(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)
(Apologies for the late recap - a pulled back muscle prevented me from finishing this last week. I must have pen showed too hard!)
It’s Wednesday afternoon after the 2025 San Francisco Pen Show and while I’m mostly recovered from all the shopping, eating, and late nights, my mind is still swirling around all the things I want to say about this year’s show. There is a lot that is similar from last year’s SF Show, so if some sentences/paragraphs look the similar, it’s not because I forgot to edit this but because they still applied this year and it didn’t make sense to rewrite it.
It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend for the 2025 San Francisco Pen Show.
Disclaimer: 2017 SF Pen Show was my first show, has been and still is my favorite show on the circuit. I’m also a member of the SF Pen Posse who volunteer at the show. This means that it is really difficult for me not to be biased but I promise to be as objective as I can.
This is the third year in a row where I didn’t work for any vendors at this show, which freed me up to do whatever, whenever, and however much I wanted. This is both awesome but extra dangerous for the wallet, lol.
Last year, there were about 130 vendors and this year the number grew to somewhere between 145-150. This doesn’t include some vendors where they shared their table - like Carolina Pen Company & Atelier Lusso, or White Bear Pens & Robs Pen Works, and others. Some vendors were moved to different spots this year to help with traffic/flow, and like last year, some of the classes/seminars were held in other parts of the Westin and Aloft hotels. Despite these efforts, more vendors and more attendees meant more crowding than last year. I have some thoughts on this, but first, let’s take a look at the vendors!
The San Francisco Pen Show continues to bring in a large number of international vendors, especially from Asia. There are vendors from Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and more. Many of these vendors don’t go to any other US shows. We also get folks from the other side of the pond like the UK, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Turkey, and India, to name a few. It is this variety that continues to attract both attendees and vendors to this show.
Tsai Han Shian (left) of Henry Wood Crafts and Ya-Ching Lai of Yaching Style traveled from Taiwan to attend the show for the first time!
Lucas Mahoney of Hanabi Glass Studio makes glass dip pens (and other glass items) in Yokohama, Japan. The glass dip pens start off with an Extra Fine line, and he can make them broader, or even make an “artist grind” where the line width changes as you rotate the nib!
Look at the stunning swirls in these Hanabi glass pens!
Glass Studio Toos had a table full of all sorts of glass dip pens.
Closeups from the Glass Studio Toos table.
More glass dip pens, this time it’s from Hong Kong-based Glassophy!
These urushi/raden pens from Koubou Setu are stunning, but they’ll set your wallet back a bit ($4K to almost $12k depending on model).
Maybe these urushi/raden boxes are more your budget?
Taizo Yamamoto-san setting up his tables on Thursday evening (hence the lack of chaos).
Yamamoto brought new Canopus paper to the show. This ended up being one of the big sellers at his table.
There were a lot of new and upcoming pen releases too.
Got to see the upcoming Pilot Custom 74 Lavender Fog - this is already causing quite a buzz because it’s gorgeous AND because of their special nib offerings (Soft Fine, Soft Fine Medium, Soft Medium, Double Broad)!
Here are the upcoming additions to the Parker Jotter Global Icons collection. I already have the bottom four, and can’t wait until they release Paris, Miami, London and Seoul!
Brian Hulser of Kenro Industries showing off the new Funky Town Esterbrook Esties.
They also launched their new collab with Bungubox - the Kingfisher!
Even though it is out of my budget, I had to get a closer look at the recently released Schon DSGN Monoc Evo Ocean Wave Guiloloche - it is stunning!
Last year, the show had nine nib workers at the show; this year, that number grew to 11!! In alphabetical order by first name, they are:
- Anabelle Hiller of Opus Cineris
- CY of Tokyo Station Pens and his apprentice, Tsubasa
- Damien Alomar of All in the Nib
- Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio
- Josh Lax of JJ Lax Pen Co
- Kirk Speer of Pen Realm
- Matthew Chen of Matt’s Nib Works
- Thomas Ang
- Yukio Nagahara of The Nib Shaper and his son, Takuma Nagahara
This list doesn’t include Audrey Matteson who does the grinds and tunes for Franklin-Christoph (though not doing any grinds at the show), or Salvatore Matrone of Leonardo Pens who also did nib work on Leonardo’s.
