Audrey stopped by to help Mike show off some of the stuff he was selling, including ink samples!
I did my usual “have too much fun every night that I forgot to take pictures”, but the night scene was similar to past years, only more crowded this year. The United Soccer Coaches convention was held at the hotel along with the 2023 Liberty Bell Open (part of the Continental Chess Association series of tournaments), making it a lot busier than usual. In fact, if you didn’t book your hotel room before the room block ran out, they had rooms that cost upwards of $500-800/night. Nearby hotels had regular room rates, so some folks stayed elsewhere.
I was told that all of the tables were sold out and attendance was higher than last year. Folks I talked to said that it felt like an almost “back to normal” pen show experience. The lack of inclement weather helped. It was chilly and windy (it is mid-January, after all) but it wasn’t snowy or rainy. The show traffic on Friday felt lighter than at other shows. In fact, I was kind of nervous that I had only sold one pen for $75. Thankfully, Saturday was much busier and felt like a normal bustling show day. I saw many friends who made the trek from NYC and the DC Metro area on Saturday. And, as with most shows, Sunday was much quieter. There were still folks wandering around from 3-4pm, looking for last minute deals and making their final pen show purchases. Vendors seemed pleased with how the weekend went and were excited for their next show, whether it be the upcoming California Pen Show in 3 weeks or the Baltimore Pen Show in March. I’ll be at both, so I hope to see you soon! Until then, stay warm and stay inky!
