2026 California Pen Show | Feb 19 - 22nd, 2026 | Torrance Marriott Redondo Beach
2026 CA Pen Show Exclusive Ink: Nagasawa California Teal 2026 is available for pre-order
2026 seminar registration is now open for all classes. Reserve Today
2026 Seminar Schedule
Schedule & Detail (Registration is now open for ALL seminars)
ALL seminars need online registration to attend
Friday, Feb 20
Fountain Pen Basics (Friday Session)
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Friday, Feb 20
Location: Pier 4 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 30
Hosted by: Lisa Vanness
Description:
We show you how to choose the best pen and nib combination for your handwriting, how to clean the pens and tools you will find helpful in your handwriting journey.
Cost: Free (Registration needed)
Italic Handwriting and Calligraphy
Time: 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday, Feb 20
Location: Pier 2 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 20
Hosted by: Nikola Pang
Description:
​
Join me in learning the beautiful, classical, forms of Italic script! Cancelleresca, or Chancery hand, came about from a marriage of humanist and Roman forms and really hit its stride during the period we know as the Italian Renaissance. These scripts were so popular in their multitude of variations that they quickly became adopted by both the church and became adopted throughout the old world as a standard. This widespread use led the slanted, broad pen script to such renown that, even today, we still call many small broad nibs "italic". Classically beautiful, flowing, very nearly ideal in readability and highly refined through the ages it's no wonder that Italic is still considered by a large number of calligraphers and typographers to be a "perfect script".
In this course we will focus on the history, forms, and execution of creating classic (and perhaps a few contemporary) Italic hands.
The course includes all materials and handouts. If you wish to bring your own tools feel free. Attendees are also encouraged to bring their own ruler and mechanical pencil if possible. Hope to see you there!
​
Cost: $85
Explore Creative Journaling
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Friday, Feb 20
Location: Pier 4 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 20
Hosted by: Tom Forsythe
Description:
​
Join Tom of Sugar Turtle Studio for a quirky, messy, informative journey into the world of Creative Journaling. Get over your fear of the blank page and get using those pens, notebooks, art supplies, stickers, and washi in fun and creative ways. Great for beginners and avid journalers
​​
Cost: $60
Self-Portraits Will Save Your Life
Time: 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Friday, Feb 20
Location: Pier 4 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 20
Hosted by: Tom Forsythe
Description:
​
Journaling is a fertile connection point between the act of creation and the act of self exploration. Join Tom of Sugar Turtle Studio as we combine art journaling techniques with traditional journaling techniques to search for ourselves. We will approach the practice from a low-stakes, light-hearted place, but don't let that fool you that there isn't a lot of depth to plumb with these exercises. "Art" skills are not required. You've already got everything you need to take this class.
​
Bring your own journal. Everything else you need will be provided with goodies to bring home
​​
Cost: $65
Sheaffer Snorkels from the outside on in: a hands-on repair experience (Part A)
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday, Feb 20
Location: Pier 2 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 30
Hosted by: Nick Mastricola
Description:
​
Are you curious about how the most complicated fountain pen filling system works? Are you interested in learning how these pens can be made to write like new again? Look no further! This unique 2-part seminar and workshop will answer your questions and give you a unique hands-on opportunity. Part A is a background and technical information session about the Sheaffer Snorkel filling system and relatives. Part B is a hands-on workshop. Part A must be taken in order to participate in Part B. Please read both descriptions below.
​
Part A: (30 minutes) In this section, you will learn about the Snorkel's filling system, its unique anatomy that makes the filling system operate, and how it relates to other pens in the Sheaffer line up from the same era. Each participant will walk away with a handout of the information that is discussed.
​​​
Cost: $30
Saturday, Feb 21
The art and science of journaling
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb 21
Location: Pier 4 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 20
Hosted by: Jeanne Florini of Jeanne’s Ohana Designs
Description:
​
“We write to discover the layers that reside below the surface of our ordinary day.” - Kay Adams
“Art opens the closets, airs out the cellars and attics. It brings healing.” – Julia Cameron
​
In this session we will do the following:
explore the “science" of creating, handwriting and letter writing
explore the “art impact” and some unique ways of journaling to promote and support good mental and physical health
discuss ways to incorporate the practice into home and the workplace
take time for meaningful practice
​
Included: with the fee - participants will receive a curated journaling kit with materials to also create and mail a letter/card. Journaling kit (each one is unique) has a fountain pen friendly notebook, design paper, stickers, stencils, a few pens, and journaling prompts. During our “meaningful practice” time, additional stickers, paper, and writing instruments will be available.
​​
Cost: $50
Get Lost! (In Your Creative Journal)
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb 21
Location: Pier 2 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 20
Hosted by: Tom Forsythe
Description:
​
You’re beyond the basics with your creative journal, but there are still plenty of new ways to get lost inside its pages. Join Tom from Sugar Turtle Studio for a series of exercises to stretch your creative muscles, expand your repertoire of creative journaling tools, and become a journaling genius.