The Nib Grinder hallway where many of them were BUSY all weekend, including Damien Alomar of All in the Nib (foreground).
Speaking of Damien, he had a cool setup which allowed him to stand while grinding nibs.
Damien can see the nib and grinding wheel (down below) on his screen, and can also see me staring at him, lol.
It was great to see Yukio Nagahara (left) again (his last SF Show appearance was 2019) and this time he brought his son, Takuma Nagahara, who was also doing nib work!
An orange painted Kakuno with Yukio’s profile? Yes, please! (There were other painted Kakunos at his table, but this purchase was a no-brainer.)
Always wonderful to see Klarissa Maria and Salvatore Matrone of Leonardo Pens! I especially loved having our conversation in Italian - buying/using Italian pens helps fluency, right?!
Love this inky hands pic of the nib workers from the show! Left to right, front row: Damien Alomar, Matthew Chen, Thomas Ang. Back row, Yukio Nagahara, Takuma Nagahara, Tsubasa, CY, Anabelle Hiller, Gena Salorino, Audrey Matteson, Josh Lax, and Kirk Speer. (PC: PactaDad, aka Matthew Chen’s dad).
One suggestion for our nib grinders – please save some spots for walk-ins. Most folks don’t know anything about nib work or nib grinders, and wouldn’t have known to make an appointment weeks (or even months) in advance. I encouraged folks to try the testers so they know what they’d like to get in the future, but it’s like giving them a sample without the opportunity to eat. This would also allow them to get new customers instead of primarily repeat customers who know to get appointments.
Moving on to stationery!! In recent years, there have been more stationery vendors at the SF Pen Show and this year was no exception.
I managed to get a picture of Cindy Duong (right) of Sakura Dragon and husband Colin Tan Wei before the show opened - their table was packed with people for most of the show.
San Francisco-based Fog Cats made this awesome sticker (also available as a canvas bag) that really embodies how many of us feel about tariffs.
The Pinky Elephant Craft table before the masses came in. (PC: Pinky Elephant IG)
It’s the first time at the SF Pen Show for Amarillo Stationery! Can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of Erick Gama at the table, probably because it was busy all weekend! (PC: Amarillo IG)
Another “pre-mob” table shot - this time it’s Kubo and Lucy! (PC:Kubo & Lucy IG)
Some of the RiraRira Hanko products at the Paper Treats table. They also had a cute stamp that you can stamp in your journal or on their stamp sheet!
As with past years, there were plenty of free seminars and paid classes. I led a couple of free seminars on Pen Shows 101 & tour, and also taught two handwriting improvement classes. New for this year were Thursday events, which included paid classes, as well as free seminars and panel events. For example, PLOTTER held a “Behind The Scenes” seminar, Traveler’s Company hosted a panel and meetup, and Lisa Vanness hosted a panel discussion with several international vendors to talk about trends, insights, and more. Having some of these classes and panels before the show officially starts is a great way to (1) kick off the show for folks who are in town early, (2) fit more classes/seminars into the schedule, as there is demand from teachers and students alike, (3) and give some of the vendors an opportunity to present to and meet their customers without impacting their work during show hours.
PLOTTER showed a 20 minute Behind the Scene video of their trip to Japan and the flagship PLOTTER store. (PC: April Wu)
Traveler’s Company did a pre-event popup and hosted folks like Abbey Sy, littlelu, and others to share their Traveler’s Notebooks. (PC: April Wu)
Lisa Vanness (3rd from the left) hosted a panel which featured Naoyuki Takeuchi of Nagasawa (and his translator on the left), Daryl Lim of Atelier Musubi, Satoru of seY Pen Japan, and Yukio Nagahara (and his translator). (PC: Yuan Niu)
Naoyuki Takeuchi-san of Nagasawa leading a seminar about the inspiration behind their inks.
Selfie with the students from my “Elevate the Everyday: Improve your Handwriting” class.
I had so much fun teaching both classes!
The show hosted several meetups by the SF Pen Posse, Bay Area Planners, SF Stationery, and Cozy Stationery Friends, others. These were held at various times during and after show hours, making it possible for vendors to hang out too! Aside from meeting and hanging out with other enthusiasts, these meetups often combine destashing/rehoming, where folks give away products they no longer wanted and/or pick up some new-to-them stuff - all for free!
