We’re entering a busy stretch for pen shows, even though the 2025 D.C. Pen Show is in the books! Later this month we have the San Francisco Pen Show (August 29-31), and after that Orlando, Commonwealth (Boston), and Dallas in September. (Check out the full calendar here.) Many of you have shared that you are planning on attending your first show and have asked for some “pen show prep” posts. I’ve done a bunch of these over the years, and need to pull them together onto one page, but they tend to need very little updating as the show experience has remained surprisingly consistent.
To start, I generally link back to a series of “Pen Show Primer” articles I’ve written 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. While these particular articles have some age on them, I stand by pretty much all of the advice. (You’ll also note that “get a good pen show bag” has remained consistently high on the list of tips for a positive pen show experience, along with “take breaks” if you can.) For those looking for information on nib grinds, earlier this year I did a YouTube video walking through a nib grind I had done by Matthew Chen at this year’s Arkansas Pen Show.
Be sure to build plenty of “browsing time” into you pen show schedule.
A Quick Update on Upcoming Shows and Roterfaden Restocks
I will be teaming up with Vanness Pens once again at the upcoming San Francisco Pen Show, helping at the table and with various seminars and discussion panels. There won’t be a “T.G.S. Table,” but I may have some exclusive items available at the show through Vanness, including any remaining Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters from shipments scheduled to arrive in the next two weeks. The initial shipment should arrive next week, and it will contain a restock of A6, B6, B5, A5, and A4 sizes. I do have another order of the A5 Slim TGS_25 special editions on the way, which I expect to have in hand before San Francisco provided there are no delays. Many people have e-mailed asking whether they can reserve, prepay, or receive an e-mail notifying them when they are available. Unfortunately, due to the volume of messages, I am no longer able to respond individually, and I cannot promise pre-sale or prepayment opportunities because I do not know how much lead time we will have and I generally am uncomfortable taking money until I know international shipments have cleared customs. I will be posting updates in the Patreon (members will have some stock set aside for first refusal), here on the blog a few days prior to the launch, and via the T.G.S. mailing list. I will try to give everyone as much advanced notice as possible, but due to the small-batch nature of the product, it’s possible that there won’t be enough to meet demand, and if that’s the case I will try for a third shipment.
Come see us in person, either at a show or at our spot in Nashville! We will be open this week from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and from 10am-6pm Saturday.