The Pen Addict 727/transcript

The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript
Episode:	727
Title:	We’re Heading to Stationery Fest!
Release Date:	July 29th, 2026
Hosts:	Brad Dowdy Myke Hurley
Guests:	No guests this episode
Additional Information
Official page:	Episode 727
Audio File:	Audio Episode 727
Podcast page:	The Pen Addict 727
Length:	5151 min <br />0.85 h <br /> minutes
Previous Transcript	Next Transcript

Pen Addict Intro

Brad Dowdy: From Relay, this is The Pen Addict, episode 727. Today's show is brought to you by Collidercraft and Pen Chalet. My name is Myke Hurley, and I'm joined by Brad Dowdy. Hi, Brad. What's up, Myke Hurley? How are you? Very good. We're going to be... Actually, when this episode comes out, we're probably hanging out. So, that'll be fun. Getting ready for New York Stationery Fest.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Stationery Fest is going to be epic. This is going to be our preview episode. I think pretty much everything we're going to talk about this week is Stationery Fest. Yes. Planning, prep. There's a lot going on. Should we start there?

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So, I'm going to break the timeline. We're recording this in advance. We mentioned it in last week's episode. So, there will be things that we're saying which won't make any sense. So, I'll just say I was talking to Adina yesterday about Stationery Fest. And I was just like, just trying to explain to her a little bit about like, how different it is than the things that we've done in the past. And I'm getting that from seeing their Instagram, which I'll talk about in a little bit. They're just like posting products, like different kinds of products. So, the types of exhibitors that are going to be there. So, that'll be fun. I'm looking forward to it. So, yes. We're going to be at Stationery Fest. New York Stationery Fest is happening in Brooklyn from July the 30th to August the 1st in Brooklyn, New York. We're going to be hanging out the whole time pretty much, I expect. We'll be around the show multiple days, but we're doing a bunch of stuff too. I don't... I think they're all sold out ticket-wise, right? I think that happened quite a while ago.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. So, that's always been one of the challenges. This is the second time they've done Stationery Fest. The first time, like it was like... They've tried to change a lot in the two years. And it's still just like overwhelming interest in it. So, like, yeah. Ticketing has been tough. Getting into classes has been tough for people. So, like I don't want to like sugarcoat that. Like it's become crazy popular in a way I don't think anyone expected.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah.

Myke Hurley: And it's super interesting. And it'll be good to like recap after we get back and see how it goes. Because, you know, they had a lot of challenges the last time. This is at a completely different event space than the previous time. So, like it's going to be hard to compare the two, but like they definitely had some challenges they had to work through. And then it started off this year again with like ticket availability right from the jump, like all the way back in February. But I believe if I've read the marketing correctly in some of the emails we get, they capped it at 10,000 tickets. And that was cut off like a month ago. So, it's insane to me to go to an event that has already like that type of scale like built into it, right? You've been to very busy D.C. and San Francisco shows. And they do multiple thousands of people through the gate. I don't know what this is going to be like scale and scope wise. So, it's going to be good to like keep some of these things in mind as we, when we do our recap. It's going to be, I'm expecting this to be very different even from the event I went to in 2024. So, a couple of links to get us started. If you go into the show notes, we'll have the link to stationaryfestival.com and their Instagram. I also put my Instagram in there because I'll be posting a lot during the show. So, y'all can follow me there if you don't already. And I'll try to do some live stuff, some posts, some Q&A stuff. It's going to be a busy, busy event in general. But Myke and I have some panels that we're going to be doing.

Myke Hurley: So, this space, like I've just looked at the pictures and then like the map. So, if you're going to stationary fest, go to the stationary festival website. They have maps you can download, like PDF maps that are fantastic and vendor lists and all these things. You might actually need a map to get around this space. So, Myke and I, each day of stationary fest, are going to be in the courtyard area once a day holding vendor panels. So, Thursday at 2 o'clock, and these are times from like an hour and a half panel. And these are free to attend for anyone coming to stationary fest. And you can swing by and come see. I don't know exactly how the space is going to be laid out. But it should be plenty of room for anyone. And so, like Thursday from 2 to 3.30, the topic that we'll be discussing is the stationary hobby over the last 10 years. And we're going to have Jenny Bick, who is a notebook maker. It's been in D.C. She's been doing this since like the 90s. So, she'll be great to talk to about how the hobbies change. We're going to have Tiki from Aura Stell, who just released their 2027 planner. And Myke, they are really always in the middle of any paper gate situation going on.

Brad Dowdy: I remember we spoke about them as one of the makers trying to deal and was like dealing hard with the Tomorrow River situation. Exactly.

Myke Hurley: Exactly. So, like having Tiki there to discuss like the changes, like we don't even have to go 10 years. We can go like the past like five years with trying to make a planner business and having paper challenges. So, that's going to be a great topic for you and I to discuss. And then we'll also be joined by Ryan from Estabrook, who has seen a lot in the past decade or more of the stationary industry. So, you know, all of these events we have are going to be great conversations. Myke and I will have questions. We'll probably take questions from the audience and just, you know, we're going to have a topic. But we'll obviously talk about plenty of other things, right? We're going to have like a main topic to present with all of our guests. And it's going to be cool. So, that's just the Thursday. That's just the Thursday talk, Myke. Friday, I don't know. You might be pretty jazzed about this one. I know I'm jazzed about this one. Friday, 2 o'clock to 3.30, also in the courtyard. Designing a great stationary product. We might have opinions, Myke. So, we're going to be joined by Plotter. I'm not sure who the contacts are going to be for these yet. But I think it's going to be Takayuki-san from Plotter, who is the original Plotter designer. But we will find out there. We're going to have a Leuchterm on this panel, which you can bet there will be Dregorfeld questions. And we're going to have Tono and Limbs. I believe we're going to have one of the founders of Tono and Limbs, the ink brand, from there.

