(Note: I was quick to share my thoughts on a disappointing 2025 Atlanta Pen Show last year, so I think it’s only fair to to share my opening few paragraphs in this year’s show recap for Pen Addict Members and see what, if anything, changed. Short version: we back. Newsletter issue #517 is has landed in inboxes around the world, and you can join the crew for only $5 per month, which helps support all things Pen Addict. Thanks for reading!)
Atlanta got her groove back.
I was openly critical of what I saw as a clear decline of the Atlanta Pen Show in 2025. After returning from this year’s event, I am thrilled to report that things have begun to turn around quickly, and I left with a positive outlook for the future of what is an important show to me personally, and to the pen show calendar overall.
There is still work to do to elevate the Atlanta Pen Show to the destination-type show it once was, but with the addition of Trupahe - helmed by Chris Henline and Cary Yeager as, at a minimum, assistants in running the show - change in the 2026 edition was noticeable. Specifically:
- An updated, and up to date website.
- Online ticketing.
- A class schedule with something each day (2025 had zero on any day.)
- Accurate scheduling of events.
- Active social media and promotion.
- Vendors who would not have come back if Truphae were not involved.
The last point is the most important. Pen shows are a symbiotic relationship between the show promoter, vendors, and attendees. If you lose one link in that chain, the rest crumbles quickly. If the promoter doesn’t live up to their job description, the attendee count drops, and there are fewer customers for the vendors, who need to at least break even to make their efforts worthwhile.
In 2025, we lost the link to the promoter. In 2026, that chain was repaired, and the changes were noticeable.
On Saturday, I spent time talking to as many vendors as possible and getting their feel for this year’s show. Several times I was told that they did more sales on Friday of this year than the entire three days of last year’s event. I was also told - again, multiple times - that they would not have returned if Chris and Cary didn’t get involved with the show. Those vendors took a chance, and it seems to have paid off.
The best part about this is that Truphae didn't come on board until late 2025 to put their stamp on the show. They aren’t officially the show owner or running it completely, but their involvement and expertise made a difference, and for that I am grateful for all of the work they did in a short timeframe.
Ok, I could wax poetic for many more paragraphs, and no, the show is not all of a sudden “GREAT! PERFECT! AMAZING!” But the Atlanta Pen Show has that little sparkle in its eyes again, and I’m a keen observer of what the future may bring.
