San Francisco Pen Show Saturday Update: Come See Us If You Can Fight Through the Crowds!

Greetings from San Francisco! We’re tucked into Oak Room, which is straight down the entrance hall, all the way to the back on the left. We’re sharing table space with our friends at Vanness Pens and Galen Leather, so please do come see us.

San Francisco is one of the busiest pen shows I’ve attended in years. Please take it slow, be patient and kind, and accept up front that things are selling out very, very quickly so you may have to hunt for some of the more unique items. Regardless of whether you can purchase on site, there’s still a LOT of fun stuff to see because many vendors have demos, like the Drillog table shown above.

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Hmmm.

If you’re looking for a Roterfaden TGS_25 at the show, those unfortunately sold out in a few hours on Friday morning, but there is very limited stock still available online. (I’m posting this link here at the request of several show attendees so people know exactly where to go.)

Please note that our Nashville Shop is closed today due to travel, and will reopen next week. Updated hours can be found here.

Thursday Drops: Labor Day Weekend Arrivals from Roterfaden and TWSBI, Plus More Correspondence Cards!

It’s San Francisco Pen Show Week, and I’m super excited because the San Francisco Show is always one of my favorite annual events. I unfortunately had to miss last year’s festivities, but I’ll be set up in the Oak Room sharing table space with Vanness Pens and Galen Leather! Note that we don’t have a full show setup, just Roterfaden, including a handful of the TGS_25 A5 Slim Binders. Be sure to come by early on Friday if you’re looking to pick one up in person, but the easiest way to be sure that you get one is to order online. Over half of this shipment has sold within 24 hours of being made available for purchase, and while I expect it to slow down some, I can’t guarantee that anything will be available through the weekend. I’ve also brought a fairly large selection of Roterfaden A5 Taschenbegleiters with me, and I’ve split the stock so that most of these will remain available for online purchase as well as in-person in San Francisco.

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If you miss out on the stock available at the table in San Francisco, I will have my personal Roterfadens available for attendees to check out in person.

We also have the new TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Affogato, which pairs a deep brown expresso finish with TWSBI’s Onyx Trim, as well as a restock of the Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen, Lamy Dark Dusk AL-Stars, and Well-Appointed Desk Letterpress notepads in new designs. Happy Shopping!

Please note that our Nashville Brick-and-Mortar Store is closed this weekend due to Pen Show Travels. Thanks to everyone who came by for special hours on Tuesday. We will reopen the week of 9/2 for normal hours, and online orders will continue to ship in the normal 2-3 business day time frame. Kindly remember that Monday is Labor Day, which is a business/postal holiday.

1. Roterfaden TGS_25 Special Edition Restock. The second round of our collaboration with Roterfaden has arrived and is now available for purchase! This A5 Slim Taschenbegleiter fits most Traveler’s Standard refills, as well as the Lochby Voyager notebooks that contain 68g Tomoe River.

2. Roterfaden Replacement Elastics. Many of you who are interested in the TGS_25 expressed interest in replacement elastic bands. These thinner bands will fit A5 and B6 Taschenbegleiters, and are sold in two color sets each containing three different cords.

3. TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Affogato with Onyx Fountain Pen. The latest release from TWSBI’s “Breakfast Collection” has arrived, and this one is a stunner, pairing espresso-colored anodized trim with the black onyx plating.

4. Lamy Safari Multi Color Special Editions. The latest Lamy Special Edition release features an All-Black and All-White gloss Safari, paired with a multi colored finial and swappable bands that you can use to customize your pen. (I went with the All Black Safari and paired it with a Saffron/Orange band, which looks amazing.)

5. Pilot Custom 823 Fountain Pens. At long last, we received a restock of the Pilot Custom 823 in Amber and Smoke. Between the three available colors, we have most nib sizes available.

6. Lamy “Dark Dusk” and “Mint” AL-Star Fountain Pens. Our allocation of the Dark Dusk fountain pens sold out nearly immediately and I had to reorder. While the midnight blue Dark Dusk has been the most popular by far, the cool green “Mint” pen should also prove popular.

