(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!.)
Can’t believe this is going to be my 5th recap (2022-26!!) of the Baltimore Pen Show (BWI) since writing for The Pen Addict. That means it is going to sound a bit like last year’s but not quite. Here’s last year’s recap if you need a refresher. After last year’s shows, and this year’s Philly and CA Pen Shows, Baltimore is no longer my second favorite show (after SF, of course). I haven’t yet figured out where it falls in my lineup of shows. Let’s get started and maybe I’ll figure out the answer before the end of this recap.
With the show being held in the middle of March, the weather isn’t always cooperative - some years there’s sideways rain or snow, but this time, the weather was fine - it was cloudy when I got in on Thursday morning but it was pleasant the rest of the weekend.
VIP bag for the Baltimore Pen Show.
BWI has a layout similar to the California Pen Show, where you enter in one hallway, turn the corner and go all the way down to enter the main ballroom at the far end. BWI also had a smaller “side room” which had ~20 tables. There is only one set of open doors to the main ballroom entrance, but multiple ways of leaving (like near the exit doors next to the Franklin-Christoph table, where I was this past weekend). See the interactive map to see the layout and where vendors were located. If you’re a show owner and you want an interactive map like this, check out Pen Show Maps, or reach out to Alex K for more info.
Let’s start with the hallway. Not pictured were folks like Schon Dsgn and Luxury Brands of America (no drama, I’m trying not to take pictures of the same folks all the time), as well two of the nib grinders, Damien Alomar and Josh Lax.
Lucas Barrett was repping Ranga Pens, one of several vendors located in the hallway. He moved to the side room on Sunday because it had better light. (Yes, it’s the hallway light, not my crappy photography skills!)
Jeanne of Jeanne’s Ohana Designs had her lovely stationery and writing kits on her hallway table.
Those lights (and cameras), make it irresistible to walk away from those gorgeous pens. Here’s Chris Henline of Truphae selling a pen to Jason.
Look at all that Nagasawa eye candy that was at the Truphae table! So many binders, so many pretties!
The side room was easy to miss because it’s not a very big room, and most of the hallway vendors were situated on the left side, while the room was on the right.
Saturday midday view of the side room. This room was even quieter on Friday.
Located in the side room, Allie Ozga of alliinthealley made these incredible pieces out of wild clay!
The Fouche sisters of adopt a pals had all of these awsesome 3D-printed dragons, wyverns, squids, etc.!
Florida-based artist, Abdiel Acosta, makes beautiful art with fountain pens and ink, as well as these gorgeous pen rests (I won during one of the Bossman’s streams a couple years ago)!
It was Brooklyn-based inkii’s first time at BWI - here she is prepping her “cannoli” leather/chamois goods!
After checking out the side room and the hallway vendors, make your way to the main ballroom and that’s where a majority of the vendors and attendees are.
Andrea and Brian Gray of Edison Pens was just inside the main ballroom entrance. They brought their array of beautiful pens in different sizes and filling mechanisms.
Michael (left) and Larry Dromgoole brought a wide variety of pens, inks, and paper, including some fancy ones behind the glass.
Edison Pens was at the diagonally opposite side of the ballroom from Franklin-Christoph, so it took a while for folks to make their way over to us.
View from the Franklin-Christoph table in the early afternoon.
I took this and the next picture while standing in the middle of the ballroom looking on opposite ends of the room. This is facing the “back”, closest to the ballroom entrance.
This is facing the “front”, where the exit doors were. There was a decent amount of attendees on Saturday.
Ross, (foreground left) of Yafa Brands, was one of several distributors at the show.
Look at the newly released Diplomat Black Forest Aero, “an aluminum pen body with wood-inspired surface”. Diplomat is one of several brands that Yafa distributes. I heard they sold out of that pretty quickly!
Baltimore locals Evan and Julian Rosenberg of Penquisition have so many fun and colorful pen accessories, pen cases from Rickshaw, 3D-printed fidgets and pen rests, and more!
Stick a pen in the horse pen stand and it becomes a unicorn!
Look at these urushi beauties from Seypen! So many of them sold out before I realized he was here!
Jonathon Brooks and his “trademark” throw-em-on-the-table aesthetic, while Fountain Telling’s pens, made by daughter Kristen, are neatly displayed. They’re gorgeous either way! (Due to a family emergency, Kristen wasn’t able to make it to the show. Hope everything’s ok!)
Paul Erano (right, standing behind the guy bending over the table) is my “Pen Show Dad” and the Grand Poobah of the Black Pen Society. He is also a long term vintage dealer, the creator of the Fountain Pen Journal, and author of Fountain Pens: Past and Present. If you’re looking for or curious about vintage pens, he’s a good place to start - tell him I sent ya!
Congrats to Lauren Elliott on the Lucky Star’s 6th anniversary! Check out the unboxing video of their collaboration with Franklin-Christoph!
Jon from Lincoln’s Leather wrapped his beard in the same leather as that notebook cover!
More covers and pens from Lincoln’s Leather.
