Triangle Pen Show Report

[MrThoth]

 

 

What did you like most about the pen show, besides the finds?

 

It was definitely getting to spend some time with kindred souls, talking about something we all love. It's fascinating how a common interest can bring together people from different backgrounds and give us all something to share.

[AAAndrew]

I agree. A co-worker who is relatively new to fountain pens was able to go to the show. She said it was like going to a friendly bar. You could turn to anyone around you and start talking easily. At least you know everyone has something in common with you.

[inkstainedruth]

A lot of us are known to each other only by our FPN names--in many case, like mine, the real name and the FPN name are pretty similar, but that is not always so. It would be fun if we had FPN nametags, for those wishing to do so, that would say something like, "MY FPN NAME IS _________."

 

I did something that for the Ohio Pen Show. It's small enough that people going to the show get stick-on paper name tags. The only other show I've been to is DCSS and that's probably cost prohibitive. (Of course all the vendors get name tags on lanyards at both of those).

Although it occurred to me that when I went to OPS it was on Friday (and Saturday AM last year), so the crowds were probably not as bad as they might be on the weekend proper -- I'd love to be able to go the whole weekend but it's generally up against something I really shouldn't miss).

That's my life in a nutshell -- things I really want to go to tend to conflict with OTHER things I really want to go to, with little to no overlap in interests/activities from one to the other. Raleigh sounded like fun (but since it was the weekend of my anniversary, I had to limit the pen hobby to Sunday morning at an antiques fair...).

Yeah, it's a "First World" problem -- I guess I have too many hobbies....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[fountainpenlady]

I did something that for the Ohio Pen Show. It's small enough that people going to the show get stick-on paper name tags. The only other show I've been to is DCSS and that's probably cost prohibitive. (Of course all the vendors get name tags on lanyards at both of those).

Although it occurred to me that when I went to OPS it was on Friday (and Saturday AM last year), so the crowds were probably not as bad as they might be on the weekend proper -- I'd love to be able to go the whole weekend but it's generally up against something I really shouldn't miss).

That's my life in a nutshell -- things I really want to go to tend to conflict with OTHER things I really want to go to, with little to no overlap in interests/activities from one to the other. Raleigh sounded like fun (but since it was the weekend of my anniversary, I had to limit the pen hobby to Sunday morning at an antiques fair...).

Yeah, it's a "First World" problem -- I guess I have too many hobbies....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

You are very fortunate to have conflicts in interests and choices to make in which you will entertain. Those of us who are early retired, who now enjoy, sometimes with giddiness and reckless abandonment the serendipity of life can only mildly raise a hand of exception, declare and roll back over for an unplanned nap..."not my social dilemma."

[inkstainedruth]

You are very fortunate to have conflicts in interests and choices to make in which you will entertain. Those of us who are early retired, who now enjoy, sometimes with giddiness and reckless abandonment the serendipity of life can only mildly raise a hand of exception, declare and roll back over for an unplanned nap..."not my social dilemma."

Hah!

I had one of those "unplanned naps" on Sunday. It had been a busy weekend. Ended up hanging out at the house of some friends and then they took my husband and me out to dinner on Friday. On Saturday we had advance tickets to Kentuck Knob and Fallingwater (and both tours involved more walking than anticipated). Then Sunday morning I went to an antiques fair and poked around for an hour or so. The pen pickings were pretty dismal, but I got lucky and one dealer GAVE me a fairly nice looking blue Wearever lever filler with what may be a store imprint engraving (we got talking and he that he had a few pens in his truck and pulled out box and rummaged around till he found the Wearever -- told me to keep it because he couldn't sell it! [Man, we need the "blink" .gif back....]

But it was in a parking lot, and really hot (the outside temperature gauge on the car said 91°F when I started the car back up!) and by the time I got home I was completely wiped. Lay down to take a nap around 1:30 or 2 PM. Woke up after 5. Lay back down for most of the rest of the evening....

