2026 San Francisco Pen Show - The Funnest Pen Show Gets Funner!

(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!.)

Heading into the 2026 SF Pen Show, I was already run down (but partly recovered) from a bug that I got at camp a few weeks prior (not Covid, Flu A/B, or RSV, just crud). I had started antibiotics and my body wasn’t 100%, but I was determined to make the most out of my favorite show, my home show, the funnest pen show on the circuit. As such, after napping most of Tuesday, it’s finally Wednesday evening and I think I’ve made enough of a dent in the sleep debt to start working on this recap. Some things are similar to last year’s SF Show, but there were several things that made a noticeable difference in this year’s 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 as always, I promise to be as objective as I can.)

It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend for the 2026 San Francisco Pen Show. Just look at this sunset outside the hotel on Thursday night!

Can’t ask for a more beautiful day for a pen show!

This is the fourth 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.

Similar to last year, when there were 145-150 vendors, there were 150 vendors listed on the show website this year. This doesn’t include any vendors which may have shared tables. The show continues to use as many rooms as possible for classes, seminars, etc. including those on other floors of the Westin or over at the Aloft across the parking lot. The biggest change to the show layout was the addition of the Bayshore room to house 20 vendors, primarily stationery-focused. This resulted in a roomier feel to the show as a whole, rather than the insane traffic jams of past years. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t wide aisles like SF Stationery Fest or other shows where you could fit multiple double-wide strollers, but it was a significant improvement. More on that later.

One of the biggest draws of the San Francisco Pen Show is the 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 Atlantic like the UK, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Turkey, etc. It is this variety that continues to attract both attendees and vendors. It’s not just the diversity of geography, but also in the products they create and bring to this show.

It was Fine Writing International’s first time at the SF Pen Show and they released a show exclusive Jelly Beans Pencket! So cute!

Ya-Ching Lai of Yaching Style enjoyed their first SFPS last year so much that she traveled from Taiwan to attend again this year! The Bellflower ink is one of her most popular inks!

Tsai Han Shian (left) of Henry Wood Crafts and some of his amazing wood creations, including this stunning chess set!

I can always count on a smile from Taizo Yamamoto-san from Yamamoto Paper! He’s holding up the MVP Onion Skin and Tateyama looseleaf papers that I bought.

Look at all of Yamamoto’s inserts, notebooks, little note pads (there were testers so you could try the different papers and make your own note-box!

Lucas Mahoney of Hanabi Glass Studio makes glass dip pens (and other glass items) in Yokohama, Japan, just outside of Tokyo. He makes his glass dip pens in a variety of tipping sizes from Extra Fine to a super wide stub and even an “artist grind” where the line width changes as you rotate the nib!

I like big nibs and I cannot lie! Also look at the beautiful swirls of the pens in the background!

Kaoru Yamagishi and Bruce Eimon of Bungubox were tired and jetlagged from their flight but you’d never know it with these cheerful smiles!

I had to show them my “Hello San Francisco” Sailor Pro Gear Slim, which they made for 2019 SFPS. I inked it up just in time for the show!

Look at this gorgeous pen from Hirai Woodturner

Of course, not all of the vendors were international. There were some familiar faces from the pen show circuit too!

If chaos and order were sharing a pen table, this is what it would look like! Jonathan Brooks of Carolina Pen Co and daughter Kristen Brooks of Fountain Telling made it clear whose pens were whose!

One of the few times when Audrey Matteson and Dustin Proehl of Franklin-Christoph didn’t have 10 people in front of them! I even stepped behind the table a couple times to help out when it got crazy!

*I know we like to give the ballpoint a lot of grief, but look at these amazing creations in brass, copper, and steel from Bic x Tournaire at The Pleasure of Writing! *

Bryce Gillett from Luxury Brands of America is standing on a chair so he can do a giveaway (damn, forgot to get a raffle ticket!). Traffic came to a standstill during raffles and then quickly dispersed.

There were a lot of new and upcoming releases too.

Got to see the newly announced Esterbrook x Accutron Oversize Estie!

Larry Dromgoole holding up their newly released Pilot Custom 823 celebrating the 65th anniversary of Dromgoole’s!

