Posts filed under Pen Shows

2022 St. Louis Pen Show Recap

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

I’m writing this while on my flight home from the 2022 St. Louis (LOO-is, not Loo-ee) Pen Show and I am exhausted from all the fun I had. It has been 3 years since the last STL show, with 2019 being the last one before the pandemic, so there was a lot of excitement and anticipation leading up to it. It was also held at a new location just on the other side of the previous hotel, and had a bigger ballroom, so vendors were excited not to be in two separate ballrooms along two different hallways like in prior years. I was really curious to see how this year’s show would fare in its new location, as well as what the rating will end up being.

Size: The show is downstairs and there is an intermediary hallway/entryway where the first 20 or so vendors are located. Among them are Dromgooles with their impressive ink wall, pen displays and binders chock full of Retro 51s. As you make your way towards the ballroom, you are greeted with a variety of vendors, both modern and vintage, with a mix of local and non-local vendors. According to the exhibitor list, there were roughly 100 vendors spanning 177 tables. In 2019, I believe there were 76 vendors occupying 110 tables. So ~20 more vendors but 67 more tables. I don’t always have access to table numbers so it’s a little difficult for me to compare but I would say it was similar in size to Chicago, maybe a bit larger.

*I loved the view of these gorgeous banners as you make your way to the registration desk.*

*Just before you head towards the entryway, the Pen Collectors of America was hosting a Pens for Kids scavenger hunt (I highly recommend this activity for the kids whenever the PCA is at a show.)*

*The entryway leading to the main ballroom.*

*Marty and Kimberly Henderson with the binders of Retro 51s from Dromgoole’s.*

*Michael Dromgoole was one of the first people you saw when you came into the entryway.*

*Jessica Coles was busy at the Dromgoole’s ink and paper section. Look at all those inks!*

*I just love these laser-engraved wooden notebooks from* *Curnow Bookbinding & Leather*.

*John Phelan (right) and his* *Lemur Ink* *helper Davy (left) were also in the entryway.*

*They also had the new Colorverse Kingdom inks which look really good!*

*If you were lucky, you might have heard Sophia Krusac (Ryan Krusac’s daughter) playing the piano!*

*First timers to the STL show, Hugh and Karol Scher of the* *Kanilea Pen Co.* *brought all their pretty pens.*

*Including these show-only pens! The empty slot was for a pretty pink pen that got snagged early on Friday!*

*View of the main ballroom from the back by RandomThinks.*

*Another view of the ballroom from one of the front corners (next to St. Louis Art Supply.)*

*Look at this stunning carved pen by Brian Weaver of* *Ironfeather Creative*!

*Keith McCleary of* *RandomThinks* *always has a table chock full of awesome stickers and 3D printed pen holders. And rumor has it, he kinda likes the color orange :-)*

It was difficult for me to tell if it really was bigger than before since the experience of a single large ballroom (with a large entryway full of vendors) was very different than having to navigate multiple ballrooms, so I have to go by vendor/table numbers. I would say it was probably 50/50 modern/vintage, not including non-pen tables. Score - 8/10

Location: The St. Louis Pen Show is about 30 minutes west of downtown (I used the Gateway Arch as my marker for downtown) and about 15-20 minutes southwest of the St. Louis Lambert International Airport. I had been looking for flights to STL for several months prior to the show and it would have cost me $800 on Southwest or upwards of $1200 on United to fly out of San Francisco or San Jose, so I ended up using miles. Flights to other cities for that same weekend were significantly lower, and there were no direct flights for me. My east coast friends had similar experiences with flights and prices. I’m sure my Midwest friends will disagree about how easy it was to get there since most of them drove 4 hours or less to get to the show.

Maybe it’s because I’m not from the Midwest that I don’t think of STL as a major destination, so it doesn’t have the draw for me, other than the presence of a pen show, and I wonder if that played any role in attendance (more on that later). Other than the infamous Arch, one could also head downtown to watch the St Louis Cardinals baseball team (they played the Chicago Cubs that weekend). It gets a lower score due to how expensive it was to fly there as well as not being as big of a draw as some of the larger cities. Score - 6/10

Hotel: The Sheraton Westport Chalet Hotel is a decent hotel, with a nice lobby, several small tables and chairs as well as a big table with built-in power (that several of us used for pen play, as well as charging devices). There is a free hotel shuttle which is really nice, and if you have the Marriott app, there is a shuttle tracker so you can tell how long the wait is for the next shuttle. If you arrived really early or late, it would cost about $30 to get from the airport to the hotel.

The restaurant’s food was surprisingly good at reasonable hotel prices. The bar service was good, especially Brian the bartender/server, who hustled like a madman all weekend and gave amazing service. We all got plenty of warnings for last call and when the bar was closing, they were very nice in telling us we could move to the outer tables and hang out there. Closing times for Friday and Saturday were very reasonable; 11pm for food, midnight for drinks. I didn’t venture outside much as it was a thousand degrees with high humidity the first couple of days, but there were folks hanging outside smoking cigars and socializing. There is also a small shop by the registration desk for snacks and incidentals. My room was alright, although the mattress was dented, and the temperature controls fluctuated a lot. The 5th floor Club Lounge was a nice place to relax though it wasn’t available to all guests.

