Nib work with Matthew Chen.
I had a great time at the Orlando Pen Show last week, and am taking today to recover and catch up. If you missed the action, I posted several Reels on Instagram, and shared a ton of photos for Pen Addict Members. I’ll also be recapping the event on this week’s podcast, and will break down my haul (only two pens!) on Twitch throughout the week. Thank you all for a wonderful event!
Stratified Pens from Maverick Pens.
(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!.)
Pull up a comfy chair, grab a beverage and hunker down for some reading and eye candy because this is not going to be a quick read or scroll. Last year’s article was just under 5000 words, I am hoping not to double it, but ya never know, lol.
Disclaimer: 2017 SF Pen Show was my first show, has been and still is my favorite show on the circuit. I’m also a member of the SF Pen Posse who helps out at the show. Which means that it is really difficult for me not to be biased but I promise to be as objective as I can.
This year’s 2023 SF Pen Show was located in a new hotel, the Westin SF Airport, so I decided that had enough of an impact on the show for me to do a report card for this recap.
Unlike past years, where I worked behind the Franklin-Christoph table, I decided not to work for any vendors at this year’s show. That was the best decision I could have made, as I had a ton of fun, but that also means I had plenty of time for photos too! Ready for the recap? Let’s do this.
2019 SF Pen Show pen by Sailor x Bungubox inked up with Colorverse Golden Gate Bridge, the 2023 show ink
Last year, the SF Pen Show had around 80 vendors and this year, almost 100; table count went from 165 to 190+. While there may be some shows with a similar number of vendors or tables, no other show besides DC can compare to the crowds at this one. As such, I tell everyone that this is the second largest show in the US. I do not know how many people attended the show, but it was definitely more than last year. Friday and Saturday attendance was up 20-25% and Sunday up 10% (though I could’ve sworn it was much busier than just 10% more).
As SF continues to be a destination show for many, quite a few attendees arrived on Thursday, raring to go on Friday morning. The aisles were packed and there were lines forming at several tables, most notably at Toyooka Craft, who had a line looping around the ink stations and around the corner and down one of the hallways. Most of the vendors did a bulk of their sales on Friday vs Saturday, which tends to be the busiest pen show day. This is because the folks who come Friday morning are (1) weekend pass holders, (2) have taken the day(s) off from work and family to go to the show and (3) are ready to spend right at the start.
Friday line forming before the 1pm public hour start.
There were 9 more people behind this line for the Toyooka Craft table at 9:15am on Friday. It stayed this long for most of Friday morning.
It was really nice to see vendors from across the Pacific like Atelier Musubi, Bungubox, Nagasawa, Toyooka Craft and Yamamoto Paper, as well as Eboya and Stylo Art, neither of whom have been back to the show since 2019 (due to pandemic and other conflicts). I was especially excited to meet Hiroko Makino of Bokumondoh because she does such amazing urushi work. There were many returning vendors like Dromgoole’s, Franklin-Christoph, Flax Pen to Paper, PLOTTER/Traveler’s Company, Skogsy Pens, Schon Dsgn, Luxury Brands of America, Kenro and more - there are just too many to list!
These pieces were made by Toyooka Craft, with urushi work done by Hiroko Makino of Bokumondoh, and were silent-auctioned at the show.
One of these days, I will own this stunning 100 pen box. Some day…
Known for their Kobe inks as well as store exclusives, the folks from Nagasawa stationery stores in Japan enjoyed their last year’s show so much that they came back again! They are already trying to figure out how to come back next year!
Kaoru Yamagishi and Bruce Eimon of Bungubox were excited to be back at the SF Pen Show
As in past years, there was a large variety of vendors, from vintage, to modern, to locals and international sellers alike. Aside from the distributors (like Coles of London, Luxury Brands of America, Pilot USA, etc), there were also a lot of modern dealers including Dromgooles, Franklin-Christoph, Flax Pen to Paper, and more. There were some vintage dealers but the SF Pen Show definitely skews more modern; you could still find folks like Paul Erano, Myk Daigle of MaD Mercantile, and more. Aside from the vendors named above, other international vendors also traveled to this show including Miro Tischler (Croatia), and Ray Walters (UK). And I always enjoy seeing local folks at pen shows including SF Posse friends who had tables, as well as Enigma Stationery from the East Bay, Maido, Peyton Street Pens from Santa Cruz, and of course, Rickshaw Bagworks from San Francisco.
One of the highlights was meeting Stefan Schnirch, President of Waldmann Pen, and also their master engraver Stefanie Ottile. She did free custom engravings with the purchase of a Waldmann Xetra Vienna and it was amazing to watch her in action with her engraving tools. She typically manages 8-9 pens/day, but worked hard this weekend, making 10-12/day. Here is a Waldmann IG reel showing the engraving at real time.
