2026 Spring Edition of the Toronto Stationery Show

Date posted on Instagram: 2026-04-28

Hi, everyone – we, Queenie & Andrea, the organizers of the Toronto Stationery Show, have seen your messages and we want to acknowledge your frustrations. We are always disappointed to hear about any negative feedback at our events. We recognize that standing in a long line on a rainy day is unpleasant, and it is even more upsetting to be turned away due to capacity issues, especially if you have travelled for the show. We strive to make TSS a good experience for our vendors and our valued attendees, and we deeply apologize for letting you down. We want to be transparent with you all. The following are insights to our internal processes and answers to your questions, as well as our next steps. We’ve tried our best to address your concerns as thoroughly as we can. 

Please read our response.
Thank you!

Most venues require bookings 1.5 to 2 years in advance, and contracts are signed with deposits for multiple events at once. After securing a space, we need at least 6 months per show to properly review hundreds of applications, and for accepted vendors to have ample time to prepare inventory so we can cross-promote their businesses and products.

We’d like to provide you with our history of previous venues, why we have stayed at The Parkdale Hall, the status of a potential new venue, and our goals for TSS:

Our first show was in 2019 at The Great Hall. We gathered 43 vendors in hopes we would draw a crowd, and after just a few hours, we knew we needed a bigger space. We were blown away by the positive response and so grateful to the vendors, sponsors and attendees who took a chance on us. We loved the beautiful architecture of the building but it had challenges since the main hall is not on the ground floor – there was a lack of accessibility access, along with difficulty for vendors moving in/out, and we had to outsource furniture, so we sought a new venue.

In 2023 (when lockdown was lifted and the world was settling back into place), we moved to the Woolfitt’s Studio and Gallery, which was much larger, but also had issues. The venue lacked several amenities for patrons, there were leaking ceilings, communication wasn’t always clear, and we also had to outsource furniture which added to our costs. Then, ownership changed and we never heard back.

In 2024, The Parkdale Hall welcomed us to test our first show, and it was a major success. We were able to host 65 vendors, the venue has a ramp to the main floor, there are multiple washrooms, there’s an adjoining cafe with a quick service menu, there are designated entrances and exits we can watch closely (anyone coming in through the cafe must show their vendor badge), the location is on a public transit route, and the owner is communicative and receptive, which is vital when organizing events of any size. We quickly secured our dates with a multi-show contract, allowing us to host TSS twice a year to meet the demands of both artists and attendees.

Just days after the 2025 Spring TSS where we had to cap the line for the first time, we arranged a site visit at the new St. Lawrence Market building in hopes of securing a larger venue for our growing crowds. We met with site staff and we were hopeful we would receive a rental package to move forward to book the space. Even though we already had our 2025 and 2026 dates with The Parkdale Hall, we wanted to be proactive for when that agreement ends. We continued to wait for St. Lawrence Market to sort out its rental process while continuing our communication with them. Last September, we submitted a 41-page Expression of Interest document for the North Building as per their request, but we haven’t received any responses since October and had to move forward with our 2026 plans.

We also inquired with several larger venues including the Enercare Centre, Meridian Hall, and Metro Toronto Convention Centre, but TSS was either not eligible or there was no availability at all (as of 2026). Nearly all of these venues already have multi-day bookings throughout the year, since their spaces are reserved for international and large-scale events such as concerts and annual trade conferences. Moreover, the costs of these venues are exorbitantly high, which would change the core intention of TSS. 

We work hard to curate our vendors in order to present new and returning artists at each show. We balance artforms and subject matter, ensuring that there aren’t too many similar creatives. We want our vendors to have successful shows by carefully considering the mix of artists that will be sharing the space. A larger show that requires more vendors would compromise the quality of the artists and small businesses presented, with the pressure of filling tables. We will not compromise the integrity of TSS and will not accept AI-generated products and unauthorized resellers into our vendor lineup.

