The Philly Pen Show is relatively modest in terms of the numbers of vendors and attendees. While not a purely regional show like the Arkansas Pen Show, it’s still smaller than Atlanta. To illustrate, apparently this was the first year where the show took up two ballrooms. Vendors present included retailers such as Dromgoole’s, Fountain Pen Hospital, Lemur Ink, Federalist Pens, Total Fine Writing, Bertram’s Inkwell, and Bittner; makers such as Franklin-Christoph, Matthew Martin Custom Pens, Schon DSGN, and Hinze Pens; and pen repairers and nib workers such as Mark Bacas, Custom Nib Studio, JJ Lax Pen Co., and Jim Baer (Monomoy Pens). Distributors such as Coles of London (Visconti, S.T. DuPont) and Luxury Brands (Platinum, Colorverse, Noodlers) were also in attendance. The one thing that the Philly Pen Show noticeably missed, in my mind, was one more larger ink and paper dealer such as Vanness or Anderson Pens. Both normally attend but could not this year. :(
I tried to do panoramic shots of both ballrooms at the Philly Pen Show. This is the first ballroom, where you entered the show. The top photo is the second ballroom, containing most of the vintage vendors.
Overall, crowds seemed a bit thin on Friday, though from what I heard, those who were present came ready to spend after going months of pen show deprivation. Attendance picked up on Saturday despite blustery winter weather, and though I couldn’t stay to attend on Sunday, others reported that the show saw steady traffic. Whether or not vendors make money attending shows is the key factor driving growth, and Philly remains a show to keep an eye on for future expansion.
Check out Saturday’s post for more pictures of the show layout and various vendor tables.
Classes and After-Hours Events
Retail is only a part of what makes a pen show “great” or not, and like last year’s Baltimore Pen Show, what made this one exceptional was the range of classes and after-hours events available to attendees. In particular, Salman and Azizah of the Toronto Pen Company held various workshops all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, ranging from a Comprehensive Intro to Fountain Pens to “Pilot Parallels 101” to more advanced lettering classes. I took the Pilot Parallels 101 class and thoroughly enjoyed it, and have to admit (somewhat embarrassingly) that despite 10+ years in the pen world I had never used a Parallel. They’re a lot of fun, are a great way to test out inks, so I highly encourage you to pick up a set to play with. The Toronto Pen Company also sells Pilot Parallels modified to write like ruling pens, as well as several folded nibs and some forthcoming inks. Check out their store for more details.
Check out those inks! Both are from the Toronto Pen Company, though they aren’t on sale yet. Stay tuned.
I’m looking forward to having fun with my Pilot Parallels, and possibly incorporating them into future ink reviews.
Other seminar options included a “Casual Uncial” class with Michael Ward, a Schon DSGN open house on Friday night, and the Saturday Night “Pen Mixer.” I didn’t get the opportunity to attend the Uncial class, but both of the other events were two of the best times I’ve had at a pen show. Ian Schon’s workshop is something else, and it offers a new appreciation for what it takes (in terms of both personal skill and machinery) to design and create quality pens on even a modest scale. The “Pen Mixer” offered the opportunity for registrants to spend 15 minutes at various tables with individuals such as Brad Dowdy (The Pen Addict), Ryan Krusac, Mark Bacas, Dan Hoizner (@Dandon), Azizah Azgarali (Gourmet Pens/Toronto Pen Company), and Scott Franklin (Franklin-Christoph) learning about their individual businesses, handling some of their favorite pens and inks, and discussing anything else they wanted to share about their careers and lives in the pen business.
This picture gives you an idea of the scale of the Schon DSGN workshop!
My newly purchased Schon DSGN Pocket 6 joined me for a little Pen Shows After Dark.
Philadelphia Pen Show Purchases
I didn’t exactly meet my stated goal of attending a Pen Show without buying anything, but I did manage to make these purchases on a “one-in, one-out” basis, meaning that I picked up a few pens and sold the same number (to Patreon members who I was lucky enough to meet up with through the weekend). My first purchase happened ten minutes after walking through the show doors on Friday, when I snapped up an OG1 fountain pen from Matthew Martin Custom Pens in a combination of zirconium and blue anodized titanium. I’ve been looking for the right MCM pen to add to my collection ever since I first saw these in Atlanta of last year, and I finally found it in Philly. While Matthew was setting up to charge my credit card, I moved on to the Schon DSGN table next door, where I purchased the one pen I actually had planned on acquiring at the show: a Pocket Six fountain pen with a JoWo nib section (coming soon to the Schon DSGN site). The specific color I chose was a blue/purple/black swirl that sold out quickly - as in, within the first hour of the show.
My Philly Pen Show haul, clockwise from top: Montblanc Irish Green ink from Dromgoole’s; Franklin-Christoph Model 31; Schon DSGN Pocket Six; MCM OG1; and my Pilot Parallels I received for attending the Toronto Pen Company Seminar.
That did it for Friday (which was enough damage). The only thing left on my list was a handful of ground nibs from Franklin-Christoph, which I put off until Saturday morning in order to see the available prototypes. I wanted a Masuyama-ground needlepoint nib, which is only sold with a pen, so I chose a prototype Model 31 in a transparent Amber acrylic with a Cinnamaroon finial. I added an EF SIG nib and a Steel Flex nib to pair with my other Franklin-Christoph pens (as well as my other JoWo compatible pens), so look for reviews of those nib grinds in the future.
Takeaways and Final Thoughts on the Philly Pen Show
I had a great time in Philly, and plan to add the city to my annual pen show rotation as long as my day-job schedule cooperates. The Philly show continued a promising trend that I first noticed last year in Baltimore - an “updating” of the workshops and after-hours events that make pen shows more than a three-day shopping spree. I’m interested to see if other shows follow suit, and I may consider doing hosting a class or seminar myself in the future. If there’s something you’d like to learn more about, feel free to hit me up with suggestions.
Next, on to the 2020 Baltimore Pen Show, where I plan to have a table! Stay tuned for more details.
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