(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!.)
Normally held during the first weekend in May, 2021’s Chicago Pen Show was rescheduled to September 30 - October 3, which was the weekend following the Dallas Pen Show. I wasn’t going to be working this time around and was looking forward to spending time with pen friends and enjoying the show as an attendee for a change.
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 you’re lucky, ha!) and about 30 minutes west of the O’Hare Airport. It’s conveniently located across the street from a shopping complex with a wide variety of food options as well as a Target, Ulta, etc.
Full weekend registration costs $60 and includes an extra pass for a significant other or child, early entry Thursday through Sunday (8am vs 9am entry), the pizza party on Thursday night, and whisk(e)y tasting (21+, of course); Friday night auction, and Saturday night party. Friday’s public hours were from 12pm-5:30pm and I was surprised to see that it cost $25 for a half day. Saturday and Sunday prices felt more reasonable, at $10, for 9-5:30pm and 9-4pm access, respectively. There were also free seminars as well as paid classes/workshops.
The show had a mix of both modern and vintage offerings, though some vendor absences were noticed and missed. Franklin-Christoph and Vanness Pens were two of the larger vendors who didn’t attend the show. There were others that usually attend this show that weren’t there, such as The Nib Smith, Carolina Pen Company, Shawn Newton and others who bowed out who had planned to make this their first Chicago show. Still, there were a wide variety of things to be looked at, tried out and of course, to buy.
Ryan Krusac was one of the first people who greeted you at the atrium entrance with his beautiful display of wood and scrimshaw pens.Ryan Krusac was one of the first people who greeted you at the atrium entrance with his beautiful display of wood and scrimshaw pens.
John Phelan (right) of Lemur Ink with his Indy crew, Davy and Doug, were in the atrium with loads of inks, papers and pens.John Phelan (right) of Lemur Ink with his Indy crew, Davy and Doug, were in the atrium with loads of inks, papers and pens.
Cary Yeager from Kenro and Dan Hoizner were all smiles while helping out at Jimmy Dolive’s table full of beautiful pens including LE MontblancsCary Yeager from Kenro and Dan Hoizner were all smiles while helping out at Jimmy Dolive’s table full of beautiful pens including LE Montblancs.
The folks from the Sheaffer Pen Museum brought their Sheaffer pens and inks, of course but also these incredible vintage drawings and postcards.The folks from the Sheaffer Pen Museum brought their Sheaffer pens and inks, of course but also these incredible vintage drawings and postcards.
Handcarved pens from Brian Weaver of Ironfeather Creative.
This whole binder of vintage Esterbrooks was available for sale. No, I didn’t buy it but wow, you just don’t get to see that everyday.
Need parts to fix your vintage pen? This is a great way to find inexpensive parts for your pens. (I’m still on the hunt for black Parker 45 grip sections for my desk set, so if you happen to see two…).
Atlas Stationers had an incredible spread of pens, inks, papers, accessories and more! It was always busy so I barely managed to snag a picture of one of their ink displays!
There were lots of other fun items like inks, papers, pen wells and other desk accessories.
Rainbow Yeung from Odyssey Notebooks was at the show with their space-themed Tomoe River notebooks.
Keith of RandomThinks makes some creative 3D-printed desk accessories like these pen stands, cups and super cool pencil spiral.
Dan Keller of Good Made Better had his family in tow, along with many of his awesome penwells (if you look closely, you can see some prototype penwells on the upper left row.
They also have a new product called the Bookfellow, which functions as a paper weight for your desk, as well as a bookweight.
Relative newcomers to the ink space is Anderillium Inks and their Avian and Cephalopod (pictured) series of inks.
James and Patrick (not pictured) from Papier Plume were in attendance with their inks, wax stamps/seals and glass dip pens.
Papier Plume created this shimmery Cloud Gate ink for the Chicago Pen Show (if you missed out at the show, they are currently available on their website)
Jeffrey Coleman and Erick Gama of the Tinterías Podcast brought their Sailor exclusive inks, Spicy Chipotle and Homemade Tortilla. Jeffrey and Erick are doing a great service to the community by sharing their love of fountain pens and stationery with the Spanish speaking world. If you can understand Spanish (even if you’re still learning), go give their podcast a listen! And if you can’t, support them by getting some ink - they’re beautiful!
There were two ink testing stations, each inked up with 100 different inks!
My modest Chicago Pen Show haul included two Chicago Pen Show inks, the two Tinterías x Sailor inks and a Parker 2 ½ Lucky Curve with gorgeous flex from Myk Daigle of Mad Mercantile. And not pictured is a Leonardo with a steel flex nib from Les of StyloSuite which will be sent to me as soon as he’s finished the nib.
Like other shows this year, the Chicago show was smaller than in past years. Fewer vendors and fewer attendees - all understandable given the pandemic. There was supposed to be a mask mandate but I didn’t see anyone enforcing it. Mask adherence during the show was 75% at best. It was even worse amongst the hotel staff, with maybe half of the hotel staff being masked. After hours, I think that dropped even more, but likely because people were eating/drinking and hanging out with people they knew. I know I did the same amongst my friends. In retrospect, I should have kept my mask on regardless of who I was hanging out with. The reality right now is that Covid isn’t discriminating between vaccinated or not and we all need to do our part to stay safe. Get vaccinated, wear your masks (even when hanging out with vaccinated friends) and if you’re going to shows or other gatherings (whether or not you’re traveling like me), go get tested afterwards. We all need to stay healthy and safe so we can keep having pen shows and connecting with pen friends. I’m hoping the Covid situation improves so I can see you at future pen shows, including the next Chicago Pen Show on April 28-May 1, 2022. Until then, stay safe, be well and enjoy your pens!
