I decided to attend one of the large U.S. pen shows this year. Although the D.C. Pen Show is much closer (even driveable), the mix of vendors, likely attendees, and general vibes of "The Fun Pen Show" pointed me toward San Francisco for 2024.
San Francisco
Since I was traveling across the country to a city I've never been to, I wanted to spend a little time on my arrival day, the Thursday before the show, to see something in the area. I considered going to the Golden Gate Bridge to look for some interesting photo opportunities and maybe walk across the bridge, but I was also interested in exploring the gardens in Golden Gate Park. I decided to wait until I arrived and got my luggage squared away at the hotel to make a final decision based on how I felt after flying in, how much time was left in the day, and the weather.
After 3 airports, 2 planes, and a hotel shuttle (with overcast skies above), I decided I'd prefer to be around more plants and less vehicles for a while, and took a rideshare up into San Francisco to Golden Gate Park.
Japanese Tea Garden
My first stop was the Japanese Tea Garden. As I walked through the intricately designed gardens I kept thinking of inks named after the kinds of things I was seeing, like Sailor Manyo Kakisubata (Japanese Iris) and Kyo No Oto Kokeiro (the green of mossy trees and stones in Kyoto). There was a lot of water throughout, crossed via stepping stones or bridges of narrow slabs of stone, and a popular photo spot on top of a very steep bridge that you had to climb like a ladder to reach the center. I enjoyed a green tea made with toasted rice and miso soup at the Tea House.
The garden had a little shop full of interesting ceramic pieces. I found this pretty leaf dish which actually matches some other pieces I have, and a delicately painted small dish. Both of these reside on my main desk to hold pens and small items while I swatch and sketch with inks.
Next I took a short walk over to the large botanical garden. This place was really fun to explore because there were all these distinctly different sections and a variety of paths through them. At several points you could branch off from the main paved paths to venture down narrow winding paths of dirt, gravel, or springy mulch and get up close with the plants and trees. I came across several people with nice cameras and I couldn't blame them, there were a lot of interesting blooms and wildlife to capture.
If I attend a future San Francisco Pen Show, I would still like to see the Golden Gate Bridge in person but I would also visit these gardens again.
Glassophy
I'd been watching the instagram accounts of a handful of vendors that I knew would be at the pen show, and I was particularly interested in what glass pens would be available. The little foxes posted by Glassophy quickly ended up near the top of my list. I arrived at this table as soon as the show opened on Friday, and about half of the little glass fox pens were already spoken for. I asked about one in a nice green, and the more I learned, the more interesting and perfect it was.
The green glass is CFL reactive and turns orange under CFL light, and the glass nib was curved a bit like a fude nib which can lay down a wide line or narrow line depending on the angle. It was exactly the beautiful and interesting tool I was looking for, and became my first purchase of the show. I've had the best time sharing this with people and learning what this little pen can do.
Aun Glass Studio
There was a line at this table as soon as the show opened, I chose to visit Glassophy first but then got in line to see the more traditional but beautifully crafted pens from Aun Glass Studio.
They were all beautiful but there was one color in particular that caught my eye, and it was even more striking in person than in the photos I'd seen online beforehand. The price was less than I'd expected and they had a medium in stock so I made my mind up pretty quickly. I did try the medium test pen just to be sure I was happy with that size, and it was amazing to write with.
Since I've gotten home, I'm amazed at how much ink this pen can hold and so pleased with how smooth it is. Glass pens are my favorite tool for the little inky sketches I do on the Col-o-dex cards or along with other swatching and this pen is a joy to use.
H. Works
While I was in line for Aun Glass Studio, I paused to check out the inks at the H. Works table. They had interesting earthy shades named after pieces of literature.
I tried out a couple and decided to get a yellow green called Miokurizaka Lemon, inspired by "Lemon" by Motojirō Kajii, and an earthy brown called Kijitora on Dangozaka inspired by "I am a Cat" by Natsume Sōseki (like the popular Wearingeul "I am a Cat" ink).
Newton Pens
At this point it's probably only about an hour into the show, and I walk out of the small room where the glass vendors were across the hall to see Shawn Newton's table. There were several pen makers at the show that I had not yet seen in person and I was hoping to find a pen that would go well with the "interesting neutrals" inks I keep being drawn to. This pen immediately caught my eye.
