I spent my Friday and Saturday afternoons at the Baltimore Washington International Pen Show. The last Baltimore Pen Show I attended was in 2013, back when the show was still held in downtown Baltimore. It's since moved to the Westin near BWI Airport, giving the show more room to grow and also making it more convenient for people in the area to attend. I was told that this year's BWI Pen Show featured over 100 tables - around the same size as the Philadelphia show. It easily justifies a weekend trip.
Vendors in Attendance
All "the usual suspects" were there in force: Brian and Lisa Anderson of Anderson Pens, Lisa and Mike Vanness of Vanness Pens, Susan Wirth, the Franklin-Christoph team with their nib testing stations and trays of color prototypes, and many more. I had the opportunity to test out the new Aurora Flex Pen and their new blue-black ink, though sadly I missed the after-hours event sponsored by Kenro Industries, Aurora's distributor.
A Few New Things...
If you've been following me on Instagram, you may have seen photos that I posted of several newly acquired pens, inks, and notebooks. Most of my shopping was done on Friday, since I didn't know how crowded the show would get and didn't want to miss out on some of the more limited offerings like I did in D.C. There were a few things that tempted me on Saturday (see orange Diplomat Aero below), but my "budget" hit a brick wall.
Pens and Ink I purchased on Friday in Baltimore: Ryan Krusac Legend in Cocobolo with Turquoise Inlay, Kanilea Pen Company Mauna Kea, Pilot Metropolitan/MR in Gray with Stub Nib, Clear TWSBI Eco with Stub Nib, some Robert Oster Ink Samples from Vanness Pens, and some Sailor Inks (Chu Shu, Rikyu Cha, and Waka Uguisu) from Anderson Pens.
My Ryan Krusac Legend Pen in Cocobolo with a Turquoise Inlay and Ebonite Section. I've been eyeing one of these pens for a long time - look for a review up on the blog in the future.
My new Mauna Kea from the Kanilea Pen Company, in front of the photo on which the material is based.
I enjoyed meeting the team from Story Supply Co., and I picked up a pack of their Edition 407 and "Pencil Pusher" notebooks, which they did in partnership with CW Pencil Enterprise.
And this beauty was making the rounds. I got a chance to play with this Diplomat Aero prototype at the Vanness Pens table - hopefully we see this pen at retailers in the near future!
See you in Baltimore Next Year?
Bert Oser of Bertram's Inkwell runs a great show, and a trip to the BWI Pen Show is well worth your time if you live in the area or get the chance to travel. I'm not sure it will turn into an "every year" trip for me, since my travel budget is limited, but I always have a good time in Baltimore.
Next up on the pen show circuit: Atlanta in April!