The show rate for the rooms was $132/night (before taxes/fees) and included breakfast, which is about average to slightly more than most pen show hotels, and parking was free. The hotel is located in an interesting “plaza” if you will. Nearby is a mostly vacant, small mall with a few food options. Most folks ate at the hotel, at a few of the nearby restaurants, or drove 5-15 minutes for better options. I wish there were more nearby food options, but the hotel was a great place to hang out, the bar staff was great and the airport shuttle saved on costs too. Score - 8/10

Tickets: 3-day registration for the show costs $10, 3-day plus Thursday trader pass was $30; both of those passes included access to the dessert party. Single day passes were $5/day and a downright bargain! Show hours for the weekend were Friday 11am-6pm, Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday 10am-3pm. Advanced online tickets were also available for the same price. All ticket holders were invited to attend the Friday night auction as well. I really liked that (1) tickets were available online and that (2) tickets could be paid for in cash or credit at the door. Most shows that had both online and day-of tickets sales, or if they accept credit cards, would have a higher price point. So a combination of low price as well as ability to do online ticket sales and with credit card for door sales made this a no-brainer score. Score - 10/10

*Volunteers, like Alan Shutko, were all smiles at the registration table.*

Classes/Seminars: There were a ton of classes and seminars offered ranging from Gateway to Fountain Pens by Angela He of InkyConverters, All the Inks taught by Jessica Coles and Ana Reinert, paid handwriting/calligraphy classes from regulars like Nik Pang and Hong Nguyen as well as beginning/intermediate nib tuning classes taught by Ralph Reyes and a pop-up card making class taught by Link Tong of Roses without Thorns (which was full when I finally remembered to sign up). But more than that, there were classes on Bullet Journaling, Pen Repair, Resin Pouring, What to Do with Washi Tape, Drawing Tangles and Doodles and more. It is always great to see non-writing classes/seminars because there is so much more to this rabbit hole than pens and handwriting. It wasn’t obvious from the signup sheets which classes were paid versus free, so that caused some confusion. Also, there wasn’t any time between many of the classes so if any of them ran over, it trickled down to the next class. Lastly, with so many classes, I wondered if that affected how much time people were able to spend at the show. Score - 9/10

*Look at this impressive array of classes to choose from!*

Nib Worker Availability: Considering how many vendors were at this show, there were only 2 nib workers to choose from but it wasn’t for lack of trying. At the last minute, both the Kennedys of Indy-Pen-Dance and Richard Binder had to pull out of the show for health reasons. I think both Joshua and Kirk were occupied for most of the show, but if the others had also come, I’m not sure that there would have been enough nib work to keep them all busy.

*Josh Lax* *taking a close look at his work.*

*Kirk Speer* *is testing the nib before handing it to a customer.*

This one is difficult to score because they did have 4 nib workers lined up, but only ended up with 2. In the end, customers don’t really care why there are only 2, hence the slightly lower score. Score - 7/10

Overall sense/vibe: Having attended the 2019 STL show as well as having several conversations in the past with show organizers, Anne and Dave Morgan, I knew that it would be a well-run show. If you’ve attended other shows, you probably have seen Anne and Dave there, talking to vendors and taking notes. All so they can do their best to bring in lots of vendors and make sure they are taken care of. They also do a good job making sure the show is good for attendees too, in the form of having a variety of classes and vendors. The SLAPU (St Louis Area Pen Users - the best acronym!) volunteers were doing everything from ticket sales to manning the vendor lunch tables, to watching vendor tables if someone needed a restroom break to helping customers find vendors.

Most of the larger modern dealers were all along the walls of the main ballroom with many of the vintage dealers as well as smaller makers/shops filling up the middle tables. It was good to see some non-pen items like paper, ink, cards, washi tape and more. I especially liked seeing how many local vendors there were as it really makes the pen show unique. There was a good mix of smaller makers and vendors as well as larger vendors and some of the distributors that support them, like Coles of London, Kenro Industries, Luxury Brands of America and Pilot USA.

The Kabine, pronounced “kah-bee-nuh”, a local STL shop had a lovely array of Japanese and German stationery products.

*St. Louis Art Supply* *is another STL local vendor and they brought a bunch of papers and other goods from their shop.*

*It was great seeing the one and only Ana Reinert of* *The Well-Appointed Desk, who trekked across the state with all the Col-o-Rings, stamps and other goodies.*

*Sue Beck is happy to tell you about all these beautiful pens from Taccia.*

*Link Tong of Roses Without Thorns from Toronto, Canada with his awesome cards and also taught classes on making pop-up cards.*

*Angela He of* *InkyConverters* *has some of the cutest stationery products around!*

*Great to see the beautiful wax seal stamps from* *Day Art Store*.

*The Gilletts of* *Luxury Brands of America* *with their beautiful products and top notch service!*

*I love seeing Cary Yeager of* *Kenro Industries* *because he is always full of smiles and gorgeous pens!*

*One of the ink testing stations for attendees to try out different inks.*

*Some of the vendors even contributed fountain pen friendly paper so you can use them for ink testing. I thought that was super cool!*

*Dan Keller and his family (minus Graham who disappeared when I came over, lol) with the Penwell, Traveller and other awesome desk products from* *Good Made Better.*

*Pictured here with his sister, Graham takes cutoffs from his dad’s shop and makes these cute wooden holders for pictures, cards, etc. They were also embossing brass bookmarks.*

*The* *Pilot USA* *team showing folks their impressive array of pens from Metros and Explorers all the way to Namiki Emperors!*

*Ryan Krusac with his beautiful wood and scrimshaw pens. His whole family was also in tow, though it was impossible to get them in a picture together!*

While there were many vendors ready and waiting, what was missing was the large number of attendees. It felt like there were too many vendors and not enough customers. I spoke with a number of vendors throughout the weekend and the consensus was that Friday was a decent day, Saturday was really slow (in terms of number of people as well as number and quality/$ of sales) and Sunday surprisingly was good, especially for a short day and typically a show’s slowest day. In fact, a few of the folks told me on Saturday that they might not break even and were unlikely to come back to the show, but then on Sunday, they ended up making enough to be in the black. Quite a few of them told me that while they love that the show provides lunch for the vendors, they’d rather sacrifice lunch if they could have more customers.