Local vendor JetPens hosted a Hobonichi preview event on Friday afternoon at the Aloft (across the parking lot from the Westin), which allowed pre-registered folks to check out their upcoming selection of Hobonichis. There was a line for stand-bys for folks who didn’t show up or if anyone left the event before their 30 minute slot. Here are some pics from that event:
A table of Hobonichi Weeks greets you as you enter the room.
Lots of covers!
More covers!
Tragen covers in A5 and A6.
Last year, one of the biggest gripes (aside from the crowds) was parking. The show bought out the hotel’s airport parking spots and also encouraged alternative transportation like public transportation (BART and Cal Train parking is less than a mile away), carpooling and Uber/Lyft/etc. Both of these efforts really helped the parking situation, but it’s a tough problem to solve when there are so many people coming to the show.
Now that I’ve given a taste of the show, let’s talk about the elephant in the room - crowding. The show was packed pretty much from the first minute of Friday All-Access at 8am til Saturday at closing. I mean, let’s be real, the lobby already had lines out the door BEFORE opening hours for All-Access or public hours! Sunday had larger crowds than is typical for Sunday at any show, including this one. I think the long Labor Day weekend may have contributed to the larger Sunday crowd, which was still a lot less crowded than either Friday or Saturday. It might be hard to tell from my photos because I tried to take vendor photos before the folks came in, or on Sunday when it was a little less crazy.
After last year’s registration/ticket line insanity, the show had multiple lines – (1) those who prepaid for the All-Access pass needed to check in and pick up their badges, (2) folks who needed to buy the passes, (3) once you were done with either line 1 or 2, you’d line up in the “entry line”. On Friday, this line was almost to the lobby before the 9 am All-Access time. On Saturday, this line went to the lobby, out the door towards the Aloft, around the curb and halfway around the Westin. Thankfully, as soon as it was 10 am (General Admission time), the line moved relatively quickly, though there is still quite the bottle neck at the show entrance tables.
Gary, Franz, & Froy are a few of the volunteers from the SF Pen Posse who were helping at the various ticketing tables.
This is the line just outside of the Westin lobby at 9:57am Saturday morning.
The line went around the corner to the metal wall and there were probably another 20 people in that little nook.
The main hallway was already pretty crowded at 9am on Friday morning - most of these folks are only All-Access pass holders along with some vendors who were finishing their setup or doing their own early morning shopping.
Pinky Elephant released several show exclusives which resulted in quite the line (we’re talking Toyooka Craft 2022/23 levels, IYKYK), going out the room, and looping around the ink testing stations, and unfortunately blocking many of the vendors.
Me at the end of the Pinky Elephant line at 10:03 AM on Friday.
The folks on the left of the ink stations were also part of the Pinky Elephant line.
Shortly after I arrived at the end of the line, they handed out numbered business cards, and asked folks to come back periodically to check where they were in line. I was number 48, and I think they were maybe in the single digits or low teens at this point. I returned two more times before I was able to make my purchase at 10:48am. I’m very glad they realized the impact of the long lines and quickly pivoted to make the shopping experience a little easier.
As part of Pen Shows 101, I did a tour of the show floor so that folks could see the lay of the land and know that there are hallways and side rooms, in addition to the main ballroom. Last year, I was able to lead folks around the show floor, but this year, it was hard enough for me to walk around solo, let alone lead a group of people through the show, and talking at a reasonable volume was next to impossible.
One of the smaller rooms near the ink testing stations - you can see how crowded it was in this room.
This is the show’s third year at this hotel and while the crowding was even more of an issue this year than last, I do appreciate the effort that the organizers put in to (1) find new ways to fit more vendors who are banging down their door, (2) move folks around to improve traffic flow, (3) while also trying to placate existing vendors who want to stay in their spots, and (4) make it work for attendees who just wanna be able to wander the show and blow their budgets. These are tough problems for any show to handle, but especially one that seems to have far outgrown the hotel that they have a multi-year contract with. I know it’s hard to tell because it was so crowded, but here are some of the things they did new or differently this year:
- Electronic ticketing streamlined the pickup process - Verifying passes via Ticket Tailor was easier than requiring people to pull up their PayPal email, etc.