My favoritest things that Lincoln’s Leather makes, isn’t even leather, but these water bottles with engraved fountain pen designs. I’ve been carrying the one I bought last year to all the shows!
Justin Zucker of Kenro Industries showing off some of the Esterbrook prototypes on Saturday morning!
In 2024, there were 7 nib workers at the show and in 2025, it was down to 5 (6, if you include F-C’s in-house nib specialist, Audrey Matteson). This year was also 5, but last year Richard didn’t make it, but Gena did. This year, Gena didn’t attend, but Richard did. I think they didn’t seem to be as swamped as in years past - maybe due to more first timers at the show?
- Damien Alomar of All in the Nib
- Richard Binder of Richard’s Pens
- Linda Kennedy of Indy-Pen-Dance
- Joshua Lax of JJ Lax Pen Co
- Kirk Speer of Pen Realm
Linda (left) and Mike Kennedy of Indy-Pen-Dance doing nib grinds and pen repairs, respectively.
I didn’t take as many selfies as I often do - probably because I took so many at CAPS two weeks ago (holy crap, was that just two weeks ago? No wonder I’m so tired!).
I got a selfie with the President! The President of Fahrney’s, Drew Brown, that is! I only managed a quick hello where I gave him a cute corgi pen from Legami.
So glad I got to see Bryant, aka “That Journaling Guy” on IG/YT! He’s down to earth and super fun to chat with!
Random thoughts…and some gripes:
- Free Airport/Hotel Shuttle - Runs every 20 minutes for a bulk of the day and night. Super convenient, fast and free.
- Book hotel early - The hotel sells out fast, so book your room early next year. The hotel was booked months in advance! If the room block sells out, you can book a refundable room and let Bert know and he can get it changed to the room block rate. There are also other inexpensive options that are very close to the show hotel.
- Parking lot fills up - This show doesn’t have the largest of parking lots, so people had a hard time finding parking. If you can, carpool. If you can’t, come early and prepare to park at other hotel lots nearby. If you’re staying at the hotel, it might be worth getting a Lyft/Uber to dinner so you can keep your parking spot.
- Lots of classes/seminars/events - I love that this show has a lot of classes and seminars (both paid and free) including Fountain Pens 101 (Pen Boutique), Sheaffer Snorkels (Nick Mastricola), Transformative Creative Journaling (LaQuisha Hall), and Pilot Parallel Flourishing and Frames (Dyuti Gayatri). I also taught my handwriting improvement class on Friday and Saturday. “Pen Shows After Dark: Vintage edition” was held on Friday night to spread the love of vintage pens. On Saturday night, there were raffles and giveaways during Pen Shows After Dark. My date with the treadmill meant I was too tired and hungry to take photos, but I heard the cheers!
- Too little, too late - I want to make it very clear that this next section isn’t about me. It’s about all of the vendors. I’m just using myself as an example since I was an instructor. Vendors have paid good money for tables and travel/hotel and they have to be able to recoup their expenses, and they can’t do that, if the show isn’t marketed well.
- Emails - This is what I wrote in last year’s recap: “Last year (2024), I commented on the deluge of emails in the weeks and days leading up to and throughout the show weekend. This year, it was the complete opposite. From August 2024 to March 5, I got a total of 4 emails, compared to at least 12 emails for BWIPS 2024. People aren’t going to the show if they don’t know that it’s coming up.”
- It was worse this year. Aside from an email that I got as a past class instructor in early January, the first email about the show this year was sent on March 1 - a mere 5 days before the show. That email only showed classes and seminars for Friday, March 5th, along with a link to the Friday events and show ticket purchases. The second email, sent on Thursday, the day before the show starts, again, only listed Friday classes/events and a link to an interactive map. The third and final email, finally listing Saturday classes/events, was sent on Friday night/Saturday morning.
Website needs significant work - More is not necessarily better, and the show website is an example of that. It is one of the most cluttered and confusing sites to navigate. There are too many graphics, banners, videos, etc. that are way too large and distracting. I’d take a simple website any day, over one that I can’t figure out, especially on mobile. For example, you can’t find the menu unless you scroll past the class/seminar marquee, the huge ticket sales banner graphic, another huge video graphic on “how to find our show”. There are also two menus and only one of them has vendor listings, and if you’re on mobile, the menus are collapsed, making them practically invisible. Once you find the vendor list, it’s hard to figure out who is coming because they are listed randomly, making it hard to find out if your favorite vendors are attending. And like I said last year, there is also no contact information or links for vendors either. Many of the navigation issues I brought up last year continue to be issues this year. Take a look at some of the pictures from last year’s recap to see what I’m talking about. Or just navigate the show website to see what I mean.