Brad Dowdy: That panel could be an accent extravaganza. Yeah.

Translation Panels

Myke Hurley: So, I don't know if you know this. Because I haven't. I'm the conduit letting Myke know. Some of our panels will have translators, just for the record.

Adina: I've never dealt with that before. Okay. Cool. Cool.

Myke Hurley: So, I've done this before. I've done translation interviews the last time I was at Stationery Fest, which was epic. Wow. That would be a new one for me.

Brad Dowdy: I'm excited about that.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Yeah. So, that should be fun.

Brad Dowdy: I still stand by accent extravaganza. Totally.

Myke Hurley: Totally. So, we'll see. We'll see. But that's obviously going to be super interesting. from a modern system notebook maker, like Plotter, to a classic historical brand, like Leuchterm, that's been doing this for 100 years. Mm-hmm. And then, such a unique ink maker, like Tono and Lim's, who really leans into those storytelling aspects of making products. Yeah. This could be really, really fun. This could be really fun. Really fun to do. So, that's Friday at 2 o'clock in the courtyard. Then, Saturday, we're going every day, Myke. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1230, we're going hobbyist to full-time stationery brand. I don't know. These, all of these, all of these themes for these panels are perfect for us. Good themes. Like, I love this. Yeah. Yeah. Hobbyist to full-time stationery brand. So, we're going to have Margaret from Once More With Love, who's a great stationery maker and designer. We're going to have Ben from Mayfair Pens, who, clarify, which I will clarify during this, Ben has not gone full-time. Okay. But he makes some of the most unique pens, and I definitely want you to see Ben's pens in person when we're at the show. So, I've known Ben for a while and makes wonderful pens. And then, I believe we're going to have Everyday Explorers, and I think we're going to have Christine, who is the founder of Everyday Explorers, who I've known for a few years and makes wonderful, wonderful stationery products. So, this is going to be an interesting conversation on someone who's turned a hobby into a full-time brand. And that's something that I think is always interesting, not just to me and you, Myke, but to a lot of our listeners. Yes. And this community is so creative and, you know, thinking about what people are thinking about making and turning that into, like, a full-time job. And I think it's going to be super interesting. All three of these panels. So, that's our panel schedule. One a day, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And all this schedule can be found on stationeryfestival.com as well.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So, if you are going to be at Stationery Fest and you want to see us, these are the times when you know you can find us. Yeah. Right? Like, because we're going to be at the show, but, like, it feels like it's so large. It may not. You may not be able to find us, even if you're trying. But these ones, so it's Thursday at 2 p.m., Friday at 2 p.m., and Saturday at 11 a.m. And they're in the courtyard area. Yeah. And I think I'd be... These are places you know we'll be there.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I think I'd be happy to say, like, after each show, we'd be happy to hang around for a while. Absolutely. Chat, meet anyone. Before is always difficult because you're getting set up and getting all that done. But, like, after any of those shows, we're going to be in that area. And that area is also going to be just, like, a common meetup area for the show itself. There's going to be other people, other meetups in the courtyard area. Yep. So, that'll be fun to hang out. Fun to hang out there. So, that's our official schedule, but that's just a small part of this event, Myke. So, in general, how hyped are you for this event?

Brad Dowdy: Well, I'm very excited because, you know, as I mentioned before, this is the first pen or stationery show that I've been to since 2019. So, I've been waiting, you know? Oh, yeah. I'm coming out of retirement.

Brad Dowdy: So, I'm very excited for just that, for being in that environment again because I love these environments. I'm even more excited about the unknown of this because I've never been to a stationery show before. And so, I feel like I've yet to understand fully the product offerings. So, like, I follow Stationery Fest on Instagram and they're resharing a lot of people who are preparing their products, like vendors. And the breadth of product is very interesting to me. Like, I saw yesterday someone making, like, a beautiful stationery-themed cardigan that they're selling at the show. No way. I think I want one. Right? Say it again?

Myke Hurley: I said right.

Brad Dowdy: That's, like, right up your alley. Yes. It's so, like, but there's loads of stuff. And I feel like I don't... And I also don't understand the scale, which I don't think you do either because I think the scale is bigger. Right? So, like, the scale of the space and how that's going to feel to move around in and how it's going to feel to shop in with all these thousands of people. I don't know what that's going to be like. And I'm excited about the unknown of it. I also bought a bigger second suitcase.

Brad Dowdy: So. Yeah. I feel like I'm going to come home with a lot of stuff.

Myke Hurley: You're prepping in advance. So, yeah. I'm just traveling with some extra space, maybe, in the existing suitcase. And if something happens, it happens.

Brad Dowdy: There are some cases that we will take for the whole family. You know, we have, like, a big one and a kind of medium-sized one. And it's like, I don't think the medium-sized one is going to work.

Myke Hurley: So.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. Just double big. We're also just in New York in general. There's going to be a lot of, like, souvenir acquiring, I feel like. So, we're going to need a bigger boat.

