Saturday Updates and Scenes from the Arkansas Pen Show, Day 1

It’s going to be relatively quiet this weekend on the blog as we’re attending the Arkansas Pen Show in Little Rock. I thought it might be fun to post some “Day One” pics from Friday, which was surprisingly busy for a Friday afternoon at a smaller pen show and definitely bodes well for Saturday! While I spent most of my time behind the table, I did get to visit Matthew Chen of Matthew’s Nibworks (@pactagon on the socials) to get a Kodachi grind on my Lamy 2000 in Stainless Steel. I also spent some time perusing the Newton Pens table. While I haven’t picked anything up YET, there are definitely some muted multicolor ebonites that caught my eye….

Note that our Nashville brick and mortar location is closed this weekend while we are in Arkansas but the online store remains open. If you’re in driving distance of Little Rock, please come see us at the show! We will return to normal operating hours next week.

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Matthew hard at work on my Lamy 2000 Stainless Steel.

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Even if you don’t get a nib ground, Matthew has tester pens out on his table with all of the different nib grinds that you can try them all out to see what might appeal to you.

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Anyone venture a guess as to which one appealed to me?

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The Newton Prospector is one of my favorite small-maker fountain pens. (Don’t be fooled by the imitators out there - Shawn is the original creator of this particular design.) He’s working a lot with ebonites lately and there are some gorgeous pieces out there.

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I posted this yesterday to show the difference between a new Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter LTD_022 and my 7-year old version on the right. These covers age beautifully, with the leather becoming more supple over time. If you’re attending the show, I have a handful of Roterfadens left behind the table. Note that what’s shown in the online inventory is available for online purchase only, as I have not brought those specific items with me to the show.

Behind the Scenes: Preparing for the First Pen Show of the Year

It’s time for the Arkansas Pen Show, which will be the first pen show that I attend in 2025. Since we’ve opened our own brick-and-mortar shop, I’ve been operating on a reduced travel schedule, but I’m still planning on taking T.G.S. to at least a couple of shows this year. Despite it being a smaller, regional show, Arkansas has a lot to offer that the bigger shows do not. More on that later.

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One year I brought the Hightide Sandglasses to Arkansas and they were a big hit. One reason I enjoy this show is because it’s within driving distance, and I can be a bit more creative with what I pack.

How I Pack For a Pen Show As a Vendor

Whenever I pack and prepare for shows, I carefully consider exactly what I’m going to bring. My tables are usually organized around notebook systems such as Roterfaden, Lochby, and Traveler’s Notebooks, since those are all items many people enjoy seeing in person before purchasing, particularly if they are having a difficult time selecting a specific color or refill. I also make a conscious effort to bring pens, pencils, and other writing instruments that I know other vendors probably won’t have at the show, as opposed to more common brands like TWSBI and Lamy that nearly everyone carries. Past show favorites have included the entire Anterique line and all the Uni Jetstream variants that we import from Japan. Despite most U.S. pen shows being focused on fountain pens, recent years have seen more general stationery enthusiasts attend shows, and they tend to appreciate the additional options. This year in Arkansas I will have two tables (up from one last year), so you can expect a bigger selection and more room to browse.

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Pens such as the Newton Prospector (bottom row) are typically made in very small batches, so if you see one you like in a special material, you’ll want to pick that pen up earlier than standard releases from larger companies, where there might be more available.

How to Prepare for a Pen Show as an Attendee

A smaller pen show like Arkansas or Atlanta is easier to prep for as an attendee than a larger show like San Francisco or the D.C. Pen Show. You don’t need to worry about “missing” anything, as there are fewer vendors. You can easily visit every table in a single day, and certainly over an entire weekend. Vendors usually have more time to spend with each customer, since the tables aren’t always slammed, and I’ve personally always enjoyed the ability to have more engaged conversations with customers who come to see me at the smaller shows. Last year I actually wrote a piece after the 2024 Arkansas Show discussing the benefits of smaller shows.

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You really won’t believe some of the things you see in the bar after-hours.

But regardless of the show you are attending, there are three main things I always advise people to prepare for, at a minimum:

• Nib Grinds and Repair Work. Regardless of how big a show is, nib grinders and vintage pen repair appointments can fill up fast. If you have work that you absolutely need to get done, identify who you want to work on your pens and make their table your first stop. If there’s an “early access” pass available, buy it to ensure you’re near the front of any wait list.

• Visit Smaller Makers Early. Especially if you are looking for a less-common model or special material, because one-offs and less common items can sell out quickly. Bespoke penmakers sometimes only have one rod of a given resin or other material.

• Take Breaks. Even smaller shows can be overwhelming, especially for those who haven’t been to a pen show before. Don’t spend all your money in the first hour (unless of course, you only have an hour to spend). And most of all, be sure to make an effort to hang out for just a little while after the show closes! You’d be shocked at the knowledge you pick up around the table in the hotel bar, especially if you’re interested in more esoteric nib grinds and vintage pens.