Tom Hessin is a brand that’s been around for a very long time, but it is new to us in the states now that Luxury Brands of America is their distributor!

A certain Bossman’s collab with Rickshaw - the Brasstown is here! This is the SF Pen Show exclusive fortune cookie Brasstown!

Last year, the show had a whopping eleven nib workers at the show; this year, there were 8 (several international folks were unable to make it), so they were extra busy this time. In alphabetical order by first name, they are:

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 Thomas Ang (foreground), then Josh Lax and Damien Alomar further up.

Tsubasa (right) working on nibs, while Arielle (aka Toasty) is working on sales for Kyuseido.

I’m always looking for opportunities to practice speaking Italian, and what better way than to chat with Salvatore Matrone of Leonardo Pens who tuned a Momento Zero I just couldn’t refuse? Pretty sure buying an Italian pen helps fluency, right?!

Love this inky hands pic of the nib workers from the show (Masa had already left, sad face)! Left to right, standing: Damien Alomar, Josh Lax, Tsubasa, Kirk Speer, Audrey Matteson, Gena Salorino. Kneeling: Thomas Ang, Matt Chen. (PC: PactaDad, aka Matt Chen’s dad)

One (ongoing) suggestion for our nib grinders – consider saving 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. Also, many of the slots were all booked up within hours (if not minutes). I always encourage 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 buy. This would also allow them to get new customers instead of primarily repeat customers who know they have to pounce on appointments. That said, I think all of them had a waitlist for folks to sign up in case of cancellations or if they were ahead of schedule.

Moving on to stationery!! In recent years, there have been more stationery vendors at the SF Pen Show and this year was no exception.

Big congratulations to Cindy Duong (right) of Sakura Dragon (and husband Colin Tan Wei, aka Mr. SakuraDragon) for her Sakura Street collab with Esterbrook!

The Pinky Elephant crew brought so many fun things to the show, including some new inks (bottom left), stamps, and more!

I couldn’t decide which of these two shirts to get (I missed out last year) so I asked the ‘gram and they said…

Green! And I happened to have a matching mask! (Trying to not wear only black masks so I bought a multi-color pack.)

Hey, I know that face! It’s Erick Gama of Amarillo Stationery, back for his second SFPS! at the SF Pen Show! This time he was in the Bayshore room along with other stationery vendors.

First time at the SF Pen Show is Ashford, whose ring binders and refills are now available in the US!

Mai of PaperTreats decided not to vend at the show, but instead hosted her friends Harumi (center) and husband (left) from 4Legs at the table instead!

Look at these adorable Mushroom Cat (left) and Kitten from 4Legs! They are handcarved by Harumi’s husband!

Squee! Action shot of Harumi drawing a Mushroom Cat in my insert!

Achievement unlocked - I ate oatmeal with Dana of dana ate oatmeal! I may have also bought a few things while I was there. 🙂

Angie Chua of Bobo Design Studio probably should’ve checked the product dimensions before ordering this supposed-to-be-regular-sized bookmark, but I’m here for it!

Yes, I did spend enough to get the free bookmark. Now to find an A4, maybe A3, notebook that this can fit in 😆 Also, not sure my bank account survived the show.

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, Joe Crace & Lisa Vanness did a live broadcast of their On the Paper Trail podcast and hosted a panel discussion with several vendors to talk about trends, insights, and more - you can watch the video here. Having some of these classes and events 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.

At Thursday’s On the Paper Trail live podcast event, Joe Crace of The Gentleman Stationer (2nd from the left) and Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens (3rd from the left) hosted a panel where Ian Schon of Schon DSGN, Iris Au of Glassophy, and Daryl Lim of Atelier Musubi talked about their creative process. (PC: Matt Chen)

Selfie with the students from my “Elevate the Everyday: Improve your Handwriting” class.

I had so much fun teaching both classes, but I get a little extra nervous when I have friends in the class, like two of my pen posse peeps in this picture!

