(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 am back home from the 2023 Chicago Pen Show and I am about as wiped as I have been in a long time (is anyone surprised?)!! As I mentioned in my recap from last year, the Chicago show starts out in a bright, airy atrium before leading you into the ballroom, where you would find yours truly behind the row of tables for Luxury Brands of America. Even though I was working this time (last year I went as an attendee), I still had ample opportunity to check out the rest of the show and do some damage to the wallet as well.
Welcome to the Chicago Pen Show!
The atrium is such a welcoming way to start a pen show! Well-ventilated, bright, fairly roomy, close to the restaurant, coffee and bar (in no particular order, lol), the atrium has a good variety of vendors to catch your eye on the way in AND out of the ballroom!
The atrium as viewed from the ballroom. In the background (aka the view from the lobby) there is a fountain as well as lots of tables and seating.
Always good to see Doug, Marie, and John Phelan of Lemur Ink again!
Even with the rabbit ears photobomb, Angela He of InkyConverters is still adorable! - and look at all the cute things at the table too!
One of the places I broke my ink buying ban this weekend - I couldn’t resist getting a bottle of Papier Plume’s show ink, Lake Michigan Sunrise!
Compared to other shows, including last year’s Chicago show, Friday felt a little quieter but it picked up on Saturday. Sunday continues to be a much slower day at this show - maybe due to the nice weather and a Cubbies day game?
View from two sides of the ballroom on Saturday.
Linda and Mike Kennedy working on nibs and repairs.
Shu-jen Lin and Sue Beck at the Taccia table where they showcase their stunning urushi, maki-e and raden pens.
Erick Gama of Amarillo Stationery has lovely products from Latin America.
I was eyeing this Writers Briefcase big time!
The official show ink this year is made by Anderillium Inks. Named “Chicago 1871”, it commemorates the great fire of 1871 - the cause of which, according to popular lore, was set by Mrs. O'Leary's cow, who allegedly knocked over a lantern (thanks for the info, Wikipedia!)
Look at all these colorful beauties from Schon DSGN!
I had such a great time working with Jesi and Bryce this past weekend. Thank you so much, Luxury Brands of America, for the opportunity to help out!
One of the busiest tables at the show would have to be for local favorites, Atlas Stationers. Working at the Luxury Brands tables which were directly across from theirs. I got a great view of their bank of tables and witnessed the seemingly endless stream of customers. I got my daily allotment of steps by bringing customers and products to their table all weekend.
Brian, Alex, Jennifer, Momma T and Brendan of Atlas Stationers - what a blast it was working across from them all weekend! Also, it was dangerous for the wallet too!
One of the other busy areas would have to be at the PLOTTER tables. Having seen the crowds at past SF and DC shows, it was no surprise that they would draw a lot of traffic at this show. They had special edition leathers and products just for this show, and had appointment slots where customers could pick the leather and hardware for their custom binder as well as decorations.
The friendly and helpful PLOTTER crew from L to R: Youhei Yamaguchi, Yuri Aida, April Wu, Takayuki Saito, Ethan Hogbin, Christina Del Rosario and Tomomi Morita (Thank you to April for sending this photo.)
Watching Youhei Yamaguchi-san hand embellish a PLOTTER is such a treat.
I was so excited when Tomomi Morita-san handed me my new custom A5 PLOTTER in burgundy Horween leather!
As usual, I flew in on the Wednesday night redeye so my Thursday was a bit of a blur. I did enjoy the pizza party, but my delirious self forgot to take pictures, oops. Friday and Saturday though, I definitely made sure to take a few picts! This is my 5th Chicago show and it continues to be one of my favorites for after-hours socializing.
Look at this table of pen peeps having fun! And this wasn’t the only table where folks were congregated! (PC:Pretty sure Julian from Schon DSGN took this picture with April’s phone.)
The Bossman is giving me his best Blue Steel while playing with some of Alan Shutko’s batons, I mean, large pens!
My little pen up vs one of the biggies - just an example of the ridonkulous things you can see during after hours!
I’m not sure the last time I saw the Bossman awake after midnight (it was nearly 1 a.m.)
Achievement unlocked! I popped Drew Brown's cherry – his washi tape cherry, that is! Did you know this is his FIRST EVER washi tape?!?!?
I spy with my little (medium and big) eyes, little bebe PLOTTERS!!!
You never know what you’ll see at Pen Shows After Dark. In this case, friend Simar is sharpening a knife, you know, no big deal.
Saturday night’s whisk(e)y tasting event was hosted by Mario Campa of Toys from the Attic. Here he is pouring into the glass of Atlas’ Brendan Schmidt, with his dad, Don, patiently waiting his turn.
Les Sheely of Stylosuite and Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio were trying each other’s grinds and commenting how much they loved them! Of course, I had to try them too!
One of the highlights of this show was the opportunity not only to spend time with fellow TPA writer Sarah Read and B-rad “the Bossman” Dowdy, but also to record a special episode of Friend of the Show (Wished you were here, Jeff!). We had a fun time brainstorming during dinner but ultimately neither Sarah nor I would know what Brad would end up asking us, so that was a little unnerving! And another shout out to Sarah who just finished her grad school work just hours before driving to the show!
