In last week’s post, I promised you an overview of my experience of the San Francisco Pen Show (SFPS). This is that post, and I promise it’s more positive than the other one was.
For anyone who didn’t read the review post, this was my and Jim’s first time at the SFPS. We’ve wanted to attend for 6-7 years, and have been planning to go for 3-4 years, but only just made it this year.
Jim’s initial interest in the show centered on the array of Asian, especially Japanese, vendors who go to the SFPS but don’t make it to the DC show. Over the years, a few have started attending, but we found out they bring a wider variety to the SFPS. For example, check out Bungubox at DC and at SF.
My interest was more focused on seeing the second-largest pen show. And, while the show was rather nuts, I’m happy we went.
The Vibes
At the show, the vibe was pretty chaotic. There was a lot of the “feeding frenzy” feeling I associate with the Franklin-Christoph tables at a show opening. But outside of the actual show area, it was super relaxed and everyone was really friendly.
What really surprised me, though, was how much the SFPS felt like a stationery show. The pen shows I’ve been to are “true” pen shows from both the vendor and attendee perspectives. The SFPS, though, had serious stationery show vibes for attendees, despite the vendor count leaning toward pens. I wasn’t expecting that, and I definitely wasn’t expecting the lines at some of the stationery vendor tables. Side note: I want to make sure I’m clear; I don’t consider the stationery show vibes a bad thing, just interesting and different than I’m used to.
Outside of the actual show area, it was super relaxed and everyone was really friendly. I think Jim and I met more new people at the SFPS than at the last few shows we’ve been to combined. Now, to be fair, it’s not all that surprising, since our recent shows have been our “home shows.” But, I was expecting to feel somewhat isolated since we only knew vendors and a couple of attendees going in. The general friendliness may even outweigh the Baltimore show.
Something Different
To avoid some of the travel crowds around labor day, we flew to San Francisco on Thursday and returned home on Monday. What we didn’t consider is how long that made the show feel.
We got to see and even chat with some arriving vendors on Thursday and Friday morning. Usually, we’re driving to the show on Friday morning, arriving at, or a little after, show opening.
Then on Sunday afternoon and evening, we chatted with and hung out with some people when we usually head back home sometime in the late morning or early afternoon.
I lost track of which day it was, thinking Saturday was Sunday, which was a nice “surprise.” But, overall, despite how intense the show itself was, I felt like we had lots of time to relax.
The “after dark” hangout was surprisingly chill. At DC and Baltimore, it feels like everyone is in the lobby. It’s crowded and LOUD. But, even for the bit we attended the “official” after-dark hangout, it felt more relaxed.
I need to caveat, that, though, with a reminder that we really only knew vendors at the SFPS. So, part of the relaxed feel could simply be that we didn’t know as many people.
The official hangout got louder than I prefer — likely because it was in an enclosed ballroom — but the unofficial hangouts in the ALoft lobby were quieter.
Something Fun
After spending too much at the show on Friday and Saturday morning, I decided to distract myself by completing my own stamp rally. The little Midori MD notebook I had with me was just big enough to fit all of the stamps. Here are some of my favorite pages.
A Pleasant Surprise
The last pleasant surprise I had at the show was a couple of unexpected sales. I’ve been making crochet pen lanyards to test their strength with the idea of selling them at pen shows in the future. I’d promised one to a vendor friend at the DC show, and decided to make myself a new one, plus one more for funsies to test an extra yarn.
Well, someone asked to buy one, and, as they walked around, some other people wanted one, too. So, I ended up selling the second one as well.
Then, as a cherry on the top of the surprise sundae, Mark Dwight of Rickshaw wanted one. I had to speed crochet that evening and the next morning, but I was able to finish one, with a couple of color changes since I didn’t have enough purple yarn with me. It’s pretty cool to have a photo with Mr. Rickshaw himself with him wearing a pen case I made.
Final Thoughts
I wouldn’t consider the SFPS my favorite show; BWIPS still holds that title. But, I’m happy we were finally able to attend. I would like to go again at some point in the future. For now, I’m pleased to finally check the SFPS off of my list of pen shows to attend, and I’d definitely recommend it to others.
Have you been to the SFPS? If so, what did you think of it? If not, do you want to go? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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Attribution: The image I used in the share images for Instagram and Facebook is an edited version of “Golden Gate Bridge” by Fatima Tuz Zohura Nishat, on Vecteezy.com.
