The Miami Pen Show · October 16 and 17
put ink on paperLeave with a journal page you'll actually love. No art skills needed.
The invitation
What if your fountain pens could do more than write?
In this relaxed, beginner friendly workshop you'll turn everyday moments into expressive journal pages using simple sketching and playful lettering. No art experience required. Think of it as a creative pause, a chance to slow down, unplug, and enjoy your pens in a more personal way. Just bring your favorite pen and start inking your world.
All four run in the Marlin Room at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, 1881 SE 17th St.
Thirty seats per session. Registration and payment are handled by the Miami Pen Show.
Register
Seats are sold by the Miami Pen Show. Their checkout is right here, so you don’t have to go anywhere else.
Prefer their site? Open the ticket page in a new tab.
A latte before it gets cold. The plant on your desk. We start with simple shapes and build up, so an ordinary scene becomes a page you'll want to keep.
Ink is the fun part
Fountain pens do things a ballpoint can't. Line that swells and tapers, ink that shades and pools. We'll mix colors, lay down swatches, and let the ink carry some of the work.
A title, a date, a few honest words about your day. We'll play with simple lettering styles that give plain handwriting personality, no calligraphy background needed.
The Marlin Room at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, 1881 SE 17th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316. Give yourself a few minutes to find the room.
Your favorite fountain pen. Bring a journal or notebook if you have one you love. Everything else is provided.
Anyone who loves fountain pens, whether you are brand new to sketching or already journal every day. No art background required.
Ninety minutes, with thirty seats per session. All four cover the same material, so pick whichever time fits your show schedule.
A finished journal page you made yourself, plus the techniques to keep going when you get home.
Seats are sold through the Miami Pen Show, not through this site. $85 a seat.
No. This is built for total beginners. We work with simple shapes and lines, no pressure and no perfection.
Your favorite fountain pen, and a journal or notebook if you have one. We will guide you through the techniques from there.
No, all four are the same class. Pick the one that fits your schedule at the show. You are welcome to book more than one if you want the extra practice.
The workshop is run by the Miami Pen Show and sold through their site. Check their ticket page for what your registration includes and whether you need a separate show pass.
$85 a seat, for any of the four sessions.
On the Miami Pen Show ticket page. Look for the four sessions named Ink Your World under Friday and Saturday Workshops. Payment is handled entirely on their site, not here.
Something not covered here? Message Quynh on Instagram.
About
Quynh Vu (@itsquynhvu) is an illustrator, urban sketcher and journaling artist in San Diego. She has been keeping illustrated journals since 2016, using them as a visual time capsule for the ordinary stuff: daily observations, the price of groceries, her morning coffee, the pens she currently has inked. She leads the Urban Sketchers San Diego chapter. She also journals under the strict supervision of her two Chartreux cats, which might explain the ink in her collection named Cat General.
“Getting back into this brought me so much joy. I love documenting my travels and my day-to-day life, sketching the small moments I never used to slow down and appreciate. It was the first time in years I felt really excited about something, and I’d completely lose track of time.”
“It’s so common to feel like you can’t draw, that’s exactly how I felt when I started, and it’s easy to compare yourself to everyone else. But it’s actually really fun to look back on the pages you made. There’s no wrong way to document your day. My advice? Just start.”
“What finally helped me stop being so precious about a nice journal is simple: I just love buying stationery and notebooks. The more I use my stuff, the easier it is to justify buying more. So if you mess up a page, congratulations, that’s your excuse to go shopping for the next one.”
Previously