It’s time for a report on our On The Paper Trail Live in Nashville event, which took place this past weekend in my hometown of Franklin (outside of Nashville, for those not from the area). While event organization can be a nervewracking experience, it's also incredibly satisfying when things go right, and this past weekend turned out to be a success.
We had ink and paper samples on the table for swatching throughout the weekend.
So what was On The Paper Trail, Live in Nashville? This event wasn't intended as a "pen show" or a "stationery fest," but rather more of an extended weekend meetup, "mini-con", or even a conference. While we had five vendors - Vanness Pens, The Gentleman Stationer, Kaleidocraft Prints, Butler Stationery, The Well-Appointed Desk/Skylab Letterpress, and Tri-Star Studios (Scott Lewis, an independent penmaker) - the focus was intended to be on the ongoing classes and demonstrations throughout the event space. We also deliberately kept attendance below capacity to offer a more relaxed experience for both vendors and attendees. Each vendor was different enough that there wasn't much duplication at all among our respective offerings, and we managed to cover a pretty broad range of stationery. Bill Pearcy of Pilot Pens also was there with a full set of tester fountain pens, so that attendees could try all the various Pilot specialty nibs.
The event also went well beyond pens and traditional stationery items! For example, on Friday night Derek Deweese of dwrdnet hosted a type-in, with over a dozen different typewriters available for attendees to try. During the day on Saturday, Lisa at OliveOctopusInk ran an ink painting seminar and demonstration in the main hotel space, and as you can see from the picture above it cleared out the ballroom - which was exactly what we wanted! On Saturday night, Kaleidocraft prints sponsored a washi swap and social, where attendees could trade washi tape and learn how to use it. People hung around after hours, and there was always a group journaling or trading pens and inks in the hotel common area, like pen shows used to be.
Throughout the weekend, Lisa Vanness, Ana Reinert, and I taught classes, some of which were paid and some of which were free. Ana taught her popular stamp carving and Gamify Your Life Seminars, Lisa taught journaling for mental health, and I ran three sessions on notebook systems (my current obsession/area of interest). Everyone's classes were well-attended, and if there was one drawback to the location it was that classroom space was a bit tight. Given how friendly and laid back the hotel staff was, however, we're looking at ways we can adapt to hopefully run the event in the same space next year. Many thanks to everyone who came out! We enjoyed meeting all of you and hope to see you in the future, either back in Nashville or perhaps in additional locations….
For news and updates on future events, or simply to keep up with the On The Paper Trail Community, consider giving the podcast a listen! We are up to 18 episodes at the moment, and our next episode will include a brief event recap.