I’ve been to many pen shows over the years, and the site has nearly a decade of show recaps that you can read through in the blog post archive. I’ve also written a “Pen Show Primer” Series of Articles, including Volume 1: Why Visit a Pen Show; Volume 2: Getting Ready for a Pen Show; and Volume 3: Tips for Surviving the Pen Show. Some of these articles have some age on them, but I stand by pretty much all of the advice!

Please note that our brick-and-mortar shop will be closed Thursday through Sunday of this week since we will be in Arkansas. We will reopen with regular hours next week. Online orders will continue to be processed in our typical 2-3 business day time frame. Many thanks for all your support, and I hope to see as many of you as possible in Arkansas!

New Arrivals: Lamy Safari Scarlet, AL-Star Denim and Aubergine, and Petrol and Sepia Inks!

Release day has arrived and we can now sell all of the latest Lamy releases, including Lamy’s latest addition to it’s standard Safari lineup, the new “Scarlet” color, as well as the latest 2025 AL-Star Special Editions in Denim and Aubergine. Denim is a lighter blue paired with a transparent orange section, while Aubergine is a dusty purple paired with a transparent green section. Since the new Lamy Scarlet pens are part of the standard lineup, they are sold alongside the standard Safari fountain pen, rollerball, ballpoint, and mechanical pencil offerings. The 2025 AL-Star Special Editions are likewise available as fountain pens, rollerballs, ballpoints, and mechanical pencils. View these and other Lamy pens here.

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Two New Standard Inks: Lamy Petrol (Yes!) and Lamy Sepia

Following up on last-year’s addition of Lamy Dark Lilac to the regular lineup, Lamy has decided to bring back Petrol, another acclaimed limited edition ink that in recent years has started to command a premium on the secondary market. Personally, I prefer the new release - due to dye availability it’s a slightly different formulation and therefore appears darker (which I like). Sepia is an entirely new color, which I would describe as a terra cotta orange-brown. Both are now available at standard Lamy ink pricing. You can check out a video of me swatching the Petrol ink on our YouTube channel.

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Lamy Petrol is a dark teal-black, while Sepia is more of a terra cotta orange/red/brown.

Sunday Reading for March 16, 2025

1. Stationery and School: My Personal Round-Up (via Urban Adventure League). I love bag dumps and everyday carry posts, especially when it’s about stationery being used in a relatable everyday context.

2. Drawing Table Unpacked (via Fueled by Clouds & Coffee). More awesome scenes from non-internet real life.

3. BWIPS 2025 Recap (via Rachel’s Reflections). A great comprehensive recap of the Baltimore Pen Show by someone who’s attended nearly all of them! I also heard this year’s show was quiet, both in terms of attendance and purchase activity.

4. Baltimore Washington International Pen Show Recap (via Penquisition). Eric has a great recap of BWIPS 2025, with a ton of vendor pictures.

5. 2025 Baltimore Pen Show Recap (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). And we also have Kimberly’s always-comprehensive Baltimore recap! I hope some of you got to take her class on handwriting.

6. Traveler’s Company Stamp Caravan at Hands (via Inkredible Colours). Another stop on the Traveler’s stamp tour! People apparently stake out the events and buy up the limited items, like a mini pen show.

7. The Amazing…and Reasonably Priced, Vazir Horizon (via Figboot on Pens). I like the streamlined shape on this pen, from a newer company I haven’t yet experienced.

8. Santini Giant Faceted Venezia Fountain Pen Review (via Blake’s Broadcast). The Santini Giant is one of those pens I would love to have in my collection, especially with their gorgeous materials, but unfortunately the size just doesn’t work for me.

9. Iroful Notebook Review (via Fountain Pen Love). A comprehensive post discussing Iroful paper as a Cosmo Air Light replacement.

10. Nanami Seven Seas - Old and New Tomoe River Paper Side by Side (via Well-Appointed Desk). I still get questions about how the two compare. Here’s a comparison for a specific popular Tomoe River notebook.

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In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog I continued to play around with video content, posting my currently inked lineup for the month of March 2025 and talking about my efforts to shop my own stash and reduce, overall, the number of pens in my collection. I also walked through yet another of my mini-collections, and honestly, probably not a mini-collection but a major theme of my pen accumulation in general: Yellow pens! Finally, I’m posting more video content on the T.G.S. YouTube Channel, some of which overlaps with what I’m doing on the blog, and other content which is entirely separate. Mostly it’s been a lot of personal sharing, such as this week’s Currently Inked video and a travel bag dump from the week before.

Believe it or not, we already only have one remaining black with pink suede Taschenbegleiter remaining in stock! Thanks to everyone who’s taken one of these home - I will have a selection with me in Arkansas.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop: Roterfaden is Back!