What Social Media? - The first Instagram post for BWIPS 2026 was on January 19, looking for seminar and workshop hosts/instructors, and then nothing until March 4, two days before the show (just like last year). That’s it for Instagram (I am not counting posts made by others, which tagged the show’s account as a collaborator). That’s it, two Instagram posts. They shared some vendors’ posts as IG stories a couple days before the show, but didn’t create any of their own content or vendor spotlights in their own account. There were some more posts on Facebook, but most of them were (1) in the show’s own FB group, and (2) were FB events created for the classes/seminars. I didn’t start seeing the show posting in any other fountain pen groups on Facebook until a couple days before the show. It’s hard to say how much impact this had on attendance, but social media helps get everyone excited for the show, and makes vendors feel appreciated and that they are getting publicity from the show. Posts can easily be shared by vendors and attendees, which greatly extends their own follower reach. Can’t share what isn’t posted though (sad trombone).
My screenshot of this IG story was taken around noon on Thursday, March 5th and it had been up for 23 hours, which meant it had been posted on Wednesday, 2 days before the show. A bit late if you want to hype up the show.
- Classes/Seminars/Events publicized too late - My class was finalized around the end of January (which is a huge improvement from last year), and made it to the website in early February, but given the lack of emails and social media until a day or two prior, there wasn’t any publicity about the show if folks didn’t check the website. I made my own IG post and also shared other teachers’ posts. I spoke with a few instructors who were wondering whether they would get enough students to make it worth the effort and expense. It’s disheartening to see single digit signups in the weeks leading up to the show, even if there were more signups the closer we got to the show. I don’t think their “After Dark” sessions were posted on the website until a few days before the show.
Despite the website challenges and lack of show promotion, I had an amazing time teaching classes on Friday and Saturday!
The Saturday class really brought the energy! Being able to banter with my friend, Shahriar, made it even more fun!
- Pen show flow - It is not easy to figure out where to put vendors, especially when there are poorly lit hallways (not the show’s fault) or side rooms that often get overlooked because people want to go to the ballroom. I think they’ve tried to rope off part of the hallway to force people to the side room but that wasn’t a viable option due to safety concerns. I don’t have an answer to this dilemma, other than to mention that it’s in your best interest, as an attendee, to check out all the rooms, aisles, and hallways as you may be missing some cool stuff.
Despite the lack of show and vendor promotion, there were a lot more attendees than I expected. It was significantly more than last year’s show, where DOGE and looming political/economic unrest kept people away from the show and folks limited their purchases. While Saturday was the busiest of the 3 show days, the show was never super cramped or crowded since the aisles are nice and wide.
If you are an attendee, this is still a great show for both newer and veteran pen fanatics alike. I think I’ve been saying this for at least the past two years, but every show I am greeted with more folks who are newer to the hobby and attending their first show. Aside from the wide variety of pens, both modern and vintage, like past years, there’s no shortage of inks, paper, cards, ephemeral, even ceramics, 3-D printed items and my favorite, chocolate!
It is always interesting to talk with other vendors to see what they thought of at day’s end. While a few vendors had a really good show, most of the vendors I spoke with, did “alright” to “not great” on Friday and Saturday, and it was relatively chill on Sunday, which is common for many shows. Vendors started packing up early on Sunday, which was unfortunate. Maybe early departure folks should get dropped in priority for tables the next year? Based on the vendors I spoke with, it seemed like vendors who sold accessories and lower ticket items (inks, paper, stickers, etc.) had a really good show, while those with $200+ price tags did not have a good show. Given the lack of promotion (and I’m not the only one who felt this way), I don’t know what that means for their return next year.
2:30 PM on Sunday afternoon and the ballroom is noticeably emptier, including on the vendor side.
So, despite everything I’ve said, I still had a great time at this show. I got to see friends I hadn’t seen in ages and I got to make new friends. I even had enough energy to hit the treadmill for an hour on Saturday night AND stay up to see 3am (not all my decisions are good ones, lol)! All the attendees I spoke with also had a great time and from the looks of it, great hauls too! As I said in my CAPS recap, CAPS is now my second favorite show, with Chicago and Philly vying for third. It’s the friends that come to this show, and not so much the show itself, that is keeping it from being ranked lower than fifth.
Still going strong at 11pm on Saturday night, the same night I saw my phone go from 1:59 am to 3am. Sunday morning’s alarm was brutal. Thanks, Daylight Savings Time, said no one ever.
Kirk Speer demonstrating the need to stretch after a long day at a pen show!
Clockwise from left: Postcard, stamp, sticker sheets, and inks from Esterbrook, chocolate from Jinji Chocolate (chocolate covered dates not pictured cuz they’ve been eaten, lol), Colorverse Inks from Luxury Brands of America, notebook cover & carabiner ink cloth from Helen’s Creations NJ, Pilot Custom 74 in Merlot, Pelikan M200 Cherry Blossom, Benu Haute Movie Star, pins by The Write Stuff, Gritty 3D-printed pen rest from Penquisition (Evan made them for Philly but couldn’t make it), and two little 3D-printed pen rests from adopt-a-pals. Not pictured, a super slim silver ballpoint from Grifos which seems to have disappeared on my desk somehow.
Until the next shows (which will be the inaugural SF Stationery Fest in a couple weeks (gah, already?!), and hopefully, at the Chicago Pen Show in May, stay safe and stay inky!
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
