(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!.)
After a whirlwind pen show weekend at the Baltimore Pen Show a few weeks ago, I was ready for a slightly calmer experience. I don’t know if it’s the southern hospitality, the early night hours at the bar or the size of the show and crowd, but the Atlanta Pen Show feels less frantic than others, which is a good thing.
As I mentioned in my recap from last year, the Atlanta show is spread out amongst three ballrooms: small, medium, and large. I spent a good portion of my weekend in the medium ballroom behind the Franklin-Christoph table.
View of the small ballroom where several pen makers were located including Jonathon Brooks, Ironfeather Creative and Hinze Pens.
Mark Bacas was busy all weekend working on nibs - so glad I made it on the list!
Shea Brooks (that’s Mrs. Carolina Pen Co to you, lol) and cutie patootie Lupin, who is one of the bestest behaved doggos ever.
View of the medium ballroom from behind the Franklin-Christoph table. Dromgoole’s Federalist Frank, Jimmy Dolive and others were in this room.
Speaking of Jimmy Dolive (the show organizer) and his daughter Suzanne always have some tempting products at their table!
Jimmy’s niece had these killer disco mushrooms which were a huge hit! They sold out pretty quickly!
Franklin-Christoph made an exclusive Model 02 and pen show ink that was only available from Jimmy Dolive!
Scott B Jones draws something with his fountain pens every day and has published several volumes of his work.
Always a pleasure seeing Michael & Olivia Dromgoole, but it was lil Miss Laurel that stole my heart with her darling smile! She definitely helps sell pens! (Posted with permission fromthe Dromgoole's)
Got a couple of sweet nib grinds from Mike Masuyama (left) and Matthew Chen (right).
The large ballroom housed the remaining vendors, both large and small. This room had the widest aisles and made browsing the tables very comfortable.
Looking left as you entered the large ballroom.
Straight ahead at Joe Cortner, organizer of the Orlando Pen Show.
And to the right, including Pendemonium and Pilot USA.
Frank and Sam Fiorella of Pendemonium with some cool (and affordable) vintage finds at their table!
Ryan Krusac always has sweet looking pens - there was an L15 that caught my eye made from some kind of burlwood from Arizona.
Look at all these colorful pens from Karas Kustoms.
Jimmy plans some fun events for the Atlanta show including the cookout on Friday night for vendors and weekend pass holders and a Saturday pizza night. Unfortunately, there was a scheduling/communication breakdown for the pizza night so folks who planned to have pizza for dinner were left scrambling for alternate dinner plans, oops. The intent was to have the pizza event flowing right into the Pen Shows After Dark event but the kitchen didn’t get that memo and served up pizza early, which, in turn, got gobbled up early. That’s ok, try again next year, Jimmy!
Great weather for the Friday night cookout where folks got a chance to mix and mingle while enjoying their dinner.
The pen fun continues after dinner (this is adjacent to the bar area opposite the restaurant). Even the Bossman was spotted enjoying a beverage (or two)!
Cary Yeager of Kenro Industries and Fountain Pen Day, explains the history of FPD as well as Pen Shows After Dark before raffling off prizes.
The crowd (including me) is hoping to get their raffle tickets picked.
There were lots of Rickshaw Bagworks fans at the show - this is only what 8 of us had with us!
As you may recall from my recap, as well as Brad’s past comments on the blog and podcast, Atlanta is notorious for a “not late” after-hours scene, with the hotel staff kicking folks out of the bar and adjacent areas. They literally turned off ALL the lights on us last year and we had to use phone flashlights so we could pack up. This year, they were actually very respectful, gave us a heads up and then gently told us again when it was time to go. No yelling, no lights getting turned off. In fact, on Friday night, one of the staff gave us a 5 minute heads up and Marty Henderson said “Can you make it 7 minutes so it’s an even 11:30?” and the guy said yes! So thank goodness they got the memo that they didn’t need to yell and be mean. And I’ll be honest, getting “gently kicked out” of the bar area at an earlier hour actually made it easier to not stay up insanely late like I usually do, lol.
Things weren’t all fun and games at the show though. Unfortunately, several vendors were hit by theft this weekend. Vendors may not all love each other, but they will watch each other’s back when it comes to theft. There was word that an attendee that has previously had “sticky fingers” was at the show so vendors spread the word to keep an eye out and some even followed them around to make sure nothing was taken. It is sad that theft is a part of this hobby but also heartwarming that people are watching out for each other and making sure no one gets hit. As one person said, “we don’t have to like everyone, but none of us deserve to get stolen from.” People volunteered to watch each other’s table when they needed to use the restroom or take a break. This is what the community is about. If you see either of these items posted for sale, please let the respective vendors know. And if you know of other thefts, please spread the word.
- Stolen Visconti Corsani Octagonal Green from Kirk Speer of Pen Realm
- Stolen collaboration Hinze Pen from Federalist Pens table - Contact either Jim Hinze or Federalist Frank
Things were much quieter on Sunday and many vendors began packing up around 3pm (instead of 5pm when the show ended) since there were so few attendees. After helping the F-C crew pack up, I was able to spend some time chatting with Stacy Robinson of Penz by Design. What a gem of a gentleman with a beautiful philosophy on pens being more than just pens, but something that makes you feel a connection. He also has a wonderful laugh (I may have made him cry when I was trying to get a Wifi signal and said “Wifi God, can you hear me?”). I was also able to commiserate with Akhila Sheth of Smruti Pens about Instagram’s ever-changing algorithms.
At most of the other shows, I often am bouncing around from table to table with just a few seconds here and there to take photos or ask questions. And during after hours, it’s like there are so many people and pens and things that it’s hard to spend a lot of time with everyone. Atlanta is a little different because it is a smaller (but not small) show, so I was able to spend quality time with more people. Sunday evening was chill and relaxed as we got to hear “pen origin stories” from folks like Matthew Chen, Ana Reinert, and others. Being able to have this time with friends, old and new, was really good for the soul.
”There is something seriously wrong with you.” said Stacy Robinson as he flipped through my scribble and doodle notebook. Truer words have never been spoken. 😃
Had the pleasure of meeting Akhila Sheth who is the driving force behind Smruti Pens with her “assistant” (and husband) Nirmal and their two kids. She’s one heck of an awesome momma too!
Last but not least, the haul. As usual, I don’t include stuff that I get from Brad for future reviews (I can’t WAIT to review them!). As you can see, it was a fairly modest haul.
Left to right: Signed post card by Scott B. Jones (including the coordinates and temperature of the show), Franklin-Christoph 14k gold BB SIG, Retro 51 Sprinkle Ops and Montblanc Golden Yellow Ink from Dromgoole’s, Sheaffer Skripsert pens from Judd’s Pens and Pipes and Wearingeul Swatch Book and Dr Jekyll/Mr. Hyde notebook from Vanness Pens. Not pictured are the pens that I got ground by Mark Bacas, Mike Masuyama and Matthew Chen.
Thank you to kind friends who dropped off goodies so I wouldn’t be hungry! That bag on the right was stuffed when I got it; it definitely came in handy!
Then I ended up watching Jimmy’s table Sunday afternoon when he left his table unattended on Sunday, and saw this beauty…
Darn it, I got Jimmy’d after all! Montblanc 146 Glacier. Time to sell some pens!
Thank you, Jimmy Dolive, for a great show. Thank you again to Franklin-Christoph for allowing me to represent you at this show. Thank you to all the pen friends, old and new, that I was lucky enough to spend some time with. Boy is my wallet ever empty, but my heart is so full. Until next time (Chicago in 4 weeks!), stay safe and stay inky!
