2024 Orlando Pen Show recap

And a brief note on how I also cut my lip open on a Banh Mi

The third annual Orlando Pen Show started on Thursday for vendors and all access passes holders, which wasn’t cool since I had to work that day. Thankfully, the show was open to the public from 10AM to 6PM on both Friday and Saturday, which meant 16 hours of uninterrupted pen time for me, although I noticed some vendors left early on Saturday. It seemed a tiny bit slower than I remember from last year on Saturday, but Friday was definitely packed, and Saturday morning was extremely packed, so much so that I had to give up on revisiting some tables until the crowd cleared around lunchtime.

The following is my account of the mindblowing event also known as the Orlando Pen Show; all opinions are my own, they’re (spoiler alert) overwhelmingly positive, and no one paid me to penfluence anyone (sadly).

This year, the show hosted not one, not two, but three nib meisters. Kirk Speer (@Penrealm on Instagram) was back for the third year in a row and super busy (I got two grinds from him), as were Annabelle (@stringsandpedals) and Matthew Chen (@Pactagon, but you can find him at matthewsnibworks.com too). Actually, I was lucky enough to get grinds from all of them, having only made appointments with the first two, as Matthew Chen doesn’t take appointments online. I am extremely fortunate to have spent time with every single one of these talented individuals for different reasons, and I believe at least one of you, dear readers, will be happy to hear one of my never inked pens has now officially been inked for grinding purposes. Not by me though. Not by me.

Grinds I got: uranagi and cursive italic by Matthew Chen, a cursive italic by Annabelle, and a monoline and a cursive italic by Kirk Speer. You may notice a pattern here, but my logic was that every cursive italic was done on a different nib (Jowo elastic fine, Vanishing Point M, and a no 5 titanium Bock B) by a different person, so each of them vastly differs from the other.

Although my spending habits at pen shows may make you think I receive a salary of a plastic surgeon, I am definitely still very much a social worker, and my pay is actually insufficient to allow me to buy everything I want. Not sure a plastic surgeon would be able to afford my wants either. However, despite the huge damage that was done to my wallet, I am a firm believer in YOLO and I do not regret any single purchase. See for yourself.

Four pens (reviews to follow), four packets of inks (1984 was purchased well before the show and a dear friend was keeping it for me so it doesn’t count; I also was gifted the rest of them), two pen cases, a Traveler’s Notebook insert, a hat, and two nibs (one commemorative and the other… you’ll see).

Before we get into the nitty gritty, I have two complaints about this weekend. One, it was super cold so if you saw me wear the exact same hoodie for two days, it’s not my fault and I swear I own more than one set of clothes. Secondly, and this has nothing to do with the show, I managed to cut my lip open on a banh mi sandwich when I went out for dinner on day one. You read that right.

Onto the good part!

A few days before the official start of the show, Bart, the owner of the Zodiac Pen Co, posted a photo of the new batch of Pisces pens he had just taken off the lathe, and I had promised him I would fight people for at least three of them. I didn’t have to, thankfully, as I darted to his table at 10 am when the show started, and after several minutes of horrible deliberation, I was able to acquire the coolest one of the Pisces.

My new Zodiac Pen Co Pisces. It’s like the ocean floor was a rave.

I visited Carl Fisher’s table (F3 Pens) on day one (Friday) and then kept orbiting around him for hours until I was able to interrupt him while eating on day two, which was absolutely my goal because why would anyone have a break from me. One banter later, I walked away with my first F3 Signature model. I’m not unfamiliar with Carl’s work, but now I am proud to call one of his pens mine. Side note, he’s such a pleasant conversationalist. Full review to follow (of the pen, not the convo).

F3 Pens 2024 Signature model. And here I am, not caring about clips and then picking this beauty up seventeen times before I pulled the plug because I just couldn’t not have it.

Now, I also got a pen from one of the newer makers, and this is cheating because I had bought it before the show actually started. Coati has become a good friend of mine in a relatively short amount of time, and it was amazing to see the quick transition from ‘I’ve never made a pen in my life’ to putting this stunning little pen with a surprising #5 Jowo nib in my inky hands:

Coati Mundi Pen Co Porcini. Yes I was in their car since they were super nice and picked me up from the bus station.

