Eye Candy: DC Pen Show Haul

I know it’s probably a little late to post this but with all the preparation for the San Francisco Pen Show, this is the first chance I’ve had to post this. These were the things I picked up in DC. And the funny thing, my biggest purchase, and the one purchase I truly set out to make in DC, didn’t even make it into the photo because it was in my bag. I’ll have to photograph it separately and tuck it in at the end of the post. You’ll just have to scroll all the way to the end of the post to see what it is.

But first, let me tell you about the other things because I’m super excited about them too!

First, there are the pens (and pencils!). A wonderful kind reader brought me two brand new NoBlot pencils she found in her office supply cupboard. I should have written her name down. She told me her name and then a thousand things happened between her handing me the pencils and me putting lovingly putting them in my bag at which point I couldn’t remember. So, please, if you’re reading this, leave a message in the comments so that I can thank you properly!

I “won” the lovely pink vintage fountain pen in the Black Pen Society auction but I think the auction was a bit rigged. No one really bid against me. Mike Matteson of Inkdependence put in a bid to make it look like a fair fight but after that, no one really bid. So, they pretty much let me have it. The nib needs a little tweaking but otherwise its in great shape.

Next is the lovely wood pen from Indian manufacturer Syahi. I got the Monarch model to test with a steel flex nib. It’s a larger pen than I usually use but the wood makes it lighter and warmer in the hand and who could resist the chance to try a new pen from a new manufacturer who is experimenting with steel flex nibs?

And finally, I accosted Brian Chu of Red Dragon Pen Company in the hallway in order to get a hold of one of his custom Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen barrels. I was able to score two of them.

Then there was the amazing Yenderings Sugar Beach 6-pen roll from YenYen who came all the way from Canada to sell her wares.The case is a combination of ultrasuede, cork and cotton fabrics and was inspired by a Toronto water park. I can’t wait to spend more time with the case and write a more thorough review.

My ink purchases weren’t extensive this trip but I did find some goodies. I got three bottles of Penlux ink, the special edition Monteverde DC Supershow Blue and right before I was leaving I was gifted the remainder of a bottle of 2014 Diamine 2014 DC Supsershow Blue.

I don’t know much about the Penlux ink yet though the box says its made by Sailor and the inks were described as being traditional Japanese colors. I bought all the colors available in the square bottles and these origami folded boxes. The only other colors available were a standard blue and black in the squat Sailor bottles.

This is what I truly set out to purchase at the DC Supershow this year. I have been eyeing the craftsmanship of Yoshi Nakama at 18111 for well over a year. I didn’t know he had a table at the show last year because I was so busy working that I didn’t hear about it until Sunday night after the show was closed and was told he had sold everything. Then in San Francisco a few weeks later, I was able to hold Leigh Reyes’s beautiful custom 18111 creations in my hands. Then I knew for sure that one day I wanted to own one of my own. So, I quietly watched his Instagram feed and Etsy shop debating and trying to decide. They are all so beautiful and unique. Eventually, I waited until the show in hopes that seeing them in person would help me make a decision.

I decided on this beautiful pink swirl with white and pink sakura blossoms and a twig roll stop.

Best of all, the Regalia Writing Labs nib that Laura bought me for my birthday fits perfectly and I can think of no better pen with which to pair it.

So, as I start the day at the SF Pen Show, I can think of no better to celebrate one pen show than to remember another.

As always, though, as much as we love the objects, pen shows are as much about the people we meet, the friends me make, the makers who create theses wonderful things and the memories we make at these events (and later, the things we create WITH these things) as they are about the actual objects.