{"id":17073,"date":"2026-07-31T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=17073"},"modified":"2026-07-31T08:10:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T12:10:52","slug":"pen-show-prep-differently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/pen-show-prep-differently\/","title":{"rendered":"Pen Show Prep, Differently"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

While social media abounds with tantalizing Stationery Fest details, I’m diligently preparing for the DC Pen Show. I’ve signed up for the classes I’m taking, I’ve book my nibmeister appointments, I’ve started my shopping list, and I’m making progress on the presentations for the classes I’m teaching. But this year, my pen show prep started in June with a push to finally use more ink samples and make some sellables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since my June 7 pen rotation<\/a>, I’ve only filled pens with ink samples \u2014 rather than bottles \u2014 my long-fill pens excluded. My goal has been to test samples I’ve had for a while to decide if I want to pick up a full bottle at the DC show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

So far, I’ve used 40 samples! Of those, I’ve moved 21 to the “for dupes” bins. Some of those didn’t interest me as much as I thought they would. Others were part of ink battles \u2014 I’ll share them later \u2014 and lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of those, I used an additional 5 samples as part of my June ink comparisons<\/a> and relegated 3 of them to the dupes bins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it means I have to neglect my bottled ink, I’m planning to continue using only ink samples until I’ve tested the remaining 70. I can use some extra during the remaining two 30 inks 30 days opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took me 3 years, but I’m finally going to accomplish this goal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But wait, there’s more<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ink testing hasn’t been my only “different” show prep this year. I’ve also been making some crochet stuff to sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akhila of Smruti Pens<\/a> has kindly agreed to host my stuff at her table. So, if you go to the show, make sure you swing by to see her. Extra business is the best thank you to a small shop. Smruti Pens is usually in Room 1, along the hallway between check-in and the garage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not going to show what all I’ve made so far, but here’s a sneak peek. I’ll share more next week on my Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"close-up<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Are you going to the DC Pen Show? Have you started preparing? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Make sure to subscribe to my blog<\/a> or follow me on Instagram<\/a> so you don\u2019t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DC Pen Show prep is underway, but this year is a bit different than previous years.<\/p>\n

Keep ReadingPen Show Prep, Differently<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[407,417],"tags":[500,83],"class_list":["post-17073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ink","category-pen-shows","tag-2026-dc-pen-show","tag-dc-pen-show","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/penShowPrep-featured.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-4rn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10909,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2023-dc-pen-show-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":0},"title":"2023 DC Pen Show, Part 1","author":"Rachel","date":"August 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"My first of 3? posts about the 2023 DC Pen Show. I'm starting off with what I did and what I bought during the \"main\" show days.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"handwriting analysis printout","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230807_205354.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230807_205354.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230807_205354.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230807_205354.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230807_205354.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15604,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/pen-show-planning\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":1},"title":"Pen Show Planning","author":"Rachel","date":"July 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We're a week away from the DC Pen Show and I'm way behind in my planning. Find out what's on my mind as we enter the final countdown to show time.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/penShowPlanning_featured.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2038,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/fp201-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":2},"title":"Fountain Pen 201: Community","author":"Rachel","date":"August 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome back to Fountain Pen 201, and happy Fountain Pen Friday! In this issue, I'll be discussing the fountain pen community.","rel":"","context":"In "Fountain Pens"","block_context":{"text":"Fountain Pens","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/fountain-pens\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14724,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/resolutions-tag-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":3},"title":"Pen Resolutions Tag 2025","author":"Rachel","date":"January 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Once again, I\u2019m revisiting last year\u2019s Pen Resolutions Tag answers to see how I did with them and providing answers (and some new questions) for this year.","rel":"","context":"In "Fountain Pens"","block_context":{"text":"Fountain Pens","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/fountain-pens\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/2025Resolutions_featured.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":144,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2017-dc-pen-show-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":4},"title":"2017 DC Pen Show #1","author":"Rachel","date":"August 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This weekend was the 2017 DC Pen Show. I\u2019ve been waiting to go since I learned about it in fall of last year. My fianc\u00e9, Jim, and I are moving soon, so we're busy doing all the pre-moving stuff chores and errands. That means we didn\u2019t have a full weekend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo of my Bag of Holding","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/bagOfHolding.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15680,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2025-dc-pen-show\/","url_meta":{"origin":17073,"position":5},"title":"2025 DC Pen Show","author":"Rachel","date":"August 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I went to the pen show with good intentions. But, I completely blew my budget before noon on Friday. I have zero regrets.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"screenshot of the pen show map showing the upstairs rooms","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2025-dc-upstairs.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2025-dc-upstairs.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2025-dc-upstairs.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2025-dc-upstairs.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17073"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17078,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17073\/revisions\/17078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}