The Waldmann and Luxury Brands of America crew were getting ready for the show to start! It was funny that Stefan, the President of Waldmann, was doing a “sorority squat” so he could fit in the picture.
It was a jaw-dropping experience to watch Stefanie in action. Her ability to create these stunning pieces all while blocking out all the noise, chatter and phones in her space, was mind-blowing.
Here is a partially completed barrel with a bridge motif. She made other designs this weekend including mountains, waves and other shapes too.
Managed to catch Jaime Perez, Ryan Finnegan and Jeremy Saumure (left) from Flax Pen to Paper before the crowds came rushing in!
Flax also released 3 exclusive inks at the show! Can’t wait to review them!
Zach and Amy of Skogsy Pens only had a few of these beauties left on Sunday!_
I think the biggest difference from prior years is the influx of “pen-adjacent” vendors. More than just pens, ink and paper, we had vendors selling items like notebook covers, pen cases, washi tape, PET tape, stickers, stamps, ephemera, etc. We had a lot of new vendors that fell into this category; some of them are Judy of Tokubetsumemori (Taiwain), Ayako of Cute Things from Japan), who came with eric of eric small things (both from Tokyo), Mai from Paper Treats, and Christine from Everyday Explorers; as well as returning vendors like InkyConverters and Enigma Stationery too.
Judy of Tokubetsumemori, who came with pal Annie, is known for her selection of washi, PET tapes and for “yelling” on her Twitch streams. I also love that she tells people to “use your s#!t” and not just buy buy buy, but of course I can’t help but buy her cute products!
It was the first time that Mai from Paper Treats came to the show and I loved all of her stuff, especially the cute little newspaper!
I love seeing Job’s smiling face from behind the Traveler’s Company table!
Behind Job was the PLOTTER table where they just released the new US exclusive Japan Blue Project - Shiranami Leather (online release coming next week on Sept. 6th).
Last year I said that this show skews heavily on modern vs vintage (probably 70:30) but this year, I’m going to have to add a third category for “other” to include the growing number of stationery-adjacent vendors. So maybe 50% pens (and ink/paper), 30% vintage and 20% other. Though if you saw some haul photos, you might have thought they went to a stationery-only show, hahaha! The fact that this show is becoming more than “just a pen show” has bumped up the score to 10!! There are so many different types of things to shop for that it definitely helps to go for more than one day!
Score: 10/10
The new location, the Westin SF Airport, is shockingly close to the airport. As in, you can see the very end of the runway from across the street. It is only one exit away, making it very convenient for folks to get to/from the airport, especially since the hotel has a shuttle (more below). Like many of the other pen shows, the SF Pen show is not located in the city for which it is named. It is located in Millbrae, about 25 minutes south of downtown San Francisco.
Same score as last year since the two hotels are geographically pretty similar. And SF still has a huge list of things to do like the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, eating in Chinatown, going to Fisherman’s Wharf and having clam chowder with sourdough bread, watching a SF Giants baseball game, etc. Not to mention, redwoods, wine tasting, the coast and hiking just a short drive away.
Score: 9/10
The SF Pen Show outgrew the previous location and so this year, it was located in the Westin SF Airport Hotel in Millbrae. There were room blocks at both the Westin as well as the neighboring Aloft SF Airport; both hotels are separated by a parking lot, so it was easy to move between the two. The Westin looks more like the traditional hotel with a nice lobby, bar and restaurant, while the Aloft is the new hipster modern hotel. Most of the vendors stayed in the Westin because it was more convenient for setup/packup. Both locations had plenty of seating in the lobby, at or near the bar/restaurant. The Aloft had areas outside the bar where folks could play cornhole, big checkers or just hang by the heat lamps and fire pits. Folks who stayed at both hotels told me that the beds in the Westin were comfier. My bed in the Aloft was fine; it did take me 5 minutes to find the light switch in the bathroom because it was hidden on a small sliver of wall, lol.
Front of the Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel
On the other side of the parking lot behind the Westin is the ALoft San Francisco Airport Hotel.
The Westin Lobby had lots of comfy chairs and spaces for people to hang out, meet up, relax or unwind.
After getting through registration, you are immediately presented with vendors. Musubi, Kenro, Vanness, Curnow Bookbinding and Leather, Schon Dsgn and others were in the hallway leading to the main ballroom. Outside the ballroom, there were several hallways that could have easily been missed (more on that in a bit).
If you were lucky, you might catch a glimpse of Leigh Reyes making art at the Musubi tables in their new Rasa notebook.
I got to try out some new sizes of the Monoc nib by Schon Dsgn. They write on the reverse too! There were even some cursive italics that were pre-ground by Gena Salorino.
Walk down the main hallway a little further and you can see this stunning new handpainted pen by Ryan Krusac!
