Despite plentiful content about what to expect at fountain pen shows, I really didn’t know what to bring or how to prepare as a first timer. Now that I’ve been to one, I think I have a perspective:
- Your whole pen collection, or as much as you’re comfortable bringing. I have about 50 pens which is already a lot to carry, so I probably wouldn’t recommend this if you have more than that. But the point here is that opportunities arise at pen shows to try people’s pens, swap, maybe get a pen tuned or ground in a way you hadn’t thought of before, etc. I wasn’t going to bring my Pilot Vanishing Points, for example, but then took a seminar on the history of the pen and was glad to have them in my room afterward.
- Underperforming and duplicate pens. Short of bringing all your pens, bring at least these so you can seize the opportunity to have them fixed, tuned, or turned into something special. With all the nibmeisters around, you can get stuff done in the spot that you’d otherwise have to send your pen in and wait a long time for.
- Some ink. I didn’t bring any ink, which made me feel like I needed to buy ink at the show in order to try the pens I purchased. I might’ve purchased ink anyway, but it was silly that I felt I NEEDED to, especially since I have close to 90 bottles of ink at home already. Next time I’ll bring something wet, non-shimmery and not highly pigmented, that I’d feel safe inking any pen with.
- Ink swatches. I took some time to swatch my entire ink collection in a Hobonichi Weeks to bring with me to the show, as a reminder of what inks I have, and reduce temptation to buy more. It mostly worked except for the issue mentioned in the previous bullet. It was also handy to have all the swatches while talking to other people about inks. Why struggle to describe something when you could just show it?
- Your favorite pen and stationery accessories. If you’re like me and you don’t know anyone personally who’s into fountain pens, it’ll be SO EXCITING to be around other people who share the obsession. There are a lot of show and tell moments at a pen show and bonding over discovering new things. I didn’t realize how starved I was for mutual appreciation of cool sh*t until I met new pen friends at my first show. At one workshop, someone sheepishly rose his hand and asked to be educated on washi tape, and the whole room just about exploded with happy energy as people started passing their washi around.
- Stuff to destash. With all the ink I have I’ll never use it up—so while I didn’t bring an ink I could try in my new pens I DID make a bunch of ink samples to share with others and I’m really glad I did. I met so many nice people at the show and I was happy to be able to share a little gift with them.
- The basics. The stuff everyone will tell you to bring to a show is solid advice: comfortable shoes, a crowd friendly bag, a water bottle, cash, etc. I won’t repeat that here, YouTube has plenty of pen show content!
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