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The Orlando Pen Show took place September 8th – 10th at the Florida Hotel in Orlando, FL. This was my first year attending, and I walked out after two days as a fountain pen addict.
Expectations
First, I had no idea what to expect. I saw on the website that there would be a handful of classes, some with additional fees for materials, and a vendor room. As I showed in my bullet journaling post, I enjoy writing and putting pen to paper. Digital is great, but handwriting is where my heart is. I was excited to see how many pen enthusiasts would be in attendance and what the selection of vendors would take from my wallet.
Considering the event was held at the Florida Hotel, located at the Florida Mall, I was expecting a nice setup. This is a popular tourist spot for its plethora of shops and unique food. The hotel itself has a restaurant, Chick-fil-A, and a Starbucks all in the lobby.
The signage and check-in was easy to find and I was able to get scanned in and into my class in no time. The crew working the show were friendly and happy to answer or explain anything about the show, including how the door prizes worked.
Classes
The only class I attended was Fountain Pens 101. I wish I had made the time to go to the follow-up class, but maybe next year.
Fountain Pens 101 was what got me hooked on fountain pens. The class cost $15 and included a beginner-friendly Platinum Preppy 03 pen as well as a collection of paper samples from Lighthouse Paper Co. We learned how to clean our new pen and the various kinds of ink we could load it with, the differences in paper, and much more. I quickly realized that the pen we were given did not like regular notebook paper, and I was determined to find a notebook it would work with before I left the show.
In the class, I met some amazing people who were more than happy to talk about pens and teach what they knew. One instructor gave out their cell phone number to the class in case anyone had questions afterward.
The class was the best $15 I spent at the show, but it was also the beginning of me spending much more.
Vendor Room
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The classes were great, but the vendor room was where the action was.
Walking into the show, the vendors were nicely set up with plenty of space to move around. It wasn’t overcrowded but it was packed. Not everyone sold the same thing, so it was nice to see a mix of available options.
Something I wasn’t expecting was the cost of some of the pens at this show rivaled anything I’ve seen sold at the largest of conventions (including MegaCon). One vendor had a pen going for over $1,700, and they had marked it down to half that for the show attendees.
It was nice to see so many people passionate about something and enjoying themselves (even if a lot of it was out of my price range in this lifetime).
There was plenty of items in my budget, and that’s where I got into trouble.
Favorite Vendors
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One of my favorite vendors was easily Stationery Universe. The young ladies were happy to talk about the various pens and inks they had available at the table. They also had hand-painted fountain pen converters—these hold ink for the pen if you are not using a pre-filled cartridge—that were beautifully done.
I purchased a few items from this booth including my first TWSBI Eco T (pronounced Twisby) pen and a Pilot Kakuno pen. I’ll cover the TWSBI Eco and the Kakuno more in-depth in my next fountain pens post, so stay tuned!
I also purchased my first bottle of ink, Poseidon by Laban. It’s a lovely light teal color and it has a pastel effect on the page. It also matches my TWSBI. I can see myself picking up more from this brand in the future.
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Another booth that was a favorite was Anderillium Handcrafted Inks. Their setup included fountain pen-friendly paper—yes, there is a special paper that works best for fountain pens—to try out the wide variety of inks they were selling. The packaging reminded me of little jam jars.
We talked for a bit, and they were kind enough to give me a bottle of Banded King Shoemaker Butterfly Blue and Vampire Squid Red to match my pens. I’ll be writing them up in a full review, so keep your eyes out on GeekDad for more.
Another favorite vendor was Harold’s Bright Idea. They sold vintage and contemporary pens and other writing instruments. It was cool to look over the older pens and see how far we’ve come in terms of materials and styles. They were very friendly and happy to talk about anything on their table.
Finally, I learned a lot from Pourly Controlled’s table, where they sold pen blanks at a reasonable rate. For $20 you could get a quality tube of poured resin and then take it to any pen maker of your choosing to have a pen made (additional cost). If I had the money to get a custom pen, I’d have easily bought two or three of these from her. These went fast the first day, and by early the second day, it looked like more than half her stock was gone.
My New Addiction
I had only intended on going to the show for one day, but when I got home I realized I wanted more. I went to the second day and enjoyed myself immensely. I would have stayed longer than I did, but I had a commitment that afternoon that I couldn’t skip out on.
I visited Stationery Universe a second time and made a couple more purchases. They gave me a cool pen lanyard as a thank-you for stopping by a second time. My TWSBI didn’t work well when I got home the night before, so they were nice enough to have their “Nibmiester” get it working better.
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This is also the day I picked up ink from Anemoia Mercantile. They had a gorgeous purple ink that I fell in love with. Sadly, they sold out before I discovered it. They also had a lovely green called Anemoia Borealis that was a show exclusive. Only 200 bottles were made for the show. It’s a shimmer ink with a neat sheen to it. (More on those terms in my fountain pens post.) I keep my Kakuno filled with this one.
End of the Day Thoughts
At the end of the day, I couldn’t be happier that I took the time to stop by the show. I admit, I felt a little silly going to a show dedicated to pens, but it’s something I enjoy and I told myself to take the leap and try it out. Now, I’m addicted to writing with fountain pens and I’ve even started to learn about glass dip pens! It’s a fun world that I’m glad this show introduced me to and welcomed me with open arms.
Pen Show Orlando returns in September 2025 and will be a four-day event instead of three! I’m looking forward to attending again and this time taking the time to attend more classes and make some new friends.
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