The Manila Pen Show, Southeast Asia’s longest-running gathering for fountain pen enthusiasts, writers, and analog culture lovers, returns for its sixth year on March 28 and 29, 2026, at the 2nd Floor of Fairmont Makati, from 10 AM to 7:30 PM.
Themed “Hello Retro,” this year’s show celebrates objects with history: held in the present, creating new stories that will live on in the future. Pens, paper, and ink connect us across time, allowing us to glimpse the past while looking forward.
The Biggest Exhibitor Lineup to Date
Manila Pen Show 2026 features over 60 confirmed booths spanning two full ballrooms and a foyer, the largest footprint in the show’s history. Exhibitors cover fountain pens, inks, notebooks and paper, glass dip pens, leather goods, calligraphy supplies, and artisan accessories, drawing makers and brands from Japan, Italy, Turkey, India, Singapore, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
Thirty-two exhibitors are new to the show in 2026, the biggest influx yet. International highlights include Eboya, a brand under Nikko Ebonite (Japan’s sole remaining ebonite manufacturer), handcrafting fountain pens from the same vulcanized rubber used in pens since the 1800s; Drillog, with its patented drill-bit-shaped dip pen nib; Leonardo Officina Italiana, the second-generation Italian pen maker; and three separate Japanese glass pen studios. Close to 20 Japanese exhibitors alone make it the show’s deepest international contingent ever.
Returning favorites include Scribe, Aesthetic Bay from Singapore, Stylo Art Karuizawa, Nagasawa, Bungubox, Wancher, Pengallery from Malaysia, Taccia, Esterbrook, LAMY, and many more.
In line with the “Hello Retro” theme of the show, there will be workshops about calligraphy, travel journaling, and traditional Japanese Hira Maki-e lacquerware. Evening panels include “Founders’ Journeys,” where the heads of Leonardo Officina Italiana, Inks by Vinta, and Musubi discuss building brands in fine writing, and a session on sourcing and restoring vintage pens moderated by Prof. Dalisay, the community’s founding figure and a crowd-drawer at the show since that first panel in 2018. Four nibmeisters, including US-based Matthew Chen (trained by the legendary Nagahara Jr.), offer custom nib grinding in a dedicated service room.
From a Café Meet to Fairmont Makati: How the Manila Pen Show Became Southeast Asia’s Biggest Pen Event
What first began as a gathering of small pen enthusiasts in 2014 eventually turned into a big convention four years later, first at the SMX Convention Center in SM Aura which saw 600 guests in total for the one-day event. The Manila Pen Show then moved to Holiday Inn & Suites Makati the year after and expanded to two days, plus introducing for the first time the dedicated nibmeister area, which is now a signature feature of the event.
When the Manila Pen Show returned in 2023, three years since the pandemic hit, under the theme “Filipino Flavor,” whatever momentum might have been lost had clearly compounded in the other direction. Roughly 1,200 attendees came through, double the pre-pandemic number. The 2024 edition, themed “Sun, Sky, and Shore,” drew over 1,600, with more than 40 exhibitors. In 2025, for its 5th anniversary, the show moved to The Peninsula Manila under the theme “Myth and Magic,” and attendance hit 2,287—a 40% jump in a single year, with 45 exhibitors and four specialist nibmeisters. Even more amazing is how participants from Japan, Italy, Turkey, India, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States have now joined the exhibitor roster alongside Filipino makers, fully cementing the Manila Pen Show as a must-do for fountain pen collectors and journaling enthusiasts worldwide.
The Manila Pen Show 2026 runs from March 28 to 29, 2026, from 10 AM to 7:30 PM. Tickets (Saturday Pass, Sunday Pass, or Weekend Pass) are available at manilapenshow.helixpay.ph.
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