Can a pen show ever be too big? For the first time in many years, the D.C. Pen Show pushed the limits of what a truly international pen show can be, and I loved every minute of it. While I’ll talk a bit more below about whether this kind of expansion is necessarily a good or bad thing, on a deeper level, it was comforting to see the attendance trends from recent years reverse and to feel the kind of energy I remember from 2016 or 2017, when big pen shows were still new and exciting for many people.
Thursday - Friday: Busier than I’ve Ever Seen the Non-Weekend Days
I could tell “something was up” the minute I hit the hotel lobby at 10pm Wednesday night and the bar was packed, with people in town and ready to go first thing Thursday morning. Of course, I had to work for most of Thursday (darned day job), but I did get a chance to skip down to the show and check out the crowd in the main ballroom on what is usually a purely vintage trading day. While there were still mostly vintage traders set up, there was a line of people forming in the lobby waiting to register for admission on Thursday, something I have never seen before at any pen show. Thursday night, the bar was packed, and I began to get the feeling that we were in for a weekend!
I jumped up on a chair to get this picture of the hallway outside the Vanness Pens table as Pilot was raffling off a pen on Friday afternoon. Believe it or not, this wasn’t nearly as crowded as it got on Saturday.
Friday morning was fairly typical. This year’s D.C. Pen Show was spread across three hotel ballrooms: the main ballroom with the interior tables and surrounding hallways; what’s become known as the “Maker’s Room” at the front of the hotel as you enter; and the “Alexandria Room” down the hall (which used to be the breakfast area before the hotel remodel). Most shows reserve Friday morning admissions for the “Weekend Pass” holders, who take the opportunity to scour the small-maker tables for unusual, rare, or limited pens and materials that they wanted to see in person before purchasing. The main ballroom stays relatively quiet until around lunchtime, when everyone has made their way through the initial ballrooms and the show opens to the public. By mid-afternoon, foot traffic was what you would expect from a “typical” D.C. Show on a Friday, but at moments you could get a sense of what was to come on Saturday.
The things you see at the bar on Friday night at the D.C. Pen Show give new meaning to the term “everyday carry”.
Saturday: Absolute Insanity Erupts
From around 10:00am Saturday morning, when the show opened to the public, until shortly after “close” at 5:00pm, we didn’t get much of a break. Waves of attendees came through, and at times customers were 2-3 layers deep in front of our tables. As I mentioned above, I’ve not seen the D.C. Pen Show this busy in years. To demonstrate how wild it was - I had matched my sales total from Friday by 11am on Saturday morning!
A GIANT Vanishing Point at the Pilot table!
The show was crowded for good reason! In addition to dozens of small and independent makers - I won’t even try to name all of them here - you had international draws such as Leonardo Officina Italiana, Santini Pens, Toyooka Craft, Nagasawa, Galen Leather, and newcomers NFP Design. American retailers like Vanness Pens (where I was helping) and Dromgooles brought tons of pens, inks, and paper, and Pilot USA even brought a handwriting analysis machine from Japan where you could sign up for a session and learn about your writing pressure, etc. in addition to receiving a recommendation as to what Pilot nib would work best for you. I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to sit down with an analyst, but I did read several of the reports and frankly found them fascinating.
Vanness sold a bunch of their latest collaboration with The Good Blue Co, featuring a black Cerakote finish with green splatter.
Look, I was good, right? I sat next to this tray of SCRIBO fountain pens all weekend, watching them, and almost came home with one but maintained my discipline… For the most part.
As to my own “table nook” at the end of the Vanness Pens setup, I brought what I had worried was too much Lochby and some of the remaining Hinze Collaboration Pens and Penwells. I shouldn’t have been concerned, given that I sold out of nearly everything I had by late afternoon on Saturday! As is the usual case at a pen show, the Lochby Venture Pouch was the top seller, and interestingly, people also showed a strong interest in the Lochby Tool Roll. (I think it probably says something about how many pens people were buying - they came to the show and left needing help taking everything home!) Unfortunately I’ve had a few reports of people looking for me on Saturday and being unable to find me due to the crowds. If I missed you, I will likely be more visible next year as I plan to have a full table setup. Everything that I brought with me to the D.C. Show is also re-listed in the shop as of this morning, so if I was out of stock on a Lochby color or you couldn’t find the Hinze Pens, they will be available for purchase until San Francisco at the end of the month.