- Thursday All-Access pass pickup - In addition to the panels/seminars/classes on Thursday, the show allowed folks to pick up their passes on Thursday, which made the line a little shorter on Friday morning. There was some confusion around pickup times as it wasn’t previously announced - something to work on for next year.
- Multiple lines for registration & check-in was faster than a single line last year
- Encouraged attendees, especially local ones, to carpool, take public transit, etc. to help with parking.
- Bought out the hotel’s park and ride spots to free up additional parking.
- Moved some high traffic vendors to other locations - most notably PLOTTER from the ballroom to the end of the first hallway, Toyooka Craft from the hallway to further down the main hallway by the nib worker alley, and Vanness Pens to one of the smaller rooms.
Traveler’s Company along with PLOTTER (pic below) worked with the show organizers to be put in the end of one of the hallways to minimize traffic disruption.
The PLOTTER tables were next to Traveler’s Company. When it got congested, April (right) diverted traffic to prevent blocking other vendors.
Michelle Malizaki helped Toru Yamazaki-san at the Toyooka Craft tables, which made pickup and sales more efficient than when he was solo.
Joe Crace, aka The Gentleman Stationer, was at the Vanness Pens table all weekend - here he is showing me the A5 Roterfaden.
Meltem, who does the nib grinds for Galen Leather, brought lots of their products to the Vanness Pens table!
Here are some ideas that might further help the crowding situation:
- Increase the single day fee, especially for Saturday - The single day pass costs $10, $15 for both Saturday and Sunday, making it an inexpensive option for folks to bring their friends/family. I know we all want to penable them, but I also heard from folks that their friends/family weren’t interested in pens or stationery but came anyway because they were dragged along. Having a slightly higher rate might dissuade those folks from tagging along. I spoke with several vendors who have also attended bigger convention center-style shows where the day pass costs at least $25 if not more. And for a show of this size and diversity of vendors, a $20 day pass is not at all unreasonable.
- San Francisco Stationery Fest (SFSF) - The SF Pen Show organizers are putting on a Stationery Fest at the same hotel in March of 2026, which will be quite different from the pen show. Just as there are plenty of pen folks who have no desire to get into stickers, washi, and journaling, there are plenty of stationery folks who aren’t particularly interested in fountain pens. I think it would draw a fair number of the “stationery-only” fans away from the pen show since they will have their own event in the spring. It has the potential to free up some vendor spots for those on the waiting list too. The Pen Show will continue to have stationery vendors and the Stationery Fest will have pen vendors too – this is good news for those like me who are both pen and stationery lovers, now there will now be two local shows to spend money at!
- Vendors should prepare for long lines at their tables - a number system can be effective in minimizing congestion or blocking other tables, while also allowing your customers to do other shopping while they wait. Toyooka Craft did an excellent job with this last year and again this year. And it worked well when Pinky Elephant did this late Friday morning after having a 50 person queue blocking other tables.
A few things that attendees could do to make things better:
- Bring slim bags to the show - Backpacks and other large bags take up a lot of aisle room, especially when bending over. And if you do have a big bag cuz maybe you shopped a lot already, put it down ON your feet because it takes up less room and you’re less likely to walk away without it. Or put stuff in the trunk of your car (never have anything visible in your car).
- Be mindful of your furry friends
- Consider bringing them on Sunday, when the show is traditionally less crowded. I saw folks almost tripping on dogs, or worse, stepping on paws.
- Big backpacks and strollers for your pups are best saved for Sunday as well - the show is already very crowded, and it’s probably not the greatest experience for them either.
This kind birb owner brought their birb (and backpack) on Sunday when it was less crowded.
- Be aware of your surroundings
- Make sure you’re not blocking the aisle, don’t stop abruptly, or back up without looking. It’s easy to trip and step on feet/bags/etc.
- If there are folks trying to look at stuff or buy products, maybe that’s not the time to wedge your way in to stamp your journal. Ditto for folks shoving their scavenger hunt cards to busy vendors. Be patient, wait until it’s your turn, etc.
- If it’s busy (and it’s almost always busy), save the chit-chat for later. Vendors love to chat with you but they also want to take care of customers who are waiting to ask questions or make purchases.
- Use the Starbucks app (esp if you’re a vendor) - Instead of standing in line to order, or waiting around for your order, save yourself some precious shopping/selling/resting time by ordering coffee/snacks via the app. It was much easier and faster to order via the app and be notified when your order is ready, instead of waiting in line.