Myke Hurley: Yep. I'm kind of with you on that. The hype level is, like, off the charts. But in just a being there way. Like, you know, I know I'll shop. And I know I'll see all these vendors. And I know I'll get to see some friends. And I know I'll get to do these great interviews. And I know I'll get to walk around. And, you know, I know I'll get to, you know, share this with my wife. You know, who's never been, you know, to an event like this before. Like, she's going to be tripping out. It's going to be cool just to be there in that environment. The scale, I'll be most anxious to, like, kind of get a grasp on the first day. Just to, like, have that mental, like, visual of what's going on. And just kind of wrap my head around it. I think it's going to be pretty big relative to anything I've been to before. Like, I've been to, like, other bigger conventions and, like, crazy stuff like that. But, like, just from a stationary perspective, seeing stuff like this. I've seen, like, you mentioned Instagrams. Just some of the individual Instagrams, like, of brands that are going to be there. Talking about, like, their ticketing cues for the tables and stuff like that. It's going to be kind of wild. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, it's going to be unlike some things that we've seen before. Like, I've seen that at the previous stationary fest.

Brad Dowdy: I remember you mentioning that. I wasn't sure. I didn't know it was happening again. But, obviously, it's going to need to, isn't it?

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Yeah, like, cues within cues type of situation. Right. Fascinating. So, yeah. Like, which can be tough. Like, that's not, like, necessarily, like, a good thing. But, like, what they've done, like, from a ticketing perspective is had, like, blocks. Like, morning and afternoon blocks. So, it's not like, you know, they've sold all these tickets and everyone's just free to come in, you know, Friday morning at 10 a.m. Is that one of the changes from the first time? Yeah. They tried to do that a little bit the first time. But that is, they did it more dedicated options for that this time. So, seeing the space. The space looks kind of epic. Like, and seeing how it's all laid out and how it's all going to flow and work with the amount of people and the popularity of a lot of the vendors. It's going to be cool to see. So, I don't envy the team behind the scenes. They put in a lot of work. They did have so many volunteers last time. And I think they were still, like, short. So, I'm sure they've just, they've got, I bet they probably have a pretty good grasp on that. And it's hopefully going to run super well. And I look forward to it.

Product Discussion

Brad Dowdy: All right. Let's take a break and we'll talk about some of the product stuff that we're most excited about. Yeah, yeah. This episode is brought to you by our friends over at ColliderCraft, a small maker creating playful and functional accessories for stationary enthusiasts. They design loads of their products in-house. They collaborate with 3D artists to curate and adapt designs specifically with pen and stationary lovers in mind. This includes pieces that feature their own original illustrations printed directly onto the finished printed products. They're also wanting to let you know about their newest product and thing that lots of people are excited about, the Build Your Own Washi Wallet. The Washi Wallet is a customizable pocket-sized storage system for washi tape samples. So, you can mix and match inserts to fill your collection in your own washi wallet and swap them out whenever you want. Every washi wallet includes a cutter. So, you can cut the washi with a straight or serrated edge. And you can keep your favorite tapes all organized whether you're using them at your desk, while you're journaling at a coffee shop, or heading to your next pen show. So, check out the Washi Wallet. But while you're there over at ColliderCraft, you're also going to find some fountain pen nib holders, ink vial holders, pen rests, desk accessories, charms, and other stationary-inspired accessories. As we've mentioned before, I'm a big fan of some of their clickers and fidget toys. They also have some, like, silent fidget toys, which I have as well, which are super helpful for, you know, if you're a podcaster.

Brad Dowdy: You can play with some of those, too. So, they've got tons of stuff over at ColliderCraft.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, I was lucky. I got to build my own washi wallet when I was at the St. Louis Pen Show, like, a month ago. And it has been, like, a staple on my desk since then because I love using washi for various things. Like, in my notebooks, I use them when I do giveaways. You know, I'm always taping stuff, and I want to have, like, a fun washi to use. But, like, washi storage is always a challenge. You know, my washi rolls generally just kind of live in a bin altogether, and I'm kind of shuffling through there. I know, you know, what I want theme-wise or style-wise for my washi or a product I want to use, but then I got to go dig through and find it. Well, what I've done with the washi wallet is put some of my favorites on the individual cards, which, you know, and then I just keep those cards on my desk. And, like, the availability of all my washi in such a small, like, compact space saves me so much space, and then everything's there. Like, it's so cool. And it's fun to just build the washi wallet. It's like, oh, well, I have these washi rolls. I can just use the roll and just grab them whenever I want. Well, yeah, it's kind of fun to, like, pick out the cards and then run the tape around the cards to, you know, make a card that now has five rolls of washi on it. And it's just so much more portable, so much more usable, so much more fun. And I'm definitely going to bring at least one of my washi wallet cards, maybe a special one, to Stationery Fest. So you might have to come ask to see some of my washi.

Brad Dowdy: We have a special offer for Pen Addict listeners so you can build your own washi wallet. Go to KaleidocraftPrints.com slash Pen Addict to see an exclusive Pen Addict washi insert. Build your own washi wallet and explore everything else that they're making. There's a link in the show notes. And if you use the code Pen Addict to get that Pen Addict washi insert, you'll get it for free and 15% off your order. That is KaleidocraftPrints.com slash Pen Addict and the code Pen Addict to get your exclusive free washi wallet insert and an additional 15% off your order. Our thanks to KaleidocraftPrints for their support of this show and relay.

