(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)
What a whirlwind weekend it was for me at the 2022 DC Pen Show!. Like last year, my family’s annual family camping trip overlaps with a bit of the show, so I missed Thursday and Friday’s show hours/activities/hanging out. Like last year, I also worked behind the Franklin-Christoph table on Saturday and Sunday. I was pretty busy both days so I didn’t get a chance to spend as much time walking around or taking as many pictures as I wanted. It felt like there were some things that have changed and some things that haven’t. The biggest thing was the hotel renovation which really impacted the show in more ways than just during show hours.
Size
The DC Show has dubbed itself the “Supershow” and this year was no exception. According to the vendor list, there were 170+ vendors. I do not know how many people attended the show, but it felt like it was definitely more than 2021, but fewer than 2019. (I did not attend prior to 2019). I was not there on Friday but the aisles on Saturday seemed crowded and somewhat difficult to navigate, until ~1pm when it loosened up. Sunday was surprisingly busy, but not in an overwhelming way, but more of a steady stream until 3pm or so. I was glad to see more vendors and attendees at this year’s show.
My view of the main ballroom from behind the Franklin-Christoph table (near the back right side of the ballroom looking towards the front corner.)
This is one of the hallways along the side of the main ballroom.
One of the “side hallways” that leads to an outside seating area. But first, check out all the cool tools you might need to fix or restore your pens from Dale Beebe of Pentooling.
It was quite a bit calmer on Sunday morning but it didn’t take long for things to pick up to a steady but still relaxed pace.
As in past years, there were a variety of vendors, from vintage, to modern, to locals and international sellers alike. There were the distributors with their impressive displays like Coles of London, Itoya, Kenro, Luxury Brands of America, Pilot, Pelikan, and Yafa. Modern and vintage dealers were also present including Dromgooles, Chatterley, Franklin-Christoph as well as Myk Daigle of MaD Mercantile, Alan Hirsch, John Corwin and his vintage flex pens, Legendary Pencil Company, and more. We also had a good showing from our international friends including Ahnitol (Japan), Joost Appelboom and Anabelle Hiller of Appelboom (Netherlands) Ben Walsh of Gravitas Pens (Ireland), Roses without Thorns (Canada) Sarj Minhas and St. John’s Pens (UK), Urso Luxury (Italy) and Yunus and his crew from Galen Leather, as well as Gül Ilkbahar, and Studyo Agackakan (Turkey). There were plenty of returning vendors but also some folks new to the DC Pen Show like Ahnitol, Appelboom, Plotter/DesignPhil, and probably a couple dozen more. And I always like seeing local vendors at pen shows including Jinji Chocolates, Kanilea Pen Co, Little Black Rabbit Paperie, and Penquisition.
Joost Appelboom came to the show last year but this is the first time Appelboom has had a table at DC.
Jonathon Brooks and daughter (and apprentice) Kristen were pretty busy all weekend!
Scott Franklin of Franklin-Christoph is putting out some different prototypes for Saturday’s show. Eager fans held up the black “curtain” until it was showtime!
Look at this stunning F-C Model 50 Outer Banks edition!
I managed to sneak a peek at the Gravitas Pens table before the show got going on Sunday.
I can always count on Cary Yeager of Kenro Industries to be all smiles at a pen show!
I haven’t seen Giuseppe Urso and his brother Lucio since 2019! It was great speaking Italian (very slowly) with them!
I broke my “no more washi tape” ban and it’s all because of the little treasures at Little Black Rabbit Paperie!
Maryland-local Evan Rosenberg with his array of pen holders and other accessories.
If you like shopping, this is definitely a great show to attend because there are so many pens, pencils, accessories and more to choose from. Vintage, modern, new, pre-owned, maker items including pens, painted items, washi tape, wax seals - the list is endless!
Score: 9/10
Location
Like many of the other pen shows, the DC Pen show is not located in the city for which it is named. It is located in Falls Church, VA, a suburb about 30-45 minutes east of downtown Washington, DC. As such the museums or monuments that DC is known for aren’t close enough to visit for a quick break from the show. But if you have a few days before or after the show, there’s a lot of stuff to do. Some of my favorites include checking out one or more of the wonderful Smithsonian Museums (especially the Museum of Natural History, the Postal Museum), National Zoo, the International Spy Museum, the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool, Washington Monument, and the Air and Space Museum at Udvar-Hazy Center near the Dulles Airport.
