Friday at the 2026 California Pen Show is in the books, and so far it’s been a great one. The California Pen Show succeeded the old Los Angeles Pen Show, and for the past few years has been held at the Torrance Marriott in Redondo Beach. While I skipped last year (2025), I’ve long felt that this is one of the best current pen show venues, with an excellent ballroom layout, good after-hours and restaurant options, and clean hotel rooms. So far, this year hasn’t disappointed, even though we’re only one day in. I will have a full show recap next week, since in order to truly evaluate a show you need to have Saturday in the books, but for now I do have some pictures of the pre-show setup, our location in the ballroom, and my first find of the show!
Flying out the weather was gorgeous, even though we arrived to rain in the L.A. area! 
An overhead shot of the TGS Table at CAPS 2026, with a selection of products that we brought to Los Angeles. While a lot of this sold I have two suitcases full and will replenish today. You may spot some new Rickshaw items that I will be bringing home with me. 
Aaaand my first find of the show: The elusive Uni Zento Signature gel pen in the dark finish with a .5mm tip. Vanness Pens (our table neighbor) had about 10 of them and they went super quickly! 
Don’t Forget to Take Advantage of Our Pen Show Weekend Promotion!
Pretty much everything we brought with us from Lochby, Rickshaw Bagworks, Craft Design Technology, Notsu, Musgrave, and more remains available online and in our Nashville store (which is open for modified hours today). We usually run a pen show weekend promotion whenever we’re away, and this weekend you can take 10% off Lochby, Notsu, and all pencils through 11:59CT Sunday using the code “CAPENSHOW26” at checkout. If you’re looking for us in Los Angeles, see the map below!