Myke Hurley: All right, Myke, we got a shout out of the week. Shout out of the week. Abby C., who we have shouted out here before. I've got to know Abby a little bit over the years from first meeting her back in San Francisco. She's going to be at Stationery Fest. I want to do a Stationery Fest related shout out. And she just posted her New York City journaling video. So travel journal ideas for your trip. I do like to make a travel journal when I travel. And Abby has amazing tips and tricks and just an awesome style and aesthetic. And y'all can see Abby there. She might be hanging out at the Everyday Explorers who do some of her prints. I know she's teaching classes. So she'll be around. And she's super nice, super sweet. So if you get to see Abby there, definitely say hi. And definitely go check out all of her videos and Instagram and all that stuff. She's great.

Brad Dowdy: Very nice. Very nice. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: All right, Myke. So I wanted to pin us down a little bit. Okay. So I called this our top five things we want to see at Stationery Fest.

Brad Dowdy: Okay.

Myke Hurley: And it didn't have to be like just a retailer. It could be anything.

Myke Hurley: And, you know, maybe we won't be limited to five. We might end up going like off the rails here as we normally do. But I especially kind of wanted to do this for you. I was curious what you had to say because I've done this before, even though it's going to be – I'm not – it's going to be very different this time. So I'm trying not to relate it. But I have seen some of these unique vendors here before. But I'm still like super, super anxious to see a few things. So what kind of things have you most excited just about being at Stationery Fest outside of like the work we're doing? Product, right? Like product-wise mostly. Or people, you know.

Brad Dowdy: The main thing that I want to leave Stationery Fest with is a commonplace book. So we spoke about this in the last couple of weeks. So I want to find a notebook of some description that feels like what I'm looking for for my commonplace book. And I don't know what that is yet. So this is why I'm looking forward to like picking up some stuff. I'm thinking maybe soft cover, maybe. I don't know. I need to feel it out. But so I'm looking forward to, you know, having the opportunity to see a lot of paper products, I feel like, in one spot. And so I'll be able to try and find something that feels good for that. Stickers. Yeah. I love stickers.

Myke Hurley: And I feel like I'm going to have the opportunity to acquire lots of stickers. Yeah. That's going to be a problem in the best way possible.

Brad Dowdy: Yep. So I'm very into that. I'll be on the lookout for some New York-related paraphernalia, of which I think there's going to be lots. Again, on their Instagram, they shared a creator who made a badge that said, I spent all my money at New York Stationery Fair, so just thought it was very funny. But just, I feel like there's going to be a lot of New York stuff, and so I think that would be fun. Yeah.

Myke Hurley: A lot of the artists will make like specific show, New York-related stuff, which I did pick up last time I was there. So that was fun.

Brand Displays

Brad Dowdy: There are two brands that I want to see purely because I want to see how they set up their product, but that I also know may not be possible for me to see, and that is both Hobonichi and Plata.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. They're going to be so popular that I just don't even know if it's going to be realistic. Yeah. Right? But I'm intrigued to see how these two brands, which are very system brands, how they demonstrate their product. I'm just very intrigued to see what that looks like. Yeah. And I also wouldn't mind a full-size plotter, if I'm being honest. I have the little one, and I'm not sure what size full-size, but whether it's their A5 or their Bible size or whatever, but I would like to poke around with that because I think that their product is very interesting. Yeah. And there's a brand that I really want to see their products, but I'm trying to tell myself I will not buy one of their products, and that is Toyucacraft. We're going to need a bigger suitcase, Myke. This is why I just don't think it's going to be feasible, but I want to see their stuff because they just make the most beautiful things, and I definitely want one of their ways.

Myke Hurley: Put it this way. I had mine shipped from Japan just for these reasons, right? Yeah. I just bit the bullet. That might be what I end up doing, right? Like seeing them in person and then... I think I paid like $150 just for shipping, but it's like, how else am I going to get it home? Yeah. Like it's... But it's... So we need to see Toyucacraft and then like Hoponichi and Plotter like together. I would love to see you, what your thoughts are on these products and just kind of, you know, get your... I want to see like your initial like reactions and what your takes are on some of these. Because Plotter's really come out since the last time you've been to like a stationery show, so you haven't had the opportunity to have hands on. And Toyucacraft obviously has been around for a long time, but just not at pen shows before. And getting to see that stuff in person is like one of the cool reasons why people come to these events, you know, either a fountain pen show or a stationery show like this is to see things you haven't seen before or see things you've seen online, but actually get them in hand. Like we talk about that all the time, right? What's the difference between like an image online and seeing it in person? Like sometimes it can be drastic. So yeah, I'm excited to follow you around. Because you haven't done this in a while.

Brad Dowdy: I do want my shopping companion.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we'll figure that out to where at some point I need to follow Myke around and see how this goes. It's going to be... Actually, I should have put that down. I'm excited to follow Myke around.

Myke Hurley: This is going to be sick. The more I think about it, it's like Myke's mind is going to be blown. Yeah, I think so. So I put some things down. Some new to me, some I've seen before.

