Your first pen show, what to expect and what to skip

By Quynh Vu · June 25, 2026 · 4 minute read

The first time you walk into a pen show, it's a lot. Tables in every direction, thousands of pens, bottles of ink lined up like a candy shop, and people happily debating nib sizes just for fun. Here's what I wish someone had told me before my first one.

It's friendlier than it looks

Pen people love beginners. Tell any vendor "this is my first show" and watch them light up. They'll put pens in your hand, show you how to test a nib, and steer you toward things in your budget. Nobody expects you to know anything. You just have to be curious.

Try before you buy

Almost every table lets you dip and write. Bring a small notebook so all your test scribbles live in one place, it turns into such a fun souvenir of the day. Try pens you'd never buy, that's free. Try inks you didn't know existed, also free. Give yourself a couple of hours and wander slowly.

Set a tiny budget on purpose

My honest advice: decide your number in the parking lot. It is very easy to fall in love six times in one afternoon. One pen, one ink, one notebook. You'll be happier than if you came home with a bag of things you weren't sure about. You can always come back Sunday.

What to skip

Skip the feeling that you need to see every table, you won't, and that's fine. Skip the fanciest pen at the show, it will still exist next year when you know your taste. And skip the worry about looking new. Every single person there was new once, and most of them are still using the cheap pen they started with.

Come find me

This August I'm teaching Ink Your World, my beginner friendly journaling workshop, right at the show's hotel, the Westin San Francisco Airport in Millbrae. Friday, August 28 and Sunday, August 30. You don't need a show pass to attend the class, and the class makes a perfect landing spot before or after you wander the vendor halls. Buy your first pen at the show in the morning, learn to sketch with it in the afternoon. That's a good day.

Quynh