Relatively “quiet” on Friday afternoon around 3pm. Most of the frenzy happened earlier in the morning before noon, but there were still plenty of people at the show.
So good to see the folks from Stylo Art after a 4 year hiatus!
Look at the beautiful pens that Stylo Art makes!
I was pleasantly surprised to see and meet Miraikat who came from Japan to help Ayako of Cute Things from Japan (and her daughter) and eric of eric small things at their first SF Show!
Another calm-before-the-storm picture - this time it’s Marty & Kimberly Henderson with Mark Dwight of Rickshaw Bagworks.
This year’s pen show theme from Rickshaw Bagworks - I wonder if Marty had any say in the color? 😃
Great to see Joe Corona, Jeff Velker and Adam Finer, owners of Retro 51, who were next to Rickshaw Bagworks and …
They released this limited edition Retro 51 resin fountain pen AND…
These super cute Retro 51 notebooks! The paper is fountain pen friendly too!
The hallway to the right of Vanness Pens had about 7-8 vendors including The Gentleman Stationer, Enigma Stationery, Everyday Explorers, and Maido/Kinokunia and more.
Joe Crace, aka The Gentleman Stationer was right next to Vanness Pens in the first hallway._
Dan Wearsch and his family were busy all weekend at the Enigma Stationery table.
Christine Herrin of Everyday Explorers had a great time at her first pen show – she sold out of a lot of her products!
On the far left side of the ballroom, there is an exit to the other hallway, where you would find nib grinders Kirk Speer, CY of TokyoStationPens, Matthew Chen and Mike Masuyama, along with Hiroko Makino of Bokumondoh, Eboya and Stacy Hills of Paper Wants a Pen.
Kirk Speer and wife Crystal were tucked in at the end of the second hallway but still managed to keep busy.
Rare moment when CY of TokyoStationPens and helper Kelly weren’t being mobbed all weekend._
==hiroko 1_What an honor it was to finally meet Hiroko Makino of Bokumondoh (right) and her assistant Toru._
I brought all my Bokumondoh pretties to show Hiroko (and Toru, who had not seen these before since she worked on them before he started helping her.)
Both Mike Masuyama (left) and Matthew Chen’s sign up lists were full pretty quickly. People got on Mike’s list before 6:30am and the show doesn’t even start til 8!
The fellas from Tactile Turn said they had a great sales weekend, even in the hallway, and are already planning to come back next year._
Stacy Hills, wife Jill and daughter Faith are some of the nicest people ever AND they sell cool stuff too.
There was also a small “hallway” where six ink testing stations were located, along with the perpetually busy Toyooka Craft table, Bungubox, Kiwi Inks, Jimmy Dolive from Total Office Products and others. And tucked away in this nook was a smaller room, where nib workers JC Ament and Gena Salorino were situated, as well as Yafa, Paper Treats, Tokubetsumemori, Yoshikawa Paper and a few others.
Yours truly, as well as the Bossman, each had trays inked up with 49 of our favorite inks. Go ahead, you can say it, my tray was better! 😃
Syd Saperstein, one of the organizers of the show, was also located in the small ballroom, where he handed out free bottles of the show ink to folks who completed the scavenger hunt.
The Westin’s cafe had pastries, snacks and caffeine! It also had very respectable hours (they were open long before my 7:30 am arrival and were still open in the late afternoon after 4pm). The show organizers also negotiated discounted parking for folks who booked under the room block - $15/night with in/out privileges vs their usual $48/night (yes, $48, highway robbery). They also negotiated free parking for the show - no in/out privileges (but you could get a new parking pass and validation at the registration desk), and no overnight parking. One major downside was the parking. There just wasn’t enough parking for everyone on any of the days. Even on Sunday afternoon at 2pm, my husband (and son and dog) couldn’t find a spot in either of the two lots until someone happened to leave. I think part of it is because they contract out some of their spots to the local Park n Fly, but they need more spaces even beyond that.
The room rate for either of the two hotels was $169/night which was reasonably priced considering this is the Bay Area. It is on the medium to higher end price wise but not by much. Even though I live less than 7 miles away, I decided to spend Saturday night at the Aloft and it was a comfortable bed/room, even if it didn’t have as much desk space as a pen addict might need.
The hotel staff were generally fine but a bit inconsistent. Front desk staff was friendly and helpful, but didn’t really notice when there was a line of people waiting. The restaurant staff was hit-and-miss; some of the servers were great and on top of it, while another server (or maybe supervisor) was a bit intense and kind of barked at people while being scatterbrained at the same time (she kept giving people the wrong to-go orders without reading the names, for example). The bar at the Westin closes at 10pm every night, which is a bit on the early side, so folks often went to the Aloft bar afterwards, because it is supposed to be open until midnight (as per their signage). The bartenders did the last call at 11:15 pm because they wanted to clean the place up and leave by midnight – sorry, guys, that’s not how that works. The food and drinks were pretty good (I had a couple meals and maybe more than a few beverages at both locations). The Aloft had an automated noodle machine and that came in handy when I got the munchies at 2am Saturday night.