We received a major restock of Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter binders this week, including binders with four clips, binders in the classic black+red color combination, and binders with blue felt or pink suede interior, which are somewhat uncommon options you don’t see much. Check out Tuesday’s post for full details. We also have the new Kaweco Honey Sport fountain pens, the new Lamy Scarlet Safaris, a Lochby restock, and lots more. All of the new arrivals are summarized in each week’s Thursday Drops (though after this week’s post went up, we also received a bunch of new ink from Taccia and Lamy - including the new Petrol and Sepia).

Also, please note that the shop will be closed except for by appointment for the upcoming week - we will be in attendance at the Arkansas Pen show from Thursday March 20 through Monday March 23. Any orders placed before close of business on Thursday will ship before then and the rest upon my return.

Kaweco

Lamy

Taccia Inks

New Lamy Ink!

Check Out T.G.S. Patreon for Breaking news and first access/Special pricing on exclusives and Sample Sales

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), and would like early/extra access to shop releases and gently used stationery opportunities, consider supporting us via Patreon. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop either online (or in person, if you’re in the Nashville area)! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, the T.G.S. Patreon includes these as well as access to early shop releases, the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly Zoom meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount.

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Favorite Fountain Pens: Is There a Specific Color You Gravitate Towards?

People approach this hobby/passion/calling from many different angles. Some love pens because they’re collectors, and amass impressive archives of a specific brand or model that cover every variant released over decades (if not a century). Others take a purely utilitarian approach, treating their pens as tools, often settling on a single pen that meets their writing needs and never feeling the need to branch out to anything else. I take a middle approach: I definitely have my favorites that I use more than others (75% of the time, perhaps?) but I also have a bit of “collector” in me as well.

If You Make It In Yellow, I Will Probably Buy It

I collect in two ways. First, I try to have at least one example of major vintage pens in my personal collection, and sometimes more if different variations - usually colors - of a specific model interest me. For example, I currently have one Parker Vacumatic, and a handful of Parker 51s. While I might add some more Vacumatics after my prized blue one broke during a botched vintage pen repair (long story that I will tell later), I don’t feel the need to collect and example of every Parker, and the ones I do have are very much user-grade examples. To me, part of the fun of writing with a vintage pen is the idea that I can use an item in the same way that it was used by the original owner 75-100 years ago, and remark on how little has changed. The pen doesn’t need to be pristine or valuable to give you that experience. As I noted in this recent video, the Parker 45 I showed off cost me $65, even with a 14k nib!

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Some of these fall into the “almost yellow” category. From left: Nakaya Long Piccolo, Kasama Una in Ultem, Mark’s Tous Les Jours metal gel pen, Leonardo Momento Zero Maestro in Omas Burkina Celluloid, and my Conway Stewart Model 100 in Honey Noire.

Second, I tend to accumulate and, yes, “collect” pens by color. You might think from the overall visual theme of T.G.S. that most of my pens are some combination of red and black. While I do have a lot of red pens, and a deep red is one of those tones that makes me happy, so does yellow. Not necessarily a bright yellow, but anything that’s a more muted mustard, saffron, or even a yellow-green is more often than not an insta-buy. There isn’t any real strategy behind this collection. It’s not organized my model, brand, or even type of pen. It’s just something I enjoy, and these days I’ll take that because it’s exactly what I need.

That said, I do my best to avoid mindless accumulation. I currently have several binders of pens, most of which I own not because they fit into some overall “theme” but simply because the design/color/backstory makes me happy. I’ve been thinking about this issue a lot lately, as I’ve made a commitment to unload a significant number of pens (5 per month) throughout 2025. While there will be some harder choices in the year to come, right now the standard is “does this particular pen make me want to use it, and does it make me happy when I use it?” (I refuse to use the phrase “spark joy.”) Through March, I’ve sold off 15+ pens and have only added two or three. I’m actually excited to see what my collection looks like by year-end!

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Those pens I have added this year haven’t been very expensive, including the new Kaweco Sport Honey (right) and one of the remaining Kaweco Perkeo “Indian Summer” fountain pens. The mechanical pencil is the Uni Kuru Toga Alpha Gel Switch. The yellow and black version is my favorite.

SO WHAT’S next for the collection? A couple of recent additions

Do I really need another Kaweco Sport? No, but since the new “Honey” color is the exact shade of yellow that I enjoy, I added one to the collection anyway and inked it up immediately. No regrets. I also had the opportunity to re-acquire a pen that I regret selling: the Kaweco Perkeo in the yellow/green and black “Indian Summer” colorway that was so popular a few years ago. At NY Now in January, I found out that the distributor had a few remaining in stock and I managed to acquire some mediums. What do I think I’m going to pass on? The Lamy Scarlet fountain pen. While they’re great looking pens, and I’m glad to see Lamy move to more muted shades like Scarlet and Steel Black in the standard lineup, It’s not really that exact shade of red that speaks to me. I may claim one of the mechanical pencils, though, as I really love my Lamy AL-Star mechanical pencil and I don’t have a Safari version.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you enjoyed this post, consider supporting us directly! You can always drop in to our brick-and-mortar shop. Check for open hours and details on the location here.