This weekend marks the first time I’ve attended the Chicago Pen Show. As with San Francisco, I’ve taken the opportunity to visit yet another new show, all of which have their own personalities and quirks. Chicago is a traditional 3-day show (though some would argue the show starts with pre-show trading on Thursday night). The show opens to the public at noon on Friday, and as I’ve observed with other shows this year, the non-public days have been pretty slow due to a smaller number of people traveling in from out of town. I expect the public days - which attract more of a local crowd - to be busier and I’ll be sure to report back.
The main ballroom in Chicago (right after the show opened to weekend pass holders on Friday).
Due to rising Covid numbers, a lot of vendors had to pull out of Chicago at the last minute. Therefore, this year’s show feels a bit smaller and more local than usual, which isn’t a bad thing. Vendors I visited included Atlas Stationers, Papier Plume, Ryan Krusac, Good Made Better (Penwell), Desiderata Pens, Keith from Randomthinks, and more! Friday night featured an auction featuring 100 different lots, and some people walked away with very good deals. As for me, I’ve not purchased anything yet, since I came more to just socialize, but as always there are a couple of things I have my eye on. Stay tuned!
Pen stands from Keith at Randomthinks.
The Pencil Spiral: another Randomthinks creation!
A case full of vintage Waterman pens in exceptional condition.
Burl + Acrylic pens from Ironfeather Creative.
And, of course, since Chicago is one of the great American food towns, I can’t leave you without some culinary shots from the Chicago Pen Show, which has some of the best dining options within a 10 minute drive of any show on the circuit.
As I mentioned yesterday, since I’m on the road, all Curated Shop orders placed Thursday through Sunday will ship Monday upon my return. For today and tomorrow (the two days I’ll be walking the show!) take an extra 10% off orders of $50 and up using the coupon code “CHICAGO21” at checkout! While I don’t have a table at this year’s show, I might have a few of the T.G.S.-exclusive Sunderland Pens with me, as well as smaller fun items like the new enamel pins I received this week. If you want to say hi at the show, the easiest way to get in touch is via e-mail at joe@gentlemanstationer.com, or just send me a DM via Instagram.
The T.G.S. Curated Shop discount code excludes TWSBI and Sunderland, per my agreements with those manufacturers.