THE MANILA PEN SHOW 2023

The Manila Pen Show 2023 was the Filipino fountain pen lovers’ most awaited event in the last four years! Organized by Fountain Pen Network-Philippines, Inc., the show went on hiatus from 2020-2022 during the pandemic. It came back this year, bigger than ever, with a bigger floor space, more new retailers, and more products. Held last March 18-19, 2023, the show marked its second time at the fifth floor of the Holiday Inn and Suites in Makati. Part of the proceeds from entrance fees this year go to Save The Children, which the Manila Pen Show has been supporting since 2018.

Eager attendees showed up and registered as early as 8am, when the show opened, and continued to arrive in a steady stream until late afternoon of both days. They received samples of the new Sanzen Tomoe River paper in white and cream, as well as a raffle ticket. They were keen to acquire the show-exclusive pens and inks from various vendors following the theme of Filipino flavors. These items were made available for preorder or to purchase directly at the site. Also popular were show merchandise like commemorative t-shirts, tote bags and notepads. The organizers also held several raffles on both days of the show.

Photo by Yancy P. Sura

Registration. Photo by Ricaredo Cerebo, Jr.

Photo by Kailash Ramchandani

Photo by Reggie Reginaldo

International vendors participating this year included Aesthetic Bay (Singapore), Pen Gallery (Malaysia), Straits Pen (Singapore), Toyooka Craft (Japan) and Atelier Musubi (Singapore). Philippine vendors included Everything Calligraphy, Scribe, Kasama, Lamy, Stationer Extraordinaire, Inks by Vinta, ON Inks, Pengrafik, Peter Bangayan, Leather Library, Gav n Sav, Gira Leather, Leather Luxe, Guia’s Vintage Pens, and Troublemaker Inks.

Floor plan

This year the show assigned a separate space for participating nibmeisters John Raymond Lim, JP’s Pen Spa & Nib Works, and Sunny Koh of Straits Pen (SG). There was also a Community Hangout Room where members of Fountain Pen Network-Philippines held pen meets, enjoyed the free coffee and tea, and rested in between purchases. Workshops were held in a dedicated function room on the other end of the floor.

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Ronin Bautista of The Pen Noob captured the energy of the Manila Pen Show’s first day in this Instagram reel.

Day 1 of the Manila Pen Show 2023. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

Mark del Rosario (R) and Alvin Arcillas (L) of Kasama. Photo by Kailash Ramchandani.

Kasama Tala pens in “Takipsilim”. Photo by Kasama PH.

Kasama Una pens in PEEK and titanium. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Kustom Magz rollstops for Kasama pens. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

Kailash Ramchandani of Pengrafik. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Pengrafik’s pen show exclusive Leonardo Momento Zero in Primary Manipulation 1 by Jonathan Brooks. Photo by Kailash Ramchandani.

Pengrafik’s pen show exclusive Ube Pen by The Good Blue (UK). Photo by Kailash Ramchandani.

Ingrid Cua of Stationer Extraordinaire. Photo by Jeff Cua.

Kaweco pens from Stationer Extraordinaire. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Alden Castaneda and colleague. Photo by Bernie Paras Gan.

Alden Castaneda‘s corner.

Handbound luxe notebooks by Atelier Musubi. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Seigaiha pattern pen cases from Atelier Musubi. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

Daryl Lim of Atelier Musubi. Photo by Bernie Paras Gan.

Vinta Inks show exclusive ink Lilac Dawn 2015, or “Simulan”. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Jillian Tan of Everything Calligraphy. Photo by Ronin Bautista.

Everything Calligraphy bundled its pen show exclusive Franklin Christoph pen with Vinta Inks’ Lilac Dawn 2015/Simulan.

Kim Hoong Lai of PenGallery (MY). Photo by PenGallery.

Various pens and inks from PenGallery. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

April Morales of Leather Library PH. Photo by Eliza Rehal.

Embossed leather folio covers from Leather Library PH. Photo by Gema Gonzales.

Toyooka Craft (JP). Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Toru Yamazaki of Toyooka Craft, with Hana Chua. Photo by Hana Chua.

Multi-level alder wood fountain pen box by Toyooka Craft. Photo by Micah Robles.

Tan Fong Kum of Aesthetic Bay. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

Nakayas at Aesthetic Bay (SG). Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

AP Limited Editions at Aesthetic Bay. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

ON Inks show exclusives. Photo by Onie Dychitan.