That meant laundry never happened at it's usual day. So laundry was mostly yesterday (I was still somewhat draggy even Monday) with the last two loads today.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[El Gordo]

Sorry to intervene in your discussion, but out of curiosity : how many people actually attended the pen show. Completely no idea of the size of such event from this side of the pond... BTW about the FPN names and badges: if registration is needed for such event and badges are printed anyway, couldn't you sneak in the FPN name for example

 

Real Name [aka FPN Name]

 

and put a FPN button from the FPN Cafe Press Shop next to it (two birds one stone, helping to support FPN that way as well)

[fountainpenlady]

Sorry to intervene in your discussion, but out of curiosity : how many people actually attended the pen show. Completely no idea of the size of such event from this side of the pond... BTW about the FPN names and badges: if registration is needed for such event and badges are printed anyway, couldn't you sneak in the FPN name for example

 

Real Name [aka FPN Name]

 

and put a FPN

 

 

Well, believe the one in Cary, NC would be considered one of the smaller ones compared to say L.A. or D.C. or those in large urban cities. The Pen Show was such that once you paid for the day or weekend, you could come and go as you please, you just needed to wear your badge. I can tell you that I attended three days, yet did not stay from beginning to end during the days. Yet, there were several times I left to simply find a chair in the lobby. I don't do crowds well and at times there were many people perusing, buying items and the room was a large ballroom with I would say only room enough for two people to travel through the rows of tables set up and literally if not one person moving sideways during the encounter, a traffic jam would occur. So, for it being held in the Suburbs of Raleigh, being that people from all over attended, it was a pretty nice crowd for those like myself who probably would not enjoy anything bigger or even more crowded.

Regarding the badges, yes, since the badge for the weekend is given to the participant in a plastic case with a string in order for the person to hang around their neck, that would be nearly perfect as a suggestion. Believe those who pay for the day individually, there is one of those badges given with a slick surface backing attached, which you removed and stuck on your clothing after writing your name with a marker on the front.

Edited June 2, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[204b]

I think its so funny that I have read your posts on here and we were probably at one point feet from each other and I had no idea. Haha. I was probably the youngest person there not accompanied with a parent. I got a few "your so young" lines since I'm 17.

[fountainpenlady]

I think its so funny that I have read your posts on here and we were probably at one point feet from each other and I had no idea. Haha. I was probably the youngest person there not accompanied with a parent. I got a few "your so young" lines since I'm 17.

It would have been nice to meet you. I was trying to rarely be in the Grand Ballroom for very long when there were huge crowds. It was kind of energy draining for me and uncomfortable, so I failed to really pay attention to people specifically when I found myself caught in the crowd. I managed to head for the lobby and find a seat somewhere less crowded. If you encountered at any time a lady wearing a hat, it was probably me. In any case, I would not have been so typical or common to remark as to your young age. I would have assumed not accompanied, you were well within your place to be and right where you wanted to belong. It would have been refreshing to talk pens, and ink with you. Hope you enjoyed yourself and purchased several items as some of us did during the show.

[Bklyn]

I was able to attend the Triangle Pen Show today for this afternoon's fun. There was a good crowd and I had an opportunity to meet a couple of FPN'ers in the flesh, fountainpenlady and Aetheric Continua, and I think I saw Mr Thoth as well.

 

I didn't bring a major budget but did manage to snag a couple of nice pens and get a sweet old pen finally fixed up to use.

 

First, you'll have to excuse the poor iPhone photos. I'm too impatient tonight to get out the real camera.

 

I recently bought a Conklin Crescent #25 from a fellow FPN'er and I love the pen but the nib needed a little bit of work. The tines needed to be brought together a tiny bit, and one tine was a hair longer than the other. A few minutes with Ron Zorn and it's a wonderful writer. Now I need to learn how to write with a flex nib. I'm being careful until I learn so as not to spring it, so it may be capable of more flex than this, but I'm not pushing it.