Myke Hurley: Hachimanjia was my biggest takeaway from the 2024 Stationery Fest. They're a retailer from Japan. But they have an inordinate amount of collaborative goods, right? Where they'll have a sailor pen that got made for them. They'll have inks that got made for them. I bought Life Notebooks. This is where I bought my very beloved Lilac A5 Life Notebook, right? And they just had... They kind of blew me away with their product selection. And I had never heard of them before 2024. And I actually hadn't heard of them until I got contacted. Someone wanted me to pick up a pen for them from them. And I was like, I have no idea what a Hachimanjia is. And it was one of their sailor exclusive pens. And it's gorgeous and beautiful. And then I went to pick up this pen for someone else. And then it just cost me so much more money. Because they did everything super unique. And it was just... I don't know. I was really kind of blown away with their offerings. Because it was very... It was a retailer. But it was very non-standard in what I had come to expect. And then just... It checked all my boxes. Like in their style and their product selection. And their collaborative stuff. So I definitely want to see what they have on offer this year. Um... Next up is Kobeha Kikaku Graffalo paper. So Graffalo paper is what you need to focus on here. And this is a Japanese paper brand that I have come to love over the past... When did I get my first Graffalo? Probably only like a year ago. It's unbelievable paper quality for fountain pens. Like one of the best I've used. And I've never seen them present at a show before. Like there's vendors that carry Graffalo paper. I have Graffalo paper that I've bought from vendors. But I've never seen them in particular at a show having their own booth. So I'm interested to see what else they have aside from like... You know, maybe they have different formats or different bindings. Or you know... Anything I've bought from them so far has been loose sheets. And things that go... They make paper that goes into the plotter. So it's in one of my plotters. Um... Very interested to stop by and talk with them. Um... Because that's a really, really good quality paper that I think is going to continue to gain popularity just because of their quality. And they actually... It's not necessarily like a printer that happens to have like a good paper. They're making like fountain pen paper on purpose, right? Yeah. So like it's a purposeful creation. Um... Next up for me is the Superior Labor. I'm already a super fan of their product.

Brad Dowdy: You have one of their pouches, right? One of the really beautiful pouches.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Yeah. Many actually have like maybe like five of their pouches.

Brad Dowdy: I think you bought one at Yoseka, right?

Myke Hurley: I... No. I bought one when we went to Canada in Wonderpens. Oh, yes. So you were there for that. Yes. And that's still like sitting on my desk right now. And, you know, we'll probably make this trip. It was on that trip, but it wasn't in that location. Yep. Yep. Yep. Um... So I've never seen them in person, right? They have vendors that carry their products. So you can see things like I bought it at a store before, right? But I've never seen them displaying at a show. That table is probably going to be a problem for me. And I don't... The thing is I don't need anything. But what they offer is like checks all my boxes. Like that's my aesthetic. It's my style. Um... And they're very expensive. So I need to budget accordingly when you stop by the superior labor table. They also do classes where you can like make your own pouches and like design your own pouches. Like I'm not taking any classes. We don't have time. I'm not going to have time for that. Um... To do that. But I definitely want to stop by their table because I've never seen them in person at a show before.

Who is Ming?

Myke Hurley: Next up is Who is Ming? And... They were at the last Stationery Fest. And I picked up a couple of items. One of my favorite buttons I've ever bought, Myke. Like it's just a button that I put on my stationary bag. And all it says is black coffee. And just like Ming's handwriting. It's just hilarious. Oh, I see one. I see one now that says... I'm just flipping through the site as I'm talking. They now have triple coffee. Yeah. Triple coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, washi tape. It's just like the simplicity is just crazy. And I bought a few accessories. They had like some New York themes. They had like bagel keychains and hot dog keychains like themed that I bought last time for giveaways and stuff. So what I want to do this time is Ming will do caricatures. So I did... I was not familiar with their artwork or style. And I thought it was like super cool and bought some accessories. So I'm going to see if they're doing that this year where they basically... You queue up. They take a picture of you, like a selfie type of picture on a cell phone. And then you go away. And then they draw you in like this style of artwork. Like a very simple line drawing. And a lot of people... I want to do that this year. I didn't do it last time.

Brad Dowdy: That's cool. I want to do it too.

Myke Hurley: So I want to get my drawing done this year. I bet that line is mad. Yeah. That's something you want to do early. Yeah. And then get it checked off and then just queue up. Go do other things and come back later. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. I see that he's going to have New York travel and coffee like type of magazines and mugs. I see a bunch of stickers and stuff on the thing. So I just really enjoy this type of artwork. And I want to do something a little bit more this time instead of just grabbing that. But like the black coffee pen, it just goes with me everywhere. It's like one of my favorite things. It's just so simple and just so fun. Yep. And I don't know. I really appreciate it. And I actually get a lot of comments on it. It's just like, huh. It's like so simple and very cool. Last one is a company that like you, I just found it through Stationery Fest Instagram following them. So they shared a brand called Idea Switch. Never heard of them before. And they're another Japanese retailer who carries a lot of general stationery products, but also has a focus on local stationery. And what they're doing is they're going to bring some of that local stationery that they would carry. Oh, God. And curate in their shop.

Brad Dowdy: This is such a bad idea. I think I have to pull out.

Myke Hurley: Yeah, right. So they're one of the posts. Once I saw this, I was like, you got to be kidding me. I was like, let me go see what type of brands they're bringing. Well, they're bringing a brand called Helico Fountain Pen. Let me read this description for you, Myke. Based in Kagawa, Japan, Helico has a workshop and an appointment only shop housed in a beautifully renovated vintage post office.