Like the previous hotel, the Westin SF Airport is dog-friendly. I loved seeing all the dogs during the show - they made my day! My non-pen-loving spouse and kid brought our dog to the show (people didn’t believe that my husband and kid existed even though they knew about my dog, lol).
Some of the dogs spotted at the show this year (see what I did there? lol). There were more, including a couple of unrelated corgis that didn’t want the paparazzi around.
Odin, the official dog & mascot of the SF Pen Show, even has his own vendor badge!
My doggo, Bungee, usually isn’t a smiling dog, but she is when Audrey Matteson from Franklin-Christoph is giving her hugs!
The new venue(s) were both better and worse than the prior location. I liked having two locations which made after-hours less crowded, and gave people multiple places to “escape” if it was too overwhelming. The crowds and traffic flow made the show a bit challenging to navigate, and the multiple hallways and hidden vendor room made it hard for some vendors to get more traffic to their location. Would it surprise you that several vendors literally showed up at the show without reserving or paying for tables and still expected tables? It wasn’t easy but the show found a way to accommodate them, but that definitely added to the crowding.
Parking was also a challenge. The hotel cafe being open through the afternoon was also clutch since many folks needed their afternoon caffeine fix to make it through the day. The hotel shuttle ran every 15 minutes from 4am to 1am (you have to schedule it from 1am -4am), which made it very easy to get to/from the airport. As it is the first year in this new location and because there were both pluses and minuses, I am going to keep the score as is this time.
Score: 8/10
The 3-day weekend pass for the show costs $60 and includes early access starting at 8am for Friday-Sunday. You can also purchase individual day passes: Friday afternoon (1PM - 5PM) tickets cost $25, and Saturday/Sunday day passes cost $10 each for 10AM - 5PM access, or you can get a combination Saturday AND Sunday pass for $15 for 10AM - 5PM access. (Add $1 to the non-weekend prices for using PayPal). Children were free. Weekend passes were sold online up until a few days before the show, while general admission tickets were only available at the door. Like DC, this show has a higher price for Friday half day than the weekend day passes. Judging by the crowds that were there on Friday morning, there were a lot of weekend pass holders. And despite the start time being 8am, Mike Masuyama’s nib grinding list already had 6 folks on it at 6:40am!!!
Score: 8/10
Last year’s class list was what drove me to say no to working at the show. It feels like there were even more free seminars and paid classes this year. Some of the sessions included Every Paper has an Origin Story by Taizo Yamamoto (of Yamamoto Papers) and Bruce Eimon, Basic Nib Care & Tune by Sunny Koh, Travel & Sketch by Janet Takahashi and Urban Sketching by Eileen Goldenberg, to name a few. In addition to the Pens for Kids Scavenger hunt that is put on by the Pen Collectors of America, they also held a free seminar so kids could learn about fountain pens and how to use/take care of them. There was also a launch event with TokyoStationPens & Ben Walsh Design. I counted four different meetups/events like the Planner meetup (hosted by the Bay Area Planners), Stationery meetup (SF Stationery Meetup), Destash meetup (SF Pen Posse) and Stationery Cafe Happy Hour (Stationery Cafe Podcast).
I also attended two paid classes: a creative journaling workshop by Abbey Sy and Enjoy Rubber Stamps with TRAVELER’s Notebook with eric small things. Abbey is an artist, writer and well-known journaler currently living in Berlin, and eric came all the way from Tokyo with Ayako of Cute Things from Japan. I had been following Abbey’s work on IG and have been shopping from Ayako’s shop and love eric’s adorable designs, so attending both of their workshops was a must-do! No regrets!
This creative journaling session was packed with folks eager to pick up some inspiration from Abbey Sy and use some of her products to work on their own journals during the workshop.
eric is demonstrating how she cuts out designs for her rubber stamps.
The in-progress stamp next to the completed stamp, which we all got to stamp into our journals.
Showing off our Traveler’s Company passports that we stamped in during the workshop.eric’s IG post
In addition to the seminars and paid classes/workshops, yours truly even did four sessions of “Pen Shows 101” where I shared some of my favorite tips/tricks for navigating a pen show, especially one as overwhelming as this one. At Lisa Vanness’ request, I also made sure everyone knew how to clean and fill a fountain pen. It was an informal session with Q&A about the show and about pens/inks in general . We followed up the seminar with a tour of the show, which allowed me to not only highlight some of the vendors/distributors that we talked about, but also show everyone the 2 additional hallways, ink testing stations and side room.