In addition to the not-stellar number of attendees, I had heard that many of the attendees were day-pass folks, and many of those were first timers. Not surprising, the day-pass folks were pretty local while the 3-day pass holders were generally folks who traveled some ways to get to the show. Vendors told me that they also felt that many of their interactions were with folks new to pens as well. I think that bodes well for the hobby as it is always important that people continue to discover this rabbit hole. In the short term though, it tends to mean fewer and lower dollar sales.

I think that a greater emphasis on online advertising (and not just radio or print ads) may have helped give greater visibility to this relatively young show (the first STL show was 2018). Anyone who attended the show, especially if they stuck around for after hours pen fun, would happily spread the word about how well run it is. I think many of the vendors may be willing to give it another shot next year, but in the end, if vendors can’t make money, it won’t be sustainable and that would be sad. Score - 7/10

Food: I alluded to this earlier in the Hotel section but the hotel bar had pretty decent food and didn’t cost an arm and a leg. The actual restaurant was closed (I am seeing a lot of hotels serving food at the bar and closing their restaurants). Aside from the hotel, there didn’t seem to be a lot of food options, especially within walking distance - which no one wanted to do since the first couple of days had very high temperatures and humidity. The nearby “plaza” was a depressing sight even though I heard that there were a few restaurants that were ok. I did hear that Westport Social was pretty good (bar food, along with “bar games” like shuffleboard, bocce, darts, foosball and more). There are other options within a 5-15 minute drive if you had access to a car. I wish there were more and better food options nearby, but thankfully the hotel restaurant was good. Score - 7/10

*Parts of this plaza were empty and downright eerie. (Photo credit: Davy Chinn.)*

*Thankfully, I managed to have an insanely good BBQ dinner at Sugar Fire BBQ (which doesn’t have AC or fans but it was worth it.)*

After hours/socializing: The hotel bar was the place to hang out after hours and when that was full or closed, there were plenty of people hanging out in the nearby lobby tables. I had so much fun all weekend, I kept forgetting to take pictures! This is what happens when you’re enjoying the company of your pen friends so much that you don’t notice that it’s past 4am on a Thursday night! Yes, that sorta slowed me down for the rest of the weekend, lol. It was great finally seeing STL folks that I hadn’t seen in 3 years (and only saw on Zoom meetups) and meeting new folks too. Check out this Pen Shows After Dark IG reel from Sue Beck to get a sense of the fun that we were having.

*One of the big tables that folks hung out at. Nik Pang is foil engraving a writing mat. I may or may not have stayed up past 4am at this table on Thursday. (Photo credit: Davy Chinn.)*

I also mentioned that there were folks that were outside/downstairs smoking, drinking and enjoying each other’s company. It used to just be primarily the vintage vendors/customers but over the years, others have joined in on the fun (it’s how I met my Pen Show Dad years ago!). It was great to see people hanging out at different areas until all hours of the night. This has definitely become another is one of my favorite after hours shows. Score - 9/10

Other: I’ve already mentioned the show being well-organized, the number and variety of vendors, as well as the plethora of classes and great after-hours scene. I also talked about the attendance which was not as high as I think it should be for a show this size. What else is there to say? Well, I should also add that most vendors saw good attendance and sales numbers in 2018 and 2019, which was why they were eager for this year’s show, and also why it felt like a let-down for many of them. There were definitely vendors who were able to make the show a financial success but they were in the minority. Still, despite the less than stellar performance, everyone I spoke to had a great time. Whether or not they will return next year will probably also depend on how they do between now and next spring.

Let’s also talk about the weather - the show takes place in the Midwest in the summer. It was in the high 90s with high humidity. Not great for walking around to look for food, or waiting for airport shuttles. When I came in 2019, I was about to go outside to get some lunch when it started pouring cats and dogs, with thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening. Of course, that same weekend also had lovely days with beautiful sunsets too. So keep that in mind if you’re not a hot-weather person, or if you plan to do lots of outdoor sightseeing, or just stay indoors like I did most of the time, lol.

From what I know, ticket sales skewed to one-day pass holders and many of those were new to fountain pens as well as new to pen shows. I’m hopeful that these folks discover the vibrant pen community in the STL area and come to next year’s show for more days and find out how much fun they can have during and after show hours. It feels very much like how I feel about the Chicago show.

As with other recent shows, there were no mask requirements for the show (nor for airports/planes or other indoor areas). I was definitely among the very small minority of folks wearing masks (10% at best). No one told me to take my mask off or gave me any fuss for wearing mine, so I am glad for that. I still prefer to mask as much as I reasonably can, and as always, stay safe and do what works best for you, while respecting that others may not feel the same way you do. Score - 7/10

Report Card:

0-50 Oof, do not attend

51-70 Show is alright

70-80 Show is solid

80-90 Show is pretty darned good!

91-100 REALLY good show and not to be missed

The 2022 St Louis Pen Show scored 78/100, which was about what I was expecting. It reminded me a lot of the Chicago show where I had a great time, but the lower than expected numbers affected its score as well as the location (and resulting expense/difficulty of travel) didn’t help. It is a well-run show that might need to scale back on the vendors/tables. There is such a thing as “too big” when it comes to pen shows, especially if you don’t have the attendee numbers (and resulting sales dollars) to support it. I know that the STL Pen Show made a comeback after a 3 year hiatus due to the pandemic, so maybe the lower attendance is just indicative of a long absence. I hope that this year’s first time attendees and new pen addicts will help turn that around in the coming years.