I am always in awe whenever I visit the Lincoln Memorial.
Where else can you see an SR- Blackbird up close and personal? At the Udvar-Hazy Center, that’s where!
Score: 9/10
Hotel
The DC Pen Show has been held at the Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park for the past several years. This year, the hotel has been under significant renovation. Like prior years, the show occupied the main ballroom and hallways leading to, and alongside the ballroom. Due to the lack of space, there were also vendors located behind the main ballroom. You would only see them if you went straight through the ballroom to the open doors on the far side, or if you walked all the way down the hallways to the left of the ballroom. Unlike prior years, the small ballroom was not available this time around, so about 30 vendors (many of whom were smaller makers/sellers) occupying ~45 tables were downstairs in the hallways and small ballroom.
Many of the downstairs vendors were set up in this ballroom.
If you made it downstairs, you might have gotten a glimpse of these gorgeous hand-painted Kaweco sports by Gul Ilkabahar who came all the way from Turkey!
Another vendor that made the trek from Turkey was Studyo Agackakan - look at all those colorful custom pens!
Hugh and Karol Scher of Kanilea Pen Company, along with helper Jason Schultz, were all smiles this weekend (Congrats on their first grandchild who was born this weekend!)
Karas Kustoms did a fun giveaway/scavenger hunt after the show was over (hint, it was hidden outside the hotel.)
I can always count on peace, love and some awesome machined pens from Ian Schon (right) and Julian Smith of Schon Design.
Tammy Batchelor of The Write Stuff had lovely notebooks, inserts and stationery-themed items like bags, shirts, and pen pouches too.
In addition to the effect that the renovation had in terms of locating/fitting all the vendors, I would say that the biggest impact was to activities and gatherings. The restaurant and “bar” was off to the side of the lobby and did not have ample seating for more than 3-4 people per table. There weren’t many tables in the area outside of the ballrooms either. Folks that gathered there ended up going inside after sundown since there is no outside lighting.
Opposite the reception area is the rest of the lobby as well as the restaurant and “bar” area.
I will give the hotel and the show a little leeway because renovations are difficult, but I do feel like more should/could have been done to make gatherings easier. One bright spot is that the hotel is pet-friendly so I got to see some cute doggos at the hotel.
Chance is one of the floofballs I got to meet at the show hotel. He is a very good English Cream Golden Retriever and I made sure he got lots of pets and boops.
Score: 6/10
Tickets
The 4-day weekend pass for the show costs $50 and included Thursday pre-show access to the ballroom tables for trading/selling/buying, as well as Friday morning access to the show (10AM vs 12PM for general admission). You can also purchase individual day passes: Friday afternoon (12PM - 5PM) tickets cost $25, and Saturday/Sunday day passes cost $10 each for 10AM - 5PM access. Children were free. Tickets were available for online purchase and were encouraged to minimize the long lines, which, in the past, had ended up out the door and into the parking lot. I didn’t hear any/many grumblings about ticket lines so I’m guessing that wasn’t an issue this year. The weekend pass price is reasonable considering it included 3 full days of show access and Thursday trading access. I did hear some complaints about why a half day on Friday should cost more than two weekend day passes and I don’t have an answer for that.
Score: 8/10
Classes
There were quite a few free and paid classes and seminars ranging from free sessions on What is a Snorkel, Common Pen Repair Tools, and Parker Archives as well as paid classes on Italic Calligraphy, Copperplate, Pen & Ink Wash Art, Nib Tuning, and Basic Flourishing. I don’t know if they could have offered any more classes given the renovation this year but I would have liked to see more seminars/classes for a show this size.
Score - 8/10
Nib Workers
Need nib work done? Well, you came to the right place! There were no less than 9 nib workers that I knew of at this show (in first name alphabetical order) and that didn’t include Les Sheely of Stylosuite or those at Franklin-Christoph who also tune and offer in-house ground nibs.
- Anabelle Hiller of Appelboom
- CY of Tokyo Station Pens
- Damien Alomar of All in the Nib
- Deb Kinney of The Pen Connoisseur
- Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio
- JC Ament of The Nib Tailor
- Joshua Lax of JJ Lax Pen Co.