Sunday’s Pen Shows 101 session where I went through how to get through a pen show, pen hygiene and general tips and tricks before we embarked on a show tour.
I enjoyed being the pen show tour guid and using the fan from Karas Kustoms (which also came in handy because it got warm at times) so folks to keep track of where I was. The vendors got a chuckle out of it too.
Score: 10/10
There were at least 6 nib workers that I knew of at this show (alphabetical by first name) and that didn’t include those at Franklin-Christoph who also tune and offer in-house ground nibs. Missing this year was Damien Alomar of All in the Nib who had a great reason for missing the show - the birth of their new baby boy a few weeks back. Congrats and hope to see you next year!
The nib workers were either in the back hallway (Matthew, Mike and CY) or in the small room near the ink testing stations (JC and Gena). I heard that they were all busy all weekend, which is great. Score: 10/10
San Francisco has always been a fun show, and being able to enjoy it again as an attendee made it the hands down funnest pen show. I tell people that vendors go to DC to make money but they go to SF to make money AND have fun. And attendees, yeah, they go to SF to spend all the money, buy all the things AND see things/meet people they would otherwise never get to meet.
Continuing the Saturday night tradition of having live music, this live band entertained folks with bluegrass and rock & roll (though it was way too loud for my ears.)
While we have a large contingent of local folks (within 2-3 hours drive) that come to the show, a lot of people (both vendors and attendees) also travel to come here. I heard many people say that they finally met people that they’ve only known online in Instagram or other online communities. I love that lots of people were able to meet others in real life because I’ve said it a million times before, the pens and things are nice and all, but it’s the people that really matter and being able to see them face to face and give hugs (or fist bumps) is what it’s all about.
Mike Matteson, aka InkDependence, got to meet his 10,000th follower on his YouTube channel at the show! Congratulations, Mike!
The Bay Area Planners group hosted a meetup with giveaways, destashing and more.
With all this raving, you might wonder why I am only going to give it a 9. Because it is a large show and it was crowded and that can be overwhelming for some folks. I still HIGHLY recommend this show, even to the most introverted of folks, because it is such a good show and there are so many in the community who would happily take folks under their wing and make sure they have a good time.
Score - 9/10
As I mentioned earlier, the hotel restaurant was pretty good and had typical hotel prices. The Aloft had an automated noodle machine and also a bigger grab-n-go section
My bowl of black garlic pork ramen was pretty tasty and came in handy at 2:45 am Saturday night, lol
There was a grab-n-go section at the Aloft for those times when you just need to grab a bite or drink (including beer) It was convenient that you could charge your purchases to either hotel.
Did you know that alcoholic ice cream was a thing?! I didn’t have any but I heard that the coconut rum one was strong but pretty good.
The hotel is located on the bay side of the freeway overpass. About a ¾ mile walk across the overpass, there were some fast food options like Chipotle, In-N-Out and Panera. If you go 1 mile away, you end up on the main thoroughfare for this side of the bay - El Camino Real and there is food up and down in either direction.
GLAMPIG (Greater Los Angeles Metro Pen Ink Group) members and friends (like me) went out for hot pot dinner (think of it as Asian broth-based fondue) on Saturday. Ate so much, worth every pound! (PC: GLAMPIG)
Score - 8/10
Last year I was an idiot and was the “last one to leave the hotel bar” on Thursday and Friday nights, which made me lose steam for the rest of the weekend. This year, I learned my lesson and went home at a respectable midnight hour on Thursday, which meant I was raring to go for the rest of the weekend.
There was a lot of space at the Westin restaurant/bar/lobby area where people could easily sit down for a break mid-show, or spend hours playing with other people’s pens. The Aloft also had a trendy lobby/bar area with a pool table, board games, and lots of tables and chairs for people to hang out together.
In addition to the casual, post-show hangouts, there was an informal evening hangout at the Westin that was hosted by The Stationery Cafe podcast. There was also the traditional Saturday night live music at the Aloft. Because there were two hotels, it wasn’t always clear where people would be gathering, so I heard that some folks just kept going back and forth between the two lobbies to look for people to hang out with.
Just some of the ridiculous things you get to see at a pen show. Like this little baby pen that was literally inside the barrel of this massive pen.
After-dinner Pen Show Uber shenanigans with InkDependence Mike, Ian Schon and helper Scott.
A bunch of folks gathered in a friend’s suite and had an impromptu wine tasting!
It was a bit loud in the Aloft lobby during the live music, so folks went outside to chit-chat by the heat lamps.
Despite my best intentions, I never take enough after hours. But I did get yet another a late night picture at the firepit - it wasn’t even 1:30am yet!
