The New York Gift Shows: August 2025

Our trip to the August gift shows in New York is one of the last events in The Paper Mouse’s summer season. We trek through the city in the shimmering heat, buying lists in hand, restaurants pinned on our maps, thoroughly enjoying the four day business trip and vacation. These shows are where we do a large portion of our holiday purchasing; even though more and more items are now available online, we still prefer to see and hold them in person when possible. There’s nothing like the texture of a canvas pencil case, or the smooth glide of a new pen on paper.

Day 1: Shoppe Object

When we first arrive at a show, we try to visit brands we already carry, to restock and test their new products. Then, we’ll slow down, wander the show, and explore new brands.  We spent day one scurrying through Shoppe Object’s winding aisles, seeking out familiar faces. The show had expanded even more since last year. There was so much to see!

Here are some of our favorites from day one:

A preview of 2026 designs at the Hobonichi booth	This amazing display made for a single book	Speaking of, Maileg has written a cute mouse book!
We had to get these pen cases with huge zippers	Gingko Design's new Twist Hexagon lamp	Ink Mazeru inks and Nonble notebooks

Many of these items have already arrived at the shop. Drop in and see why we loved them so much at the show!

After a successful day of ordering, we braved the pigeon-infested streets and headed toward Chong Qing Wharf for seafood hotpot.

Day 2: NY Now

The NY Now show has been getting smaller in the past years, but some of the biggest distributors of pens, inks, books, and toys are still there. The Japanese stationery obsession was in full swing; several of the brands we saw at the Tokyo International Gift Show were now available right here in New York. Here are just a few of the treasures we found:

One of the best parts of attending shows is the chance encounters with other shop owners. While browsing pens, we ran into Neil from Yoseka Stationery. Later on, perusing notebooks, we met Heatherjo of Buck's Bespokery.

It was off to Fort Lee at the end of day two for a comforting meal of tofu soup and a walk around the waterfront. We even got to (sort of) recreate a photo that we took in 2022.

2022

2024

 

We swear we're not a cult.

Day 3: Tea & Juliet

We stopped in at Shoppe Object again on day three. The show had grown so big that we'd barely seen half of it by the end of day one. Some of the stars of day three:

What do we do after three days of shows? More shows, of course! On Broadway, that is. Before the show, we rushed to the HEYTEA TEA LAB in Times Square for some of their experimental flavors. 

 

The show was so much fun! We found ourselves singing bits of the songs all through the rest of the trip.

Day 4: Loafing Around

We reserved an extra day at the end of our trip for nothing in particular. One thing we were all looking forward to on this trip was going to Loaf on Paper, niconeco zakkaya's new cafe and stationery store. We headed there in the afternoon, after some snacks and delicious dimsum.

After meeting Neil at NY Now, we wanted to make sure to visit Yoseka before heading home. The team was having a photoshoot when we arrived, and the shop was bustling. We all found some great stationery, while Victor and Jenny once again chatted with Neil and Daisy.

After a low-key dinner in Flushing, we got ready to head home to Newton. As we walked out, we saw this sign on a closed office door that embodied our feelings about both our travels and our time at the shop (and perhaps also our ability to prooffread):