- Kirk Speer of Pen Realm
- Matthew Chen of Matthew’s Nibworks
What a treat to have Anabelle Hiller of Appelboom at the show! She does all of the tuning and nib grinds for Appelboom.
But here are a few of the remaining Harmonic Series nibs that she made (yes, she MADE the nibs.)
CY of Tokyo Station Pens made the trek from Japan to do nib work as well as bringing specialty pens and inks from Japan.
Damien Alomar of All in the Nib tests the nib throughout the tuning process.
Josh Lax starting a new grind on this pen.
Matthew Chen is writing in a few different directions to test the nib.
The nib workers were spread out in various locations, mostly in the main ballroom. This is an insanely high number for a show of any size and I know most if not all of them were busy all weekend.
Score - 10/10
Overall Vibe
The combination of two floors and multiple places to find vendors combined with the somewhat tight aisles (especially between the non-wall tables) can feel very busy and overwhelming but also kind of exciting like a kid in a candy store. One of the drawbacks of being a “supershow” is that there are a lot of vendors and it can be difficult to find what you’re looking for, assuming you have something in mind. The lack of space to sit down, relax, meet pen friends, etc. also made the experience feel more stressful. The tables at the hotel restaurant were also small, so if you were new to the hobby, new to pen shows, or didn’t know anyone at the show, it would be kind of difficult to meet new people since you couldn’t just scooch up to a table full of pen slinging people and ask to sit down. I don’t know if it was the size, the lack of hangout space or what, but it just felt like a bit frantic and hectic and not really a chill or relaxing show.
Score - 7/10
Food
The hotel restaurant was alright. Not horrible, not great. Typical hotel prices, maybe a bit more (like an average of $15 for a glass of wine). There wasn’t a lot of space at the hotel restaurant so even if you did want to eat there, you might not be able to get a table (especially on Friday and Saturday nights). There really isn’t a whole lot within walking distance so you had to rely on a car or delivery. I was told there was a shuttle but I couldn’t find any information about it on the hotel website. There are a decent number of restaurants in the vicinity (friends went out for Nepalese food and my friend and I ordered sushi and noodles for delivery) so you wouldn’t need to go too far to get food.
Score - 7/10
After Hours
Typically there is a “pen shows after dark” or “pen round table” event but I didn’t hear of any. On Friday night, Kenro Industries hosted a Nib Wars event which had 4 nib grinders competing against each other in several nib grinding challenges. I wasn’t there on Friday night when the event was held but I was admittedly a little leery of pitting nib grinders against each other as nib grinds are extremely subjective and what might work for one person might not work at all for another. I was relieved to hear that it was well-run, people seemed to enjoy it and that $2000 was raised for charity.
I was told that folks were kicked out of the restaurant/bar area at 10:30pm (or earlier) because the staff wanted to set up for the next morning. I was outside on Saturday night but it was dark outside after 9:00PM or so (since there were no lights outside), so I went searching for a place to hang out inside and didn’t find a whole lot. I heard about folks meeting in random spots throughout the hotel or in people’s hotel rooms, but none of it was like the typical “hangouts” that one would find at most pen shows. In years past, you could head down to the bar/restaurant area and find lots of places to congregate and play with pens and meet people but that wasn’t the case this year. It really felt odd after going to a bunch of other shows this year where there were plenty of places to gather.
The (very informal and tongue-in-cheek) Annual Meeting of the Black Pen Society was held outside the hotel. The Grand Poobah, aka Paul Erano, is telling folks about this year’s BPS pins.
The area outside the construction area (on the far right side if you are looking at the hotel) continues to be a neat place for folks to gather outside, but it is also not lit and usually the cigar-smoking crowd congregates there. If you’re ok with the smoke, it’s worth hanging out and meeting some extremely knowledgeable pen folks, especially if you’re into vintage. And if you do, say hi for me (I usually don’t stay too long since my throat is sensitive to smoke). This area wasn’t directly affected by the construction, other than it wasn’t as easy to access without going out the front door and across a few ramps first.
Again, I am inclined to give the hotel a bit of slack for the renovation work but it really could have been a much more enjoyable show if the hotel or the show organizers had arranged to have other conference rooms/hotel spaces available for after-hours gatherings. If the hotel wasn’t being renovated, the score would be another point or two lower.
