Recapping the 2024 Chicago Planner Conference: An Entirely New Experience!

I have a Venn diagram in my head of the greater stationery community, with the classic overlapping circles showing all the different areas of interest, some of which overlap, and some of which barely overlap at all. There are not only "pen people", but "journal people", "planner people", "sticker/washi people", "pencil people", sketchnoters, and many more. The one common thread running through all of these various communities is a love of analog, and while not all hyper-specific passions and obsessions are necessarily shared, I've always felt that this might be more a question of lack of awareness than a true lack of interest.

View fullsize

I spent the past weekend at the 2024 Chicago Planner Conference, helping my friends from Vanness Pens and the Well-Appointed Desk teach a class on fountain pen inks and paper, and generally exploring this new (to me) area of stationery. It may help to first define "planners". This isn't a Filofax or Plotter convention, though traditional organizers do have a central role. Rather, at shows like the Chicago Planner Conference, Wild for Planners, and other similar events, "planning" is a broader concept that draws in those interested in organizing, journaling, scrapbooking, and art. The planners and personal organizers that tend to take center stage are different from the Plotters and Traveler's Notebooks that you tend to see at pen shows, and include smaller brands catering specifically to a more niche planner community. As an interesting aside, as more "planner people" discover fountain pens, many of the makers and brands that cater to this specific group were wanting to talk to us about fountain pen friendly paper, and how they could make their products more compatible with fountain pens since it's something many of their customers are interested in.

Not your typical pen show hotel.

Planner Conference vs Pen Show vs Stationery Fest

The biggest difference that jumped out at me immediately was the lack of focus on "the consumer." The Chicago Planner Conference has grown rapidly in the past few years, but only in the past two have they offered a pen show-style marketplace where attendees could shop on site. Even so, the event revolves around content and experiences, not shopping: Attendees pay $300+ for admission mainly to enjoy speakers, classes, photo ops, after-hours parties and events, and more. I would say that the choice of venue (the historic Chicago Hilton) reflects this focus, as it was much more comfortable, centrally located, and a touch more expensive than your typical pen show hotel. At least two other conferences were running alongside CPC over the weekend.

Pen Shows and the new trend - stationery fairs or "stationery festivals" - are generally viewed more as buying opportunities, though certain shows (the D.C. Pen Show, the San Francisco Pen Show, and Yoseka's NYC Stationery Fest) have offered an broader range of seminars and workshops for attendees to enjoy. Because the event is focused more on the vendors, and the ability to sell to as many people as possible, there is no cap on attendance and the public shows get very crowded as a result. At a more traditional "conference," where attendees buy an expensive ticket and the number sold is limited to roughly 500, the event runs at a slower, less frenzied pace. There are correspondingly fewer vendors - if there are any at all - and most brands and retailers in attendance focus more on engaging with their customers (and truly meeting new ones) than maximizing profit over the limited number of hours selling is permitted. Sure, the event has a TON of energy, and its still busy, but it's less hoards of people rushing to buy as much stuff as they possibly can from a given table and more pure excitement to be there.

A shot of the vendor marketplace during vendor setup on Saturday morning. Compared to a pen show, the space was absolutely massive.

This to me was the key difference - everyone seemed so happy simply to be at the event, as opposed to the nervous anxiety and "fear of missing out" on purchases that’s so prevalent at traditional pen shows. For example, the vendor marketplace was only open specific hours each day: Friday 4-9pm, Saturday 8-9:30am and 4-7pm; and on Sunday from 8-9:30am and 1-2pm (or something approximately along those lines). Many attendees who came by the table to shop only did so for the first time on Sunday afternoon because they were otherwise occupied and focused elsewhere. For the whole weekend!

View fullsize

Event tickets are expensive, but attendees walk away with a ton of sponsor swag. For the main sessions on Saturday, attendees are assigned to a table sponsored by specific brands/companies, and each attendee receives gift bags, in addition to your event swag bag that you receive upon registration. This is only a small portion of what I took home!

My Own Takeaways and whether You should Attend

If I had to describe my weekend at the Chicago Planner Conference, the word I would choose is "refreshing". While the content was not 100% on-point with my own personal interests, I often find it helpful to venture outside my own comfort zone and get some new ideas on how to organize my analog life, journal, and collect my thoughts on paper. If you've ever wanted to explore more artistic avenues of expression outside of writing, you'll find plenty of inspiration at this show. And I can't underscore enough how much happier the attendees seemed than at your typical pen show. I found it refreshing to see pure passion as opposed to FOMO.

