[COLOR=red][B]The long Island show is coming up soon. Pen repairs by Ron Zorn. Nib adjustments by Richard Binder. Free Pen appraisals and dealers available to buy and sell pens. This is a small regional show where you can get a flavor of the pen world.Free parking and refreshment are available. A few tables still available. Check us out at lipenshow.com. Reasonable admission for both days

When's lunch? :bunny1:

Good luck with the Show.

regards

Well, I will get there after lunch on Friday, and then as early as I can again on Saturday. Don't know what I'll be wearing (probably a salwar kamiz, though), but I will be freshly shaved on Saturday, so look for the bald caramel-colored woman drooling quietly and say hello!

Come one come all. We are looking forward to meeting all New York, New Jersey and metropolitan pen people. We had our Long Island Pen meeting last nite and we had about 30 very excited people attend. Hofstra is very excessible to all areas by parkway and the parking is free. The show is at the student center which is off Hempstead turnpike. For those of you who have pens that need nib adjustments Richard Binder will be there and available to you. Pen Repairs will be done by Ron Zorn. For those of you who have attended other shows you know how busy these gentleman get so get there early. Both of these gentleman are the best in the business and their charges are based on what they do for you. If you have pens that you want to sell many dealers will be available to buy or trade for your pens.[COLOR=red]If you have any question or would like a table call me at 516-681-8889 The doors will open at 10 am both friday and saturday.
Check us out at lipenshow.com

I suddenly realized that the show is being held on Friday and Saturday. Why not Sunday as well?

We have noticed that crowds tend to thin out on Sunday. If this show is a sucess which we know it will be then next year it will include Sunday. Come and visit with us and enjoy the pen people who will be there for you.

elaine and i and friends will be there!! yay!!!

[B][SIZE=7][COLOR=red]Please say hi when you get there

I plan to attend my first pen show ever at Hofstra later this month, and am looking forward to it. Other than knowing that Richard Binder will be there, and Ron Zorn (?), the pen repairer, I really have no idea what to expect. Are there new pen sellers? Old pen sellers? (Referring to the products, not the age of the seller's themselves.) Any orientation information will be appreciated.

There will be at least one new-pen dealer, Richard's Pens (Barbara and me). I can't imagine that we'll be the only one.


There will be at least two old-pen dealers, Ron Zorn and David Isaacson. These guys both have great pens -- David's tend to be pricier because of the brands and models he's chosen, but since Ron does most of David's restoration you can be sure you're getting good stuff from either guy. At the Ohio show this past weekend I bought this Waterman's Ink-Vue from David:



(It needed a little extra work to satisfy my anal-retentive needs, but it was, and is, a superb pen!)

And, as with the new-pen guys, I cannot believe that David and Ron will be the only two people offering vintage pens.

As for orientation information, I suggest you read my article titled Pen Shows I: Your First Pen Show. It's the first in a three-part series of pen-show articles that you may find useful.

For those planning to bring pens for me to work on, please read our "Table Talk" FAQ.

There will be at least 10 modern dealers and 30 vintage dealers as we speak.
New Pens Art Brown, Bertrums, Aurora Pens, Total office products, David Ushkow and more.
Vintage pens Bob Novak, Gary Lehrer. Berliner Pens,David Isaacson,Terry Mawhorter,Susan Wirt, Harvey Jackelow, Mirin pens, Alan Maymen, Mike Bloom, Mike Divoritz, Terry Brack,Sam Elardo, Frank Tedesco, Alan Hirsch and many others.
Sometimes people tell me that walking into a large show is very confusing and sometimes turns new people off. This show will allow new people to feel comfortable and still be able to learn and speak with some of the best dealers in the business.

I'll be there with my first sales

Post about my first pen show as a seller

[B]The Long Island pen Show this friday and Saturday. Early buying starts at 8am and will open to the general public at 10 am. Door prizes will be awarded from 12 on. Bring your pens to be repaired or sell them to the more then 40 dealers who will be there over the two days of the show. Free parking at the hofstra student center.For information and directions go to lipenshow.com

We're all ready to roll on Thursday morning, and are looking forward to the show. Tyler will be my helper on this trip. For those of you who remember Tyler as a little guy, be prepared to be surprised. He's a little taller now.

I have a case full of vintage pens. Lots of Vacs, 51s, and a smattering of other pens, all restored and tested.

