The first pen show I ever attended was the Atlanta Pen Show in 2023, and I've gone back every year since. So much has changed for me since then—a few years later and now this was the third pen show I've attended so far this year. Due to the show shifting earlier (falling on the weekend right after the Arkansas show), and coinciding with another event being held on the other side of the country (the inaugural San Francisco Stationery Fest), for the first time I didn't get the weekend pass and only attended on Friday, and headed back early Saturday.
One more notable change to mention about the Atlanta show this year—after a continued decline in support of the show and vendors to the point of there being no meaningful updates to the show website or via social media for the 2025 show—the involvement of Truphae near the end of last year brought much needed support in updating the website, promoting the show and vendors on social media, adding online ticketing, and the return of seminars and classes.
Inkdependence Purrfect Match
I made good time getting to Atlanta and even before I was able to gain entry to the show I ran into Inkdependence Mike in the hallway and took receipt of a new pen I'd ordered online. This collaboration he and Audrey did with Benu called Purrfect Match was inspired by their Pennonia inks in memory of their OG cats Clipsy and Mr. Nose.
My favorite detail on this pen is the holographic "whisker" glitter bars in the translucent section and top of the cap. It also came with a randomly-selected cat charm, handmade by Audrey, which I've clipped to my pen meetup/pen show B6 Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter. I still miss my Boo—this pen feels like a connection among those of us who share that particular kind of loss.
NFP Design
My first stop when I entered the show was the NFP Design table. At this point, most of my not-Rickshaw pen storage is from NFP—I like their designs and the range of colors available for the pen trays.
This time I picked up another "floating" 6 pen tray in dark green because I just really like this design and could make use of a bigger pen tray on another desk. I already have a yellow tray like this between my keyboard and monitor at my computer desk. I also recently cleaned up an old set of 3 wooden paper-organizer drawers that I want to re-purpose for pens. The stand-alone 12 slot tray is a little smaller than the drawer dimensions but I'm going to try it out.
Amanda Vacharat, Quilly Pig
Next I was delighted to see Amanda Vacharat had a table with ink paintings and prints, painted converters, stickers, and her debut novel This Moth Saw Brightness. I have listened to the audiobook and it gave me a lot to think about. Amanda might be best known in the pen community for her gorgeous, detailed paintings on Franklin-Christoph pens.
I picked out a few stickers and prints of delightful art I recognized from her Instagram.
Kiwi Inks
I love seeing the amazing ink art at the Kiwi Inks table, including the original Quetzalcoatl art and this Glamorous Peacock.
I looked at all their swatches and picked out a few inks to try via tester pens/dip testing. They also had an inking station where you could fill your new pen with an ink for free.
I already have the ink they are probably most known for, the incredibly sheeny and shimmery Quetzalcoatl, but picked out two other inks. Liquid copper is a medium brown with metallic shimmer, and Rainbow in a Bottle is a soft chromashading blue.
I inked up the Purrfect Match Benu with Rainbow in a Bottle at the show and have really been enjoying that ink.
Lighthouse Paper Co.
Last year when I visited the Lighthouse Paper Co. table I picked up a watercolor workbook with a birds theme that I've used to test and compare different painting materials. Fountain pen inks are still my personal favorite, though I've been rediscovering an enjoyment of watercolor pencils too. Since I find it really helpful to have a prompt of something to paint rather than face a wide-open blank page, I picked out a new workbook with a woodland creatures theme, plus a couple pretty rolls of washi.
Bonus Stuff
I brought home a fun variety of items from friends too. Derek brought stuff from Buc-ee's including handy little buckets (the perfect size for glass swatch sticks) and a pin for my lanyard, and I got a cat ink vial holder from someone hanging out Friday night.
I also swapped ink samples with friends, and re-upped my jam supply!
Friday Night Hangouts
There was the usual hangout around the bar area in the hotel on Friday night. A friend who just got one of the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving books was anxious to try it out and asked if I had any painting supplies with me—of course I did! I set out some ink and water brushes and a few of us did some painting while everyone chatted.
Several of us were captivated by Kirk Speer's demonstration of a really neat flashlight on a tripod.
I made the most of my one day at the show by chatting with people until the hotel closed down the bar area, then headed to bed.
The Gentleman Stationer
So, why did an event happening in San Francisco affect my Atlanta pen show schedule? Well, about six weeks ago I started working part time at The Gentleman Stationer shop here in Nashville (and if you've been around me at all lately, you already know I'm pretty excited and happy about this).
While Joe was attending the stationery event in San Francisco with Lisa Vanness, I staffed the shop in Nashville for the usual hours on Thursday before heading down to Atlanta, and then returned to open the shop on Saturday. Last year I'd mostly spent Saturday hanging out at the bar avoiding the busy ballrooms, so I decided to just attend the show on Friday which freed me up to cover the shop Saturday afternoon.
But first, I had to fuel up for the day by walking over to the hotel-adjacent Waffle House before hitting the road.
The shop was only open from 1-6pm rather than the usual 10-6pm, and it was the busiest I've ever seen with a constant flow of customers from open to close! I've loved watching the physical shop grow over the past year and a half, am so proud to be part of the team, and it's great that we can keep the shop open for the local community (and those visiting from out of town!) even when Joe is away.
A Bonus Pen Fun Weekend
Since I had a day off the Friday following the Atlanta show, it felt like I was able to extend all the March pen show fun into a third weekend by spending most of Friday and Saturday gallavanting around to my local pen shops and attending pen meetups.
In Atlanta I got to hang out with my friend Jonathan Butler of the Butler Stationery shop in Columbia, TN, who was attending the show all weekend, and finally got a chance to see the 3D-printed (hand-finished) pens he's been making in person. These two designs were the ones I was most drawn to.
On this bonus pens weekend, my first stop was to drive to his shop (about 45 minutes away without traffic) for the Friday morning tea/coffee hang out that I can't attend often because of my day job. It was nice to chat with everyone, break out some inks and papers to play around with ink swatching with someone I'd just met, and do some shopping for a few hours Friday morning.
Lucky for me the pen I was leaning toward was still available. The matte/frosted finish looks really cool, but I like seeing both the interior and exterior crossed lines more clearly in this polished version. The knurling on the grip is very unique for a fountain pen, and I'm really liking this pen.
I also picked up some paper, an interesting glass pen with a wood handle and metal cap, another gorgeous Tracy Cullen nib mug for my collection, and some Ahmad Apricot Sunrise Black Tea.
After that visit I returned to the TGS shop for the rest of the afternoon and most of Saturday, with a break to attend the weekly Saturday Middle TN Pen Club meetup for lunch. It was a nice way to cap off a very busy few weeks in the pen community.
Final Thoughts
It was really nice to see some new life breathed into the Atlanta pen show, spend quality time with friends, and come home with some great finds.
