Our First Manila Pen Show (and Somehow We Survived)
Chelsea Anne De Leon
If you've ever wondered what it feels like to prepare for one of the biggest stationery events in the Philippines, imagine spending weeks making journals... then deciding, "You know what this booth needs? A vase."
And a lampshade.
Because apparently we weren't stressed enough.
March 28 and 29 marked our very first Manila Pen Show, and saying we were excited would be an understatement. This was one of those events we'd always looked at from afar. A place where fountain pen lovers, paper enthusiasts, notebook collectors, artists, and curious people all gather under one roof.
This time, somehow...
...we were part of it.
We wanted our table to feel less like a store and more like walking into someone's cozy little reading nook. So we rebuilt almost everything.
Wooden displays.
Table Cloths.
Leaves.
A little table lamp.
A vase that somehow became part of the team.
The number of people who stopped just to tell us how beautiful the booth looked honestly caught us by surprise.
Every compliment made all the late nights worth it.
Speaking of things we were trying for the first time, we also brought our very first stamp station.
I honestly didn't know how people would react.
We launched three original rubber stamp designs illustrated by artsbyedmar, and throughout the weekend, people kept lining up just to stamp their journals.
But there was one obvious favorite.
"Isusumbong Kita sa Journal Ko."
The moment people saw it, they laughed.
Then they stamped it.
Then their friends stamped it.
Some even asked if they could buy the stamp itself.
I don't think we expected that one.
Safe to say... it completely stole the show.
We also introduced quite a few new journals that weekend.
The Sumbungera journal finally made its debut, perfectly matching the fun retro theme of the event.
We officially launched our collaborative Araw-Araw Notebook Refills with artsbyedmar, something we've been quietly working on for quite some time.
I also brought something a little more personal.
Months earlier, while wandering around Bali, I found beautiful batik fabrics that I couldn't stop thinking about. Instead of letting them sit on a shelf as souvenirs, they eventually found their way onto journal covers.
That's how the Bali Batik Journals came to life. A limited edition journal.
We also introduced our Undated Yearly Time Capsule Journal, finished with its gold-plated emblem, alongside Regal Journals made with Tomoe River S paper imported from Japan.
It felt like bringing little pieces of different stories together onto one table.
One thing I was especially excited about was letting people actually experience our papers before deciding.
We prepared two display journals.
One with our signature Premium Ivory paper.
One with Tomoe River S.
People spent time writing on both, flipping pages back and forth, comparing inks, checking ghosting, testing nibs.
The conversations were fascinating.
What surprised me most was how many fountain pen users complimented our Premium Ivory paper. Several told us it held up incredibly well and compared surprisingly closely to Tomoe River for everyday writing.
As someone who's spent countless hours obsessing over paper choices...
That honestly meant a lot.
Now here's the part nobody probably noticed.
The night before the event...
I barely slept.
I think excitement and anxiety decided to become roommates for one evening.
By the time the doors opened, I was running almost entirely on adrenaline, carrying one very persistent headache, a bit of nausea, and enough lightheadedness to wonder if I'd accidentally become part helium.
So if we talked that weekend and I seemed a little odd than usual...
Now you know why.
Thankfully, the excitement of the event quickly took over.
The crowd was unbelievable.
Before the doors even opened, people were already lining up outside.
Once everyone came in...
Everything became a blur.
Kristen, my intern at the time, Otep, and I barely had the chance to talk to each other because there was almost always someone browsing, asking questions, trying papers, stamping journals, or sharing stories.
Those are honestly my favorite kinds of conversations.
Not the ones about products.
The ones about why people journal.
Or the pen they've carried for fifteen years.
Or the notebook they're finally allowing themselves to start after "saving it for the perfect moment."
Stationery people just get it.
One of the nicest thing of the weekend was getting to share a table with LeatherLuxePh.
Their handcrafted leather pen cases were absolutely beautiful. The craftsmanship was something you really have to see in person to appreciate. It's one thing to see them online, but seeing them in person is a whole different experience. The leather, the stitching, the way everything comes together, it all feels even more refined up close. And they're all made by the owner itself, Sir Raymund "Amon" Nino Bumatay.
Photo By: LeatherLuxePh
Photo By: LeatherLuxePh
They're based in Baguio, and Sir Amon, who also shoots their product photos, is an incredibly talented photographer. He even wanted to pair my Regal Journals with his pen cases for photoshoots, and the results were absolutely stunning.
More importantly, we wouldn't have been there without Sir Amon.
He generously invited Telapapel to join this year's Manila Pen Show, opening a door that probably wouldn't have opened otherwise.
So, thank you, Sir Amon.
We'll always remember that.
And then there were the visits.
Friends dropping by.
Customers we've only known through Instagram finally introducing themselves in person.
People recognizing journals they've seen online.
Familiar faces.
Completely new faces.
Some stayed for a few minutes.
Some stayed long enough to talk about life.
Some even bought and asked to put a little message on the notebook as a souvenir! Definitely something we didn't expect.
Those moments are always my favorite part of pop-ups.
The journals are wonderful.
But they're really just excuses for people to meet.
Looking back now, I don't remember every sale.
I don't remember every receipt.
But I do remember hearing people laugh after stamping "Isusumbong Kita sa Journal Ko."
I remember strangers telling us our booth felt warm.
I remember seeing people compare papers like kids discovering something new.
I remember looking around the room at one point and quietly thinking,
"We're actually here."
For our very first Manila Pen Show...
I don't think we could've asked for a better memory.
Until the next one. 🤍
