Well, that was a weekend! I always enjoy my trips to Little Rock for the Arkansas Pen Show, and this year was no exception. Run by the Arkansas Pen Club, the Arkansas Pen Show is a smaller, regional pen show that draws excellent vendors - both vintage and modern - and pulls in a good crowd of friendly attendees. While I don’t have official numbers, this year appeared even more well-attended than last year, following the move to a new location with a bigger ballroom. Kudos to Shawn Newton and the rest of the Arkansas Pen Club leadership for organizing a great show. I thought it might be fun to orient this show recap around a more general discussion of why it’s fun to attend local shows in general, even if they’re not as big as the pen shows that get the most hype and attention online.
Smaller pen shows are more relaxed and easier to navigate. While bigger “events” like the D.C. Pen Show and San Francisco Pen Show feature international vendors unique to those shows (mainly due to the logistics of attendance), the sheer size of these shows can be overwhelming even to seasoned pen show veterans. There’s no way you can see everything, and the fear of “missing something good” creates a level of anxiety and frenetic energy that sort of lingers through the weekend. At a smaller show, particularly one that’s confined to a single ballroom, you really are able to visit every table, and when the foot traffic slows down, vendors are more than happy to have extended conversations about the pens they sell and stationery in general. You also never know what people will bring by to show you - just check out that Traveler’s Notebook pictured below!
Smaller shows offer more time to consider purchases. Larger shows draw larger crowds, and vendors can only bring so much product with them, especially if they are flying. Some tables come close to selling out of certain in-demand products by the end of the first day. At a show like the Arkansas Pen Show, however, there’s no such rush, and unless you have your eye on a very specific pen from a custom maker, you almost certainly have time to think about and consider your purchase without worrying that something will be gone ten minutes later. You can also have nibs tuned or ground on a walk-up basis - Matthew Chen (Matthew’s Nibworks) attended the Arkansas Pen Show, and while he kept busy all weekend, there was never a long line or even a wait list, to my knowledge.
Smaller pen shows have a friendlier atmosphere. While the pen community in general is pretty friendly and welcoming, the smaller, regional shows are often run by tight-knit local pen clubs. As a result, the shows themselves have more of a “party” atmosphere, as opposed to the trade show/convention/flea market hybrid you see elsewhere.
Smaller pen shows are typically less expensive to attend. If you’re within a few hours of a pen show, always take the opportunity to drive rather than fly! In addition to saving on airfare, smaller regional shows often have cheaper hotel rates (Arkansas was around $100 per night for the show rate at a fairly decent hotel), and the price of admission was $10 for the entire weekend.
Smaller pens shows support smaller sellers and independent makers. The Arkansas Pen Show features several vendors who don’t attend the major market pen shows, including many excellent, reputable vintage sellers. For example, I purchased both of the vintage pens discussed below from Danny Fudge of The Write Pen, and I’ve never had anything but good experiences buying from him in the past. Other unique vendors included Chad from Eel and Anchor, who was my table neighbor and came with dozens of custom pen blanks. Let’s just say I have some commissions and potential exclusive releases in the prototyping stage? You can check out the full list of show Exhibitors here.
Talking to customers can be a master class in how to truly USE stationery: This is a Traveler’s Company Passport-sized notebook!
So What Did I Sell and What Did I Buy?
On both they buying and selling front, my recent strategy has been sort of similar: bring stuff that nobody else is going to have and buy stuff that I probably can’t find elsewhere. At my table, I brought Roterfaden, Lochby, and Traveler’s Company notebook systems, a selection of fountain pens, as well as a pretty varied selection of mechanical pencils and leadholders. Pencils tend to be underrepresented at pen shows, even though I always have nearly a dozen people approach me at any given show asking where to find them. Uni Kuru Togas and the Penco Prime Timber 2.0 lead holder drew the most attention, as did the Anterique Brass Ballpoints, Craighill Caro keychain pens, and other less common offerings. Over the years, I’ve discovered that as a smaller vendor (both online and in person), the key to having a successful show is to add to the “treasure hunt” experience by ensuring that you’re not just selling the same stuff as your table neighbor, or items that are easy for attendees to find online.
For the same reason, I’ve become more selective about what I purchase at shows. At this particular pen show, I added two more vintage pens to my collection: a Parker 51 Flighter (with the “wedding band” trim), and a Sterling Silver Parker 75. Both of these pens are fairly clean examples - though still “user grade” - and I’ve had the Parker 51 inked up since the night I bought it. The Parker 51 has a smooth extra-fine nib and the Parker 75 sports a broad, both of which are somewhat unusual. I also visited the Esterbrook table and picked up two pens that I suspect might be discontinued soon in these colors: the “Big J” in Lotus Green ebonite, and the “JR” in Pumpkin Latte. (Of course the two latter pens now have nib grinds from Matthew Chen!)
From left, the “Big J” and “JR” pens from Esterbrook, a Parker 75 pen and pencil set, and a Parker 51 Flighter.
Overall, I enjoy my trips to Little Rock, which always includes an opportunity to shop at Vanness Pens in person! The current plan is to return next year, and I hope to see the show grow even more in the future. Thanks so much to the Arkansas Pen Club and all the attendees for showing us out-of-towners such a good time!
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