7. Uni Signo RT1 Gel Pens. The RT1 is Uni’s upgraded retractable gel pen that features its signature fine tips but with a soft textured barrel that’s comfortable to hold. Ink is vibrant and dries quickly.

8. Yamamoto Ro-Biki Canvas Cover in Mint. The Ro-Biki notebook system uses another “A5 slim” style refill that’s slightly narrower than standard Traveler’s/TN. We have the Ro-Biki canvas cover available in a new Mint Green. To see how this system works, check out this YouTube video where I do a walkthrough demonstration.

9. Well-Appointed Desk Memo Pads. These letterpress memo pads from the Well-Appointed Desk/Skylab Letterpress now come in additional designs, including the popular “Side Quests” and all T-Rex/Velociraptor motifs.

10. Well-Appointed Desk and Skylab Letterpress Greeting Cards. As noted above, we continue to build out our correspondence and greeting card offerings in their own shop page. These vintage-inspired greeting cards are available individually or as an assorted pack of four, with one of each design.

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Summer Pen Show Schedule and D.C. and San Francisco Pen Show Details

The August Pen Show Season is almost upon us! First up is the 2025 D.C. Pen Show, which will take place at the Marriott Fairview Park in Falls Church, Virginia. We will be attending, and while our final setup is yet to be determined, we will either be sharing table space with our friends at Vanness Pens and/or set up in the Pen Lounge downstairs, where I plan to hold my workshop on Notebook Systems once daily on Friday (4pm), Saturday (3:30pm), and Sunday (12pm). The DC Seminar Schedule is a bit disorganized and hard to follow, and does not currently reflect these classes, but will be updated soon.

For those who visited the D.C. Pen Show last year, you may remember the Vanness Pen Lounge as a downstairs “oasis” where you can get off your feet around a table to visit with friends, and catch a class or workshop in a more informal format. It will be open Friday-Sunday, from open until close.

The San Francisco Pen Show will follow from August 29-31, and while I currently plan to be there, my current schedule and location is TBD. I want to spend at least part of that show as a pure attendee. Stay tuned for additional details around mid-August.

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Can I Order Items from the Shop to Pick Up in D.C. or San Francisco?

D.C., yes. San Francisco, possibly but I’m not sure yet. The difference is that I’m driving to D.C., whereas I have to fly to San Francisco. (I’m also attending the San Francisco Pen Show mostly as an attendee, and therefore won’t have a regular table or easy place to store any stuff.) Details on D.C. Pen Show Orders can be found in this week’s Thursday Drops post, but the short version is to use the coupon code “DCPICKUP” at checkout to drop the shipping charge. Orders not collected at the show that do not qualify for free shipping ($75+) will be assessed a separate shipping charge. I will be mostly set up in the Vanness Pen Lounge (downstairs) for the weekend, and my stock will heavily feature notebook systems and accessories (i.e., Roterfaden, Lochby, Traveler’s Company). I do intend to bring most of my current Roterfaden stock to D.C., so if you have been waiting on a specific piece, I would encourage you to visit the store or purchase in advance. The status of the current trade situation will likely influence the timing of any further restock.

Pen Show and Shop Schedule for August

Please pay close attention to posted in-person shop hours for the month of August, as they will be somewhat irregular due to travel.

• Thursday, July 31 through Sunday, August 3: D.C. Pen Show. We will have special in-person store hours in Nashville the week of July 28, and possibly add a day next week, to make up for the fact that we will be closed that weekend.

• Thursday August 28 through Sunday, August 31: San Francisco Pen Show. We will plan to have special in-person store hours in Nashville the week of the show, since we won’t be in town that weekend.

• Otherwise, the T.G.S. storefront should be operating per our normal business hours, Thursday and Friday 1pm-6pm and Saturday from 10am-6pm. We may add an extra afternoon (probably Wednesday) on weeks in August due to the pen show schedule.

Just a reminder that our shop is closed today (Saturday, 7/19) since we are on our last day of travel. Normal hours will resume next week and we are back on a normal shipping schedule. Don’t forget to take advantage of the current promotion, with 10% off most bottled inks and refills using the coupon code “INKYVACAY” at checkout!