Score - 9/10
People come to the SF show because it is fun and because the show gets vendors that don’t go to any other US shows. If your pen and stationery tastes skew Eastern and you can’t make it to a pen show in Asia, this is the show for you. Atelier Musubi nearly sold out of all of their new Rasa and pocket notebooks. There was always a crowd at the Traveler’s Company table as they brought their stamps for people to decorate their Traveler’s Notebooks. Taizo Yamamoto of Yamamoto Paper had an amazing display of a wide variety of paper for people to try. Toyooka Craft was nearly sold out of everything by Saturday. I can go on and on but you get the point.
As I mentioned earlier, there were a lot of tables that had non-pen/ink/paper items, aka “pen adjacent”, which is making this show “more than just a pen show”. These offerings are wonderful for folks who aren’t into pens as much, or maybe they are on a tighter budget, or want something for friends and kids.
Like any well-run show, the SF Pen Show has a group of volunteers to help out. The SF Pen Posse are always on the lookout to make sure vendors get help when needed or that folks get directed to whatever vendor they are looking for. Behind the scenes, they clean and fill up pens for the ink testing stations (we had 6 stations this year), help with the registration desk, etc. Having a large crew of local folks hanging out for all the days and nights helps with making the event fun too.
Something did happen on Saturday that put a damper on things though – a few vendors noticed that one or more pens had disappeared from their tables. So they notified the show owners, who had someone follow the suspected thief for 90 minutes before someone saw him steal a bottle of ink. At that point, several vendors and attendees confronted him and watched him until the San Mateo County sheriffs arrived. They took statements from witnesses and affected vendors, recovered the stolen property, cuffed the guy and took him away. This even made headlines. Side note: the sheriffs asked how much the pens were that the person stole and was shocked when the answer was $1k each.)
I absolutely hate that this happened, but we were all glad and relieved that he was caught. Vendors kept an eye on each other (and on the suspect) and worked together to make sure he was caught. While they arrested this guy and were able to recover and return the items he stole, sadly those weren’t the only thefts that occurred this weekend. I know of at least one folio of Montblancs was stolen, as well as pens from 3 other vendors. I hope that hotel surveillance is able to figure out who took them so vendors get their pens back.
Score - 9/10
Some thoughts:
Report Card:
0-50 Oof, do not attend
51-70 Show is alright
70-80 Show is solid
80-90 Show is pretty darned good!
91-100 REALLY good show and not to be missed
The 2023 SF Pen Show scored 90/100, which is about right this year. It gets high marks for having a big variety of vendors, nib workers and being near a destination area. I think there are some growing pains along with the new venue that made it difficult to score any higher. Even with all the bumps, it really deserves a score in the 91-95 range because it is absolutely a show that shouldn’t be missed.
Too many things to name and tag, but the haul included products from Kiwi Inks, Curnow Bookbinding and Leather, Paper Treats, Colorverse, Retro 51, stickers from Everyday Explorers, InkyConverters, Maido, Tokubetsumemori, Bungubox, Musubi, Cute Things from Japan and eric, A Thousand Words, Traveler’s Company inserts, Toyooka Craft.
I don’t yet have a pen to show for it, but this is going to be my birthday pen - a hand-engraved Waldmann Xetra Vienna. I can’t wait for this to show up!
This is the real haul, the best pen show haul right here - some of the friendships that I’ve made and rekindled this weekend.
The San Francisco Pen Show has always been my favorite show and this year was no exception. Even though my pen show week started on the Tuesday before and ended the Monday after, it felt like it was over before I knew it. You all know that pen shows are my happy place, but the SF Pen Show is my Disneyland. Even with some bumps and challenges, it is still the happiest place on earth for me. I’m utterly exhausted but also insanely full of gratitude and love for my pen friends, this show and this community. Now to get some sleep, spend some time with my pen show haul and get ready for Dallas! Until then, stay safe and stay inky!
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(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!.)
I started this recap by looking at last year’s DC Pen Show recap and I can almost copy/paste the first paragraph, lol. Like last year, it was a whirlwind weekend, I missed Thursday and Friday’s show hours/activities/etc (due to annual family camping trip), and I also worked behind the Franklin-Christoph table on Saturday and Sunday. It felt a bit busier at our table this year, though it was more spread out instead of in big bursts, so I got even less time to walk around and take pictures. Like last year, the biggest thing was the hotel renovation, but thankfully, it was a big improvement over last year. Let’s see if I can actually explain all this in a “really quick recap”!
Welcome to the DC Fountain Pen Supershow!
The DC Show felt bigger than it did in prior years. There were more vendors, more tables, all spread across 3 different ballrooms and hallways. There were 190+ vendors (20+ more than last year) with 340+ tables and 80+ of them had more than one table. I do not know how many people attended the show, but it definitely felt like more than when I went in 2019, 2021 and 2022. (I did not attend prior to 2019).
The line of excited people waiting for the show to open on Saturday morning!