Onie Dychitan and Alma Polvoriza at ON Inks. Photo by Bernie Paras Gan.

ON Inks and swatches.

Diamine Suman, from Peter Bangayan’s booth. Photo by Leigh Reyes.

Peter Bangayan‘s booth. Photo by Bernie Paras Gan.

Troublemaker Inks. Photo by Bernie Paras Gan.

Troublemaker Inks. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

Lara M. Telan (left) of Gav n Sav, with Gema Gonzales. Photo by Bernie Paras Gan.

Suman pen wraps from Gav n Sav. Photo by Jun Castro.

Guia’s Vintage Pens. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Guia Bengzon of Guia’s Vintage Pens. Photo by Kailash Ramchandani.

Some of Guia’s Vintage Pens. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Gira Leather. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Various products at Gira Leather. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

Nibmeister Sunny Koh of Straits Pen (SG) with assistant AD Percal. Photo by AD Percal.

Sunny Koh of Straits Pen in action. Photo by Ronin Bautista.

Sunny Koh of Straits Pen (SG) offered nibmeister services, as well as a pen show exclusive ink, Honest Ink Sisig, and Tomoe River paper. He also conducted a couple of workshops.

JP Reinoso of JP’s Pen Spa and Nibworks. Photo by Ronin Bautista.

Nibmeister JP Reinoso of JP’s Pen Spa and Nibworks.Photo by JP Reinoso.

Nibmeister John Raymond Lim. Photo by Alby Saavedra Laran.

John Raymond Lim. Photo by Kailash Ramchandani.

Raymund Nino Bumatay of Leather Luxe.

Raymund and Gjulia Bumatay of Leather Luxe.

Lamy Safari Pilipinas pen at the Lamy booth. Photo by Carlo Jerome Ng.

Lamy Philippines. Photo by Kailash Ramchandani.

Lamy Safari Pilipinas pens. Photo by Carlo Jerome Ng.

Red Lamy Safari display. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Scribe. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Scribe owner Marian Ong, Sailor Ink Master Hidetoshi Takahashi and Tetsuo Hisaka, and Scribe staff. Photo by Scribe.

Laban and Pelikan pens at Scribe. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

Taccia Pens at Scribe. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

Scribe brought in Sailor’s custom ink mixing service, represented by Ink Master Hidetoshi Takahashi and colleague Tetsuo Hisaka. Slots were by appointment, and filled up fast prior to the show. It was an unforgettable experience for those who chose special colors.

Scribe owner Marian Ong with Ink Master Hidetoshi Takahashi and Tetsuo Hisaka of Sailor.

Sailor Ink Masters. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Happy ink mix customer Gianna with Sailor.

Here are videos of the Sailor ink mixing process.

Takahashi-san formulating the color. Video by Carlo Jerome Ng.

Takahashi-san finalizing the color. Video by Carlo Jerome Ng.

Takahashi-san blending the ink. Video by Carlo Jerome Ng.

Day 2 of the Manila Pen Show 2023. Photo by Maria Haze Alenton.

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Ronin Bautista of The Pen Noob filmed Day 2 of the show, focusing on the workshops and flow of attendees.

Lorraine Castaneda’s workshop participants. Photo by Lorraine Castaneda.

Sunny Koh’s workshop participants. Photo by Lorraine Castaneda.

Toni Santos’ workshop participants. Photo by Lorraine Castaneda.

Imma Frias conducting workshop. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

Panel discussion moderated by Leigh Reyes. Photo by JM Jamillarin.

Panoramic shot of panel by Lorraine Castaneda.

Curating A Fountain Pen Collection, panel discussion.

All told, about 1200 people attended the Manila Pen Show 2023, including the vendors, guests and volunteers. Many thanks to organizers Fountain Pen Network-Philippines, Inc., the various vendors, Holiday Inn and Suites Makati, and especially the volunteers for making this event a huge success! Thank you to everyone who attended, whose donations benefited Save The Children. We’ll see you at the next Manila Pen Show in 2024!

For updates, follow @manilapenshow on Instagram, and join the Facebook groups Manila Pen Show and Fountain Pen Network-Philippines.

Save The Children. Photo by Ticky Tabujara.

SAVE THE DATE: THE MANILA PEN SHOW 2023

Finally, after three long years, the Manila Pen Show is back! This year it will be held on March 18-19, 2023 at the Holiday Inn & Suites Makati.

