In feature

California Pen Show 2026 Recap

Author AnaPosted on
California Pen Show 2026 Recap
This was Sunday! Yes, Sunday!

The first show for my show season is done and the California Pen Show was a super busy and exciting way to start 2026.

This is the third year (?) under new management for the Los Angeles based show and it is bigger and better than ever. The show itself was well-organized and the location is good for both out of town guests as well as locals.

On Friday, the event even had brochures with vendor information which is pretty uncommon at most shows. Unfortunately, by Sunday, they had run out of brochures.

The event has become so large that they opened an additional ballroom to accommodate all the additional vendors. The mix of vendors include vintage and modern sellers; indie pen makers; sticker, washi and stationery creators and larger local and online shops like Kinokuniya, Flax and Dromgoole’s.

I helped the Dromgooles selling ink, paper and stationery items while Larry and Christine and family held down the fort in fine pens and Marty and Kimberly took care of the range of Retro51s, Tactile Turn and Rickshaw products.

Friday was busy with VIPs and single day pass holders but Saturday was epic. It felt comparable to a Saturday at SF or DC. But everyone regardless of how crowded seemed to be in good spirits and having a good time. The energy the whole weekend was good.

Sunday slowed down a little bit but it was still quite busy. Many shows really slow down on Sunday where vendors start packing up in the early afternoon but we were selling until past 5pm on Sunday. I think vendors who left early are regretting that decision now.

The only issues I heard regarding the show was difficulties locating classrooms and workshop availability. This is something I think a lot of pen shows are still struggling with. Classes and workshops are of interest to attendees and make the experience of a pen show more than just shopping.

I think more attention needs to be paid to promoting workshops and classes before the event and making sure that signage, locations and times for classes are clear and readily accessible to attendees. The dream is to have folks pre-register for classes so instructors can prepare and know how many attendees they will have but also make sure new pen show attendees even know classes and workshops are available.

The only other grumble I heard was the long lines to get in but no one really fussed too much about that. More than anything I think folks were surprised by the number of people waiting.

Overall, California Pen Show is moving up in the ranks as one of my favorite shows. And the people who attended were all amazing! Thanks for a great show and I look forward to seeing you next year!

I was so busy I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures except the photo above and this picture of a friend and I meeting up. Kimberly over at The Pen Addict promises a longer, more detailed post about the show on Friday so if you want to see pics, check that out at the end of the week.

Meeting a friend at the show!
In Fashionable Friday, feature

Fashionable Friday: Certainly Burgundy

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Fashionable Friday: Certainly Burgundy

I’ve been talking among friends, pen shop owners and family about what we feel is REALLY the color that will be the color of the year for 2026 and one of the colors we have seen being very popular is burgundy. This deep, jewel-toned wine-red color is selling like hot cakes in pen shops and so I thought I’d show you a lovely collection of this deep, beautiful color. We are loving Certainly Burgundy.

Thanks to my sponsors for providing some of the images I use for Fashionable Friday. Please consider making your next purchase from one of the shops that support this blog and let them know you heard about them here. Thanks for your support and for supporting the shops that help keep it running.

In feature

What’s In My Bag: Travel Edition

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
What’s In My Bag: Travel Edition

Okay, nosy Nellies! I know I love seeing what other people carry in their bags so I figure its payback time. So, here’s what I’ve packed in my bag for my trip to LA for the California Pen Show.

The Bag:

North Face Berkely Backpack in black

For this trip, I am using a small backpack from North Face called the Berkeley Day Pack. It’s very similar in size to the JanSport SuperBreak and other “school bags” but does include a padded back and two pockets on the side for water bottles. I had been using the Kipling Seoul 15″ laptop bag. I have an older version of the Seoul bag which does not have any water bottle pockets which can be a pain when traveling since its prohibitively expensive to buy drinks at an airport in the US. Putting drinks inside the bag makes me nervous. I would hate for a water bottle to leak on my technology, notebook or knitting project. So… I decided to upgrade my bag.

I wanted something small, light and comfortable. I think the North Face Berkeley is good as a travel/day pack but I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone over 5’6″ as it might look or feel tiny. As for me, I needed to be a little selective about what I would pack since the bag is not huge so I can’t carry knitting projects AND Switch AND extra books, etc. So, it forces me to pack lighter.