Adina: Oh, my God.

Myke Hurley: It's like, is this even real? Like, is this even real? Like, who is this? And then they make, like, small pocket pens. And, like, one of them is a rushi with, like, cherry blossoms around it. It's like, just get out of town. It's like, I don't get it, man. Like, there's not enough money to go to attend this event. I don't think. So, like, seeing a company like Idea Switch, who I've never heard of, and then they're going to bring their stuff. And also, like, a set of curated stuff from other Japanese makers who weren't able to make it to New York there. I mean, I just inject it all in my veins. I don't know what else. What am I supposed to do, Myke? Like, I don't understand what I'm supposed to do attending an event like this because it's going to be so unique and so fun for things like this. And, like, this is, like, just scratching the surface, right? This is, like, the very basics of, like, what Stationery Fest is. And, like, I remember talking about this experience last time, and it changed how it changed me from, it changed my perspective on just Stationery, Stationery business as a whole. And the things that are out there that I was, like, hadn't seen before and what I was missing and seeing the creativity and being in that, it really changed me and moved me. And, like, and I'm not even saying that in, like, a phony way. Like, it was, like, the last time I was here, it really, really changed a lot for me in how I think about Stationery usage myself and the creativity aspects and then all the amazing people that are in this world. And then I'm excited to see, to get you in there and see what you think about this and see what I think, you know, compared to the previous one. So it's, I'm really looking forward to it. Like, I'm, like, this stuff's going to keep me up at night in a positive way looking forward to it. Right? Like, so it's pretty vibey. Like, I'm ready. I'm not ready, but my wallet's definitely not ready, but I'm ready. So it's going to be fun. And, like, it's impossible. Like, that's why I limited this to five things. It's impossible. Like, there's so many people I want to see and things I want to share with Myke.

Brad Dowdy: Like, there are five things and I don't even think I'm going to get to two of mine. Yeah, exactly. Like, I just don't think I'm going to be able to do it even if I want to.

Myke Hurley: Oh, you're going to get to two of them because I'm going to make it happen because, you know what, Myke? I know people. So, you know, I'm just going to play that card. Don't you know what I am?

Brad Dowdy: I'm Brad Dowdy.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Like, we're going to find people. We're going to make it happen for you, Myke. I'm actually looking forward to being with you in this environment. Yes. And mostly, like, hanging with you and getting you involved in some of the things that I've seen over the past couple of years.

Brad Dowdy: I look forward to being on hand to take pictures of you with people. You know, like, when people come up and they're like, oh, Brad Dowdy. And then they say to me, can you take a picture of us? And they're like, yep. You can do that.

Brad Dowdy: He's handler. Yeah. Yep. All right. I'm sure people listening to this, if they're not going to be in New York Station, you're first like, oh, man, I want to buy some pens. Well, let me tell you where you can go buy some pens. And that's over with our friends at Pen Chalet because they sell the product you're looking for. They have your favorite brands. They have your favorite product styles. Whether you were looking for a new rollerball or a fountain pen, maybe you want a bottle of ink. Maybe you are going to a pen show and you need a beautiful carrying case. Pen Chalet have got the products that you're looking for. They do the best prices you can get. Every couple of weeks, they're doing new sales specials as well as adding new types of product to the website as well. Pen Chalet have fast and reliable customer service. They sell internationally with great shipping rates and they offer free shipping on orders of over $100 in the U.S. So why don't you go to penchalet.com slash penaddict to get 10% off anything at Pen Chalet and to see some exclusive offers because you listen to this show.

Leonardo Fountain Pen

Myke Hurley: They have a crazy new special edition that I'm kind of enamored with. So it's a Leonardo fountain pen.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah.

Myke Hurley: Leonardo and wearing old collaborative box set exclusive to Pen Chalet. Wow. That's an amazing sentence just to say. But then you go look at this pen. So it's called Pixie and it's essentially Tinkerbell themed. This green material that Jonathan Brooks did for this is like...

Brad Dowdy: Oh, the collaborations continue.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. Oh, yeah. This is X times X times X times X. So I don't know how many... I don't know what the official order of the X here, but a lot of X.

Myke Hurley: This green is unbelievably cool. So the green and gold of this pen like nailed it. And then you have like a wearing old Tinkerbell ink that they use. So it's really, really, really kind of fascinating to see. Dang, that looks fantastic. You know what? And the price is pretty... Like for this collaboration, that's pretty crazy. Yep. I know last week we talked about the Kavecos, the new Kavecos coming out. So you can get all those at Pen Chalet. They're going to have the new Lunar Sport colors, two new Lunar Sport colors. And the Marble Ocean, which is just wild. Like that's just a fascinating Kaveco Sport. They're going to have those there. And Myke, I don't know if I've become a Delta fanboy after I got the Tiger King of Pen, which I bought from Pen Chalet. They have the Delta DV Glow Up, which it's not as wild as the Tiger King of Pen until you look at the nib. And the nib has like this extra engraving and etching done on it. It's really wild. So it's the Delta DV Glow Up Auro fountain pen. And on top of that, on our special Pen Addicts top secret page, they have a deal on one of the Delta DV Original Midsize Starry Night Lemon Edition pens. I almost got this one. I mean, I was getting the Tiger King of Pen. This one tempted me just because of the beautiful materials and resin. So they got a lot of stuff going on at Pen Chalet right now.