Pen Show Haul (clockwise from upper left) - Graham’s Niblets, A5 TR inserts from Curnow Bookbinding and Leather, custom engraved Schon Pocket 6 by Brian Weaver of Ironfeather Creative, Grifos Gaudi fountain pen, KWZ Meet Me in St Louis 2022 show ink, the newly released Winnie-the-Pooh Retro 51 set, Colorverse Kingdom notepads, as well as washi tape and Papier Plume Trash Penda ink from InkyConverters and Esterbrook rubber stamp from Kenro.

Despite all the temptation at the show, and trust me, there was A LOT of temptation, my spending was relatively restrained this time around. All the time I got to spend with pen friends is what keeps me coming back for more. My wallet is a little lighter (I do have to save for DC, after all, lol), but my heart is full. Until the next pen show, stay safe and stay inky!

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Pen Shows.

Packing for a Pen Show - AKA I need to check a bag

With the St. Louis Pen Show coming up next week, I am once again going through the ritual of pre-show packing and thought I’d share what I end up dragging along. I won’t bore you with the details of how many pairs of pants to bring or what sorts of skincare items I need but will try to limit it to stationery-related items as well as things to get me through the show. Also, this is geared more for folks who are traveling to a show and spending at least one night, not driving for just the day.

Must haves. These items are non-negotiable for me.

— Comfy shoes: When I’m working behind the table and standing all day, my ride or die shoes are my black Danskos. Yeah, they’re not the most attractive shoes but damned if my feet haven’t been saved because of them (shout out to Ana Reinart for talking me into them). I even wear them when I’m not working at a show because I can walk around all day, several days in a row. I also recommend bringing a second pair of comfy shoes to give your feet a change of pace (pun intended). My second pair is usually a pair of sneakers.

— Large Rickshaw Soho Tote: This is probably the largest purse I own and I take it on every trip I go on. I’ve had many friends tell me “that’s not a purse, that’s luggage!” and with how much I can put in it, I don’t disagree! It also fits (albeit barely) under the seat in front of me on an airplane, even in economy. I routinely fit two 48-pen binders in it (cuz they sure as heck aren’t getting checked), along with my battery, charger, headphones and a water bottle.

— Show bag: While my large Rickshaw Tote is my ride or die travel purse, that is not what I use when I want to roam the show floor. I will either use a small or medium Soho when I want to do some shopping, and I carry it cross-body style so the bag isn’t in the way behind me.

Rickshaw Bags — *My Rickshaw totes are must-brings for pen shows.*

— Face masks: Yeah, I don’t love wearing them but it’s a minor inconvenience versus getting sick, whether from Covid or regular pen show crud. I bring a combination of reusable cloth masks from Rickshaw Bagworks as well as disposable ones.

— Inked Pens: Truth be told, I bring inked pens everywhere, not just to pen shows, but it’s a must-have for pen shows after dark when folks get to try other people’s pens. Plus, I do try to squeeze in my own writing, so I need pens for that!

— Pens to get worked on: Sometimes, I have nibs that need work (and that I couldn’t fix myself), other times, I want a grind on an otherwise ho-hum nib. Or maybe a pen needs to be restored and you can hand-deliver it instead of mailing it. Whenever I use a pen that could use some tuning or a new grind, I write it down in my bullet journal and then I can pack them when a pen show is coming up.

— Pen Storage: My currently inked pens are always in one binder and I make sure I have room either in that binder or a pen roll/case for any pens that are coming home with me.

— Notebook(s): I usually have at least one notebook with me, usually one or two Tomoe River notebooks that I scribble in (one is an A6 Hobonichi with 52gm and another slim A5 with 68 gsm). This is helpful during pen show shopping if you need to dip test a pen or want to swab an ink; it doesn’t matter what paper it is, as long as it is the paper that you like to use. I also use this when playing with pens during pen shows after dark where I get to try different pens and especially inks.

— My pen show lists: Yes, I have multiple lists when I go to a show. There is always a research list (stuff I want to check out in person, like inks and pens), sometimes a buy list, a “look for” list (sometimes for me, sometimes for friends), muling list (for things I buy at the show for friends or for things I need to bring with me for friends going to the show), pens to fix/grind list. I usually have this list in my bullet journal, but if I don’t want to bring the bujo, I take pictures of those lists ahead of time, or write a short version in my scribble notebook.

Food and Drink

— Reusable water bottle: I carry a plastic water bottle which I can refill at airports or in the hotel or gym. It’s great for carrying ice around if you end up with a not-cold-enough soda or drink.

— EmergenC: When I go to pen shows, I do them hard. Like wake up early (ish), work all day, maybe hit the gym, stay up late into the night/morning and do it all over again. This is a recipe for wearing oneself out and I don’t recommend it on a regular basis but I make exceptions at pen shows. So, maybe it’s a placebo but taking EmergenC always makes me feel better knowing that I’ve gotten my dose of vitamins for the day and maybe wards off the cooties too. I get these in the mega 3-box pack at Costco and have been known to throw them at friends and vendors.

— Breakfast fixings: Eating out while traveling gets expensive really fast and while I’m generally not a huge breakfast person, I need to have something to fuel my day. I bring a large ziplock bag of instant oatmeal, and smaller bags of dried cranberries, nuts, chia seeds (for protein!). I also bring my own metal spoon and plastic tupperware bowl/lid. I use the coffee maker to get hot water (more on this in the next section) and I’m making the oatmeal while I’m getting ready. It’s nice to have a little bit of time in the morning to sit down and eat breakfast before I head to the show floor. I also do this when I’m on non-pen show travel too.