Like last year, local vendor JetPens hosted a Hobonichi preview event on Friday afternoon, which allowed folks to check out their upcoming release of Hobonichis. They did away with last year’s signups & time slots and allowed folks to come & go. They kept an eye on attendance to make sure the room wasn’t too crowded. Here are some pics from that event:

Lots of space in the Aspen ballroom to check out Hobonichi’s 2027 offerings.

Lots of covers!

OMG, these Moomin covers!

You can vote on which Hobonichi designs were your favorite. Any guesses as to where I put my green dot? (hint, look above 😁)

JetPens had a Pen and Paper testing station with a variety of gel, rollerball, ballpoint, markers, etc. and different Hobonichi papers that you can try out.

Pics or it didn’t happen, right? Also, Boss, Imma gonna need a Mono stuffy pls!

The show hosted several meetups by Postcrossing, SF Bay Area Stationery, SakuraDragon, KuboandLucy, and others. These were held at various times before, 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!

Kuboandlucy’s meetup on Sunday morning (yours truly in the foreground is stuffing a pastry in her mouth, hence the mask being partially off). Folks were happily stamping at the table in the background.

Now that you’ve gotten a sense of the vendors and events at the show, I know everyone is dying to know how crowded the show was. Last year, it was crowded pretty much from early Friday morning through Saturday closing, and Sunday was busier than it had ever been before. This year, there were more folks on Friday, slightly fewer on Saturday, and about the same on Sunday (this is an unofficial estimate from one of the show organizers). Despite this, the show felt less crowded than last year, and people were able to move around easier. Don’t get me wrong, there were still a few spots where there were traffic jams, but it was fewer and more spread out. It might be hard to tell from some of my photos because I tried to take vendor photos before the folks came in, or whenever it was a little less crazy.

Here were some of the changes that the show implemented, several of which contributed to it feeling less crowded:

  1. Bayshore Ballroom as “stationery” room - In past years, the Bayshore Ballroom was used for classes, seminars, and meetups. This year, this room housed primarily stationery vendors, as well as several pen/stationery-adjacent vendors from Japan. Because this was the first room that folks could go to, it was easy for volunteers to point stationery-interested folks in that direction, or to the main ballroom for folks who were all about the pens. This spread folks out at the get-go, and people were more likely to get to where they wanted to go, instead of being blocked by vendors selling products they weren’t as interested in. This room was definitely a busy and, at times, packed room, but the traffic here meant that there was less traffic for the rest of the show floor.

The Bayshore room held around 20 primarily stationery vendors. This was taken on Friday shortly after 11am, before General Access.

The aisles in the Bayshore room (same time as above). It definitely got crowded in here at times but since the room wasn’t too large, people were able to squeeze by and do their shopping, or go elsewhere and come back when it was less crowded.

Same room, but later in the afternoon. It was more crowded in the afternoon, especially since it was the first show day and you got folks who were All-Access, Early Access, AND General Access. (PC: Christine L.)

Drillog was in the far end of the Bayshore room and brought some cool dip nibs and pens. And yes, they write well!

I marked myself safe from the Hachimonjiya table because the inks I wanted were sold out. Phew!

  1. Same number of vendors as before - Despite adding a new room to the show, the organizers made a concerted effort NOT to add more vendors. They had about as many vendors as last year (maybe just a few more), which meant that overall, there was more space. The ballroom aisles were slightly wider, though the ones in the side rooms were still narrow. I’m glad they didn’t try to cram more vendors in because last year’s crowding was not pleasant for shoppers or vendors.
  2. Multiple entry times for Friday - In the past, there were two entry times for the show - One for All-Access pass holders (aka weekend pass), and one for general admission several hours later. Fridays in general, but especially at this show, are extra busy on Friday morning because folks REALLY want to get their show exclusives from their favorite vendors. This year, the show implemented 3 entry times for Friday - one at 9am for All-Access pass holders, one at 11am for Early Access, and one at 1pm for General Admission. This really spread out the Friday crowd a bit and made traffic more evenly distributed instead of one huge crush at the beginning. I think this is a nice balance between a morning and afternoon entry (past years) and a more tightly scheduled timed entry where you can only enter between X and Y hours. And, as long as you showed your badge or wrist band, re-entry was allowed.