​​
Cost: $65
Fountain Pen Basics (Saturday Session)
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Saturday, Feb 21
Location: Pier 4 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 30
Hosted by: Lisa Vanness
Description:
​
We show you how to choose the best pen and nib combination for your handwriting, how to clean the pens and tools you will find helpful in your handwriting journey
​
Cost: Free (Registration needed)
Journaling with Imaginary Friends
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb 21
Location: Pier 4 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 20
Hosted by: Tom Forsythe
Description:
​
Join Tom of Sugar Turtle Studio as we create our own comic characters to populate the pages of our journal. We will use these new friends to tell our stories in new ways and to see the events of our day through a new lens. Journaling is often a solitary activity, but it certainly doesn't
​
Cost: $65
Elevate the Everyday: Improve Your Handwriting
Time: 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Saturday, Feb 21
Location: Pier 2 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 30
Hosted by: Kimberly Lau
Description:
​
Do you get mistaken for a doctor with your chicken scratch? Has typing your life away taken its toll on your handwriting? Is your writing fine but you’d like it to look nicer? Join us for an interactive seminar on how to improve your everyday handwriting with Kimberly Lau (@allthehobbies on IG) who started her own handwriting journey in 2017 after discovering fountain pens.
​
Kimberly will walk you through the different aspects of handwriting, providing tips and techniques to get you improving your handwriting in no time.
​
You’ll learn:
-
How to break the process into individual and less daunting steps
-
Steps to overcome your inner critic
-
Practical methods for planning your practice
Please bring any kind of pen (preferably with darker ink) or pencil to this 90 minute session and get ready to transform your everyday handwriting!
​
About Kimberly: Kimberly Lau (she/her) has been working on her own handwriting since 2017 when she took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole. Examples of her writing (and pens and inks) can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies, and you can also find her articles on the Pen Addict blog.
​
Cost: $40
Make every pen write like a dream: Nib Tuning and Smoothing Seminar
Time: 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb 21
Location: Pier 4 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 22
Hosted by: Lenny Eiger
Description:
​
There’s nothing like a pen that lives up to your expectations, and writes wonderfully..This seminar will teach you how to adjust your pen to be scratch-free, with a perfect flow, and buttery smooth (or as smooth as you like). The skills are easy to learn; and accessible to everyone. A little knowledge, a few tools, some practice, and you’ll be happy with every pen you own and every pen you acquire, forever more.
​
Topics we will discuss:
-
Adjusting Flow
-
Aligning Tines
-
Polishing the tip
-
Maintenance
​
Tools we will use:
-
Loupes
-
Feeler Gauges
-
Lapping Sheets
-
Brass Flossing Sheets​
​
Thanks to Coles of London for their generous support in providing a free bottle of Pelikan Ink and a fountain pen for each participant.
​
You will also receive a high-quality 20x Illuminated loupe, feeler gauges for adjusting the flow, a pair of lapping sheets for smoothing and some brass floss for maintenance and initiating capillary action. It's everything you need and more; a complete tuning and smoothing kit. (Supplies, pen and ink valued at approx. $180.)
​
Bring any pen you want to improve; I will make sure you can work safely and confidently on it. Mediums, Broads, and Stubs tend to reveal changes most clearly, but all nibs are welcome.
Turn every pen you own into something you love to write with.
​
Cost: $89
Sheaffer Snorkels from the outside on in: a hands-on repair experience (Part B)
Time: 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturday, Feb 21
Location: Pier 2 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 12
Hosted by: Nick Mastricola
Description:
​
Are you curious about how the most complicated fountain pen filling system works? Are you interested in learning how these pens can be made to write like new again? Look no further! This unique 2-part seminar and workshop will answer your questions and give you a unique hands-on opportunity. Part A is a background and technical information session about the Sheaffer Snorkel filling system and relatives. Part B is a hands-on workshop. Part A must be taken in order to participate in Part B. Please read both descriptions below.
​
The workshop will begin with a 30-minute overview and demo of the repair process.
After the demo, the participants will be put into groups of 3 to share the tools provided. Each participant will then receive a pen (you may also bring your own pen) and necessary supplies (sacs and seals) to complete the Snorkel restoration during the workshop. All tools and materials will be provided for the seminar.
​
Parts for provided pens will be available as needed at no charge. If a participant chooses to provide their own pen (only snorkels will be accepted, no PFMs), a discount ($50) will be given. People using their own pens will have the option to purchase parts as needed during the workshop
Each hands-on workshop participant will leave with a list of tools and materials with sources, a Snorkel repair manual written by the presenter, and a working Snorkel that they completed during the seminar. A repaired and warrantied Snorkel typically sells for between $150 and $175 at a pen show.
​
Cost: $180 (If you bring your own, you will receive a $50 refund)
Sunday, Feb 22
Copperplate Calligraphy
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Sunday, Feb 22
Location: Pier 2 (Second Floor)
Class Size: 20
Hosted by: Nikola Pang
Description:
​
Come learn the beautiful calligraphic style of copperplate script! Copperplate calligraphy, also known as roundhand, engrosser's, and engraver's script, is considered by most to be the mother of all pointed pen hands. It still stands as one of the most recognizable and highly demanded design elements in pointed pen calligraphic works. In this course we will go over a concise version of its history and learn to use dip pens in order to form the basic strokes of its construction. This course is geared towards beginners but those with more experience may attend it as a refresher course and I do my best to teach to the level of each individual in the second half of the course (plus it's always nice to have experienced attendees help). The course is 3 hours and includes all the tools (nibs, holders, papers, handouts). Attendees are welcome to bring their own supplies for use if they wish. I also encourage attendees to bring a pencil and ruler with them.
​
Cost: $85