I’ve been diving deep into the world of stationery and pens over the past year and a half (yes, one of those COVID hobbies!) And I’m especially interested in fountain pens. So I was very excited to hear that the SF Pen Show was taking place, after skipping 2020…for all the expected reasons.
I am relatively new to the hobby, so I wanted to make sure I was ready- I watched a couple of videos on pen shows. But as a newbie, I think there are a few other things that more seasoned attendees don’t usually mention.
SF Pen Show Basics
The show runs from August 27-29, 2021. So if you are in the Bay Area and interested in attending, get yourself to Redwood City pronto 🙂 The hours are 9-5pm, all three days, but you can only get in before 1pm if you have an all-access pass. I did spring for the pass and early entrance, and I think it’s a good idea for most newbies like me…
- It’s not quite as busy as it was probably going to get once general admission opened up at 1pm. I liked having a bit more space in the event space, given the current COVID situation
- I wanted a more leisurely pace, where I could ask all my questions and take my time making decisions. Some of the tables were already getting crowded, an indication of how challenging it might be later in the day
All the advice I heard from Figboot was spot-on… bring water, snacks, cash, and my own paper for ink and nib testing.
A few things that newbies might not realize…. definitely bring cash. I might even assume that none of the vendors take cards and be pleasantly surprised when they do. I was interested in vintage pens, which meant looking at the selections of smaller independent dealers. Most did not take credit cards. I probably would have brought a bit more cash if I had really taken that advice to heart. That said, it did make me manage my spending accordingly!
Be prepared and don’t be intimidated
During the all-access pass hours, it is probably to be expected that many of the attendees are seasoned veterans of the fountain pen community. So I must admit to feeling a bit intimidated when asking some very basic newbie questions at the SF Pen Show. Things like “what size nib is this? what is it made of?” and “is this a Parker pen?” probably seem super obvious to the experts. But they aren’t to me (not yet!) A couple of rather gruff guys didn’t seem very interested in my newbie questions, so I moved on.
And realize that you are going to have to trust the vintage pen sellers- especially if you don’t know very much, like me. It’s hard to know if a price is a good/reasonable one. Luckily, a fellow shopper advised me that one pen I was considering was a good deal. And I did check online later- both vintage pens I bought were a bit less than I might have paid elsewhere. I think you have to have faith that no one is there to rip you off.
I had a list of what I wanted to check out, and it really helped me stay on track. Do give some thought to what you want to see/do and write it down. And take a few minutes to make some notes throughout the show. I wrote down my preferred sizing on the Esterbrook Estie (standard, not oversized). And I documented the Franklin Christoph nibs that I liked- for future online purchases. I will be ready to shop on Fountain Pen Day 🙂
Downsides of getting there super early
As I was leaving the show, I thought of a few downsides of arriving super early on the first day. While it is usually good to be an early bird in life, I am not entirely convinced that arriving when the show opens on the first day is the best strategy.
- Not all the vendors were set up or had even arrived. There were quite a few empty tables, awaiting the vendor arrival. Some told me to come back later in the afternoon, once they were ready. Since I left the show at about 11am, I missed them completely.
- You don’t have a whole lot of bargaining power at the beginning of the show. Makes sense- why would someone give me a discount when I’m the first customer on Day 1?
- The Friday rush hour traffic getting to Redwood City was no joke- I might have saved myself 45 minutes by driving there a couple of hours later.
Well worth the time!
Finally, definitely save time for the ink testing stations. It’s a very unique part of the pen show experience. I brought my own paper and tested a bunch of inks I had been looking at. It was also fun to see how similar some of the colors are- maybe I don’t need four bottles of essentially the same turquoise blue! And although I loved being able to test all those discontinued Montblanc inks, the prices on eBay were enough to send me searching for dupes!
I am really glad I got a chance to attend the 2021 SF Pen Show. I scored three gorgeous pens and have all the info I wanted to gather for future purchases. And I’m no longer a newbie 🙂 But hopefully all the other newbies out there can benefit from what I learned during my first (and not last) pen show.
2021 San Francisco Pen Show
August 27-29th, 2021
Pullman San Francisco Bay Hotel, 223 Twin Dolphin Dr, Redwood City, CA 94065