Here is the list of participating vendors/service providers at the show:

Here’s the schedule of activities for the show:

There will be an entrance fee for each day of the show. People may pay at the gate in cash, or use GCash or BPI QR Code. Each entrance fee comes with a raffle ticket! Proceeds from the show will go to Save The Children, which the Manila Pen Show has been supporting since 2018.

See you there! Follow the @manilapenshow on Instagram, or join Manila Pen Show group on Facebook.

MANILA PEN SHOW 2018

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Fountain Pen Network-Philippines, and what better way to celebrate than to hold the first ever Manila Pen Show? In previous years FPN-P had been holding smaller pen sales events every Fountain Pen Day (first Friday of November), as if in preparation for this bigger event. The show was held at the SMX Convention Center in SM Aura, last Oct. 27, 2018.

Photos by Mark Tiangco.

Long lines greeted us at the opening of the show, until about lunch time. It was heartening to know that there were a huge number of fountain pen enthusiasts waiting patiently to get in! Entrance was free, but donations were received at the gate for Save the Children.

Inside it was jam-packed. People crowded every booth, eager to take advantage of the promotions. All the workshop sessions were full.

Photos by Ronin Bautista.

Special items exclusive to the pen show included the Manila Copper ink, mixed by Straits Pen of Singapore. Part of the proceeds of the ink sale were donated to Save the Children.

Photos by Leigh Reyes.

The Fountain Pen Network-Philippines 10th Anniversary fountain pen is an Edison Mina in tortoise acrylic. Remaining pieces from the original pre-order were sold at the pen show.

10th Anniversary Pen. Photo by Kailash Ramchandani.

Sponsors for the Manila Pen Show included Cross Philippines, Montblanc Philippines, Pengrafik, Straits Pen of Singapore, Lamy Philippines, Everything Calligraphy, Noteworthy, Scribe, Faber-Castell Philippines, Troublemaker Inks, Parker Philippines, Philippine National Bank and Calibre Magazine. Other vendors/service providers included Kasama PH, Shibui PH, Gav n Sav, Guia’s Vintage Pen Corner, JP’s Pen Spa and Nibworks, and John Raymond Lim (nibmeister).

Cross Philippines.

Montblanc Philippines.

Noteworthy.

Gav n Sav.

Guia’s Vintage Pen Corner.

Faber-Castell Philippines.

Photos above by Tintin Pantoja.

Scribe. Photo by Mark Tiangco.

Troublemaker Inks.

Straits Pen of Singapore.

Shibui PH.

Pengrafik.

Kasama PH.

Everything Calligraphy.

Lamy Philippines.

The paper bar.

Photos above by Ronin Bautista.

JP’s Pen Spa and Nibworks (J.P. Reinoso).  Photo by Tin Marie Reyes Poral.

John Raymond Lim (nibmeister). Photo by Edber Mamisao.

Calligraphy Workshop. Photo by Mark Tiangco.

Calligraphy Workshop. Photo by Rica Palomo-Espiritu.

Leather pen case workshop. Photo by Ronin Bautista.

Photo by Ronin Bautista. L-R: Butch Dalisay, Rica Espiritu, Arnell Ignacio, Teresita Herbosa, Marvic Leonen

A panel discussion was held toward the end of the day, on the topic “Why Fountain Pens?”. Among the speakers were collectors Prof. Jose “Butch” Dalisay, Jr., Supreme Court Justice Marvic Leonen, Atty. Teresita Herbosa (great-granddaughter of national hero Jose Rizal), artist Rica Palomo-Espiritu, and OWWA administrator Arnell Ignacio.

Here’s a Facebook video of Justice Marvic Leonen’s discussion. “We can choose the parts of life we can slow down. The fountain pen is my instrument of revolution to recapture my humanity.” And here’s a Facebook video of Butch Dalisay’s talk. “These pens are not just inscribers of words but are bearers of stories.” (Will add other videos to this blog as soon as they are processed.)

All in all, for a first pen show and a modestly sized one at that, the Manila Pen Show 2018 was successful and well-attended! Approximately 600 people attended the one-day show.  Everyone agreed that next year, the pen show should be in a bigger space, given the huge amount of interest in fountain pens, inks, stationery and accessories.

Many thanks to all the sponsors, the organizers, and the volunteers who made this pen show possible!

FOUNTAIN PEN NETWORK-PHILIPPINES TENTH ANNIVERSARY

Way back in 2008, fourteen fountain pen enthusiasts and fellow members at the international Fountain Pen Network forums banded together and organized a local pen lovers’ group, now known as Fountain Pen Network-Philippines.