As in prior years, the DC Pen Show was held at the newly renovated Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park. There was the large ballroom and the hallways leading to it. There were a variety of vendors, from vintage, to modern, to local and international sellers alike. There were distributors like Kenro, Pilot USA, Luxury Brands, Itoya and more as well as plenty of vendors to choose from. Lots of modern and vintage dealers that I’ve mentioned in many other recaps, like Myk Daigle of Mad Mercantile, Paul Erano, Schon DSGN, Dromgoole’s, Franklin-Christoph and more. Lots of international vendors attended this year, including Galen Leather (Turkey), Roses without Thorns (Canada), Sarj Minhas and St. John’s Pens (UK), Osman Sumer (Germany), as well as first time attendees Nagasawa and Toyooka Craft (Japan), Leonardo Officina Italiana and Santini (Italy) and others. Scan the Exhibitor List and you can see how many folks were there! I like that the website has sections for International and New Exhibitors.
My view of the main ballroom from behind the Franklin-Christoph table Saturday morning. Looking left…
...and then looking right.
I agree with Barbie and Ken, a pen show day is the best day ever!! (Montegrappa Zero Barbie & Ken pens at the Kenro table.)
Always lovely to see a smiling Jaz and Sarj Minhas at a pen show!
Leave it to S T Dupont to take pens and accessories to the next level!
Marty & Kimberly Henderson, along with Mark Dwight of Rickshaw Bagworks, were busy helping Dromgoole’s sell their Retro 51s and Rickshaw products!
Behind those lenses is Josh Lax, one of 6 nib workers at the show this weekend.
This gorgeous Leonardo had a massive size 8 nib.
Bonjour, André Mora of Mora Stylos, who came all the way from Paris, France! (Did you see those Oldwins?!)
In addition to the main ballroom, there was also the Alexandria Ballroom and the strangely named “Ticket Room”, which caused a bit of confusion since it didn’t sell tickets nor required a different ticket to enter (it is what Marriott calls it, not the show). That room was off to the left side of the hotel reception (which was a small, almost cubby-like space) and the Alexandria Ballroom was on the other side of the hotel, past the lobby/new bar and the old bar. The DC Show registration desk was situated in between the old and new bar areas and volunteers directed you to the Alexandria room (the smallest of the 3) to pick up a free tote, courtesy of Galen Leather. Between the volunteers at the reg table, putting Galen Leather in there and all the signs in the lobby, I think they did a good job directing traffic to the Alexandria room. Both the Ticket Room and the Alexandria rooms had about 25-30 vendors each.
There were signs on the lobby pillars which were helpful since you can’t see any of the rooms from the lobby entrance.
Always gotta go to the Registration Desk first!
This way to get to the Alexandria room!
Another sign for the Alexandria room from across the lobby.
Inside the Alexandria Room (taken from the corner where Galen Leather was located.)
Ticket Room and Grand Ballroom that-a-way!
The “Ticket Room” included folks like Little Black Rabbit Paperie, Maruman, Roses without Thorns, and Toyooka Craft, as well as several nib grinders including JC Ament, Mark Bacas, Matthew Chen and Gena Salorino. This room was aptly nicknamed “The Maker Room” because of the many custom pen makers including Carolina Pen Co., Edison Pen Co., Hardy Penwrights, Kanilea Pen Co., Newton Pens, Schon DSGN and more. The other nib workers, Kirk Speer of Pen Realm and Josh Lax were in the main ballroom. We missed Damien Alomar of All in the Nib, who had a great reason for missing the show - the birth of a new baby boy! Congratulations, Damien and family and we hope to see you at a show real soon!
All smiles from Toru Yamazaki-san at the Toyooka Craft table!
I swear, Little Black Rabbit Paperie always gets me to break my no-washi ban!
Can you tell that Tom Forsythe of Sugar Turtle Studio kinda likes colorful stuff? Also, congrats on the Rickshaw and Diamine collabs!
Ben from Mayfair Pens and a photobombing Shawn Newton!
Maryland-local Evan Rosenberg and father Julian of Penquisition with their array of pen holders, blocks, cases and other accessories.
In addition to the ballrooms, there were also plenty of vendors out in the various hallways leading to and around the main ballroom. Pilot USA, Sailor USA, Nagasawa, PLOTTER, and many others lined the hallways with their wares!
Tina Dammeyer from Pen World Magazine always has a smile and a beautiful (and free) magazine or two to share with you!
Crowds packed the hallway by Pilot USA and Vanness Pens (and this wasn’t even at its busiest time! (PC: Joe Crace of The Gentleman Stationer.)
Pilot USA had a regular and giant-sized demo Vanishing Point showing the inner workings of the capless mechanism!
Doing Pilot’s handwriting analysis was so cool! I also got a Thank You gift (postcards and a Plumix) for completing their analysis and survey.