— Beverages: I already mentioned the water bottle, but I like to bring instant coffee and tea bags with me so I can have coffee in my room in the morning, or some tea when I wind down at night. I usually bring Starbucks VIA instant coffee, but recently added some hot chocolate packs to my suitcase too. If you need soda or other beverages, consider scoping out nearby convenience or drug stores, or placing an order for delivery to your hotel.

— Snacks: I usually have a couple of packs of trail mix or granola bars in my purse, in case I get hungry before lunch or dinner. If you find me at a pen show in the evenings, chances are high I may also have some TimTams with me (if you know, you know).

Accessories

— Earplugs: You never know how noisy your hotel room neighbors are going to be or how late they’ll be watching TV so these are a must-have for me.

*Masks, earplugs and water bottle are always packed and ready to go.*

— Packing materials: I always have a small cardboard box filled with bubble wrap and ziplock bags. The bubble wrap and bags are for making sure inks are protected and the box is for any pen boxes that I don’t want to put in my carryon. I always put the actual pens in my carryon binder/pen case.

— Battery pack/charging cable: this is an absolute must if you’re working at a table, but also extremely use if you’re staying at a different hotel/location (where you can’t just go up to your room to charge your phone) because I guarantee you that your phone battery drains faster at a pen show than anywhere else, lol. I think people also take more pictures at shows and are texting their friends that they are muling for.

*I decorated my battery pack with washi tape (yes, Esterbrook washi tape, no less) so that I know which one is mine.*

— Optical aids: Even if you have perfect 20/20 vision, chances are you could use a little help when looking at pens, especially nibs, up close. This is particularly useful when inspecting vintage or second hand pens where markings may have partially worn off. For me, this means a pair of reading glasses and a loupe. If I’ve forgotten the loupe, I will use my phone’s zoom feature to get a decent look.

— Layers: Ok, I said I wasn’t going to go into clothing but it’s always good to bring layers at a pen show, regardless of what the outside temperature is. Some ballrooms will try to cook you alive, while others will try to freeze you - and this can be in the same hotel! So even if the forecast says it’s 40 degrees outside, pack a t-shirt (and layers), or if it’s 80 degrees out, pack a light jacket. Better to be comfortable while at a pen show so you can take your time browsing, than be boiling or frozen and wishing you weren’t in the ballroom.

— Favorite Lanyard: This probably falls in the “only Kimberly is crazy enough to make this a must-have” category but I love my lanyard. I have put a ridiculous amount of pins on my lanyard and have stuffed so many name tags in there that I’ve broken one card sleeve and am on another one. I also put my trusty Parker Jotter in there which I use when working behind the table (FPs are pretty impractical for quick notes and I’m not risking any of my VPs). Pro tip: Write your name on both sides of the name tag so that your name is visible even if your badge gets flipped around.

*Can you spot the Jotter in my badge holder?*

— Meds: I’m not usually one to get headaches and what-not but at a pen show, everything is amped up to 11 and sometimes I need some Advil to fight that headache or some Pepto Bismol cuz I’ve eaten too many things I shouldn’t eat. Doesn’t hurt to bring some Miralax, especially for those shows where folks are busting out wheels of cheese!

— Cash: I’ve said it before but cash is king at a pen show. It’s not because vendors don’t take credit cards or PayPal, but sometimes hotel wifi is a challenge and sometimes you can get a slightly lower price if you pay cash because vendors don’t have to pay the service charges. It never hurts to ask if you can get a lower price if you pay in cash. Plus it might just help you stay close to your budget too.

Optional, but I almost always bring them:

— Workout clothes/shoes: I usually only bring these if I’m not working at a show even though I have been insane enough to actually go to the gym after a long day of working behind the table. I usually bring 2 changes of workout clothes and wash one in the sink since I usually won’t work out two days in a row, but it’s been known to happen!

— Headphones: I usually need my headphones for the traveling portion to watch movies on the plane or train or listen to a podcast on my phone, but they are a must-have if you are working out in the hotel gym.

— Letter writing pack: My gigantic Rickshaw tote fits my A4 clipboard, some letter writing paper, envelopes, stamps and of course, several letters from penpals. This is the perfect activity for me to do while waiting for flights, while on a train, or when decompressing in the hotel room. I often include postcards and notecards in the pack as well.

— Portable Kettle: Yeah, I know, it’s a bit “much”, but I recently discovered that another pen friend brings one to shows and now I’m hooked! I know you can make hot water with the hotel coffee maker but sometimes the coffee flavor still comes through (I’m still swearing at the prior occupant who put the whole coffee pouch INTO the water reservoir). Non-affiliate link to the portable kettle.

— Items to sell/trade/giveaway: Pen shows are a great place to see if you can rehome some of your no longer loved items. You never know when an unloved pen can be sold or traded for something else. And we all have items that aren’t really worth selling or trading for, like a pocket notebook, ink samples or starter pens - those are great to drop off at tables like the Share the Wealth table at the Baltimore show (several shows have something similar) or bring to pen shows after dark and tell folks they’re free (people love free things!)

— Stuff to “show off”: Not that we are a braggy bunch, but who doesn’t want to show off their recent purchases with fellow pen aficionados? Whether it’s a rare vintage pen that you finally found, the latest offering from Leonardo, a cool grind on a nib, an awesome notebook or sheeny/shading/multichroma/shimmer ink, we want to see what you’ve got.

— Empty ink vials, etc.: I bring empty ink vials for sharing inks at shows and along with that, parafilm, baggies to contain any leaks and labels too. I will say more often than not, I’m not the one who needs them but someone will inevitably say that they wish they had brought some sample vials.