Maybe I should have just gotten a new Seoul. What’s you go-to travel bag?

The Stuff Inside:

When traveling I use a small zipper pouch to carry my phone, money and cards. I’ve had this Coach zipper pouch with handle for years. It’s large enough to hold the things I need while at the airport or if I want to pop out for dinner without having to carry a large bag or going all loosey goosey.

My ride-or-die items are my pen cases, journal/planner and pocket notebook (AKA Dump Book). At this point, they are emotional support items. They are in almost every planner post I’ve published here the past couple years so they may look familiar to you.

In the chargers and cables bag is an assortment of charging cords (USB-C,micro USB and Lightning because none of my devices use the same one!), a portable battery, AirPods (just in case), iPod and a wall (charging brick) wart. No one wants to see the cord chaos so you get to see the nice zipper case my friend Felicia made years ago.

I also carry a knitting project which is a good way to while away time on a long flight. I can pop my headphones on and listen to music, an audiobook or podcast and feel a little productive. If I get stuck in the middle seat, I will probably read on my Kobo instead. I read while I eat, before bed, in the morning, so whether I use the Kobo on the flight or just at my destination, I like having my dedicated reading device.

I always pack an inhaler in my bag just in case. My asthma is pretty well controlled but I never want to risk it. Always pack the meds you need in your carry-on. I also carry a snack or two because I have trouble finding reasonably priced snacks at the airport. I don’t want to spend $14 on a bag of candy.

Finally, I pack a deck of tarot cards. Sometimes, I read cards for myself and sometime for friends. This mini deck-in-a-tin likes to travel and is easy to tuck into my bag.

What are your ride-or-die items for travel? Favorite bag? Pen Show essentials?

Not pictured: iPhone and Bose QuietComfort headphones. Why? I used the phone to take the picture above and the headphones are on my head MOST of the time.

DISCLAIMER: Some items in this review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Dammit, Donut!

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Link Love: Dammit, Donut!

Tonight is Matt Dinniman’s book signing event here in KC. If you’re not familiar with Matt Dinniman, he wrote the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and has a new book out called Operation Bounce House. It will be hosted by the audiobook reader of the series, Jeff Hays. Pretty much every single one of my friends is headed to the event tonight. So, we are all trying to think up questions to ask, t-shirts to wear and our favorite lines from Dungeon Crawler Carl. No surprise, but Princess Donut is our favorite character here are The Desk, the laser-shooting Persian cat.

Tomorrow morning, I’m hopping on a plane to be at the California Pen Show in LA. Come by the Dromgoole’s table and say hello if you’re attending the show! More news from me and Laura when we return. In the meantime, the cats are in charge. Dammit, Donut!!!

Pens:

Ink:

Planners, Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

Hop a flight to LA this weekend and say hello or save yourself a little coin and join our Patreon. Either way, you’ll see way more of me than you ever wanted, and you’ll be helping keep this site going! Your patronage supports this site. Without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In Tools

EDC: QuiltCon edition

Author Laura CameronPosted on Leave a comment
EDC: QuiltCon edition

This week I’m traveling for both business and pleasure and attending my first QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC. Pretty much every fandom and hobby has some kind of convention you can attend. QuiltCon is the largest modern quilt show in the world, hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild. Just like with pen shows, there is a vendor market, a slew of classes one can take, lots of social events and meetups. The only real difference is that there is a also a juried quilt show, meaning you have to be accepted to display a quilt, and it’s a competition for prizes! Oh, and it’s HUGE.

So what does one take to a quilt show? In addition to the standard water bottle, snacks, comfy shoes and a tote bag for purchases, this is what I’m carrying:

  • Quilting Clips – use these suckers to hold fabric together in place of pins (I packed those too, but I don’t want to drop them anywhere.)
  • A handy ruler – this one happens to be 2.5″ x 8″!
  • A rotary cutter – OLFA happens to be my favorite brand and you know I’m digging the purple. Technically this will need to go in my checked suitcase to get to QuiltCon, but then it will accompany me each day since I will be taking classes!
  • An adorable draw string tote to hold it all. This one was a gift from Ana and came filled with tea. Now it holds all my EDC essentials!
  • A notebook – how could I not? This is the Denik Notebook I purchased from our local stationery shop. It went with me on my last business trip, so it is now my quilty travel notebook.
  • Pens – here I chose two. I’m still in love with my Pilot G2 purple gel pens, and there’s no inky hassle with those on planes so it made lots of sense. Also I couldn’t possibly leave my Retro 51 Patchwork + matching Rickshaw sleeve at home for the big con right?

