{"id":15727,"date":"2025-09-05T08:00:28","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=15727"},"modified":"2025-09-11T22:27:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T02:27:45","slug":"sf-pen-show-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/sf-pen-show-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 San Francisco Pen Show Rating"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Originally, I intended to only write one post about the San Francisco Pen Show<\/a>. But, after restarting my post four times, I realized I needed to break it into pieces. Today’s post is my show review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I already know, based on the categories I rate, the SF Pen Show will have a poor showing. However, it’s not a bad show by any means. I definitely would go back again if the stars align. So, keep an eye out for my follow-up post(s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that out of the way, allow me to share my impressions of the 2025 SF Pen Show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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For those unfamiliar with it, the SF pen show is a typical Friday-Saturday-Sunday show and is widely accepted as the second-largest show in the USA, after the DC Pen Show<\/a>. It’s currently being held at the Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel, with the ALoft San Francisco Airport Hotel serving as the overflow hotel \u2014 they’re only separated by a small parking lot. The show fills the entirety of the Westin ballroom, the five event rooms around the ballroom, and all of the foyer space around the rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"SF<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"SF<\/a><\/figure>\n
I edited the official pen show map<\/a> to include vendor names and colors to represent the type of vendor. I found the additions very useful.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jim and I have wanted to attend the SF Pen Show for 6+ years. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, it never quite worked out. Until this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim was most eager to see the Asian vendors that don’t make it to the DC and Baltimore<\/a> shows. I was most interested in meeting some more indie makers. While there was certainly some vendor overlap with our home shows, there were also many vendors that were new to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike other shows I’ve been to, the SF Pen Show opens EARLY \u2014 9am on Friday and 8am Saturday and Sunday for all-access pass holders. Several vendors didn’t get set up for the 8am start. The early start didn’t discourage the attendees, though; there were crazy lines to get in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For giggles, Jim and I headed to the Westin \u2014 we stayed at the ALoft \u2014 around 7:50 on Friday, thinking we could relax a bit. But nope, there was already a significant line. By the time the show opened at 9, the line went out the door and wrapped around the building. There was a similar line for the general admission opening at 1pm and slightly shorter lines for both openings on Sunday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show was chaotic with so many people; more on that later. Everyone raced to the tables they were most interested in. It was a feeding frenzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This was the main foyer on Saturday afternoon, when it was a bit calmer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The hotel seemed to be better prepared than I’m used to. Whether it was because we ate earlier than usual or because the hotel actually did better, I don’t know. We had fairly good service for the two meals we ate at the hotel restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unlike my home shows, I don’t have any real info about organization from the vendor perspective. That said, I did hear a couple of comments about vendors being well-treated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Registration on Friday morning was easy, the tables were devoted to all-access pass pick-up, with badges separated into easy groupings by last name. There was also a badge decoration station which was a cool idea. There were stickers you could add to your badge, and markers for single-day pass purchasers to write their name on their “Hello my name is” sticker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The signage was pretty good. The registration desk, badge decorating area, show swag table, and overflow rooms at the ALoft were well marked. I didn’t attend any of the seminars nor sign up for any of the workshops, so I don’t know if the seminar and workshop rooms were equally well marked, but I’m guessing they probably were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My only “gripe” \u2014 if you want to call it that \u2014 is that with two hotels, we ended up with multiple after-hours events. Unlike single-hotel shows, where you can easily check out the different events and choose your favorite, you had to go between hotels to get to the different events. I realize there isn’t a fix for this, but it was something I noticed that I feel is worth mentioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to give show organizers credit for doing their best to divert the long lines to areas where they wouldn’t interfere with normal hotel traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Layout<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I realize that, with a couple of exceptions, the layout was probably about as good as it could be. That said, it was also pretty bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rows were very tight. With some, there was only enough space for a single line of people to walk comfortably, and we had to fit 4 rows of people (shoppers for tables on either side, and both directions of “traffic”). When you add in backpacks and tote bags \u2014 some of which were far too large for a pen show \u2014 areas became almost impassable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because many areas were overcrowded, they also became overheated, especially on Friday. The smaller rooms seem to have had the temperature adjusted by Saturday, but the nibmeister row, especially on the end near the door, stayed rather warm, likely because of the windows there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SF<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The odd, alternating layout in the ballroom also caused some bottlenecks. The switch from horizontal traffic to vertical traffic, back to horizontal traffic certainly caused some issues. The ballroom would have been better served to have a single layout in the center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, while I realize that vendors pay for tables in specific areas, it doesn’t help traffic to have busy vendors in high-traffic areas or to have multiple busy vendors in one area. For example, the Hickory\/Hawthorne room had Pinky Elephant, which had a back-and-forth line of people waiting to shop from because of a visiting artist, Yamamoto paper, Hanabi Glass Studio, and Kubo & Lucy which drew large crowds, on top of Inkyconverters, Reytorra, and Paper Treats which drew slightly smaller but still decent sized crowds. So, that room was a zoo all weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The selection was amazing. The amount of stationery surprised me. There were lots of vendors with stickers, washi, stamps, pins, etc. The SF pen show felt more like an all-stationery show than a pen show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was an excellent balance between indie-made pens, large manufacturer pens, and vintage pens, as well as a great balance between fountain pens and rollerball\/ballpoint\/felt tip pens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only thing I would have liked to see more of was ink. While some individual stores brought their own inks \u2014 Nagasawa, Hachimonjiya, Amarillo Stationery, etc. \u2014 I’m used to seeing a wider variety. Only Dromgoole’s had a decent variety of brands. But, perhaps I’m just spoiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The SF Pen Show is expensive. The all-access pass is $70, with the only benefit being early access on each of the three days. If there’s anything in particular you’re hoping to get, you need<\/strong> an all-access pass, or there is a decent chance it will be sold out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An all-access pass grants you entry at 9am on Friday and 8am on Saturday and Sunday versus 1pm on Friday and 10am on Saturday and Sunday for general admission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Single and multi-day passes are more in line with other shows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n