I don’t know why I keep bringing these and yet …

— Bullet journal: I love my bullet journal. I use it every day, often several times a day. It helps me plan, keep my lists and other things in order. But it’s big and it’s heavy and I really don’t need to plan anything when I’m at a pen show. And yet, I keep bringing it with me cuz “maybe I’ll need it”. Except I rarely need it.

— Project notebooks: Who am I kidding? When I go to a pen show, I don’t have the time or the energy to work on transcribing Meditations, Hamilton lyrics or work on a a currently inked spread. And yes, I keep bringing those notebooks on the off chance that I can work on them. Be realistic about how much free time you may have during the show and remember that it’s ok to find yourself without them and being a little bored.

— Swatches: Ok, I’ve actually gotten to a point where I no longer bring these because they take up so much room but for a long time I would bring my swatches to a pen show because maybe it would be useful. More often than not, they stay in my room and never see the light of day, or maybe one or two people find it useful. Keeping my FPC account up-to-date does a pretty good job of making sure I don’t buy something I already have and many vendors have their own swatch binders, so I really don’t need to bring mine any more.

— Swatching stuff: Along the same lines, I often will have extra blank Col-O-Ring cards and a paintbrush in case I want to swatch something, but again, I can’t remember the last time I swatched any ink at a show. It’s a nice thought if you plan on doing a bunch of swatching immediately after purchasing inks, but I find that it’s more relaxing to do that when I get home.

I think that’s it. If you couldn’t tell, I’m definitely on the “better to bring it and not use it than to wish you brought it” camp. Hopefully this helps you have a smoother pen show experience! And hope to see you at a show soon!

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Pen Shows.

2022 Chicago Pen Show Recap

I just got back from the 2022 Chicago Pen Show and whooey, I need a vacation to recover from all the fun! It was a mere 7 months ago that I was at the 2021 Chicago Pen Show and in some ways, it feels like an eternity ago while also feeling like just yesterday. And yes, our very own Sarah Read just did her write up of this year’s show, so check that out too! I am really curious to see how this year’s show, which was at its usual end of April/beginning of May time, compares to last fall’s show, as well as what its rating will be.

Size - Unchanged from prior years, the show starts at the front atrium with a mix of makers, modern and vintage sellers, as well as the large ballroom inside. According to the exhibitor list, there were roughly 90 vendors which felt like more than last fall. It continues to be a show that has a good mix of modern and vintage dealers as well as non-pen items like inks, papers and other accessories.

It was really good to see folks who had not been to the Chicago show (or any show) in some time, like Brian Gray of Edison Pen Company, Shawn Newton, Luxury Brands of America, and Vanness Pens who did not attend last fall. It was also wonderful to see newcomers to the show including local Erick Gama and his new shop Amarillo Stationery, personal favorite Roses Without Thorns as well as Ray Walters of Vintage and Modern Pens who came all the way over from the UK and had never been to Chicago before.

*John Phelan (center) and his Lemur Ink helpers Andy (left) and Doug (right) were also in the atrium. I may have finally picked up a Custom 74 at his table!*

*Erick Gama of Amarillo Stationery had an impressive display of inks, papers, washi tape and other stationery goods from Latin America.*

*Link Tong of Roses Without Thorns came all the way from Toronto, Canada to attend this show for the first time. His pop-up cards are the best!*

It felt a bit larger than last fall’s show and had a good variety of vendors as well. Last time I said it felt like it skewed a bit more modern than vintage, but this time around I would say it’s closer to 50/50. Score - 8/10

Location - The Chicago Pen Show isn’t actually in downtown Chicago but in a suburb called Hoffman Estates, which is 45 minutes northwest of downtown (if there’s no traffic), about 30 minutes west of the O’Hare Airport and 45-60+ minutes from the Midway Airport. It cost me about $45 to get from O’Hare to the hotel. Chicago flights are pretty easy to find as O’Hare is a major hub for several airlines. I spent a couple extra days after the show in Downtown Chicago where there are plenty of museums, tours, and food. Score - 7/10

Hotel - The Chicago Marriott Northwest hotel is a decent hotel, with a big atrium in the lobby with a water fountain, several couches near TVs, a big tall “bar” table, as well as other small seating areas around the lobby and restaurant/bar. The restaurant’s food was good at typical hotel prices. The bar service wasn’t the best - the bartenders were pretty slow, but they were nice enough. They were generally nice about letting folks hang out after closing. This is one of my favorite show hotels for hanging out and socializing. There is also a very small shop behind the registration desk for snacks and incidentals. My room was alright, though the sheets didn’t fit the bed and the temperature controls didn’t seem accurate.

Penn — *Silly Marriott, that’s “Pen” with ONE N, and yes, these signs were wrong everywhere, lol.*

The show rate for the rooms was $115/night (before taxes/fees), which is slightly lower than average price for most pen show hotels, and parking was free. A big strip mall was located across the street, which made it very convenient. Target, Ulta, Ross, and Burlington stores are there, as well as a bunch of small and medium sized restaurants (Pita Pita is a great change of pace for typical pen show fare). There are other options in a short 5-15 minute drive too. I don’t love the distance from the airport but the hotel proximity to food and shopping, plus the hangout-friendly spaces helps me give this a pretty high score. Score - 8/10