I’ll be back next week with a full report and (I hope) a pretty journal spread to share!

 

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Troublemaker Abalone

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Ink Review: Troublemaker Abalone

Troublemaker Abalone was one of the first multichromatic inks I ever tried. I remember being absolutely ticked at the color variation and tonal qualities to the ink ranging from reddish purple-pink to a deep bluish purple with hints of teal green inbetween. Depending on the application, any of these tones may show in writing, drawing, painting or doodling. It really is an ink that was, and still is, in a class by itself.

Since the arrival of Troublemaker and some of its signature colors like Abalone, other ink makers have ventured into the multi-chrome world but, in browsing my collection, Abalone still stands out as a unique and singular ink. Vinta’s Lucia Deepwater is more navy blue with the pink and green undertones while Van Dieman’s Nightfall is a lighter purly-pink. The closest Sailor ink I had on hand was Kyokkou and its much more reddish — at least in my swatch.

The swatch on Dromgoole’s site is totally different! Is it my camera or the paper? Either way, Kyokkou is not a dupe for Abalone, no matter what color appears for you.

All that is to say, if you haven’t tried Abalone or one of Troublemaker’s other multichromatic inks, what are you waiting for?

Tools:

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Paper Review

A Review of Paper for 6-Ring Binders

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
A Review of Paper for 6-Ring Binders

I’ve recently acquired several packs of paper for 6-ring binders like Plotter, Filofax and similar. While you can cut and punch paper yourself to fill 6-ring binders, its fun to see that the 6-ring binder market is being revitalized.

I bought a combination of Personal/Bible size (6.73×3.74″) and A5 size (8.26×5.82″). Many of these are also available in the Pocket size but I don’t currently have a binder in Pocket size (4.72×3.18″).

I purchased:

I randomly chose different paper sizes, paper types and rulings without doing a ton of research. It was only when I started testing the paper that I discovered some of the paper was Tomoe River (RayMay Decona 4mm Dot Grid and probably the RayMay DaVinci 6.5mm Ruled but it says its 52gsm bu doesn’t call out Tomoe River specifically). The pink colored paper is a type of paper called Tant and has a very unique texture made from cotton and flax that is normally used for origami but works great with fountain pens.

Once I tested the papers, I discovered some interesting things. The Iroful paper, which I’ve reviewed before (and Tina and Laura did too), didn’t need a thorough review but, when I have a particular use for paper, then I realize what characteristics I need. The Iroful spreads fountain pen ink a little bit which on larger sheets isn’t a big deal but on the reduced real estate of a Bible/Personal-sized sheet can be a problem. The small scale of Bible/Personal planners means every bit of space is precious.

Both the Decona Dot Grid A5 and DaVinci Personal Lined paper is Sanzen Tomoe River — or as close to it as I could tell. Surprisingly, the DaVinci paper (listed as 52gsm but not specifically Tomoe River) has a similar issue with ink spread  as the Iroful but the Decona did not. As a result, both raise the question of the overall quality of the Tomoe River paper from these batches. I loved the Decona and then realized it was Tomoe River so I was very “duh! of course!” and the back of the paper showed very little show through.

The DaVinci was a little squidgy and had more showthrough so maybe its not Tomoe River. For rollerball, gel, ballpoint or felt tip, the DaVinci paper works great and the thinness of the paper will maximize how many sheets you can carry at any one time.

The surprise was the Decona Tant pink paper. It has a very unusual texture. It’s pleasingly toothy (to me) but others might not like it. There is no bleed through and almost no show through even with a thick marker. The color was pleasing and if pink is not your thing, there is an option for ivory as well.

I enjoy having a collection of paper to use in my 6-ring binders and will find ways to use each type of paper to make it quick and easy to add paper when and how I need it. But it does make me think that I need to play with random paper and the hole punch I have so I can add whatever, whenever to my binders.

left, Decona Lined Tant Paper and right, Decona Dot Grid Tomoe River

left, DaVinci lined and right, Iroful blank

Do you like pre-made sheets for your binders or do you like to do-it-yourself?

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens and some were provided by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.