Score - 6/10
Other
I know I spent a lot of time talking about the hotel renovations and its impact during the show as well as the hangout/socializing experience, but I really can’t mention it enough because pens and things are great, but it’s really the people that brings me back to shows. And not having great places to meet and hang out with pen people makes me not enjoy myself as much. But enough of that! Here are some other things that I wanted to mention:
Due to vendors being located in multiple locations, Vanness Pens and several others organized a Scavenger Hunt, which helped encourage folks to visit vendors on both floors. Folks who took selfies at 10 of the participating vendors and then posted them to social media would be eligible to win prizes like an Endless Notebook, a Newton pen, a bottle of Robert Oster ink and more! I think some of the downstairs vendors may have gotten a lot more traffic and visibility as a result of the scavenger hunt. I really like that this idea came from the vendors and that the show organizers were supportive of it and let them run with it.
The Pen Show Map was awesome! What? A pen show map? Yes! Fountain pen enthusiast Alexander Kramer has created pen show maps in the past and this year worked with the organizers to get an interactive map of the DC show! I love that you can select different physical locations like ballroom or downstairs and that you could sort alphabetically or by category (Sponsor, New to DC Pen Show, Kid Friendly, Scavenger Hunt, etc.). As someone who was behind the table for most of the show, it was nice to use this tool to help folks who were looking for certain vendors.
Anyone who has ever attended a well-run show knows that it takes more than just the show organizers to make it happen. This show gets a fair amount of help from the local DC Metro Pen Crew, who volunteer in shifts to make sure vendors get what they need (someone to watch the table for restroom breaks? water?) and that attendees are able to find vendors/tables/etc.
Last but not least, oof, it was toasty this past weekend. And muggy too. But that’s something to be expected during early August in the DC area. It’s obviously not something that’s in the show organizers’ realm of control but something to keep in mind if heat and humidity isn’t your thing. Thankfully the rooms were generally well-cooled and ventilated but gathering outdoors wasn’t nearly as pleasant. But hey, at least it wasn’t raining cicadas, right?
Score - 8/10
Report Card
0-50 Oof, do not attend
51-70 Show is alright
70-80 Show is solid
80-90 Show is pretty darned good!
91-100 REALLY good show and not to be missed
The 2022 DC Pen Show scored 78/100, which was actually higher than I expected. It gets high marks for having lots of vendors, nib workers and being near a destination area. Vendors generally did pretty well this year (though maybe not quite as well as pre-pandemic), but the hotel renovation really did a number on the show experience for me. If you want to do some serious shopping, this show is hard to beat - the quantity and variety of vendors pretty much ensures you’re bound to find a thing or two or ten to bring home. However, if pen shows are more than just a reason to go shopping for you, and you want to spend quality time with vendors and pen friends, take this year’s experience with a grain of salt and see how it goes next year. I am sure the hotel will be beautiful next year (I did get a sneak peak of the construction areas and it looked amazing) but I hope that the show organizers don’t forget how to make it a good experience for folks outside the show floor.
Show haul clockwise from upper left: Washi tapes from Little Black Rabbit Paperie, 2022 DC Supershow Violet ink from Monteverde, Profolio Oasis Summit Notebook, KWZ Sapphire Blue ink (Galen Leather exclusive), 2022 Black Pen Society pins, Franklin-Christoph 20, 3D printed Autopoint pencil from Legendary Pencil Company, Polycarbonate and Entry pens from Gravitas Pens, hand-painted Kaweco Sports from Gül Ilkbahar, commissioned Schon Pocket 6 engraved by Brian Weaver of Ironfeather Creative, Fountain Pen Journal notebook and washi tape set from Esterbrook.
All in all, it was a whirlwind weekend for me and felt like it was gone before I knew it. Despite being busier than last DC and therefore had less time to shop, I still managed to do a little damage to the wallet (but thankfully under budget!). Even though it was much too short, I’m grateful for the little bit of time that I got to spend with pen friends (many of whom I haven’t seen since before the pandemic). The wallet is a little lighter but the heart always leaves a little fuller. Now to recover until the SF pen show! Until then, stay safe and stay inky!