Tickets - Full weekend registration costs $60 and includes an extra pass for a significant other or child, early entry Thursday through Sunday, the pizza party on Thursday night, whisk(e)y tasting on Saturday night (thank goodness they finally moved this to Saturday night)(21+, of course); and Friday night auction. Friday’s public hours were from 12pm-5:30pm and costs $25 for a half day (still cheaper than LA’s Friday or Saturday non-weekend pass price). Saturday and Sunday prices felt more reasonable, at $10 cash, for 9-5:30pm and 9-4pm access, respectively. There were also free seminars as well as paid classes/workshops. Tickets were only available at the registration desk and could not be purchased ahead of time. Still, good prices for Sat/Sun general admission and a good price for the VIP pass since it included the pizza party. Heads up for next year though, weekend passes no longer include an extra pass for s.o./kid. Score - 8/10

*Always a good time (and fully belly) at the Thursday night pizza party which is held in the atrium.*

*The whisk(e)y tasting event, run by Mario Campa of Toys in the Attic, is always a hit, especially since it was held on Saturday night this year.*

Classes/Seminars - There were more classes and seminars this time around than last fall. There were several handwriting/calligraphy paid classes from regulars like Nik Pang and Hong Nguyen as well as beginning/intermediate nib tuning classes taught by Ralph Reyes. There were also free seminars on special edition Pelikans, fine stationery, nib retipping/repairs by Greg Minuskin, Parker Museum and Archives discussion and more. I’m glad there were more non-writing classes or seminars than last year. Score - 9/10

Michael Sell — *Master Penman Michael Sull had a seminar on fine stationery and also wrote out people’s names for them.*

*Some of the gorgeous stationery that was discussed in Sull’s seminar.*

Nib Worker Availability - I consider Chicago as a middle-sized show, maybe a wee bigger. Compared to other shows this size, there weren’t as many nib workers as I would have expected but there were still 3 to choose from (in first name alphabetical order).

Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio
JC Ament of The Nib Tailor
Kirk Speer of Pen Realm

*Kirk Speer doing a grind for Marty Henderson.*

I don’t know if the show needed more nib workers but given the sheer quantity at the last few shows of similar or smaller size, I was a bit surprised that there were only three. Score - 8/10

Overall sense/vibe - Compared to last fall, when the Delta variant was rampant and had everyone nervous, the show this past weekend felt like a breath of fresh air. Heading into the ballroom Thursday afternoon, it was great to see people I hadn’t seen in a long time as well as folks who had never been to this pen show before. People felt more comfortable traveling (including from other countries) and that feeling was also shared by attendees and vendors alike.

As I mentioned earlier, there is the atrium in the lobby, which had probably 25 vendors ranging from folks like Vanness Pens and Lemur Ink, to makers like Shawn Newton, Ryan Krusac, Jim Hinze, Hardy Penwrights, Stylosuite and Edison and more. Lots of variety in the atrium before you even get inside.

Shawn Newton — *Always lovely to see Shawn and his array of pens, but extra glad I could give him a bundle of pens to benefit his scholarship program!*

Inky Converters — I was especially excited to see Angela He of InkyConverters and all her adorable products!

Grifos Pens — *Grifos is an Italian pen brand that makes stunning pens out of sterling silver and ethically-sourced materials like salmon leather, and stingray skin.*

Like last year, the main ballroom really had a good mix of vendors, not just vintage and modern. Atlas Stationers took up several tables of real estate and had papers, ink and other accessories as well as pens. They were right across from Luxury Brands of America, but they weren’t the only distributor at the show - Coles of London (Visconti, S.T. Dupont), Chartpak (Pelikan) and Pilot USA were also there.

*Look at the new North American exclusive Waldmann Tango Imagination in Teal (top) and the Aquamarine!*

*Michael Hujara, Elizabeth Sawyer and Mark Sloan from Coles of London always have beautiful pens and service with a smile.*

Pelikan Black Tortoiseshell — *The new and highly anticipated Pelikan M605 (and K605) Black Tortoiseshell is absolutely stunning!*

*Rick Liebson and his ever-dangerous yet stunning display of Nakayas and Pelikans and more!*

Sara Minhas — *Sarj Minhas, the one man pen show, is all smiles after trekking over from the UK. He’s even more dangerous than Rick!*

There were more attendees than last year and that’s a good thing. No point having a show with a lot of vendors if there aren’t many attendees. From talking to about a dozen vendors, it seemed like there were not only a lot of first time show attendees, but many of them were also new-to-the-hobby, which is great to see! There was some threatening weather that had people nervous about coming on Saturday, but it cleared up and Sunday morning was alright but after 12pm, it was painfully slow, with the show ending at 4pm but a lot of vendors started packing up at 2pm.

*It did not stay this quiet at the Atlas Stationers tables for long. I caught Brandon and Brendan Schmidt while they were setting up before the masses came.*

*It was good to see more folks on Saturday.*

*Hugh and Karol of Kanilea Pen Co (along with Jason Schultz) debuted their new Lewa Lani pen at the show.*

Schon DSGN — *Julian Smith and Ian Schon of Schon Dsgn were stoked to be last minute additions to the show!*

I’ll go into it in more detail below but the after hours scene is off the hook in Chicago. In fact, when I think of the Chicago show, it’s not so much the show itself that makes it great, it’s the socializing. It’s one of my favorite shows for after-hours gathering, and even for taking breaks during the show. Score - 8/10