The material is "peach peacock" and I love the mix of translucent peachy brown and multicolor but green-leaning shimmer, and that you can just barely see the nib through the cap. I inked it first with an ink from the show, but I'm looking forward to trying some more pairings. I saw a lot of beautiful and interesting pens at the show, but this pen is exactly what I was looking for.
Rickshaw Bagworks
Another thing high on my list was picking up at least one Rickshaw item in the new print designed by Ana from The Well-Appointed Desk, which could be found (along with Ana herself!) at the Vanness table. Vanness Pens is a vendor I've gotten to see at every pen show I've been to, so it was nice to see familiar, friendly faces and pick up a Sinclair R and two-pen sleeve. That combination is what I use most often to carry pens around. I love the ink bottles and inky colors in this pattern, Ana did a fantastic job and the detail in the shading turned out really nice in the printing.
Rickshaw also released a new item at the show called the Fillmore. This is a similar size to the Sinclair R but with a larger zipper to fully open the case to lie flat. There are two configurations for the inside, but I chose the version with 3 pen slots on the left, and large and divided slip pouches on the right.
My hope is this will work as a travel journaling setup for me, the fit is a little tight but I can put my small photo sticker printer and refill pack or printed photos that haven't been used yet (and ephemera?) into the right side, a few pens and maybe a pen-sized pair of scissors on the left, and a small pocket journal either inside or in the slip pouch on the front. I'll test this setup out the next time I travel.
Pen Show Classes
One of the other things I was really looking forward to at this show was the variety of interesting classes to take. I signed up for four classes, with two on Saturday since I planned to do most of my shopping on Friday and find other things to do on what would likely be the most crowded day.
Abstract Floral Art with Carola
I've been admiring Carola's inky flowers for a while, she has a great style so I was really looking forward to meeting her and painting along. We ended up meeting first in line for glass pens that morning!
Carola is a great instructor who walked us through the process with a lot of encouragement and insight. I also took the opportunity to try out my new notebook with the new Halus paper from Musubi for a final bouquet.
Parallel Pen Play Date with Mi Mo
Mi Mo was enthusiastically inviting people to her class in the chat on Twitch, and I have several Pilot Parallel pens that I don't use much so this seemed like a good way to rekindle interest for neglected tools and have some fun.
I appreciated the emphasis on exploration, blending inks and swapping around nib sizes with the rest of the people at my table to try out a bunch of different things while practicing the motions to produce varied lines. The final exercise of drawing bamboo seemed impossible at first but after some practice with the techniques and trying different nib sizes, I ended up with something a lot more recognizable than I expected!
SIGILS: Make Magic with Pens & Ink
I also wanted to take a class with Ana, and the subject of this unique class aligned with my ongoing goal to be more intentional with my time and energy. During the class I was able to practice a way to use pens and ink to physically represent a specific intention or goal that's important to me. You can get the Sigils Zine from this class at The Well-Appointed Desk shop.
Also, unrelated to the class but how cool is this pen show stamp?
The Paper Hunter
Cosmo Air Light: The Story of Paper Extinction
This was the other class I attended and it really got me thinking even more about paper. Getting to hear directly from Taizo Yamamoto, the "paper hunter", and Bruce Eimon was a fascinating look into how paper is manufactured and why even popular papers go away. We also got the opportunity to test and share feedback on a variety of papers.
At the Yamamoto Paper table there were little memo pads of even more types of paper to try, and you could purchase a custom sample box with five pads of your choice. This set of papers is great to keep on the desk for quick notes, and I'll get to figure out which paper properties I like best in a variety of uses.
Stationery and Accessories
One notable difference about attending a larger show is a greater variety in products to look at. While trying to keep in mind that everything had to fit in my luggage to fly home, I picked up a bunch of inks, stickers, stamps, pins, sealing wax, and other accessories throughout the show.
I also adopted my first Ink-A-Pet at this show! These 3-D printed accessories sold by a young entrepreneur and his family are eager to hold your ink sample vials steady (or maybe a pen) and love to celebrate the seasons and holidays. I picked out a friendly multi-color octopus who's already ready for October.
