This Week In the Shop: Top Five Pen Show Sellers

March 14, 2023

While I’ll have a full recap of the Baltimore Pen Show tomorrow, I thought I’d do a brief “shop recap” post because it’s interesting (at least to me) to see what people are trending towards buying at each show. It’s always different and you get some insight into what the community is focused on! Baltimore attendees showed a lot of interest in notebook systems, whether it was picking up Traveler’s Notebooks and Lochby Covers and Cases or asking questions about the specifics of the Midori MD system. Washi Tape was also extremely popular, so I’ll plan to bring more varieties to the Arkansas Pen Show in Little Rock. Below are the five top selling products that I brought with me. To give you an indication, I brought two giant suitcases that are going home 3/4 empty!

Midori MD items such as the Kurashiki Canvas Pen/Pencil Cases are always a hit. These are an imported item from Japan made from traditional sailcloth.

As a thank you to everyone who supported us at the show, and those of you who continue to support us online, we’re running a 10% off Pen Show Special through tomorrow, so don’t miss to take advantage of this offer with the coupon code PENSHOW10 at checkout. Orders placed during my travels will begin to ship out tomorrow, and anything placed today is back on our usual fulfillment schedule.

Lochby Venture Pouch. Because the Venture Pouch is a bit of an offbeat product, it tends to sell better in person than online. But once people see the versatility - the top half unzips like a traditional carry-all or pen pouch; the bottom unzips and unfolds into a traditional pen case with elastic loops - it sells very quickly. I will be bringing more to additional shows this year, and we have plenty of online stock. Check out the full review here.
Lochby Quattro Pen Case. The classic four-pen zippered case is now available in Charcoal and Navy, in addition to the standard Brown. What’s the best thing about this specific case? The slots are offset so the pens don’t touch. Check out the full review here.
Penco Drafting Pencil and Drafting Ballpoint Pen. People couldn’t get over these, which are miniature versions of your classic “technical” pens and pencils with hexagonal barrels. Even if they didn’t buy one they still picked them up! The pencil takes a .5mm mechanical pencil lead, and the pen features a hybrid gel/ballpoint needle-tip D1 refill, all of which are available in our inks and refills store.
Traveler’s Company Brass Bullet Pens/Pencils. The classic bullet pens and pencils drew a lot of attention, especially since there were many vintage vendors selling the original items from the early 20th Century and to my knowledge Traveler’s Company is the only modern maker selling versions in this style.
Washi Tape! As I mentioned, Washi remains extremely popular, and I’ll try to bring more varieties in the future as I just didn’t know how well it would do this year. The three that sold the best were probably “Trash Panda,” “Bravocado”, and “Snail Mail Bonanza”.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all items sold in the T.G.S. Curated Shop.

Sunday Reading for March 12, 2023 (Pen Show Season Edition)

March 12, 2023

London Spring Pen Show, 2023: My Haul (via Fountain Pen Blog). It’s pen show season, and I’m going to enjoy reading about everyone’s pen show hauls! It’s still a goal of mine to get over for the London Pen Show at some point.
2023 London Spring Pen Show (via Dapprman). Another great London Pen Show recap, with pictures.
Gravitas Pens Universe (via Rachel’s Reflections). The latest of Ben Walsh’s finishes will raise the bar a notch for those who love space-themed releases.
February in Three Parts: California Pen Show and Other Adventures (via The Poor Penman). I heard good reports about the recent California Pen Show’s first event, and I’m looking forward to seeing this “New L.A. Show” grow into a more user-friendly experience than the original.
Montblanc Writer’s Edition Brothers Grimm Fountain Pen Review (via SBRE Brown). This is one of my favorite Montblanc Writers Edition releases from the past few years, the other being the Conan Doyle.
Ink of the Week: Sailor Ink Studio 123 (via Fountain Pen Love). One of my favorite multi-shaders from the Sailor Ink Studio lineup.
Omoi Zakka Shop Visit - Philadelphia, PA (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). A great recap of Kimberly’s field trip during the Philadelphia Pen Show in January.
Small But Mighty Pick-Me-Ups (via From the Pen Cup). Another great piece from Mary on letter writing and its benefits.
Schon DSGN x Inkdependence “Cheerio Waterpen” (via Well-Appointed Desk). I missed out on the pen, but love the color concept (and my bottle of Cheerio Waterbus ink).
Aurora DuoCart (via Blake’s Broadcast). I wasn’t aware the DuoCart was still popular or available, though I love vintage Aurora styling.

More Table Shots TGS Baltimore 2023 — I really enjoyed setting up my table (and I’ll bring more Washi tape next time!)

In Case You Missed It….

Since it was a pen show week, most of it was spent getting ready to travel. I emptied out my Rickshaw Bagworks “Banzai Bag” to get ready to hit the Baltimore Pen Show, and on Saturday posted a recap of Friday at a Baltimore Pen Show that might not have been especially busy (compared to past years), but it certainly was fun.

