I promise I won’t geek out too much about this past weekend, because it may or may not be of interest to the general readership, but in case you missed it, I spent a couple days at two of the largest stationery and gift trade shows: NY Now (held at the Javitz Center) and Shoppe Object (held across town at Pier 36). Both of these shows are “to the trade” only, meaning they are essentially giant showrooms for retailers and distributors to view new products, as opposed to direct-to-consumer retail events like pen shows. No actual goods change hands, though samples are sometimes available and retailers can place orders for future delivery, It’s somewhat refreshing to be able to browse a nearly overwhelming number of products without the pressure to buy immediately.
YES. More reading accessories please.
Here are my main takeaways from this year’s events:
Stationery is more popular than ever. While I’m not sure I’d say that pens, pencils, and paper are going “mainstream” in a culture that continues to fetishize tech, there’s definitely more attention being paid by brands to people’s desire to keep a portion of their life firmly analog. The fine writing and stationery booths were quite popular and well-attended, though you sometimes had to hunt for them among the cooking and fashion accessories.
Distributors and Manufacturers are catching on to the idea of overlapping interests. One thing that caught my eye this time around was the extent to which several booths paired stationery items for display alongside things like reading accessories (somewhat intuitive - who would’ve thought?) and coffee accessories (somewhat less intuitive, but which makes sense).
I find these trips to be a good investment as both an enthusiast and a retailer. While I love attending the “traditional” pen shows, they focus on a very narrow segment of stationery users: mainly fountain pen enthusiasts, collectors, and those looking for the unique and unusual. Trade shows, on the other hand, are more “mass market,” and I don’t mean that in the pejorative way that term is often used. A large trade show focuses on displaying those products that manufacturers and distributors believe will appeal to as many people as possible, and there’s something refreshing about that, especially as someone who uses their stationery on a daily basis as part of their work life and not just as a hobby.
Anterique pens combine the style of a vintage click pen with an exceptionally good .5mm low-viscosity ballpoint refill.
Both times I’ve attended NY Now and Shoppe Object I’ve discovered new products that previously have received little-to-no attention in the stationery circles I run in, and I can’t wait to share this week’s discoveries with you! I’ll definitely be posting more as new items arrive, though some are pre-orders and will be showing up throughout the year. In the meantime, you can visit our shop, which is constantly being updated. If you’d like to read about my last trip back in 2020, which is the first time I’ve attended any trade show, check out this post here!
I mean, how do you all think that I found these stamps? Not at a pen show.
New York City has a wealth of independent stationery stores that stock a wide range of products, and I think it’s extremely important for me to try paper in person before I make a decision to either recommend it on the blog or sell it myself. Internet recommendations as to what is or is not “fountain pen friendly” can vary wildly, and certain papers that were recommended to me ended up being terrible, while others that are popularly panned as “low quality” sometimes surprise me.
These Maruman note-sized looseleaf binders were a popular item, and something I’m testing out.
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