Category: Shows

My Experience at the 2021 DC Pen Show!

~ notebookjoy ~ Leave a comment

It’s been almost two weeks since I attended the DC Pen Show! I had a great time, after 1.5 years without any fountain pen conventions or meetups. The last one I went to was the Baltimore Pen Show in early March 2020, right before COVID shut everything down. I expected the pen show to be less crowded, but the hotel was filled with people! It was nice to see the show so popular, but also made me nervous. I tried not to stay in one place for too long. I’m glad the DC Organizers required masks and encouraged visitors to be vaccinated. I also made the decision not to meet up with people at the bar afterwards, sorry! I really wanted to, but being maskless is still nerve-wracking to me.

I was sad not to see Brad with his stationery company Nock Co., or Ana working at the Vanness table! But there were still so many great companies there. My new favorite is Odyssey Notebooks, created only recently by Rainbow! I was fangirling over her celestial and mythology themed notebooks on Reddit and Instagram, so it was great to see her there. Her notebooks use the last of the Tomoe River 68gsm paper, with dot grid and numbered pages! There are also 160gsm notebooks perfect for bullet journaling. I was excited to see B5 size notebooks with TR paper, which I find to be very rare. Only my Good Inkpressions notebook is that size, but actually smaller. I will try to post a full review of the Odyssey Notebooks later.

One of my other favorite parts of the show is the Ink Testing Station. It consists of several tables filled with a rainbow of ink bottles, all from different brands. There are pieces of paper, dip pens, q-tips, cups of water, and paper towels available so anyone can test out the ink! I always bring my own dip pen and notebook to use. It’s a great way to try out new colors before buying them.

As for my haul, let me tell you all about it! I bought a Midori MD notebook for my mom, a Nanami A5 TR 68gsm notepad, a Nanami B6 notebook, two Odyssey Notebooks, one A5 and one B5, and Field Notes Snowy Evening. I only bought two pens, one a gorgeous Franklin Christoph 45 with a juicy medium nib and blue Diamondcast galaxy-like resin. The other was a TWSBI 580ALR Prussian Blue with a medium nib. I’ve had some issues with my TWSBI’s before, but this one works perfectly and holds 1.95ml of ink! I bought tons of ink, including the fun mythology-themed Laban Artemis and Aphrodite, as well as Taccia Navy Blue Jeans, Diamine Woodland Green, Sailor 123 for my friend, and Colorverse String (a replacement for KWZ Honey which I’m apparently allergic to). Finally, I got 11 washi tapes for $10.

I’m very glad I was able to attend the DC Pen Show. It almost felt like the world was going back to normal, though Delta is now upon us. Pen shows are the best way to try out new pens and inks, as well as interact with other stationery fanatics!

I’m Back from the Baltimore Pen Show!

~ notebookjoy ~ 2 Comments

So I’m back from the Baltimore Pen Show! It’s my third year and the show is only getting better each time. This year I brought my friend who I’ve converted to fountain pen usage. 😀 It was her first convention ever so I hope I did a good job introducing her to this wonderful niche hobby.

I didn’t take too many photos but some of my favorite stops were at Vanness Pens, Schon Design, Nock Co. The pen maker tables were such eye candy! My biggest purchase was a Schon Design Pocket Six. There wasn’t any more of the Pink and Purple colorway, but I bought a beautiful blue swirled one that was only sold at the Baltimore convention!

I also got a photo with Brad from the Pen Addict! He was one of the first pen blogs I read and inspired me to start my own website. So thank you so much Brad!

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Overall, I focused on acquiring new inks and pens. The Pocket Six pen is really cool because it’s tiny but capable! If you screw the cap onto the end, it turns into a much longer pen. It only fits cartridges but that’s a good excuse to buy more. I also bought a TWSBI Eco-T in the mint color! It has a juicy broad nib that is perfect for Vinta Maskara. The Kaweco Perkeo was on the wishlist for a long time and I got it with the medium nib.

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As for colors, I bought Vinta Maskara, Organic Studios Emily Dickinson, Monteverde Cherry Danish, Diamine Velvet Blue, Colorverse Hayabusa Glistening and Franklin-Cristoph Urushi Red. Vinta Maskara is much more legible than Vinta Sirena. Somehow it looks purple with hints of blue and pink! I plan to make a review of it soon. Emily Dickinson is another favorite; it’s a bright magenta.

I bought a Nanami Crossfield with the new smaller crosses. I’ll try and make a comparison with the older version I have. I also bought a Clairefontaine with an Art Deco design, Kyupodo lined notebook, a laser-cut Drama Mama notebook, and a Schon Design x Write Notepads book. I also got a Nock Co.  A5 Lanier Pouch which is perfect for transporting one notebook with a few pens and even a pocket notebook!

I had a great time at the show but it was even more fun showing my friend the fountain pen world and seeing my favorite pen people!

 

2019 D.C. Pen Show!

~ notebookjoy ~ 5 Comments

Long time, no see! It’s been several months, but I’m finally back from the dead to blog once more. I always feel sad when I see people’s abandoned blogs floating in the vast internet but now that’s me! It takes SO MUCH work and dedication to keep a blog going, especially when social media is easier and gives instant validation. But blogs and reviews in particular are great for giving more information before purchasing expensive stationery. So, I’m back to my blog to give you quality reviews! Also I finally linked my own domain to the site, so links should redirect to notebookjoy.com instead of notebookjoy.wordpress.com hopefully!

