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.

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.

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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!

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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.

2024 D.C. Pen Show: Friday Report! (Plus Directions to Our Table)

Greetings from the 2024 Washington D.C. Fountain Pen Supershow! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this year’s show, mainly because I’ve been tied up with the move to our new shop and all that entails, but also because the past few post-Pandemic D.C. Pen Shows have felt “off” in terms of traffic. Fridays have been somewhat slow, with fewer weekend pass-holders making a full weekend of the experience and the main rush deferred until Saturday. Yesterday, however, was easily the busiest I have seen the D.C. Pen Show since 2019. The hotel is completely booked with a packed restaurant and bar, so apparently many out-of-towners decided to fly or drive in to attend the show.

It’s 4:00pm, so that means a raffle drawing at the Pilot Pens table. This is a scene I haven’t seen in years.

The 2024 show spans three hotel ballrooms, building on last year’s expansion in terms of the number of vendors and amount of sheer space the show is occupying in the hotel. Because there are three major pen shows taking place in the U.S. this August (the D.C. Pen Show, Stationery Fest in New York City, and the San Francisco Pen Show), many international vendors have decided to make a full month of it and are staying over to hit all three. If you can make it to any of these shows, there’s a deep roster of Japanese and European vendors present, including Opus 88 from Taiwan, who I don’t believe I’ve ever seen at a show before! There are also 8 different nib grinders.

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Don’t miss out on the fun in the Vanness Pens Lounge, where there’s a rotating cast of characters holding classes on everything from ink swatching to folded nibs to my own presentation on notebook systems! Yesterday I hung out for a while at the tail end of the show

If I’ve heard one complaint from attendees, it’s that the show has become more difficult to navigate as it’s grown. This year, the organizers posted a QR Code with a link to an interactive map, though even that hasn’t seemed to help much. Part of the fun of a pen show is wandering for three days and discovering new things, but if you’re an attendee with limited time, you do need to an easier way to find specific tables. One thing I’ll be contemplating in my post-show recap is whether the D.C. Pen Show has, in fact, grown too big. At a minimum, it seems to have outgrown it’s current location.

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Come Visit Our Table: Where We’re Located!

We are sharing table space with our friends at Vanness Pens this year, so you can find us next to Matthew’s Nib Works (Matthew Chen) in the front hallway. Whenever I attend a pen show, I try to bring brands that won’t also be found at a dozen different tables at the show. This year, I chose to bring Lochby cases (which are always a favorite at pen shows - lots of attendees end up needing additional storage to take pens home!), and Roterfaden, which I’ve never brought to a show before and has received a lot of interest. Taschenbegleiter systems are a bit of an investment, and it’s often helpful to be able to view and handle them in person before making a final decision on whether it will work for you. We also have Anterique Brass Ballpoints and Multi Pens from Uni and Pilot, which lots of attendees have been surprised to discover since it’s not something you typically see at any U.S. pen show. While Friday was busy, we brought plenty of stock so track us down!

If you can’t visit us at the show, you can still join in the pen show fun by using the coupon code “PENSHOW10” at checkout for 10% off most shop orders, good through Sunday evening!

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

It's Live! Check Out Our New Curated Pencils Page in the Shop!

I’m really not sure how I found the time to do this at the California Pen Show, but you can now shop all pencils and pencil accessories on their own dedicated shop page. This will allow us to better organize our pencil offerings (both wood and mechanical) by category, and also gives us the space to expand one of my favorite categories of stationery. We recently added several different variations on the Uni Kuru-Toga mechanical pencil, Uni 4B and 6B Penmanship Pencils, and the excellent Uni KH-20 Long-Point Pencil Sharpener. Stay tuned as there will be more arriving soon.

A Panoramic Shot of the Main Ballroom on Friday (Plus some weird guy on the right who tried to ruin the picture.) :)

As for now, I’m off to Saturday at the the California Pen Show! I’ll be helping out behind the Schon DSGN and Hinze Pens Tables, so be sure to come and say hello!

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

Philadelphia Pen Show: The Short Show Recap

Well, the “Short Show” for me, because I’m headed back home today after a quick stopover at the Philly Pen Show on Saturday! The show continues for two more days, however, running through Sunday afternoon. Philly is a smaller show, and it offers an excellent opportunity to meet with vendors, makers, and distributors in-person, in a much less stressful environment than the chaos that can be the larger shows of D.C. and San Francisco.

If you’re in the area, there’s much to see. Franklin-Christoph (a show sponsor and organizer) brought multiple show special pens plus an ink. They also have some of their new Model 31 Pens, including unique materials paired with brass and chrome sections.

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Franklin-Christoph Model 31 pens alongside their new .7mm mechanical pencil.

Of course, for their home show, Schon DSGN brought something special. This yet-to-be named larger Ultem fountain pen features a textured anodized overlay, and as of Friday afternoon there were only a handful left. This pen is similar to their D.C. Pen Show special release, omitting the clip. I now have to decide between one of the Franklin-Christoph’s and one of these for the single pen I’m allowing myself this weekend.

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On Friday I spent much of the day hanging out behind the Hinze Pens table, working on potential follow-ups to last summer’s collaboration, so stay tuned. (Let’s just say I spent a lot of time with these Micarta Pocket pens….)

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I didn’t realize that Micarta came in such wild colors.

Come Say Hello in Philly, and Don’t Forget Our Show Promotional Discount!

If you’re at the show, I’ll be at the Hinze Pens Table until just after lunch, when I have to head back to the airport. Please stop by and say hello! I have T.G.S. buttons and pins available for everyone. Also, if you can’t make the show, remember that it’s a pen show weekend so we’re offering 10% off most brands (excluding TWSBI, Roterfaden, and a couple others) using the coupon code “PENSHOW10” at checkout. We’ve recently restocked on a number of brands after the New Year so please be sure to visit the shop. We greatly appreciate your support!

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 greatly appreciate your support!