Ok, enough about that, let’s move on to my favorite parts of the SF Pen Show!
I always love seeing Odin, the SF Pen Show mascot! He’s the best!
My dog, Bungee (English Cream Golden Retriever), made it to the show on Sunday afternoon and got lots of attention! This time she got to meet Klarissa and Erick, Judy of Tokubetsumemori squealed when she saw Bungee (no, she is not choking her, lol) and Bungee always smiles when Audrey Matteson gives her hugs!
We all know that one of my favorite parts about pen shows is what happens AFTER show hours!
It was “only” 1am Friday night (or is that Saturday morning) when I decided to call it a night.
The SF Pen Posse hosted a casual after-hours hangout on Saturday night. As usual, there were more people that came than pictured, since I didn’t think about taking a picture until after 11pm, oops, lol.
After hanging out at the Posse meetup, I headed across the parking lot to the Aloft and spent some more time with pen friends.
This show is always extra dangerous for my wallet because of all of the amazing vendors but also because of its proximity to my birthday. It is always held over the last full weekend of August, and this year it was a mere week and change before my birthday so I might have gone a little overboard.
Roughly clockwise from upper left - Stickers/postcards from A Thousand Words, inserts, Tag Stationery ink set, and stamp from Pinky Elephant, washi tape from Enigma Stationery and InkyConverters, stickers and stamps from Everyday Explorers, Hachimonjiya, Paper Treats, and Sakura Dragon.
Patches and stickers from Fog Cats, stickers and postcards from Tokubetsumemori, more stickers from Sakura Dragon, washi tape, stamp and stickers from Kubo & Lucy.
Rickshaw x Sakura Dragon pouch, ink bottle trays from Toyooka Craft, Eclipse clips from Esterbrook, clear stamps from Everyday Explorers, and SF show pin, sticker and bag.
Inks – Colorverse Wildflower inks, Dark Skies of Black Mesa, and San Francisco Fog (2025 show ink), sample of Platinum Chou Kuro, Kobe City Museum Gray, Bitter Chocolate, Chapel Oak, Kitano Antique Sepia, two inks from Hachimonjiya and one from Yaching Style.
Paper - Nebula Casual Note, pocket & A5 show notebooks from Curnow Bookbinder & Leather, SF notebook from The Pleasure of Writing, paper, notebook and jotter from Yamamoto Paper, Iroful Bible-size refill from Vanness Pens, Takegami Bamboo notebook from Musubi, Life notebook from Hachimonjiya, and a free bookmark from The Friends of Calligraphy.
Pens - painted Kakunos (top), Pilot 743 Verdigris, Visconti Comedia Virgilio, Franklin-Christoph new model Pocket 45 and 45, Leonardo Momento Zero and Magico, TWSBI 580 ALR Affogato, Michaels Fat Boy purple ballpoint and stand (don’t worry, I’ll replace the refill with a rollerball, lol).
And last, but not least, this adorable plushie Odin from InkyConverters - no plushies were harmed in the making of this photo, but Bungee absolutely would’ve destroyed it if I let her!
Just a few of the friends I managed to take a selfie with. This is the real pen show haul ♥️
I couldn’t tear myself away from the show - this is Monday afternoon with pen friends, Cheryl Ball, Franz Dimson, Jeremy Saumere, and Leo Carney (with the selfie skills). At the end of the day, at the end of a pen show, it’s the people that make pen shows so special.
Every year, I say that I had a blast at the SF Pen Show and my 8th SF show is no different. Every year, I say I’ll go to bed earlier and every year, I lie (I have a fuzzy picture of my watch at 3:43 am Monday morning if you need proof). The show isn’t perfect, there are still issues to sort out, the biggest of which is the crowding - but it is still my favorite show by far. So many people from near and far, making new friends and enjoying old friendships, so many hugs, so many smiles.
Whether you’re the organizers (BIGGEST THANK YOU), vendors, helpers, attendees, friends, or a pup, thank you for giving me the best weekend ever! I’m sad to say that the SF Pen Show is a wrap, but all good things must come to an end. I’m still recovering for far too little sleep but am looking forward to the Dallas Pen Show in a couple of weeks. Until then, stay safe and stay inky!
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