Photo by June Dalisay.

Above are founder Jose (Butch) Dalisay Jr. and friends at the very first pen meet at his house at the University of the Philippines campus.

Fast-forward ten years later, and the group has grown from 14 to 5,800+ members on Facebook, with its own forums at http://www.fpn-p.org.

Earlier in the year, Peter Bangayan organized an FPN-P Tenth Anniversary Pen, made by Bexley. It’s the Corona model, except it is cartridge/converter and not a piston-filler. It came in two colors, blue and turquoise, with a special medallion in the finial produced by Juan Luis Faustmann, in a limited quantity. There was also a Tenth Anniversary Ink, made by Diamine, called Blue Orient, a turquoise with a red sheen. (Another anniversary pen, the Edison Mina in tortoise acrylic, is in the works, courtesy of Anthony Goquingco. This is for those who weren’t able to acquire the Bexley.)

Photo by Rommel Bernardo.

Photo by Shey Pia Abaya.

Photo by Mona Caccam.

Photo by Leigh Reyes.

Co-founder Leigh Reyes quickly booked a lovely function room/co-working space at 3rd Space Legaspi for July 7, 2018. It was well-attended, with new and old members mixing and trying each other’s pens and inks.  There was an ink bar courtesy of Leigh, plus a sales area for pen wraps by Lara Telan of Gav n Sav, and empty cigar boxes.  Video of ink bar by Ronin Bautista here.

Photo by Kailash Ramchandani.

Photo by IamLennie.

At around 4pm we held a raffle, with prizes contributed by longstanding sponsors Scribe, Times Trading (Lamy) , Pengrafik and Stationer Extraordinaire. The grand prize was a proudly Philippine-made pen, made by KasamaPH (IG: KasamaPH, Facebook: KasamaPH). It’s called the Una, because it’s the first model ever made in the Philippines.

Photo by Michelle Suratos.

Photo by Kailash Ramchandani.

Photo by Leigh Reyes.

Many thanks to Mark Tiangco for the delicious Quorn lasagna and nuggets, Babyruth Chuaunsu for the Sunkist drinks, and the various members who donated cakes and pastries for the event.  Thanks also to Vad Mayores of 3rd Space for making sure we were all comfortable at their venue.

Here’s to more years appreciating fountain pens!

 

 

DON’T MISS FOUNTAIN PEN DAY 2015!

We’re celebrating International Fountain Pen Day 2015 on Saturday, November 7th, at the Cinema VIP Lounge of Century City Mall in Makati!

Fountain Pen Day was established in 2012, to celebrate handwriting, and to share and promote the use of fountain pens in both art and the written word. The Philippines first officially celebrated it in 2014 with a successful 3-day event at SM Aura in Taguig, bringing together the fountain pen lovers of Fountain Pen Network-Philippines and Urban Sketchers Philippines.

Our organization, Fountain Pen Network-Philippines (FPN-P), began in 2008 with thirteen pen enthusiasts. Today, it has nearly 2000 members on its Facebook page and over 500 registered members on its Internet forum. Lawyers, civil servants, doctors, writers, artists, executives, entrepreneurs and students are just some of the people who attend the regular meets. The group’s activities online and at pen meets in the last few years has been responsible for a boom in the number of fountain pens, ink and paper products now available locally to accommodate a  growing interest in the lifestyle.

This annual event is open to the general public. Among the activities planned are a pen and ink art exhibit, a calligraphy workshop, a sketching session, as well as an introduction to fountain pens for children. Guests may also avail of services such as vintage pen restoration, appraisals and nib tuning.

Supporting the event are Manila’s leading purveyors of quality writing instruments such as Everything Calligraphy, Faber-Castell, Lamy, Parker, Scribe Writing Essentials, Sheaffer and Wahl-Eversharp/PenGrafik. A special thanks to Asia Brewery for their material donations. Visitors may peruse the fine offerings of our sponsors throughout the day.

MANILA CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF SHEAFFER

Last May 2013, Sheaffer recently celebrated 100 years as a successful pen brand worldwide. The Manila celebration was held last May 29th, at the Yuchengco Museum, in Makati.   Walter A. Sheaffer originally built the company in 1913, in Fort Madison, Iowa.   While Sheaffer had been selling in the Philippines in the early 1990s, they pulled out and recently relaunched themselves a few years ago, in cooperation with the country’s foremost bookstore chain, National Bookstore.  They invited members of our fountain pen group, Fountain Pen Network – Philippines, most of whom are loyal customers.