Having an indoor venue is a must, due to the nature of paper products. However, large convention spaces means larger expenses. The reality is, the venue costs would be transferred to our vendors by way of table fees. TSS is meant to be a space for new and emerging artists to exhibit for the first time, for returning vendors to showcase evolving product lines, and for new audiences and stationery fans to discover Canadian talent. The larger venues we contacted require extensive multi-day booth setups, and this is not an accessible avenue for creatives who are just starting out. We considered offering tiered pricing for vendors, but most venues require us to use their full-service contractors and we can’t force artists to build expensive booths (estimated costs start at $3000 per vendor).

We try to keep our table costs feasible for artists (latest range is $170-$270), and our sponsor fees for local businesses have been under $1295. These funds go towards multiple venue bookings, insurance, and annual expenses. To steer away from larger corporate sponsorships, which would change how we operate, we ideally want to continue promoting small businesses that align with our values.

We’ve been vendors ourselves in 1-day markets, 11-day shows, as well as multi-day tradeshows. We recognize the types of events our vendors are seeking and the goal of TSS was to fill the gap in the Toronto market scene. We started this event with the intention of keeping fees low for everyone. For us to balance out the costs to host at a convention hall, we would have to charge admission. Based on our current attendance count and assuming it will increase over time, entry would be around $35-45 without anything included, which is not viable. A small admission fee of $5-10 per person at The Parkdale Hall would alleviate lines, but it also limits our total attendance to about 600 shoppers (less than half of the number of people who attend currently). This is a potential 50% loss of sales for the vendors.

In order to guarantee timed entry per hour, we have to be mindful of adhering to bylaw regulations, the venue capacity, and to prevent a backlog of paid ticket holders. However, numerous shoppers have expressed that paying entry to markets is not favourable when the goal is to spend hard-earned money to support the artists and small businesses, and we agree that you shouldn’t have to pay for entry. Vendors also attest that they gain higher sales at free events. 

However, we hear the demand and we are trying to calculate how to logistically make paid entry work alongside VIP ticket holders in order to allow the wait times to be more manageable, while ensuring it is still profitable and affordable for vendors.

We offer a limited quantity of timed VIP tickets to skip the line and get exclusive merch, and they go on sale about a month before each show. We used to offer a VIP hour for 100 paid guests from 10am-11am, but vendors found this option not great for hourly sales and suggested that we roll out time slots throughout the day instead. So our timed entries are now 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm and 2pm. We have decided to remove the re-entry option going forward in order to allow the general entry line to move faster.

Every show is very different. Last April, we had to cap the line so we modified our crowd control for the following November, and we were able to get every guest into the show – the attendance count was a little higher too! We were optimistic we’d be able to get everyone in again this spring with the same formula, but even with a lower attendance (by about 100 people), the shopping habits of each guest varied too much for our strategy to work again. 

A weekend show is currently not available to book at The Parkdale Hall. Moreover, a 2-day show means double the rental costs, and twice the fee for our exhibitors. Most of our vendors have expressed to us that they do not have the funds to apply to markets with a high fee and a lengthy commitment. The bigger and longer the show, the more investments everyone has to make – artists would have to increase production with their already limited budget, and their retail prices will also increase to offset expenses. We prefer to focus on one set of vendors per show, rather than having two lineups for separate days, and we feel that offering both day options is logistically very confusing.

As we continue to seek out new venues and solutions, we will keep running TSS twice a year and we will reevaluate how to grow and improve the event without making drastic compromises to our vendors and attendees. We have committed to The Parkdale Hall for the fall event, so we will be fulfilling our contract this November. But please stay tuned as we implement our new strategies to alleviate the lines. The next slides outline our new changes moving forward.

New changes moving forward:

No re-entry:

VIP ticket holders will no longer be allowed re-entry. This benefit will now be removed as a part of the VIP perks. Also, please do not arrive earlier than your designated time as this interrupts our general admission line. We will continue to be on a tight schedule to allow a specified number of guests inside per hour, as long as we do not reach max capacity and the crowd levels are safe.