It was neat to see that I don’t have a heavy hand (phew), though I think that the cord on the pen made my writing angle lower than it usually is. And yep, I like the FM, though the F is a bit too fine for me.
So nice to see the folks from Nagasawa! I resisted any purchases since I will see them in SF, but they brought so many exclusive pens and inks!
Don Takemura and his team from Sailor USA had a cool “build your own Sailor Compass” event.
Some examples of custom Sailor Compass pens to spark your creativity!
One of the rare moments when April Wu wasn’t mobbed at the PLOTTER or Traveler’s Company tables.
There were quite a few free and paid classes and seminars ranging from free sessions on Roaring 90s in Italy, Lesser Known Vintage Pens, and Have You Seen My Bag? as well as paid classes on Calligraphy, Ink Mixing, Nib Tuning, and more. Seemed like there were more classes and workshops this year compared to the last two years, which is great. Workshop prices ranged from $25 to $150 USD, with most of the spots in the $70-80 range.
Now that the hotel renovation is done, the ballrooms were mostly able to accommodate the vendors. I don’t think there was enough aisle space, especially in the Ticket Room and hallways where folks in wheelchairs or otherwise needed a little more space and time to maneuver had a difficult time doing so. The hallways were also especially cramped since it was the only way in/out of the ballroom. This is one of those times when I worry about the show getting too big.
Fortunately, the renovations meant there was plenty of room for post-show hangouts! The hotel now had two bars, though only one was staffed. There were now two dining areas - one by the new bar and one by the old bar, which was also where breakfast was served. A lot of folks congregated in the lobby and new bar/restaurant area. All the new marble/granite/hard surfaces in that area resulted in terrible acoustics. It was very loud and people had to yell to talk with one another. A lot of folks got sore throats from screaming at each other all night. Thankfully, there were plenty of people gathering outside (good thing it wasn’t too hot or muggy at night) and the old bar area was much quieter with plenty of tables for pen play. It was wonderful to see people gathering, chatting, playing with pens and enjoying each other’s company. All in all, quite a change from last year’s abysmal options for hanging out.
The lobby (and part of the restaurant) as taken from the new bar area. Lots of folks were hanging out at the various couches and tables.
A quieter, more chill environment at the old bar area where there were multiple tables of pen people hanging out.
Lots of folks outside too - it’s dark out there, since there’s no outdoor lighting, but if cigars and scotch are your thing (or you don’t mind the smoke), this is a great place to hang out. The Grand Poobah is out there somewhere too!
A few thoughts:
It took quite a few easels to display all the maps for the show!
The (very informal and tongue-in-cheek) Annual Meeting of the Black Pen Society was held by the old bar area. The Grand Poobah, aka Paul Erano, is telling folks about past and current BPS pins.
Anyone who has ever attended a well-run show knows that it takes more than just the show organizers to make it happen. This show gets a fair amount of help from the local DC Metro Pen Crew, who volunteer in shifts to make sure vendors get what they need (someone to watch the table for restroom breaks, water, etc) and that attendees are able to find vendors/tables/etc. The group is always doing what they can to make this show (as well as the Baltimore show) as successful as possible, and it definitely shows.
Trinita Johnson McCall from the DC Pen Crew was one of the many friendly volunteers helping out all weekend.
Despite the noise, the crowds, the tight spaces, and yes, despite the crud, the 2023 DC Pen Show was great. I heard from a lot of very happy attendees and vendors. Everyone was having a great time, spent lots of money (vendors love this, that’s for sure!) and enjoyed each other’s company. The post-show experience was much better this year with the renovations behind them but there is still room for improvement. I do wonder if the show is getting too big for the current space and for the community. I wouldn’t want it to become so large that it gets even more crowded, or needs to be in a convention center, or lose some of the intimacy that comes from meeting and spending time with kindred spirits who love this hobby.
Show haul left to right: Michael’s Fat Boy S-Model New York Hot Pink RB & stand, Sailor 2023 Pen Show ink, Vanness Pens Hootenanny ink, Colorverse x Vanness Pens Think Pink ink, KWZ It Smells Like Coffee, Anderillium Potomac (show ink), Monteverde Viva Magenta (show ink), Papier Plume Rebirth, rubber stamp, washi and wax seal from Black Rabbit Paperie, Toyooka pen rests and tray and Nahvalur x Galen Leather Blue Demo FP.
Welp, so much for a shorter recap, lol. All in all, another show weekend came and went way too quickly. I was a little pickier with my spending this time around because my home show is right around the corner! Even though it was much too short, I’m grateful for the little bit of time that I got to spend with pen friends. The wallet is a little lighter but the heart always leaves a little fuller. Now to get that wallet (and the rest of me) ready for the SF pen show! Hope to see you there! Stay safe and stay inky!
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