 

 

 

 

The next pen I purchased with a trade of a couple of more modern (and modest but interesting) pens and some cash. It's a gorgeous Parker Vacuumatic in Major size with great transparency and a broad stub nib. The filler needs work as it won't take up water, but I could dip it and it's a dream to write with.

 

 

 

The last purchase was from the inimitable Gary Berg, one of the masters of the Sheaffer vacuum filler. This one is quite interesting. I'll have to get a confirmation from Gary or the Sheaffer forum of exactly what it's called, [edited: I'm pretty sure it's a Sovereign, but I'm sure I'll be corrected if it's not] but it's a vacuum filler and looks just like my brown Statesman, but instead of a triumph nib, it has a huge open, two-tone nib. The nib is the same size as the OS Balance pens. It's huge, and smooth and quite striking. And of course the pen has been quite professionally restored and holds a ton of ink. It came as a set with a pencil which has a little brassing on the clip, but the pen is flawless and looks like it's straight out of the box. Even the visulated section is totally clear with no tint or staining. This is a very fun pen.

 

 

 

It was a great time. There was a good crowd today and a lot of vendors and master repairpersons. I recommend the show to anyone in the area.

 

So, anyone else get anything fun at the show?

This sounds like a great show and a ton of fun. Why are there no FP shows in Boston? Need I move back to Brooklyn to go to a FP show?

[fountainpenlady]

Hello folks, this is the response just received from the organizer of the Triangle Pen Show regarding our having space and also having some way to identify each other next year. Thought I would share it with you all immediately. I contacted him and happy to get a response. I want you to read what I asked him and his response verbatum so there will be no confusion.

 

"..., sounds like a great idea to me. Perhaps out in the hallway where Susan
Wirth offers her workshop or in the boardroom where Deborah offers her sessions.
BTW next year's show dates are set for June 4-6. Feel free to announce this now
on FPN and get it on their calendar. Perhaps prior to the show you can think
about a small agenda for the group to discuss or just keep it simple and meet
and greet! You will remind me about this next year. We can put small green or
red stickers on the hello badges if FPN members identify themselves at
registration. Terry

> Hello Mr. Mawhorter,

> My name is A.S. (altered here); I am the lady who wore hats
during the recent Triangle Pen Show in Cary, NC. I am also a member of the
Fountainpen Network (FPN); on a recent thread, there were several of us who
attended, who were wondering whether there was any way we could ask to be able
to meet each other at perhaps an empty table or place in the lobby next year.
We would not need to take up much room, space at an empty table, a chair.
Somewhere in the lobby would be great.
>
>
> We know each other by our
avatars, our clever monikers/names selected, but we would love to be able to
match our FountainpenNetwork names and avatars with actually meeting each other
in person. There are several of us who did attend the recent Triangle Pen Show,
I met face to face with several of them who described what they would be wearing
and I wore hats the entire weekend, as it is my signature; "Beware of the lady
wearing hats and carrying fountainpens."
> I do believe, from the post thread
of our experiences several more FPN members did attend, we simply did not
recognize each other. We would love, even if it would be a designated times
throughout the Pen Show to meet each other in person officially.

Also, someone has suggested we perhaps put something on our individual badges to
also denote we are FPN members. If we were able to create something simple,
would you not mind us trying it out next year? We realize that this is not a
FountainPenNetwork event, we simply would like to request those of us who
communicate online be able to meet, recognize each other in person at The
Triangle Pen Show in order to even more so enjoy ourselves with this passion we
all share. We believe the Triangle Pen Show each year is the only opportunity we
have to actually meet each other in person and further enjoy our mutual passion
for one entire weekend.
>

Edited June 18, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[MrThoth]

1. Those dates are a Saturday through a Monday -- could it be June 3-5 instead?

 

2. I tried putting my FPN name on my badge, but due to my apparent inability to write clearly with a marker I kept getting asked what "Mr Truth" meant. OTOH that gave me an excuse to show them my Thoth finger ring, which lead to some enjoyable conversations.

