Washington, DC Fountain Pen SUPERSHOW
Fairview Park Marriott
3111 Fairview Park Drive Falls Church,
VA 22042
In 2026, we will be providing nib work services, an educational seminar, on the Art of Urushi and a hands-on workshop where you can experience the craft of Maki-e. Please find the details below:
Nibwork SIgn Ups
Please sign up for a slot with Kyuseido’s CY for nib services! We will be taking advance appointments for 10:30 to 15:30. If you missed the advance appointments, please stop by anyway to see if we can slot you in for day-of appointments that will run from 15:30 to show close. These appointments will be filled on a first come first served basis and we will start taking appointments when the show opens to the public on each day.
Nib Grind pricing can be found on our Nibwork Overview page and Tune Ups will be 40USD.
Please make sure you have the appropriate show entry ticket for your timeslot (VIP/Weekend Pass). You can check which ticket you need on the Washington, DC Fountain Pen SUPERSHOW website. If you do not have the correct show entry ticket, you may be denied entry by the show staff and miss your slot without refund.
CY’s Availabilities
Workshop Sessions:
Washington DC Fountain Pen Supershow (Sign up on our Kyuseido Website)
Friday, 7th August 2026
11:00 am -13:00 pm The Art of Urushi Seminar
Saturday, 8th August 2026
9:00 am - 11:00 am Maki-e Workshop
About the Workshop:
Urushi lacquer is a natural material that holds deep cultural significance in East Asian societies. Originally used as a natural lacquer to protect wooden substrates from the environment, Urushi has evolved from a purely technical craft into an intricate artform with many different techniques that practitioners use to demonstrate an art in harmony with the natural world. In this workshop, we will introduce the participants to Maki-e, a form of Urushi craft that involves the combination of natural Urushi and metal powder to create your own work of art.
You will learn about the core concepts of Maki-e and will experience applying a simple design on a plate with urushi using a fine brush. Guests can create their own simple design, or choose from our selection of design templates.
You will get to choose from an assortment of colored powder to customize your design and, by the end of the workshop, will take your maki-e creations home together with a curated Maki-e kit to continue future projects of your own!
We welcome all participants from all ages and backgrounds, and no prior experience with art is needed!
Disclaimer:
We will be using genuine urushi lacquer in this workshop. While cured urushi is completely safe, uncured urushi can cause skin allergies. Gloves will be provided at the workshop and the risk of a rash is low with proper handling of urushi. By signing up to this workshop you acknowledge this risk that may occur from exposure to urushi lacquer.
About the seminar:
With over 7000-8000 years of history, the world of urushi is invariably deep and complex, and has been developed into an important traditional craft that is still used today. Urushi has been applied to fountain pens for 100 years and its popularity is continuing to grow. Much of the information regarding urushi is still difficult to obtain outside of Japan and yet internationally there has been more people interested in learning about this craft.
If you would like to learn more about the history and techniques involved in urushi work, we welcome you to join us in this seminar where we discuss what it means to work with urushi in current times.
About the Instructor:
Sophia is an urushi and maki-e artist based in Hong Kong. She began to practice the art of urushi in 2022 on a self guided basis before taking formal maki-e lessons at Maki-e School Ginza under Matsuda Shokan in Tokyo in 2024.