Reinforcing our policies:

We will be more strict on our no loitering policy. We always ask attendees that are finished shopping to step outside so we can allow more people to enter, but we will be more stern from now on. We do not want to police your shopping experience, nor do we want to limit your shopping time, so please be mindful of those that are still waiting to come inside. When the weather permits, we put tables and chairs outside as a resting area if you are waiting for your group. 

Planning ahead:

We will create a shopping list of vendors with their table numbers, along with a printable floorplan so you will be able to conveniently find your must-see artists. You can plan your shopping ahead of time by browsing the vendors’ e-shops linked on our website, and by following our vendor features with new products and show specials! If you are unable to come to the show or cannot wait in line, please support the vendors through their own shopping channels! 

Order pick ups: (for vendors and guests)

Moving forward, if you are only coming to the show to pick up orders, we will designate a drop box for vendors to leave your purchases with our team so you can quickly bypass the line to grab and go with your preorders. Please note that pick ups do not get any priority in lines, you are simply passing by to collect paid purchases. The TSS team will not be responsible for the contents inside the orders, so if items are incorrect, let us know right away and we will notify the vendor(s) at their table(s) so they will tend to their customers immediately.

Communication and accessibility:

We will continue to clearly state and emphasize the wait times on all of our platforms leading up to the show so there will not be any surprises. We will assign more volunteers outside to walk up and down the line so we can be in contact with them for any pressing questions and status updates. We will give accurate wait times by marking the end of the line much earlier before posting updates on Instagram. We ask that accessibility requests be emailed to us at least one week before each show so we can notify your needs to our team (this has worked well at every show so far so please keep letting us know in advance)! If you have last minute requests the day of, please see a member of our team and we will try our best to accommodate.

We hope these changes will be effective moving forward. We are trying to find the balance of the needs of both vendors and attendees. We will share any important updates as we prepare for the fall show.

We will keep searching for a potential new home for TSS while maintaining the integrity and objective of our goals. We hope that this info provides further information on how we run TSS as we continue to navigate new ways to improve your experience. We are doing our best to ensure the show is sustainable for everyone, and we hope to have announcements for 2027 in the upcoming months. We will be working on contingency plans if we do not renew our contract with The Parkdale Hall. If you know of any central Toronto spaces we should check out, please email us!

We want to keep showcasing amazing artists by bringing you a positive event for you to look forward to. We thank you for your patience, kindness, and understanding. You have made numerous artists’ dreams come true by supporting their creations and keeping snail mail alive. It’s because of your dedication and enthusiasm that any of this is possible, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. We are truly grateful for your support of our show. Please email us if you have questions we didn’t address in this update and on our FAQ page, we will get back to you as soon as we can. 

With much gratitude,
Queenie & Andrea
Toronto Stationery Show

Our background 

The Toronto Stationery Show is run by Queenie Best and Andrea Raymond-Wong, also known under the name Q&A Letterbox. It all started from a mutual love of snail mail. In 2015, Queenie and Andrea joined together to curate a stationery themed subscription box featuring talented Canadian artists with greeting cards and stationery products. For over two years, Q&A Letterbox discovered numerous creatives across Canada, showcasing their work to hundreds of subscribers. After sunsetting the subscription series, we wanted to continue to share our love of snail mail and keep supporting the artists and small businesses we had gotten to know, and that’s how the Toronto Stationery Show was born. We took a huge leap, booked a venue and put an open call to vendors, and were blown away by the response!

TSS is and has always been a labour of love. We are two moms who each have full-time careers, and we dedicate any spare minutes we have to organizing this show twice a year. We love hosting our paper party, and we take such joy in highlighting and celebrating Canadian talent. We are committed to showcasing the undiscovered and emerging artists alongside established creatives. We hope to continue hosting TSS for stationery enthusiasts in Toronto and beyond.