Should you attend? It depends on why you go to shows and similar events. For those of you who enjoy attending pen shows mainly to shop, maybe not. On the other hand, if, like me, you enjoy pen shows as an opportunity to see your friends, meet other like-minded enthusiasts, trade your extras and duplicates after hours, and perhaps learn something new, I would definitely recommend looking at next year's Chicago event. Especially if you're into planners (you'll know who you are). :)

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We also have a brick-and-mortar store, which you can visit! See here for hours.

It's Fountain Pen Day Weekend! Here are the T.G.S. Fountain Pen Day Promotions, In-Store and Online!

Happy Fountain Pen Day, everyone! On Friday, November 1 (or the first Friday in November), the international community of fountain pen enthusiasts comes together to celebrate our mutual love of pens, inks, and paper, as well as pencils, desk and reading accessories, and all things analog. And each year, we always have special sales and product offerings to celebrate through the weekend. Without further ado, here are the 2024 T.G.S. Fountain Pen Day specials, both online and in-store:

Online Promotions Available in the T.G.S. Curated Shop

Take 10% off most brands storewide all weekend (Now through Sunday at 11:59pm U.S. Central Time), using the coupon code “FPDAY24” at checkout. The normal exclusions apply, as certain brands such as TWSBI, Roterfaden, Sunderland, Blackwing, and Pilot are not subject to further discounting per manufacturer’s terms. All orders over $75 will continue to qualify for free shipping.

Orders over $50 (before shipping) will receive a full set of Fountain Pen Day swag, while supplies last. The full set includes the 2024 bookmark, button, and sticker. Orders below $50 will receive the 2024 bookmark. If supplies run out you will receive equivalent T.G.S. Swag or such other freebies as I have available!

Now for our online exclusive: We’ve assembled a limited number of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Samplers and Woodcase Pencil Samplers, all priced at $10. Here’s the kicker - if your order exceeds $100, prior to shipping, you can get one of these samplers FOR FREE using the coupon code “FREEPAPER” or “FREEPENCILS” at checkout. IN THE INTEREST OF ALLOWING AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO PARTICIPATE, ORDERS ARE LIMITED TO ONE SAMPLER PER CUSTOMER. NO EXCEPTIONS. Please choose either paper or pencils, not both. If both are added to an order, only one will be sent and requests for multiples will not be honored. This is a pure while-supplies-last promotion. Simply add your sampler of choice to the $100 order and use the applicable coupon code to remove the charge.

View fullsize

If you buy a fountain pen in-store, you’ll definitely leave with some ink!

In-Store Specials! Come By and See Us in Our Nashville Shop

In-store purchases will be eligible for the 10% discount if you mention the FPDAY24 Code, and will also receive Fountain Pen Day Swag while supplies last. We are also going to be running some Fountain Pen Day / “TGS Grand Opening” in-store exclusives, which will only be announced in-store to those who come visit us in person, but they’re sure to be worth your while. See the “About” page for details on our physical location, hours, and how to find us. We will be open on Fountain Pen Day (Friday), from 1pm - 7pm. We hope to see you there!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. Patreon supporters will be receiving a special offer this weekend, and our meetup will be held Saturday night, so please check the feed for details.

Pre-Fountain Pen Day Giveaways, Plus Details on In-Store Events and "Grand Opening"!

I know Fountain Pen Day isn’t for another two weeks, but since I’ve got to start planning for our first “in-store” Fountain Pen Day celebration, I figured why not kick things off a bit early with a giveaway and promotion that will run up until Fountain Pen Day on Friday, November 1! For those unfamiliar, Fountain Pen Day is celebrated on the first Friday of November, and is celebrated worldwide as a time to embrace, promote and share the use of fountain pens. Read more on the official Fountain Pen Day website.

First Up, Giveaway Details!

From now through Fountain Pen Day, we’re giving away two fun “starter sets”, each of which includes a pen, two pocket-sized notebooks, and a small bottle of ink from Anderillium! The two specific giveaway prizes include:

• Kakimori Colour Liner Brush Pen. In addition to the pen, you will receive a small bottle of Anderillium ink, a Tomoe River Pocket Notebook from Lochby, and a TGS-stamped Pocket Notebook from Scout Books.

• Platinum Plaisir “Aura” Fountain Pen. In addition to the Platinum Fountain pen, which is a .3mm/fine nib and will ship with a converter installed, the Plaisir will also include a small bottle of Anderillium Ink and both pocket notebooks.

Both packs will also include a bunch of T.G.S. Swag, including buttons, stickers, and more!