Ink Testing Stations
I've been looking forward to visiting the ink testing stations at the San Francisco pen show since I knew that was a thing, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fun conversations that would happen among those visiting a station for a while while we worked through swatching all (or at least some) of the 49 inks. There were six stations spread throughout the hallways of the show for a total of 294 inks!
Retro 51: Celebration
I started using (and collecting) Retro 51s before I got into fountain pens, so it's fun to look through all the designs when they show up at a pen show. Usually all I do is look, but this time I spotted the one remaining Retro 51 I wish I had on my desk. I was aware of the Pen Addict Kickstarter that included the special "Celebration" Retro 51 while it was live, following along with the design discussion on the podcast, but the world got a little crazy around then and I just never backed the campaign. Well, fast-forward four years and the Retro 51 brand didn't retire but is still going strong, and I finally brought home the pen I'd missed out on.
Rubato Pen Studio
I first saw the creations of Rubato Pen Studio via Ana at the Well-Appointed Desk (see Ana's recent Rubato review) and was looking forward to visiting the table in San Francisco, where I got a full tour of the pens that were either configured for a traditional fountain pen nib or could be fitted with metal dip nibs like the Zebra G.
I looked through dozens of creations with different blends of soft colors and floral or charm includes to narrow it down to a couple of favorites and then was set up with a coordinating section that would work with the type of metal nib I usually use, but also a second section in a slightly different size with another type of nib.
These kinds of nibs will wear out and the pen may require a bit more attention to set up, clean, and use, but I think being able to have the sharp lines and flex of a metal dip nib with good flow from an eyedroppered pen will be worth it. Time to break out the calligraphy workbooks and actually get some practice in, or simply enjoy sketching with this kind of nib without having to re-dip in the ink constantly!
Pen Grinds
I started getting nib grinds in person earlier this year in Atlanta and have really been enjoying the added variety in writing experiences, and there were a lot of nib professionals at this show. Since I knew I wanted to take some classes and maybe participate in other events, I didn't want to lock down my schedule too much with appointments beforehand, especially before I had my class schedule worked out. I knew it would be difficult to grab an appointment with Gena Salorino from Custom Nib Studio but by the time those were available my classes were set so I marked the time in my calendar and decided to try. The first slot I picked was gone by the time I checked out, but my second attempt for a slot late in the afternoon on Sunday went through! All the appointment slots were booked in minutes.
I really enjoyed getting to meet and chat with Gena while getting their Journaler grind on my Abigail Markov pen (originally a Jowo B) and the Perspective grind on my White Bears Ursa pen (originally a Jowo M). These nibs vary the line width in opposite ways and I'm enjoying using both of them.
I also picked up the engraved San Francisco show nib from Pen Realm on Friday, then went to their table first thing on Sunday to see if I could get it ground at the show and managed to get the last available slot at 4:30pm on Sunday. I ended up getting my favorite grind from Atlanta, the Katana, on the show nib (currently in the Newton pen I got at the show). I also brought a really nice Montegrappa pen that I like a lot but wasn't enjoying writing with, and Kirk ground it to a Katana as well and now I love writing with that pen!
Getting to sit one-on-one with a nib professional really is a special opportunity to take advantage of at pen shows.
Bitter Orange Tea
One of the best inks I got in San Francisco was actually a sample of Lennon Tool Bar Bitter Orange Tea from Inkdependence Mike. After the Dominant Industry Earl Gray Tea was too orange, this is a much better fit for the Earl Gray Benu pen. Look at that shading!
Sailor
After seeing the Sailor 2024 Pen Show ink was a shade of green it was on my list to pick up fairly early in the show. It was also cool to see all five of the latest Sailor Manyo pens in person at the Sailor table, but I kept walking past the Sailor Signature station where you could assemble a "custom" pen by choosing from 4 bodies, 4 sections, and 4 caps.
These pens are a Pro-Gear size with a 21k nib available in Fine, Medium, or Broad. By Sunday afternoon I decided I liked the material options so I tried some combinations and picked out my pen.
Thank You SF Pen Show!
I had a great time, made a lot of memories with the people I met and hung out with, and I hope to visit you again soon.