If anybody is interested, the reason I’ve been away is that spring semester of college was really stressful. O_O Turns out I shouldn’t have had a campus job while taking five classes and trying to socialize and find internships. This summer I’m working more than I would prefer but at a much cooler job — at a used bookstore! I feel like I’m in an indie romcom movie sometimes, but with more annoying customers. I’m also learning to drive by myself without being terrified and cooking simple meals in preparation for my apartment next semester. So this summer has been productive even if I haven’t read or written too much. I also went to Portugal and found nice stationery there. Maybe I’ll post a quick review.

I also went to the D.C. Pen show, for my fourth year! Sadly I only went a few hours on Saturday but it was so much fun. I also RSVPed to join my local pen group for dinner! I focused on purchasing “unusual” inks, since I have most colors at this point. Interesting notebooks and leather products were also on my list. But I didn’t expect to come away with a Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66 pen with a gorgeous lava resin! Walking by the F-C table, this pen instantly grabbed me. Normally, I ordered expensive pens online after much research, but I gave in and bought it for $180 with a speciality SIG medium nib. It felt good having a job to give me extra money. 🙂

The pictures don’t do it justice! The Pocket 66 glows iridescent under a light source, lit up with swirls of yellow and orange and red. It is the perfect size posted for my small hands. I got it as an eyedropper, my first one. I’ll be very careful with it, so no bringing it to class in case it explodes.

 

I also bought several notebooks, Life Stationery Spiral, Life Stationery Vermillion, Life Stationery Recent Memo, and Kyopodo Notebook, all from Vanness Pens. The Vanness table is always so friendly and has a great selection. I liked the lady at the Sailor USA table too, she helped me pick out a Bungubox to buy, Clown Tears. Sadly, Brad from the Pen Addict wasn’t at the show this year so I didn’t get to say hi. Neither was Anderson Pens. As for inks, I bought Robert Oster Rose Gilt Tint, Bungubox Clown Tears, Kobe Arima Amber, Akkerman Sapgroen, Pilot Iroshizuko Tsutsuji, Krishna Brown Pink, PenBBS 137 Wisteria, Vinta Sirena and Sailor Yodakai. I also got a beautiful three pen leather case from Galen Leather! I love the smell and how supple the brown leather is! I wanted to buy the Galen Writing Box so badly but resisted the temptation.

 

Even better than the show was going out to dinner with the D.C. Metro Pen Crew, my local pen group. We all compared purchases and tried out each others pens. I’ve never felt so included in a hobby before. Everyone understands what I’m talking about for once! Even though I was the youngest there, I had an easy time making friends and talking about our shared passions. My advice for any convention goers is to meet up with people after the con, whether it’s online friends or a local group or people you meet in the hotel bar! Even better than buying stationery are the friends you make along the way.

For my few readers, thanks for still being there! I appreciate it.

Baltimore Pen Show!

~ notebookjoy ~ 2 Comments

One reason I love living near DC is the surprising abundance of stationery. Not only can I visit great stores like Jenni Bick and Fahrney’s Pens and go to local meetups like the DC Metro Pen Crew, but there are two major pen shows nearby! Those two are the DC Pen Show and the smaller Baltimore Washington Pen Show. I went to BWPS last year and was delighted by the small, cozy atmosphere. This year I went with my parents and college friend Klaudia!

There isn’t the largest selection of inks, pens and notebooks, but it’s much easier to talk to store owners and pen sellers! And that’s why smaller conventions are my favorite. It’s not just about buying every pen in sight, but talking to people from all over the world. The DC Pen Show is great but can be overwhelming. Baltimore doesn’t have the huge crowds and narrow aisles you have to squeeze through.

It’s always amazing talking to my favorite creators, bloggers, sellers and artists! Shout out to Brad Dowdy, who is legit the nicest person ever. His blog, Pen Addict, is the first fountain pen blog I ever read. I also love the Vanness Pens table, Drama Mama Bookshop (the creator, Alisa, is so talented and nice! Check out her laser cut notebooks), Bertram’s Inkwell, DC Metro Pen Crew and the Yafa table. Thank you Niv for being so kind and helping my mom pick out a rollerball pen! 🙂

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I didn’t buy a lot this year which was a good thing! The Taccia inks drew my eye so I bought Momo, a beautiful eye-searing pink, and Ugisu, an olive green. I was so tempted to get the Taccia pen show special but decided against it… As for notebooks, I got the Baron Fig dream journal, a Drama Mama laser-cut journal and a Curnow Bookbinding Tomoe River paper notebook.  Some other items include the Nock Co. Sinclair Case, Pen Addict Fire on Fire ink (Thank you Brad), Monteverde Coral (Also thank you Niv), Monteverde Rose Noir, J. Herbin Rouge Grenat, J. Herbin Corail des Tropiques, some assorted stickers and a pen and ink samples for my friend I’m trying to convert to fountain pens. 🙂

I had a great time today. The fountain pen community is such an amazing community! I love seeing people of all ages and backgrounds united by their love of pens.