Giveaway rules are simple: Either comment on this post or like the accompanying Instagram post that will go up shortly. I will number all comments and likes and pick two winners using a random number generator. Giveaway will run through 11:59pm US Central Time on Thursday, October 31. While the giveaway is open to everyone (both those in the U.S. and Internationally), I may ask international winners to chip in on shipping, depending on the cost. The value of each package is approximately $30-40.

You can take a video tour of our shop on the YouTube Channel!

Grand Opening / Pre-Fountain Pen Day Promotion!

From now until Fountain Pen Day (Friday, November 1), we’re also running a sales promo! Any fountain pen purchase of $30 or more from our shop will include a small bottle of ink free of charge. This will likely be a small bottle of Herbin, Anderillium, or other ink that we have in our “sample chest”. The color will be a surprise, though we will do our best to match it to your pen! The $30 purchase limit excludes shipping, but you can reach that number by combining a fountain pen with other items. (i.e., you can purchase a $15 fountain pen and add a $15 notebook, and still have that qualify as a “Fountain Pen purchase” for purposes of the promotion).

We will announce our specific Fountain Pen Day deals closer to Nov. 1, but they will be different from this offer, which ends on October 31. Also, we are planning to host an all-day in-store event on Friday, November 1 (“Fountain Pen Day”), which will feature in-store exclusive promotions, in-store pen and ink testing, free samples, and whatever else I can think of. We’ve only recently launched our brick-and-mortar store so we’re looking forward to welcoming as many of you as possible in-person.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases through our own T.G.S. Curated Shop, and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you’d like to visit our store in-person, you can view location and hours here. Please spread the word, as we are newly opened in the Nashville, Tennessee area and want people to know where we are!

A Mid-Summer Update from T.G.S.: Lots of Changes on the Horizon, Including a Brick-and-Mortar Shopping Option Plus Pen Shows!

Those of you who are Patreon members or who subscribe to the shop newsletter may already be aware of some of these announcements, but I figured it was time to update the general readership since we are now very close to our move date! For the past year, I’ve been searching for a physical location for T.G.S., and given rising commercial real estate costs in the greater Nashville, Tennessee area, it hasn’t been easy to find suitable space that’s also reasonably priced. As it turns out, we have a lease on a location, and will be taking possession towards the end of July.

This is an extremely exciting new development for us (me and my family, who collectively run T.G.S.), and will allow us to expand both the T.G.S. Curated Shop as well as the range of pen-related content we can provide through our various media channels. Currently, I don’t have dedicated studio space for photography and video, which necessarily limits the quantity and quality of content that I can produce. The educational and informational content we offer here at T.G.S. will remain a core part of what we do, and a big part of this move is about expanding what we can offer the pen community in that regard.

View fullsize

I’ve been attending multiple retail trade shows over the past couple of years preparing to expand the various lines of stationery we can offer, as well as partnering with manufacturers and brands on additional exclusive collaborations.

Will There Be an In-Person Shopping Option in Nashville? Yes! But Not Immediately.

As soon as we are able to move over our warehouse and office/fulfillment operations, we will offer in-person order pickup from a fixed location in the Nashville area. Once we take possession, I will post the address and pickup instructions here on the site, but I can go ahead and let my local customers know that the new location is near Berry Hill and central to most of the greater Nashville Metropolitan area. In the coming months - hopefully prior to the holidays - we plan to have a small retail area set up within our space that will allow people to come and shop our various product lines in person. Store hours will be forthcoming.

View fullsize

D.C. Pen Show Details: Come See T.G.S. In Person!

Due to the impending move, which is currently scheduled to take place the week before the D.C. Pen Show, we will not have time to assemble a full table’s worth of inventory for either the D.C. or San Francisco Pen Shows in August. That said, we will be in attendance, teaming up with our friends at Vanness Pens to help staff the new Vanness Pen Lounge in D.C.! The Pen Lounge will be located in the downstairs conference area below the main ballroom (which at past shows had been used as the “maker’s area” before last year’s hotel remodel. Stay tuned for further details as we get closer to the main event, but this space will feature an area for attendees to socialize, ask questions from a rotating cast of volunteers, and attend mini-classes and workshops throughout the weekend.

In addition to helping staff the Lounge, I will be hosting a workshop on notebook systems, and will have a small selection of samples from brands including Roterfaden, Lochby, Traveler’s Company, Midori, Laconic, and more. While I can’t commit to bringing items for in-person purchase, since our ability to restock inventory may be limited by the move, I will try to have a small selection of T.G.S. products available for purchase at the Vanness tables. Please let me know if there is something you specifically want to see and I will try to make it happen!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Why Fountain Pen Day is Important: Reflections on 12 Years

Has it really been 12 years? I didn’t realize that the community has been celebrating Fountain Pen Day for more than a decade until I opened up this year’s shipment of Fountain Pen Day swag and realized that it’s emblazoned with “12th Anniversary!” I don’t plan to get very far into the history of the holiday - Kimberly over at the Pen Addict recently published an interview with Fountain Pen Day founder/creator Cary Yeager that does just that - but I did want to briefly reflect on why I enjoy Fountain Pen Day and why I think it’s important that we as a community continue to celebrate.

