I don’t often have a table at pen shows - ordinarily I prefer to be able to roam around the show, and given my status as a hybrid blogger/retailer with a small operation, it’s logistically difficult for me to bring enough inventory to a show to make selling in person worthwhile. This year, however, I had prepaid for a table at Chicago back before the pandemic, so I decided to go ahead and set up with a small meet-and-greet station featuring stickers, a card with a discount code for the shop, and some products to try out (including the new Sanzen Tomoe River Paper, more on that below).
It’s amazing what some people bring by the table for me to look at. Paper shown here is the new Sanzen Tomoe River.
For those of you who have never attended a pen show in person, they typically span Thursday to Sunday and work something like this: Vendors begin arriving on Thursday, and sometimes the show organizers have reserved a smaller ballroom, or there are tables set up for trading (mainly vintage). I’ve never partaken to any great degree, but I hear you can score some pretty good deals on rare pens in these “presale” or “after hours” trading sessions.
If you’re looking to score an uncommon pen from one of the many small makers who attend pen shows in person (like Shawn Newton), it’s always a great idea to pick up a weekend pass so you get first pick before the public opening.
Most of the action starts on Friday morning, when the full show opens to weekend pass holders. If you’re making a weekend out of a pen show, I always advise attendees to purchase the weekend pass instead of paying by the day, because that way you get to start earlier, and it also gets you access to “exclusive” events like pizza parties and after-hours socials. In Chicago, the show opened to the public at noon on Friday, but there will be an extra hour of pass-holder access from 8-9am on Saturday morning before the public opening.
Chicago features two full ink testing stations with literally dozens of different inks to try out in dedicated tester pens.
Attendance on Friday was slower on Friday morning, but picked up as the day went on. I mainly spent the day browsing the show with friends who I had not seen in years. Even more so than Atlanta, this Chicago show feels much more like a pre-pandemic pen show in terms of the number of vendors and other exhibitors present. If you’re in the area, I would highly recommend attending. I’ll have a full recap of this particular show next week, which I’ll write after the two public days on Saturday and Sunday, but it’s shaping up to be a great one. For now, enjoy my Friday pics!
The new Kanilea Pen Company “Lewa Lani,” featuring this gorgeous flecked material with subtle sheen. They’re available with and without the cap band.
Vanness brought Vinta inks, Ferris Wheel Press, and more!
Schon DSGN brought a fresh batch of anodized full-size fountain pens, including these as-yet-unnamed dark matte beauties.
I walked away with a Copper Pocket Six with a dark patina, as well as an Anniversary Edition Machined Pen v.2 in bronze.
Another shot of the three available finishes on the Machined Pen v.2, Anniversary Edition.
Not everything was about the sales - Conid had an “ambassador” on site showing off their wares. The rumor is that they’re restarting production soon….
Erick at Amarillo Stationery brought all the Monarca inks!
T.G.S. Curated Shop Orders will continue shipping on Sunday, within our 2-3 business day shipping timeframe even though we’re at the show. We still have Midori 70th Anniversary MD Notebooks available in the “Light” format, thought the Stationery Kits are sold out for now.