Brad Dowdy: If you want to get your hands on some of these products, the special offers, and also the discount code that you need to save on anything over at Pen Chalet, just go to penchalet.com slash penaddict, and you'll be able to find them all there. Our thanks to Pen Chalet for their support of this show and Relay.

New York City Trip

Myke Hurley: All right. I did want to do like one little diversion, if you'll allow me. You and I are bringing our families to New York City. My wife has never been to New York City. My daughter's never been. Your daughter's never been to New York City. Never been. She's never been. So separately, we're doing like touristy things. Yep. And is there any like one thing like you're super excited to do? Do I have to say one? Outside. You don't have to say one. We can do whatever you want. Like outside of Stationery Fest in the city, are you looking forward to anything? Because I'm really looking forward to spend some time with my wife in the city.

Brad Dowdy: Yeah. So I'm looking forward to the same. Looking forward to food, right? Like New York feels like a good place to be doing this kind of travel that we're doing because, you know, we've not really done a trip like this before where it's just the three of us in like a completely new place. Like we traveled, but it was with family. So New York is great because like there's so much carry out food, you know, like pizza and stuff. So that will make that part very easy for us. But so yes, food in general always. Then I'm looking forward to going back to the Nintendo store. Oh, nice. That's always a good time. I enjoy the Nintendo store. Adina is going to be doing the NBC Studios tour. Nice. Which she's very excited about. It's a real shame that Saturday Night Live is not filming because that's why she's doing it. Adina just loves SNL. Yeah. And I actually ended up getting like a potential hookup for tickets to SNL, but it's not filming. The season's over. So that's going to have to come down the line. There is a family thing that we're doing that I'm very excited about. So there is this company called Camp and they do kind of like kids camp stuff in the city. They have like a store. They have rebuilt a life-size replica of the Bluey house. Oh, no. Yes. And so we're going to that. Hell yeah. And it includes like a dance party at the end with like people dressed as Bluey and Bingo. We're very excited about this. This is also our tester for can we go to Disneyland at some point this year? Because like how does Sophia deal with a huge Bluey and a huge Bingo? Right. Because she loves Bluey. It's the thing. Right. Bluey is a big mainstay in our house. And so it's going to be interesting to see how she interacts with this. But yeah, we're very excited for that. This company looks like they've really kind of gone the whole nine yards to create this experience for kids. So we're very excited about that too. That sounds cool. That's going to be epic.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I definitely want to see pictures from that. Yes. Oh, there'll be lots.

Myke Hurley: So we're going to do, we're not doing the 30 Rock Tour, but we're going to head to Top of the Rock and get the city visuals from the viewing deck on top. Definitely want to do that. I haven't done that. I haven't done like, you know, an Empire State Building or something. I've never either. Or they have another deck there that's pretty popular. The Iron Man, you know, the Marvel, you know, the Iron Man's office.

Brad Dowdy: Oh, Avengers Tower?

Myke Hurley: Yeah. I didn't know that. That's cool. Yeah. So that's another like viewing deck there. But we're going to do that. I really, I've never walked the Brooklyn Bridge. So we're going to do that. Okay. I think that'll be fun. You know, we're going to take like a food and walking tour like around the High Line and Chelsea and Greenwich Village and that type of stuff. But really like a lot of food. Like we're going to be in Manhattan like three days. And like I have like 200 pens for like food, you know. It's like that's New York. Like that's just how it works. Yeah. Um, so yeah, we're just going to really like take in the city for a few days. Then we're going to, we're going to actually going to relocate to Brooklyn for Stationery Fest and stay over there. So we're going to do stuff in kind of both areas of town, like stay in Manhattan for a few days because my wife, like I said, my wife's never been to New York ever. And I've been to, you know, the city and Brooklyn and outlying areas. And then we're going to do, um, yeah, Brooklyn and really take Brooklyn in from like a visual perspective, you know, like across the river and, you know, maybe do some ferries and stuff like that. So it's going to be, I'm really, really looking forward to it. And that's like before we begin to Stationery Fest. So it's going to be really cool. So, um, kind of last little tidbit we can cover today. Are you bringing any Stationery? Like I, I'm going to pack a little bit of Stationery, but I was thinking like, you know, this isn't something you bring too much to because like it's all there. And like, you know, you're going to end up with stuff, but are you packing any stuff?

Kuro Toga Wood

Brad Dowdy: Very small amount. I think, um, I'm going to be bringing, uh, a Kuro Toga dive.

Adina: Oh, yeah, you are.

Brad Dowdy: What's funny about that?

Adina: I don't know. I just love that product. It's so bad. It's good. What is bad about it? Like.

Brad Dowdy: No, not the dive. The wooden one. The wooden one. Okay. Sorry. Kuro Toga wood. Okay. Yeah. The Kuro Toga wood is what I'm bringing.

Adina: Yeah. You wrote down dive.

Brad Dowdy: I wrote down dive, but I don't have one of those. Okay. I'm not interested in it. I don't like the way that pen looks. Okay. The wood. I'm bringing the wood. Elite. All right. You're saved. I deleted it already. And, uh, I'm bringing a Mark three just because I like those a lot. Um, I wasn't going to bring a fountain pen and then I was, so I'm packing this all in a Sinclair, by the way, the Rickshaw Sinclair, the orange one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and then as I, and I'm bringing my 1911 King of Pen Tangerine. That's a good one to bring. Yeah. That'll be fun. Fun pen. Yeah. I'm also going to throw a Uniball 1P in there because I'm just a big fan now and also a sidekick pocket. So that all fits real nice in that, in that orange Sinclair.