The line was forming before 8am on Friday (All-Access didn’t start until 9am on Friday).

  1. All-Access Pass Holder pickup and cash ticket sales on Thursday - While not exactly new for this year, the show allowed folks to get their previously purchased All-Access passes (buying online early means you get your name pre-printed on the badge), and cash buyers to get their tickets on Thursday night. They posted pickup times so folks knew in advance when this was happening (last year, it was a “some time on Thursday night” kind of deal). Unfortunately, the line ended up being super long because the badges were out of order and making it time-consuming to find people’s badges. It sucks but we all know crap happens and I’m not going to penalize the show for that. Folks were also able to buy tickets/passes in cash . Despite the long line on Thursday night, the line for pickup the next day had fewer people. And yes, they did reorganize the badges later that evening.

The pass pickup was outside at the Aloft and the line went into the hotel, and all the way out the front door.

  1. Ink Testing Stations moved to Aloft - Previously, the ink testing stations were placed in the “alcove” near the side rooms, as well as in random spots like near the nib grinder alley. This year, those testing stations were spread out over several tables at the Aloft lobby. (1) This made the alcove area more roomy, (2) using the ink testers was much more relaxing, as the Aloft had tables and chairs (instead of stand-only tables) and was quieter during show hours. The testers were available during after hours too, which was definitely noisier but meant that people didn’t have to rush to test pens during show hours. Unfortunately, people didn’t know that the ink testers were moved to the Aloft, so folks discovered this by accident. I hear they plan to publicize this more next year.
  2. Volunteers at the elevators - If you were taking a class in the Westin, your classes were probably on another floor of the hotel, which required a hotel card key. This year, there were volunteers at the elevators, armed with card keys and ready to get you to the appropriate floor. This made it easier for class-takers and instructors to get to where they need to, but also for folks like me whose hands were often full of purchases. And of course, the faster people can get to where they need to go, the less delay and traffic there is on the ground floor.
  3. Free Calligraphy Bookmarks tables moved to better location - In the past, the volunteers from the Pacific Scribes Calligraphy Guild would be located near the Help Desk in the show entry hallway to make free bookmarks in various calligraphic styles. They had limited space and it would cause minor backups when folks signed up or were looking for their completed bookmarks. This time, they were moved just outside of the Bayshore ballroom, which gave them ample space to work their magic and for folks to signup/pick up, and no clogging the hallway!
  4. Karaoke - What started at SF Stationery Fest earlier this year is now a part of the SF Pen Show too! Whether you held a mic or sang along while seated, or just enjoyed the tunes, we all enjoyed the camaraderie.

I wanted to highlight a few things that the show continued to do this year, some of which impacted traffic flow (in a good way):

  • Multiple registration lines - As I mentioned above, the Thursday pass pickup and cash sales, meant that there were fewer folks who had to line up on Friday. Like last year, there were lines for (1) those who didn’t pick up their passes on Thursday, (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”. The lines were long on Friday and Saturday, but nowhere near as long as last year. Plus, the addition of the Bayshore room meant that some of the traffic was diverted there at the get-go, instead of being funneled through the narrow entryway by the Help Desk/show entrance.
  • Parking pass validation stickers at multiple locations - The show had parking validation stickers at the various registration desks, the help desk, the show merch desk, and volunteers also handed them out when folks were in line to enter the show.
  • Show merch available during non-rush time - Show inks, stickers, pins, etc. were made available at 2 p.m. in the lobby. Yes, there was a line for folks to buy them, but that meant they weren’t blocking the show floor either. Odin, the official SF Pen Show mascot, and his rambunctious little brother Ace, the official SF Stationery Fest mascot, were often in attendance too, making for lots of coos, pets, and photo ops.

Show merch table (no doggos were around when this pic was taken, boo.)

  • Show bought out hotel’s airport parking spots - Airport hotels often rent out parking spots to other parking lot companies, etc. and this show buys out all of those spots so that attendees have a chance at finding parking, which continues to be a challenge since many vendors drive to this show (especially our local and SoCal vendors). The show continues to encourage alternative transportation like public transportation (BART and CalTrain 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. There were still spots on Thursday night after my last airport pickup, but I knew it would be challenging for those planning to drive in for the show.