Food - There is a bar that serves food (the restaurant section seems to be closed although maybe I just missed breakfast hours) and the food is pretty good and the prices are what you’d expect at a hotel. Thursday’s pizza night for vendors and weekend pass holders featured both thick and thin crust pizza from Lou Molnati’s (I prefer the thick crust and thankfully there was plenty of it this year). Don’t eat the hotel pre-made sandwiches if you can avoid it - I heard bad things about how they tasted. There is also a small coffee bar which has long lines especially in the morning. If you have a little bit of time and it’s not inclement weather, it is a very short walk across the way to get an insanely good (and huge) breakfast at Honey Berry, or Pita Pita (yummy Mediterranean food), or maybe you need a hit of wings from Buffalo Wild Wings or something quick from Chipotle or Panda Express, or you need an actual Starbucks and not hotel coffee. There are too many to name, but also Culver’s and Kyoto (good Japanese food). And Target is also really convenient to stock up on bottled water or snacks too. Score - 8/10

After hours/socializing - I’ve already talked a fair bit about the after house/socializing at this show so I won’t go too much further. The Thursday night pizza party is always a blast and you never know who you’re going to sit with. I was at an informal “TPA Slack” table which was great to see and meet fellow Slackers that I’ve only known online. The Saturday night whisk(e)y tasting looked to be a blast (sorry, not for me cuz that’s not my jam). And I’ve already talked about how great a space it is for after show hangouts and pen play.

*During after hours, Marty Henderson, avid Retro 51 super collector, showed us how he opens pen tubes so the plastic wrapping stays mostly intact.*

People are spread out across so many tables and seating areas, with binders and cases of their pens to show others, or to share what they picked up at the show. And because there are so many places to hang out, one can easily move around from place to place and meet lots of different people. Other than maybe the inefficient bar staff, which is about the only major ding on this score, this is one of my favorite after hours shows. Score - 8/10

Bunny Ears — *Julian and Ian are sporting their Target clearance purchases - lookin’ great, fellas!*

Keeps — *This definitely doesn’t happen at every show but I’m also not entirely surprised to see mechanical keyboard soldering during pen shows after dark.*

Other - The Chicago Pen Show is typically held around the last days of April into the first days of May, which is conveniently before Mother’s Day. The weather can still be unpredictable this time of year. It was warm-ish and windy on Thursday but a storm threatened the area on Saturday (someone said maybe even tornado warning) and downright cold the days after the show; this Californian thinks that a high of 45 (and wind chill of 36) in May is cold, ok? Lol. So Saturday’s attendance, especially in the afternoon, was lighter than expected for a typical Saturday. And as I’ve already mentioned, it was particularly slow on Sunday after lunch, so folks started packing up a couple hours early.

Until fairly recently, I believe Chicago was the only midwestern show in the first half of the year (St. Louis is in late June, and others like Michigan and Ohio are in the fall), so I love that I get to see friends that only go to this show. I have been worried about the viability of this show because it seemed like it was slowly declining in attendance and profitability for vendors even before the pandemic. Unlike other shows that I’ve been to, where “local” folks (within a 2-3 hour radius) stay for most of the weekend, many of these folks used to only attend for a few hours or at most one day but not stay overnight. I understand that’s not an option for everyone and that not everyone is as crazy as I am, but I feel like they are short-changing their pen show experience by going for just a couple hours, hitting a couple key vendors and leaving. They may not get the chance to look at things not on their list and often never get to experience pen shows after dark and by extension, all of the amazing pens out there, not to mention the wonderful friendships that develop over scotch, wine, soda, or a TimTam. I don’t have a solution to this because I don’t see it to the same extent at the other shows. But I was glad to see some more people staying at least one night this year, so that gives me hope.

More attendees this year didn’t necessarily translate into a lot of sales though. Some vendors had a great show and sold a lot but a number of them (large and small, vintage and modern) told me that they had “ok” to “not great” shows, which is unfortunate. This may mean that some of them don’t return, or worse, tell others not to go because they may not make money. I really hope that is not the case. There were some vendors who did really well at the show too, so it’s hard to tell what it will be like in future years.

As with other recent shows, there were no mask requirements for the show (nor for the area in general). I would say maybe ¼ of vendors and attendees (and that’s a stretch, I think) wore masks during the show and even fewer during after hours. I will continue to share my observations on masking, while not making any judgments or impacting scores unless it affects the show in some way. I still prefer to mask as much as I reasonably can, and I think I had it on more than I did in Atlanta because I hung out longer and with more people at this show. Just stay safe and do what works best for you, while respecting that others may not feel the same way you do. Score - 7/10

Report Card:

0-50 Oof, do not attend

51-70 Show is alright

70-80 Show is solid

80-90 Show is pretty darned good!

91-100 REALLY good show and not to be missed

The 2022 Chicago Pen Show scored 79/100, which surprised me a bit. On the one hand, I had an absolute blast, ate and drank too much and spent too much money so I sort of expected it to score higher. On the other hand, Hoffman Estates is sorta not near Chicago, but the show being across from the strip mall was more than just convenient.

I continue to have a wonderful time at this show, the wallet always gets lighter, and I’m glad the attendance was higher this year than last fall. But I do worry about whether it will be a show that vendors will continue to attend if they aren’t making money. I hope that this year’s first time attendees and new pen addicts as well as continued improvement with the Covid situation will help turn that around in the coming years.

Pen Show Haul - Cuteness overload from InkyConverters, Anderillium Chicago Show ink, Robert Oster Chicago ink, full size FP from Schon Dsgn, Pilot Custom 74 in Teal (finally!) from Lemur Ink, Newton Pens Prospector in Brooks Earth Magic, La Libreteria notebooks from Amarillo Stationery and a Sheaffer Dolphin Nose Imperial with a demo section from Myk Daigle. Not pictured are the 2 pens I had ground (and fixed) by Gena Salorino.

I may have spent a fair bit of money but it’s really all the time spent with pen friends old and new that keep me coming back for more. My wallet may be empty but my heart is full. Until the next pen show, stay safe and stay inky!

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Pen Shows.