[fountainpenlady]

1. Those dates are a Saturday through a Monday -- could it be June 3-5 instead?

 

2. I tried putting my FPN name on my badge, but due to my apparent inability to write clearly with a marker I kept getting asked what "Mr Truth" meant. OTOH that gave me an excuse to show them my Thoth finger ring, which lead to some enjoyable conversations.

I paste and cut directly. I'll get in touch with him and confirm.

[AAAndrew]

It's always a Friday-Monday so he probably gave you slightly the wrong dates.

 

I appreciate you checking on this. As it gets closer to next year, I'll see if I can set aside some time to be there and "man" the table for a while. It's a hard time to get time on the weekend because my wife's always in hot and heavy rehearsals for the June performance. But with enough planning I might be able to make it work.

 

Thanks again for your work on this, and hope to see you again next year!

[fountainpenlady]

It's always a Friday-Monday so he probably gave you slightly the wrong dates.

 

I appreciate you checking on this. As it gets closer to next year, I'll see if I can set aside some time to be there and "man" the table for a while. It's a hard time to get time on the weekend because my wife's always in hot and heavy rehearsals for the June performance. But with enough planning I might be able to make it work.

 

Thanks again for your work on this, and hope to see you again next year!

I sent him an email. If he does not contact me this weekend, I'll call him on Monday. Believe I contacted him the final day of the Pen Show regarding what we were thinking about in terms of the table space, identification on the badges. Things probably just calmed down for him to respond. In any case, maybe it would be faster for me to call him. I'll do so on Monday and post the confirmation immediately. Enjoy a wonderful weekend. It has really be some scorcher days we have been having hasn't it????? Next week, two days 100 degrees or more. It went up to 105 one day couple days ago.

Edited June 20, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[fountainpenlady]

Next year's Triangle Pen Show will be held June 3, 4, and 5th. Also, we will be able to have space somewhere during the Pen Show in which we can meet each other. Also, if we let Terry, the organizer know, he will provide us with a colored dot to indicate we are FPN Members. That is the short of the updated information. Mark you calendar and begin saving for next year. I am doing so as I type this to you, my goodness did I enjoy myself and spend far too much money, but I am happy with the results.

Edited June 20, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[fountainpenlady]

Apologies for the duplicate, trying to post on the other thread, but returned to this one instead.

 

Folks, this is the response from Terry Mawhorter, organizer of the Triangle Pen Show, regarding our visible presence to meet each other during next year's Triangle Pen Show and also whether he would mind we had some way of identifying each other to each other by something recognizable on our badges. Also, note next year's dates for the Triangle Pen Show.

 

..., sounds like a great idea to me. Perhaps out in the hallway where Susan
Wirth offers her workshop or in the boardroom where Deborah offers her sessions.
BTW next year's show dates are set for June 3, 4, 5. Feel free to announce this now
on FPN and get it on their calendar. Perhaps prior to the show you can think
about a small agenda for the group to discuss or just keep it simple and meet
and greet! You will remind me about this next year. We can put small green or
red stickers on the hello badges if FPN members identify themselves at
registration. Terry

Edited June 20, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[fountainpenlady]

It's always a Friday-Monday so he probably gave you slightly the wrong dates.

 

I appreciate you checking on this. As it gets closer to next year, I'll see if I can set aside some time to be there and "man" the table for a while. It's a hard time to get time on the weekend because my wife's always in hot and heavy rehearsals for the June performance. But with enough planning I might be able to make it work.

 

Thanks again for your work on this, and hope to see you again next year!

Terry just got back to me, you and MrThoth are correct. Here is his response,

Qops, I stand corrected, the dates for 2016 are June 3, 4 and 5. Terry