The table setup at the Gentleman Stationer!
All that was left after the table was ransacked by Saturday afternoon. ;)
Sunday: Unless They Had to Catch a Flight, Nobody Was Packing Up Early
Typically, Sunday mornings at pen shows are sleepy. People were out late “celebrating” Saturday night, and many (myself included) simply ran out of most merchandise late on Saturday afternoon. I used the opportunity to explore the rest of the show and to pick up a few things!
Sunday is much easier to navigate. This picture was taken right after opening on Sunday morning, around 10am when some vendors had not even set up yet.
My two purchases from the Toyooka Craft table: an 11-pen tray in Hinoki Blue lacquer, and a black tray in alder (with red lining!).
OVerall thoughts and Takeaways, and Why You Should Attend the Upcoming San Francisco Pen Show!
After a discouraging 2022, the Fairview Park Marriott rebounded with a beautiful new lobby/restaurant/bar renovation. While a bit loud, there was plenty of space for those who wanted to socialize, and thankfully the old bar space was left intact with tables set up so that those who wanted to take their pens/paper/drinks to a quieter area could do so. The room remodel isn’t quite complete - my room was the same as it’s been for the past five years, though some reported receiving very nice, modern accommodations.
Second from left: I brought home one of the Vanness x Good Blue exclusives (with lots of green splatter!)
Were there any negatives from this year’s D.C. Pen Show? Not really! Some might say that the show was too large, with too many vendors for the available space, and that’s certainly something to consider. There’s a balance between the number of vendors and number of attendees that makes for a good pen show: if it’s off, you either have unhappy vendors without the crowd to support them, or a crowded venue that’s difficult to navigate with unhappy customers being unable to move through the throngs and reach the table. I don’t think D.C. did a bad job at all this year - and certainly nobody expected this sort of turnout - but if the show continues to stay this size (or even grow), the organizers will need to pay close attention to managing the quality of the experience.
A major discovery of mine was NFP Design, a company from Istanbul that makes pen boxes and cases in various designs, ranging from inlaid wooden boxes like the one shown here to lacquered boxes in a range of colors.
The other trend that bears watching is the ongoing corporatization/monetization of the pen show experience. This is more behind-the-scenes stuff, but I’ve been somewhat concerned at the degree to which certain larger retailers and manufacturers are trying to dominate larger shows by buying up tables and/or strong-arming smaller makers and retailers out of prime table space by pressuring organizers to “reassign” tables that the smaller exhibitor has held for years. I’ve heard rumors that it’s part of a larger trend to “squeeze out” the smaller retailers and consolidate the manufacturing-distribution-retail chain under one umbrella to capture profit by selling directly. To me, this would destroy the purpose of shows and what gives them the community feel.
I’ve always believed that stationery is the epitome of a “rising tides lifts all boats” industry - what’s good for one is good for everyone - and heavy handed attempts at monopolization, or turning shows into a bland corporate marketing event, is at the end of the day counterproductive because the diversity of products and curated shops is what draws people to the shows and ultimately drives the industry. The modern pen consumer (and especially the younger modern pen consumer) wants to browse an eclectic selection of goods and see stuff that they can’t order online. Tellingly, company tables are often among the LEAST crowded at shows, and show organizers should carefully consider the attendee constituency when making their decisions on things like floor layout and table caps.
From left: Vanness x Good Blue exclusive in black/green Cerakote; TWSBI Diamond 580 Sunset Yellow from my own shop, the new Desiderata Daedalus in Red Ripple ebonite, and the Penquisition x Gravitas “Touchstone” in blue and red.
My first stacked nib! A double-stack by Pensloth!
This one is ground in a crosspoint-style (a big architect).
Later this month I’m off to San Francisco for the 2023 San Francisco Pen Show! I plan to bring a full table worth of goods, but will also run it back with all the Lochby cases plus whatever Hinze Pens and Penwells remain. If you’d like me to bring something to San Francisco for in-person delivery, either place an order and select “local pickup” or send me a message with your request so I can make plans to pack or ship it. It’s great to be back at shows!
The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. This post does not contain paid affiliate links or third-party advertising.