Trouble x 3 - Sarah Read, the Bossman and yours truly.
How does it compare to last year’s show?
- Weekend pass prices went up - This year’s ticket price did not include a second spouse/friend ticket - last year it was $60 for two people, this year it is $60 per person (kids are free). That is a pretty sizable price difference if you were coming with someone. I think it’s still a good value even if you came alone since it also included access to the Thursday night pizza party.
- Paid whisk(e)y tasting - In prior years, the Scotch and Bourbon tasting event was free. This year, Mario Campa decided to have tasting glasses made and charge a nominal $10 fee to cover the tasting and glass. This seemed like it worked out well and people still had a good time.
- Lower attendance? - Last year I went to the show as an attendee and this year I was working at the LBA table, so it’s difficult to compare my two experiences. It felt like overall, there were slightly fewer attendees than before (though I have no ticket data to prove this). I had more time than I expected on Friday to walk around the ballroom and atrium, and there was ample space at the tables to browse and talk with vendors. And as par for the course, I had even more time on Sunday. In fact, it was so slow that many vendors started packing up at 2pm (instead of the 4pm closing time). I spoke with a variety of vendors, both in the ballroom and in the atrium and results were mixed. Some told me they had a strong Friday but weaker Saturday than last year, while others told me the reverse. As far as I could tell, everyone still had fun at this show and plan to return next year.
- More people staying? - Even though I just said it felt like the attendance might have been slightly lower (and it’s possible it wasn’t), it seemed like I knew more people who were traveling to the show and staying at the hotel. In past years, many of the locals would only come for the day and not stay overnight, but more people I talked to were at the show for longer hours (if they didn’t stay), or were staying at least one night (if not more). Again, this isn’t based on empirical data, so maybe more people I knew were going to the show this year vs past years.
- More nib workers - There were only 3 nib workers at the show last year (Gena Salorino, JC Ament, Kirk Speer), and this year they returned along with Matthew Chen and the Kennedys. Seemed like they were all fairly busy most of the weekend (except Sunday afternoon).
- More classes/seminars - I had to re-read last year’s recap to see if they had many seminars and they had a decent amount before but this year it seemed like they stepped it up. While there were some $70-100 classes, many of them were $0 - $10. They had a limit of 13 people per class, making it a nice intimate setting to learn about topics like Flourishing with Fountain Pens with Michael Sull, Conid Pens by Allan Shinogle, Tangles & Doodles with Hong Nguyen, and even a seminar on how to use the PLOTTER system! I continue to think this is a great way for people to continue learning about pens/inks/stationery and while giving themselves a break from the show floor.
Last year, my worry was that diminishing number of attendees would spell trouble for this show. While I’m still not sure if there were fewer people this year or not, at least vendors seemed mostly pleased with how they did, even if some ended up making less than last year. I hope that “local folks” (within a 4-hour driving radius) continue to support this show and bring their friends to experience the fun of a pen show.
Heading into the show, I knew I wanted to get the latest Platinum Preppy WA Series 3, the TWSBI Mini AL Grape and the show inks. I don’t think anyone is surprised that I bought more than that, but the additional inks weren’t impulse buys, but ones that I had been looking for and were sold out.
Haul part 1, Clockwise from top left: Pennonia Azur Frida and Rosas Mexicanas from Amarillo Stationery, Laban Aphrodite Pink from Atlas Stationers, Platinum Preppies, TWSBI and Iroshizuku Sui-gyoku from Lemur Ink, Pelikan 4001 Pink from Chartpak, Anderillium Chicago 1871 from Anderillium Inks, Lake Michigan Sunrise from Papier Plume, Colorverse Coffee Date from Darailz Pens.
If that’s all I got, I would’ve been super proud of myself but I did pick up some fun non-pen/ink things too!
Toyo tool box and denim Delphonics pouch from Atlas Stationers, washi tape from Amarillo Stationery, stickers and vial holders from Keith McCleary of RandomThinks, and a roll of Pen Friends PET tape from InkyConverters.
And if I stopped there, I’d still be pretty happy since I had sold several pens prior to and at the show, but we all know I didn’t stop there. I knew PLOTTER was going to be at the show but I wouldn’t let myself fall into the trap of FOMO like I did last year, so I said I would only get it if they had an A5 in a really nice leather. Which they did. Dang it, April and Saito-san!!
My PLOTTER haul, including an A5 in Burgundy Horween leather, Chicago notebooks, some A5 refills and a pouch. All of which resulted in the bebe orange PLOTTER - no regrets!
Chicago continues to be one of my favorite shows due not only to its variety of vendors and proximity to food, but especially because of its after-hours scene. I am happy to not get enough sleep if it means that I have a great time hanging out with people after-hours. My wallet is a little (ok, a lot) lighter, I’m still sleep-deprived, but my heart sure is full. Thanks for a fun time, Chicago! Until next time (which is still TBD at the moment, but definitely DC for sure), stay safe and stay inky!