Myke Hurley: Yeah. See, like, that's it. Like, I don't think you need to take much more than that. Right. Like for an event like this, I think like I'm trying to like pack small. Hopefully I'm going to have a, uh, a video out, uh, about some of the stuff I'm carrying along with you, Seiko, you Seiko vid to share some of this, but I'm the pouch I'm bringing. I might bring an empty Sinclair just for some storage, but, um, what I'm bringing, this is a newer superior labor product to me. It's just their basic pen pouch. It's like a very, it looks like a pencil pouch, right? It's just basic open, but it's small and compact. It looks like what people would consider a traditional pencil pouch. So it can hold like a lot of loose, like you're not going to put a lot of fountain pens in here, but it holds like lots of standard pens. So I'm going to bring like a Secure Pigment Micron, always travel with the Micron, um, Caran d'Ache fix pencil for my pencil. I, the biggest addition to like this type of carry, I'm bringing the Pentel multi eight color pencil, right? The eight color pencil that we've talked about a lot this year. That's a product that I really enjoy. And I think it's going to be really good for like any notes or travel or journaling I'm going to do. I think I'm going to bring, if they come in time, one of the new field notes, uh, additions, like the popsicle ones to be, you know how I, I've, I've talked about how I do my travel journaling in like a field notes. And I hadn't considered that for this, but I was like, you know, I'm going to have several days where I'm probably going to want that. So I'm, I think I've kind of like maybe changed my mind and I'm going to do like my travel journal in that. So I got my pencil for that. Um, Lloyd's term, Dreger fell ballpoint. I just want to bring like a traditional ballpoint pen and that's the one I'm bringing. I'm bringing the Uniball and not for my pen show pen. Yeah. Um, like I talked about last week, I need to go. So anyone can grab it from you if they need anyone can grab it and it's hopefully going to have blue ballpoint refill in it. Should be red. Um, it should be red, but it's not, it's not. Or pink. Uh, it's the inside of a hot dog. That could, that could work. Bringing it around everyone. I'm just trying to think, I don't think there's a, a refill that size in that color. So anyway, um, Uniball Zento signature with a Uniball one gel refill. We're not going to read litigate last week's episode. We could, if you got 10 more minutes, we could, I could go off the rails, but if, um, I'm happy to yell about that if you want. And then my one, again, like you, one fountain pen and I'm going to bring my, uh, Lamy Safari neon yellow. Like I talked last week about the new Meteora and Meteorite. I want to use the neon yellow, neon yellow with a black Lamy cartridge. And that's like one of my favorite travel products because I like bringing a fountain pen. I can pop a cartridge in it. I love using it. It's just great. I like, yeah, that's the fountain pen I'm bringing and that's it. Like literally all of this will fit in this pouch with room to spare. I'm probably going to, now that I saw your Sinclair mentioned, I think I'll bring an extra Sinclair, an empty Sinclair and just throw that in the suitcase. Cause there'll be other pens and stuff. I don't want something to put them in. I mean, or you know what? I might just buy something there. There's going to have plenty of opportunity for that, I believe.

Myke Hurley: So yeah, maybe I won't bring one. Maybe I'll just buy one there. So yeah, that's the only like little stationary kit. Oh, um, I take that back. Um, my plotters, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm going to get both of my plotters because I don't know. This is the thing that I don't know, Myke, you were talking about, you don't know if you're going to be able to get to plotter. You're going to be able to get to plotter to see and shop there. What I would like is some customization on my new plotter. Okay. Which I have on my old one, but I imagine like the ticketing and the system for that is, it's going to sell out.

Brad Dowdy: They do like full stamping and stuff.

Myke Hurley: No hand painting. Oh, it takes even longer. Yeah. So it's all done by hand. So they only do a few slots a day because of how detailed it is. Wow. So like I got my initials on one of mine and I would like to get something else on, um, my new one. So I'm going to bring both my plotters. So yeah. Yeah. They're good. Good luck. Okay. That's it.

Brad Dowdy: That's it. Which is a lot. We'll mention again, if you see us, please come and say hi. We'd love to say hi to you all if you're, uh, at New York station or first, if you're not going to be there, it doesn't matter. We'll be bringing all the goods. Um, hopefully no drama, uh, of, of our experiences, uh, New York stationery festival next week's episode. I am really hoping for it to go nice and smooth for everyone involved. Totally. It'll be a good time. But I know one way or another, it's going to be a good time. And I'm very, very much looking forward to seeing you, um, Mary Beth, and we're going to be hanging out and, uh, it's going to be good times. So if you want to check the show notes, you can find some links, especially for information about stationary festival, when our, um, panels are going to be and all that kind of stuff. So you can go check all that out in the show notes, which are in your podcast app or over at relay.fm slash pen addict slash seven to seven. Uh, thank you to Penn Chalet and Collidercraft for their support of this week's episode. If you want to find Brad online, you can go to penaddict.com, spoke design.com and at twitch.tv slash penaddict. You can find Brad on Instagram as well, um, as penaddict. Um, I'm, I'm Myke, I am Y K E. You can find me here at relay at the enthusiast.net and cortex brand.com. We'll be back next week until then say goodbye, Brad. Bye, Brad.