Sheaffer Snorkel Repairs, and even a class on Improving Your Handwriting (with yours truly). I don’t believe there were any official post-show gatherings like there were last year.

What an absolute blast teaching this class! Micah, standing in the back, used the word “flow” to describe his writing experience during the class and I told him I’m totally using that term from now on!

Last year, I had a few things that I thought the show could work on - most of which they addressed.

• The temperature - while it was warm in the way back of the ballroom, it wasn’t nearly as hot as it has been at past shows. I think that having the hallway doors open (coming in from the Lighthouse Ballroom) got some more air circulation than in the past.
• Circulation - I think this was better than last year because of the additional space from the ballroom and outside walkway. Aisles felt just a bit less crowded, and almost roomy at times.
• Class locations - Last year, I said that class locations weren’t clear. This year, all class locations were in the show brochure, as well as on the website (which is where I found my class). They had volunteers checking people in (scanning their QR codes), which was very helpful.
• Website still could use a little work (seems unchanged from last year) - For example, if you clicked on Attendee in the menu (instead of hovering on it), you might not know that there was a seminar list or a vendor list. I would have liked to see a clickable, text-based list of vendors, instead of a graphic. It would make it easy for them to update the vendor list too. I did like that they had a floor map available online.

Theft continues to be a problem for many shows. This one, sadly, has had a long history of thefts. This year, while not as bad as past years, there were some vendors who had items stolen, including a four-digit price tag pen. Thankfully, it was caught on camera and they were able to recover the item, but not all vendors were that lucky. The show did have security roaming the aisles (which was how they managed to catch the person). Just a reminder to vendors to stay vigilant, and for attendees to be aware of what’s happening around them and keep an eye out too.

Overall, the show was well-organized. It was a good mix of vendors, located throughout the two rooms. They had a vendor breakfast every morning and water stations throughout the show floor (both of which were there last year but I forgot to mention it). The show was well-attended, and almost every vendor I spoke to, whether big, small, international, local, modern, vintage, stationery, etc., had a good to phenomenal show sales-wise. Some said “best LA show” and some even said “best show period”. I don’t think I heard many (any?) complaints from attendees either.

Suffice it to say, I had a great time this weekend. The show is in a good hotel, albeit pricier than past years ($229/night before taxes/fees, oof), the rooms are nice, plenty of food options in and outside the hotel, lots of places to hang out. Lots to see, lots to buy/try, lots of people to meet for the first time and get reacquainted with. More classes of all sorts and more opportunities for people to hang out and learn from others. They’ve improved their social media presence even more than last year, as well as highlighting vendors and classes and posting/sharing IG stories. All this has made me rethink my second favorite show of the circuit (even with all its crowding, it will always be difficult to unseat my home show, SF). Sorry, Chicago, but CAPS 2026 was awesome and is now my second fave show (for now)!

As always, the best part of pen shows are the people, and this show was no exception. Because there were good sized crowds on all the days, people were pretty tired and chill on all the nights, including Saturday night, which tends to be the rowdiest, but not this time.

Folks hanging out in the lobby area on Saturday night.

Insider the hotel Starbucks seating area (also Sat night).

More people outside enjoying a beverage and/or cigar (also Sat night - sense a theme?)

If this isn’t “baby Brad”, I don’t know who is. Brandon, one of the servers for most of the weekend, was a great sport about this pic and gladly did the Bossman impression as best he could. Don’t fire me, Boss! 😄

Compared to my usual pen show hauls, this was relatively restrained! I tried to be more mindful about what I wanted to get, instead of getting everything in sight.

Two A5 zipper pouches from Galen Leather, Minini fountain pens from Itoya Studio, special RainbowRule ™ Post-It ® notes designed by Jenn Smith (yes, they are actually Post-It ®), and two Herbin refillable markers from Lemur Ink that I can’t WAIT to try with fountain pen ink.

”News”, RiraRiraHanko baseball stamps (and card) and washi, and “show ticket” from PaperTreats, stickers and washi tape from Kuboandlucy Stationery Co, sticker sheet, swatch card, and stamp from Pinky Elephant, and stickers from Sugar Turtle Studio.

I may have gone a little more nuts on the paper end, but really, it’s not that bad.

*Inserts from Kuboandlucy Stationery Co, Paper Passport from Everyday Explorers, Japanese collage notecards by Mai’s mom, inserts by Curnow Bookbinding and Leather, and a Graphilo notebook from Nagasawa. *

Pens: Penlux Delgado Moss, Monteverde Dakota Raw Flame, Kaweco Sport, Galen Leather exclusive Vivianite. Inks: Robert Oster x Galen Leather Vivianite, Diamine x Galen Leather Zeugma and Anatolia, Nagasawa/Kobe x CA Pen Show California Teal Blue, Sailor 2026 Pen Show Exclusive, and Visconti Sepia.

Probably one of my more extravagant purchases, but I just couldn’t resist this gorgeous Year of the Horse special edition from Leuchtturm, and also got it debossed.

CA Pen Show bag and brochure (show pin is somewhere in my office), Rickshaw CAPS pen sleeve.

I always say that the stuff is awesome, but the real haul are the friendships made and nurtured at shows <3 data-preserve-html-node="true"

Selfie with Rheena, Christina, and Job.

With Klarissa and Lupe when I made them sign my TN passport at the Leonardo table!

So lovely to meet Quiet Lovely Things at the show - we’ve been drooling over each others’ posts for quite a while now!

I got to see Meltem and Yunus from Galen Leather AND pick up their latest exclusive Kaweco Sport!

Closing out the show outside on Sunday night with Zory (Pilot), Kirk, Marty, Jeremy (Flax), Kimberly (the best name), and Abbie.

Lots of fun memories of the 2026 California Pen Show in here! Gonna need a full size insert next time! (Cover stickers by Sugar Turtle Studio (left) and PaperTreats (right), which I colored in with a Sharpie.

I’m excited for the next show coming up: the Baltimore International Pen Show, and shortly thereafter, the San Francisco Stationery Fest. After that, (hopefully) the Little Craft Fest in Houston, and the Chicago Pen Show. I hope to see you at one of these shows! Until then, stay warm & dry, stay safe, and stay inky!

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