1. If Things Are Important To You, You Owe Them A Day. Fountain Pen Day is sometimes cynically written off as “Black Friday for Pens.” Look, I get the sentiment. Fountain Pen Day “the event” has grown exponentially since it was first launched, and - intentionally or not - has morphed into one of the biggest sales events of the year for many stationery retailers. Some of the hype borders on FOMO-driven consumerism. That said, I still believe that the idea of a day devoted specifically to fountain pens remains important because of what it represents. With “tech” increasingly pushed on us at every turn, celebrating Fountain Pen Day makes a statement to others about what we value, and provides us with an opportunity to reflect on why we devote so much time, energy (and money!) to this thing we love that goes far beyond a hobby.

2. If You Value Small Business and Independent Makers, Support Small Business and Independent Makers. I can personally vouch for the fact that the vast majority of us on the “business side” of fountain pens are not in this to make a lot of money. We do this because we love writing and want to do our part to ensure that quality pens, paper, and ink continue to exist well into the future. Events like Fountain Pen Day serve as a concrete reminder that if you value smaller, niche industries, it’s essential to make a conscious effort to support the participants you want to see continue, rather than defaulting to Amazon or whoever offers the biggest discount. Sure, nearly everyone has limited funds to devote to their hobby, but I’ve made a conscious effort to redirect my own personal spending this year to specific people I care about and who I want to see succeed.

3. It’s Nice to Have a Permanent “Stopping Point” for the Year to Evaluate How I Use My Planners and Notebooks and What I Might Want to Change. Over the years, Fountain Pen Day has become a waypoint, which signals the start of my personal year-end review process and gives me a full two months to think about what works, what doesn’t, and what I need to change for the following year. For example, I rarely buy planners in October, when Midori, Hobonichi, etc. release their new editions. I force myself to wait a month until Fountain Pen Day, which pauses the FOMO and allows me to reflect on what planner or journal I might realistically use.

View fullsize

So How Did I Celebrate Fountain Pen Day? Plus Some Big News!

I actually intended to publish this short post yesterday, but as you’ll read below, the day turned into a bit of an event! I kicked off the day by visiting friends from our local/regional pen club at the Columbia Arts Building in Columbia, Tennessee, about 40 minutes south of where I live. After meeting for coffee, I had the opportunity to stop in and support another small retailer at Butler Stationery. If you ever make your way down to Columbia, it’s a great little shop with a nice selection of pens, ink, and paper.

Second, I took possession of and moved into the new offices of The Gentleman Stationer! Our operation has grown to the point where the business needs to begin moving out of our home. This isn’t a retail location - it will primarily serve as a space for me to work on administrative and content-related projects with a permanent setup - but at some point in the near future we will probably offer the option to pick up orders at the office. (We’re not quite there yet). Stay tuned for updates.

Finally, while the office move prevented me from attending this week’s Ohio Pen Show in Columbus, I will be going to pen club for Fountain Pen Day weekend! Those of you in the greater Nashville, Tennessee area (both residents and visitors!) should consider attending a meetup of the Middle Tennessee Fountain Pen Club. Meetings take place every Saturday at alternating locations. Details are available through the Facebook Group and/or a mailing list. (I’m not an admin - just a member - so please don’t rely on me to sign you up.)

View fullsize

In addition to adding office space, we recently had to lease a larger warehouse space to accommodate growth!

T.G.S. Fountain Pen Day Promotions and Giveaways

All T.G.S. Fountain Pen Day promotions from yesterday’s post will run through 11:59pm tomorrow. Starting today, we are also launching a giveaway of two Esterbrook x Fountain Pen Day pen sleeves (shown at the top), both in this year’s Magenta colorway! All you need to do to enter the giveaway is to comment on either this blog post or the ensuing Instagram post that will be up shortly. No purchase is necessary, and I will choose a winner by numbering all comments and selecting two winners using a random number generator. Each winner will also receive a full T.G.S. Swag Pack. Many thanks for all your support this Fountain Pen Day!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop, and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. Patreon members get exclusive access to meetups, periodic additional content, plus early access to my quarterly “Gently Used” sales. New items not claimed by Patreon members were recently added to the Gently Used page, which you can check out here.