This Week in the Curated Shop

Though some items are marked as “out of stock” online because they went with me to the Baltimore table, most goods are still available, and right before I left we received a restock of Midori MD Paper and Travelers Company notebooks. For those of you here in Baltimore, you have one day left (10-4 today!) to visit us in person and pick yourself up a Lochby Field Journal, Case, or build your Traveler’s Notebook! Also, through Wednesday (when I return) take 10% off your order using the coupon code PENSHOW10 at checkout.

Washi Tape

Midori MD

Laban Inks

Lochby

Consider Supporting Us Via T.G.S. Patreon!

I shared some exciting news about projects I’m working on for an expanded T.G.S. on last night’s Patreon meetup. T.G.S. Patreon is the only non-shop means of support for the site, and features not only access to meetups and early gently used sales, but more exclusive content, including the potential return of Digital Divide, which I’ve been working on and hope to relaunch in the coming months. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. In addition to purchases from The Curated Shop, Patreon allows us to continue to grow the site without relying on advertisements and affiliate marketing. If you’re interested in meetups and exclusive content, or simply supporting the site, we greatly appreciate your support!

The Franklin-Christoph table open for business! Friday in Baltimore is much less crazy than the Friday rush at D.C.

Baltimore Pen Show: Day One Friday Recap

March 11, 2023

It’s always a bit different writing pen show recaps from a behind-the-table perspective, as opposed to walking the show and visiting with friends and vendors. It’s still fun to attend the show, in that you get to visit with show attendees and customers, but you’re more or less stuck in one place and have to rely on people coming to you, as opposed to being able to go seek out all that a given show has to offer. Either today or tomorrow, I’m going to look for a lull in show traffic to walk the floor and take more pictures so that I can give you a better reflection of what all was on display.

It was fun to be able to set up the shop in-person, which gives me plenty of ideas for the future.

Regardless, Baltimore is always a fun show! It’s traditionally been my first pen show of the year, and I always try to attend because it’s a LOOONG gap between San Francisco at the end of August and Baltimore at the beginning of March. There’s a lot of pent-up demand, and Baltimore presents an opportunity to browse in a calmer, less crowded environment than a larger show like D.C. or San Francisco.

Conway Steward Duro in Razorshell — This gorgeous Conway Stewart Duro in Razorshell acrylic is still available at the Vanness Pens table. If it doesn’t sell by Sunday, I can’t promise that it’s going back to Arkansas.

Friday in Baltimore tends to be an odd day. The show opens to the public at 11:00am, which is an awkward start time so things typically don’t pick up until mid-afternoon. If you’re attending this show from out-of-town, always try to attend on Friday (especially Friday morning) because the “Saturday Rush” is a real thing. Popular tables such as Franklin-Christoph, Kanilea Pen Company, and Edison Pens, among others, will still have most of their show-special stock, and popular regular-stock items will be available from the other vendors, including vintage traders.

Surprisingly, paper has been the smash hit of the show - not just for me but for many other vendors. Because it’s expensive to ship, especially if bought in quantity, you can sometimes save a significant amount of money by picking it up in person at shows.

What You Shouldn’t Miss if You’re Attending the Baltimore Pen Show

Our Own Table! As you can see from the photo above, we’ve had a lot of fun organizing our layout and displaying the eclectic selection of goods we brought with us. Though we’re limited by what we could fit into suitcases, we do have the full line of Lochby cases, a full Traveler’s Notebook setup that will allow you to build a notebook, and a selection of pens from Nahvalur, TWSBI, and Penco. If you can’t visit us in person at the show, be sure to take advantage of our Pen Show weekend discount, using the coupon code “PENSHOW10” at checkout to get 10% off your online order (excluding certain brands like TWSBI which cannot be discounted).
Vanness Pens. Our friends at Vanness are right next door to us, and they brought a selection of Vinta Inks, special release Midori Paper, and Conway Stewart and Onoto Pens. Like us, they are running a pen show weekend special sale on ink, so visit their site to take advantage if you can’t come to the show in person.
Dromgooles. Dromgoole’s from Houston, Texas brought a huge selection of ink, with Jessie from the Well-Appointed Desk doing ink consulting if you’re looking for that perfect shade.
Schon DSGN. Ian brought all the new finishes this year, in addition to a selection of Monoc nibs, I hear! I haven’t had a chance to peruse his table but I hope to make it over there today.
Franklin-Christoph. I expect to see a big crowd around the Franklin-Christoph table when they release their tray of prototypes on Saturday morning.
Edison Pens. Now that things are relatively back to normal on the pen show circuit, it’s great to see Edison attending shows again. I’m looking for one of their oversized Collier fountain pens with the No. 8 nib….
Kanilea Pen Company. Finally, be sure to visit Hugh and Karol at their home show! Kanilea always brings their full lineup of available standard releases, plus
Bespoke Makers. Baltimore always has a wide range of bespoke makers in attendance, and unfortunately I can’t give you the full roster but you can view it here on the Baltimore Pen Show website.

I hope you can make it! Look for a full recap early next week, with more pictures from the show.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop, and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. This post does not contain affiliate links or paid third-party advertising.