I also bought one ink, Wearingeul 1984, but that was a preorder that another friend was keeping for me, so it doesn’t count towards the bank statement. I was also extremely fortunate to win a few Colorverse inks and to be presented with yet another beautiful bottle for review purposes: Monarca Cardona. I’ve been listing after this ink for months and I can’t wait to review it (thank you Erick!). Side note, as a winner of two giveaways, I will point out that the Orlando Pen Show is the most generous show in the US, with enough door prizes to put all other shows to shame.

Amarillo Stationery’s Erick Gama was extremely kind and generous and I got this cool ink to review.

My only regret about this whole thing was that I didn’t have a chance to actually sit down and talk to Erick from Amarillo Stationery for too long; I did get to admire his fashion sense and kindness to match. Also, I strongly suspect this ink will be one of my new favorites in the absence of Prickly Pear.

Speaking of kindness, ten pen makers donated a pen each for Reef Relief this year. Visitors were allowed to vote for their favorite pen, and the maker with most votes would be getting their table for free next year; this year, and this is not a spoiler anymore, the winner was Abigail Markov. You can see their pen in the top right on the photo I totally discreetly took as I was minding the table. Furthermore, quite a few visitors also bid for their favorite pen via a silent auction, and all proceedings went towards the Reef Relief. As one of the organizers mentioned, “If you like breathing air, you should consider donating to Reef Relief”, and I felt like that was a fair point to make.

Old and new pen makers with their amazing works of art aka pens. Divine Pens Plus with their fabulous stand, the sparkly Maverick Pens, the Abigail Marlon’s Bebe, the Write Turnz with a wild clip, the River City Company’s purple and black pen, the Dave Dollar’s pen with a beautiful drawing, Zodiac Pen Co Pisces that looks like a mermaid, the Robert Tierce aka The Patriot Pen Turner pen, the F3 Pens wild swirls, and the Coati Mundi Pen Co pearl-like Porcini.

Now, for those of you who didn’t necessarily come to the show to buy pens, several vendors sold various stationery and things like magic wands, model dragons, model skulls, pen stands, extremely small Traveler’s notebooks (I’m talking two inches long), pen pouches, bags, postcards, and a slew of other amazing things. I got a hat and a pin from Write Stuff because I am a sucker for pins and I need a hat. Later I found out I missed out on a bunch of other goodies, which means I will just have to go next year again. Thankfully, the show will last an extra half day next year, which makes me extremely happy.

As I mentioned before, I was oddly fortunate to win two giveaways; one was organized by the Orlando Pen Club and was limited to members only (the second one was for all attendees, and I won Colorverse ink!). Jason of Write Turnz made a pen reminiscent of the flag of St. Louis and the Mississippi River, and here it is in my hands after they called my name two times because my brain didn’t register it the first time.

Full review to follow but look at that wild wood! The clip reminds me of a cutlass. Nice.

One may think I was just super lucky this year, and I won’t say I wasn’t, but I would like to take some time now to mention what meant the most to me and why. The thing is, you can’t put a price on taking some time off work (if you can) to enjoy what you love most. Lisa Marie of Pourly Controlled was shocked to see me smile the entire weekend, and after a brief thought, I also realized she was right; I rarely, if ever, smile, especially in this time and age when all we do is work and worry about work. So, to me, the Orlando Pen Show was a very needed, and very welcome break from that, and a time where I can talk to enthusiastic people about beautiful writing instruments, exchange inks, opinions, pens, and just spend quality time with super positive humans. Pen shows really bring together people from all walks of life and of all backgrounds, and I am grateful to be able to be a part of such a huge and diverse community.

So my biggest thanks go to the organizers of the Orlando Pen Show and the Orlando Pen Club, and if I could hug every single person I saw and talked to at the show I would.

Kirk Speer surprised me with his rendition of a banana sitting in a cup of coffee (I’m so up for colab for this)!

Other beautiful pens I sadly didn’t pick up :(

Nahvalur Eclipse, F3 Pens (2024 Signature), more F3 Pens, Taccias, Rob Tierce’s Betsy Ross, another Taccia, and another F3 Pens.

All in all, the show was a win; I’m already looking into PTO for next year for this event.

What’s your favorite pen show, dear readers?