The event was hosted by media personality RJ Ledesma.  We were greeted by BIC Asia Regional Manager Alejandro Rodriguez Tabo, with gracious remarks from National Bookstore’s doyenne Mrs. Socorro Ramos.  There were on-the-spot games with the audience, where my friend Raffy won some gift certificates for having brought the oldest vintage Sheaffer pen in the room (a 1920s black-and-pearl flat top lever-filler).

Among the items being featured that evening were the new Taranis, a hooded-nib fountain pen designed by US architect Charles Debbas, and the Sagaris, a fountain pen inspired by the earlier Sheaffer Triumph (1990s, a tribute in turn to the much earlier 1970s Imperials).   There were also three very special pens, collector’s limited editions:

The sterling silver commemorative pen has an 18k inlaid nib and is one of only 516 made.  The 18k gold commemorative pen is one of only 45 that exist.  It also has an 18k inlaid nib, and comes with a commemorative ink (although I was not able to ask what color it was).

The third commemorative pen was a sterling silver Legacy Heritage, with a palladium-coated 18k inlaid nib.  It is only one of 1,913 ever made.

Towards the end of the evening, there was a raffle, at which my friends Carlos and Allan won the top two prizes.  Carlos won a Sheaffer Valor in brown marble, while Allan won the grand prize, a Sheaffer Legacy Heritage.

We all went home with a Sheaffer Sagaris rollerball, stamped with Sheaffer’s centennial logo.

It was an enjoyable night, after which FPN-P members continued with another pen meet at a nearby ramen restaurant.

Many thanks to Robby da Silva, National Bookstore’s Sheaffer manager, for the kind invitation!

GIFT FOR A STYLOPHILE

What do you give a writer and stylophile (as in stylo lover, one who appreciates fountain pens) like Reggie?  Why, another journal, of course.  Can’t have too many of those.

As you can see, I tried out different pens on this page, all of which agree very well with the quality of the paper.  What is this mysterious notebook?  Clue:  It’s a black hardcover notebook with a marker ribbon, and it’s not the brand that you think it is.

You gotta love a notebook with a flexible enough cover and spine to let the pages lie flat. It’s also got very high quality paper.  90 gsm lined, creamy white Clairfontaine paper, to be exact!  No feathering, no bleedthrough, and best of all, loves ALL fountain pens and inks!  Yes, those are some of my vintage Sheaffer fountain pens in a case above. I decided to give this journal to Reggie at the Fountain Pen Network – Philippines Christmas Pen Meet last Dec. 30th.  About 18 enthusiasts attended the meet, bringing together various pens, inks and papers.  We’d just raffled off some very nice items, and Reggie won the blue J. Herbin glass pen I donated to the raffle.  I thought I’d raise the excitement level some more by giving her this:

The Quo Vadis Habana Notebook!

This excellent 6″ x 9″ notebook came to me, on a very long journey, from the very generous Karen Doherty of Exaclair, Inc., distributors of Clairfontaine, Exacompta and Rhodia paper products in the US.  I first heard of the Quo Vadis brand online, from various reviews.  This year my friend Clem Dionglay, whose blog was recently included in the Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper, mentioned that she had written Karen for products to review, and was surprised to receive the Habana, despite being all the way in the Philippines.  I started following @exaclair on Twitter, and one day, I read that they were again offering paper products for review.

I emailed Karen and then kept my fingers crossed.  To my great big shock, the items I emailed Karen about arrived two weeks into December without getting lost in the Christmas postal backlog!  (It arrived with a plain Clairfontaine notebook with a maroon morocco cover, plus J. Herbin inks Poussiere de Lune and Lie de The. I’ll describe these in later reviews.)

Now if the Habana is so excellent, why am I not keeping it?  I’d just won 2 different Clairfontaine notebooks in previous FPN-P pen meet raffles.  Reggie just got a new job teaching World Literature at the College of St. Benilde.  She needed a notebook JUST LIKE THIS!  She’s had plenty of the other brand, now’s the time to try something new.

Now check out that big smile 🙂

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Clairfontaine paper products are available at all branches of Fully Booked. The Quo Vadis Habana is not yet available in the Philippines, but other Quo Vadis and J. Herbin products are available at Scribe Writing Essentials at the 3rd Floor of the new Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City.

This blog has no affiliation with any of these outlets.