Not gonna lie, heading into the show’s fourth year at this hotel, I was nervous about what the crowding situation would be like - would it be worse than last year? What could they possibly do to make it less crowded? Will it be harder to justify why this show is still my favorite show? Thankfully, the show did a really admirable job in (1) utilizing a new space for vendors (Bayshore room), (2) keeping traffic moving (having primarily stationery vendors in Bayshore split off the lines, 3 entry times on Friday, etc.), (3) finding ways to fit vendors without overcrowding the show (there really is such a thing as too many vendors), (4) making it easier for attendees who just wanna wander the show and blow their budgets, (5) all while still making it a fun event beyond the shopping. These are tough problems for any show to handle, but I am SO relieved that the crowding was markedly lessened this year.

Does this mean that the show is perfect? No, but it’s getting better! I do think there are some tweaks that I think the show can evaluate and work on to make it even better:

  • Evaluate vendor placement in the Bayshore room - Toyooka and Glass Studio Toos were on the left “short” end of the Bayshore room and both were nearly sold out by the end of the day Friday. The show did move some folks to that room on Saturday afternoon when they sold out, but maybe they should be in a different location since they clearly are selling out their products well before the end of the show. Moving around a few of the stationery vendors in that room might make it a little less crowded in the aisles as well.

Toru Yamazaki-san of Toyooka Craft (left) and helper Michelle Malizaki (right) - there were the only things left as of Saturday at 11am!! No wonder Toru is smiling!

  • More signage to direct folks to the side rooms - I spoke with the vendors in the side rooms who said that they didn’t do as well this year because there wasn’t a lot of traffic, especially in the Poplar room which was barely noticeable from the hallway. I heard from quite a few attendees who also didn’t know that there were side rooms or that XYZ vendors were there. I overheard several folks not going into one room because “oh, that’s just maker pens”, which, first of all, let’s not disparage maker pens, but also, there were other vendors they would have also missed out on - like Roses without Thorns (gorgeous pop-up cards), Tokubetsumemori (cute Taiwanese stationery), Kaleidocraft (super fun 3D-printed items), and Rocky Top Pen Co (pre-owned hard to find pens).

Since the show removed the ink testing tables from the alcove outside these rooms, there is room to add signage with vendor names pointing to the side rooms so people know that there were side rooms. This could be also done for the hallways in front and back of the ballrooms, as well as the two rooms in the back corridor.

Other thoughts that didn’t fit the above categories:

  • San Francisco Stationery Fest (SFSF) didn’t really affect SFPS - The SF Stationery Fest was held earlier this year and while it was a great event that was very different from the pen show, I’m not sure that it did a lot to lessen the attendance compared to last year. It certainly helped to have some vendors move from SFPS to SFSF (most notably PLOTTER and DesignPhil/Traveler’s Company). I think some number of “stationery-only” fans still came because there were so many great stationery vendors at this show. It’s neither good nor bad that SFSF didn’t dramatically change the audience or crowding as sales seemed to be pretty good for almost all the vendors I spoke with (except for some folks in the side rooms I mentioned).
  • Stampers a little more aware?- Not sure if it’s my recaps or my recent Pen Shows 101 article that talk about overly aggressive stampers or folks who take up lots of time/space from shoppers, but it seemed like folks were a little more aware than in the past. I could be wrong, but people I saw made room for shoppers and would try to stamp quickly or would come back when it was less crowded. Pro tip #1: If you have a weekend pass, do your stamping on Sunday when it’s less crowded. Pro tip #2: Cut up sticker paper into A5 or smaller sheets and stamp on that instead of doing it in a notebook/journal where it rarely stamps evenly. You can stamp the sticker paper multiple times and put it in your journal later. It’s usually a lot faster too.
  • Yay for slimmer/smaller bags - I saw fewer big backpacks and totes this year, which is great because they take up a lot of limited 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 - I put my foot in the strap or loop and then I’m less likely to walk away without it. And if you’re not staying at the hotel, periodically put stuff in the trunk of your car (never have anything visible though!).
  • Fewer furry friends on the busy days - Y’all know I love seeing all the dogs at the show but I’m glad most folks brought their dogs during the less busy times of the day, or on Sunday, when the show is traditionally less crowded.