I brought a sampling of Washi Tape! If you don’t see what you’re looking for at the table in Baltimore, everything is still available online!

Thursday Drops: Pen Show Weekend! (Plus a Midori Restock - Too Heavy to Take!)

March 9, 2023

Since it’s a pen show weekend, we’ll be running our usual promotion of extra swag with your order while we’re away. We just received a fresh shipment of T.G.S. buttons and stickers, so you’ll get a few extras in your package to compensate for any slight delay in fulfillment. I will have a couple days in the shop early next week to get caught up on shipping orders before turning around and heading back out on the road to Little Rock for next weekend’s Arkansas Pen Show! Remember, if you want to pick something up at Arkansas next week, just check out in the shop and use the “615PICKUP” Code to drop the shipping charge.

Likewise, if you miss our display of Traveler’s Company and Lochby in-person at the show, most of our stock continues to be available online.

In the meantime, right before I flew out we received a large shipment of Midori MD paper, including a restock of several favorite Midori MD Notebook sizes, all Midori MD Notebook Covers (including the natural goat leather), and more Traveler’s Company Brass Pens!

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

Midori MD Light 70th Anniversary Notebook Sets. These sold out lightning fast when we first stocked them last Spring, and fortunately I was able to procure another shipment. Each set contains seven A5 MD Light notebooks, each with a different color grid.
Midori MD A5 Notebooks. We now have most rulings back in stock in standard A5, our most popular size, including the dot grid notebook journal.
Midori MD Leather Notebook Covers. These natural leather covers fit the standard Midori MD notebooks and notebook journals, and will age beautifully as the undyed natural leather develops a patina.
Midori MD Cotton Notebooks. These cotton paper notebooks have “F” series sketchbook dimensions, but the larger F3 fits the A4-size paper notebook cover, and possibly others.
Traveler’s Company Brass Ballpoint Pens. My favorite everyday pocket ballpoint, which lives clipped to my Plotter Mini 5 (and to be honest, most of my other planners as well, given that I have like five of these pens). Though they last a long time, we also have the refills.
Traveler’s Company Brass Bullet Pencil. After a short hiatus, the Brass Bullet Pencil is back in the store. As a concept, this type of pencil is one of my favorite products in existence, and the Traveler’s version might be the only one currently made?
Midori MD Letter Pads and Envelopes. There’s still time to respond to all of those InCoWriMo letters! (I know I have a personal backlog… stay patient, pen pals.)
Penco Pocket Drafting Pens and Pencils. I’ve brought several of these to Baltimore with me, so if you’re at the show you have to come by and see what’s become a top-selling product.
Caran d’Ache 849 “Colour Treasure” Edition Ballpoint Pens. We still have a few of the 849 Colour Treasure ballpoints in both the cool and warm tones. Once these are gone, that’s it! If they’re not gone before next week I’ll take them with me to Arkansas.
Penco Perfection Light Bullet Pens. We have a full display of these at the Baltimore Pen Show this weekend, but we also have some remaining in online stock.

Bag Dump: What's in My Rickshaw Banzai Bag?

March 8, 2023

So the people have asked, and I have answered. I teased a photo of my Rickshaw “Banzai” Bag - designed specifically for pen people - and which makes a great carry-all for pen shows and meetups. Despite it’s relatively small size, the Banzai Bag holds an astounding number of pens, in addition to notebooks and tablets up to A5 size. Enjoy the unpacking!

The thing that I love about this bag is its versatility. This was a “Pen Club Saturday” loadout, with three separate pen cases, my Plotter A5, plus some highlighters and my Kindle Scribe for some Saturday afternoon reading.

Rickshaw Banzai Bag Interior Pockets — The Banzai Bag is slightly larger than A5 length-wise, and is capable of holding several notebooks and similarly sized tablets in the center, plus accessories in the three interior pockets: two pockets on one side, a single pocket on the other.

Four pen cases that I regularly carry, clockwise from top: Rickshaw six pen roll/wrap, three-pen coozy in tweed, Lochby Quattro in Brown, and a Rickshaw x Nock Co. Sinclair Model R. You can check out the full selection of Rickshaw cases and sleeves here, and see below for some options on how I arrange the different pen cases.

A5 Notebooks for Banzai Bag — In addition to the pen cases show, I’m able to fit two A5 notebooks (my William Hannah A5 and Plotter A5), as well as a Kindle Scribe.

Banzai Notebooks + Pen Cases — Everything fits! I put one of the notebooks (the Plotter A5) in the single side slot and the rest in the center.

All packed up and ready to go to the Baltimore Pen Show!

Come See This Bag in Person at the Baltimore Pen Show!

As I mentioned yesterday, we will be at the 2023 Baltimore Pen Show in-person! I’ll have this bag (not for sale) and many other items (for sale) at the T.G.S. Table! Since we will be traveling, shipment of shop orders may be slightly delayed until early next week, though as always any orders placed will receive some extra T.G.S. Swag as an apology for any inconvenience. Many thanks for your support, and I hope to meet many of you soon!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. This post does not include paid advertisements or third-party affiliate links.