Ok, enough about that, let’s move on to my favorite parts of the SF Pen Show!

I think this beautiful pup’s name is Willow, but it could be Widow. Either way, this outfit is 🔥

OMG, no wonder I didn’t see this kitty! It was so snuggly tucked into this cute bag!!

Incoming gratuitous Bungee pictures! She was so good at this show - she didn’t pull, wasn’t hyperventilating, and just enjoyed being loved on!

Mai from PaperTreats was so happy to see Bungee!

Annual Bungee/Audrey Matteson pic!

Pretty sure Klarissa ran over when she saw Bungee!

We all know that one of my favorite parts about pen shows is what happens AFTER show hours!

Look at the smiles on all these pen friends! (PC: Journalesq)

Lisa Nelson and Lao Kenny Yang at the Aloft. You can see the ink testing stations in the background on the right. (PC: Journalesq. I was bad about taking pictures because I was either karaoke-ing, or enjoying hanging out too much to remember to take pictures).

I would have never guessed that Scott from Schon Dsgn and Josh Lax would karaoke to Love Fool, but they were great! We were all singing along too!

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, but I went a bit nuts last year so I tried not to go overboard this year (yeah, right).

My somewhat modest-er haul compared to last year, left to right, starting from the top:Tom Hessin pen, 3D-printed goodies from Kaleidocraft, show stickers/stamps/pin/ink, postcards and sticker sheet from Fish Conquers the World, Esterbrook x SakuraDragon inks & blotter paper, Moomin stuff & Winston plush from Esterbrook, stickers/postcard/ink from FogCats, pens/stickers/tin from Enigma Stationery, stamps/stickers/washi & PET tape from Everyday Explorers, stickers/postcard/keychain/pouch/wooden dog stamp from 4Legs, notebook cover from Isshoni, TWSBI from Flax Pen to Paper, stickers/tin/bookmark from Bobo Design Studio, stickers and postcard from Cosmic Pancake, pen rest from Toyooka, inks from Hello Tello, Stationery Universe, and Leonardo, Momento Zero, Lil’ Dipper from Schon DSGN, charm/stickers/ink/Kaweco/green shirt (not pictured cuz it was in the laundry bag) from Pinky Elephant, stickers/insert from Thousand Skies, washi/stamp/stickers from Kuboandlucy, SF stickers from InkyConverters, Cosmic Pancake, Rickshaw and someone else I don’t remember, Daigo paper (gift), stickers/bag from dana ate oatmeal. Also not pictured: Kobe x Vanness Hummingbird ink, looseleaf paper from Yamamoto Paper, and 2 nib grinds by Gena Salorino.

Me and my boss’ boss from way back when (does the company Netscape ring a bell? I know, I don’t look old enough to have worked there 😄)! He pinged me the week before the show to ask if it was really me teaching a class at the pen show. He used to be a pen collector back in the day!

The best part of the show are the people!

The best times are best spent with friends!

At the end of the day, at the end of a pen show, it’s the people that make pen shows so special.

This insert isn’t enough room to capture the fun memories and friendships from the 2026 San Francisco Pen Show in here! (Cover stamp/stickers by Kuboandlucy, InkyConverters, FogCats, and SF Pen Show.)

Every year, I say that I had a blast at the SF Pen Show and my 9th SF show is no different. I wasn’t able to stay up as late as I usually do since I was still recovering from being sick, but I had no less fun this year. I’m SO happy that the show was such a joy to be at and to be a part of. So many people from near and far, making new friends and enjoying old friendships, so many hugs, so many smiles.

A very heartfelt thank you for continuing to make this the funnest pen show! Whether you’re the organizers (BIGGEST THANK YOU), vendors, helpers/volunteers, 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 from not enough sleep but am looking forward to the Dallas Pen Show at the end of the month. Until then, stay safe and stay inky!

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Posted on September 4, 2026 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Pen Shows.