Is the show Thursday and Friday? or Friday and Saturday?
Russ

[SIZE=14Friday and Saturday

Opens at 8am both days for setup and early buying. Public comes at 10am. Will close at 8pm

Friday at 8am for dealer setup
Saturday at 8am for dealer set up.
Two day show

I almost regret agreeing to meet Tracey mid-day to come out to the show on Friday, but it will be so worth it to see her face when she walks into her first pen show. (And yes, I have been a good friend, and steered her to Richard's pages on surviving your first pen show.)

On the other hand, I can head out as early as I like on Saturday, and I should be meeting another friend for her first pen show experience as well. Hmmmm.... wonder if I should call my ex-husband? He got into fountain pens after we split up, and is an engineering/geeky sort at heart. Perhaps I should buy him a book on pen repair, or one on pen turning, and see what happens. bwahahaha!

All that aside, I am very grateful for a pen show in the NYC area, and one now that I'm farther along the road to health, and I look forward to seeing Richard, and Elaine, and hope to see others from FPN there. WooHOO! Woo-FREAKING-HOO! A PEN SHOW!

*ahem*

Is anybody planning to go to dinner towards the end of the show or does everyone stay till closing and just go home?

so many great restaurants in the area.

Yes, but is anyone going to one? Why the silence on this topic? Doesn't anyone eat?

The show goes until 8 PM. I don't know how long the dealers will be staying. I haven't figured out what I'm doing about dinner (or breakfast or lunch for that matter). I'm up for dinner depending on how things work out.

If you're eating in the student cafeteria, go with a salad or something. The burgers were uninspired.

I went, with Tracey from my office, yesterday. And I knew exactly what I was getting: either a roseglow Sheaffer Balance 875 or a Bexley Simplicity from Richard.

Yeah, right.

Conversation with Richard and Barbara; Barbara made me put my name down on Richard's list for nib midification, even though I had no plans for anything of the sort. Meeting French. Remeeting Aunt Rebecca. A cute wooden clipboard holder and a matching elephant ballpoint for Soren, who has trouble remembering things unless he writes them down. A silver Esterbrook from Elaine, and a stub nib from Frank. Conversation and discussion of pen nibs with Susan Wirth.

Then I walked back over, having decided on the Bexley Simplicity in the Bronze Pearl. Yes, that was it.

And my gaze fell on the Filcao Libra in the Mar Tirreno resin, and it shimmered in the light.

And I picked it up.

Richard turned it into a needlepoint for me.

I am very happy.

Today I'm going back, to check on the existence of the roseglow Balance 875, and to get an Esterbrook for my niece.

Just those. Nothing else.

Stop laughing, you guys!

My first pen show of any kind, and it was just the right size, not to be any more overwhelming than it was. Enjoyed meeting, and buying a snorkel from, Susan Wirth (and selling her an old Penwrite, having a Parker 21 repaired by Ron Z. and watching a nib on my newer Shaeffer getting Binderized from a broad to a straight .8 italic. A bottle of Noodler's Manhattan Blue from Art Brown on the way out topped off a pleasant few hours.

But the Filcao Libra is such a striking pen, and your handwriting with the needlepoint nib was fantastic! I hope you enjoy it, and I'm guessing Richard and Barbara are happy to see (at least) 2 Filcao pens get modified nibs and go to good homes. (I purchased the tigertail Columbia prototype Richard listed in his Nib Noise newsletter, got a 0.6mm stub.)

It was nice to meet you, Elaine and Aunt Rebecca. I was amazed at how friendly all the dealers were, and how patient Richard and Barbara were with my hanging out and trying to soak up pen knowledge. I had a really great day, and, once I got off of Long Island, the traffic north really wasn't all that bad.

I hope your neice enjoys her pens, and that you enjoy the Libra. Hopefully the show will be enough of a success for the organizers to run it again next year.

French

The show, as far as I am concerned, was a smashing success! It was on a very small scale ( I am comparing it to the D.C. show) but it was a total pleasure to walk around in empty space and not be jostled and have to wait on line to even see a pen, never mind speak to the dealers.
Everyone was friendly and polite which was a total pleasure.
I saw Elaine and Aunt Rebecca again. (met them in D.C.). What cutie pies they are! While I was hanging around with them, along came Velma a fellow Brooklynite! I had no idea it was her birthday. Happy Birthday Velma!
Velma is one sweet doll! and she bought such a beautiful pen from Richard.
I too visited Richard's table and after much dreaming about which pen to buy, I was jostled awake by my husband (and partner in pen crime) who was pointing to a Platinum Cranes & Fuji. It has an 18kt gold nib and is just the right size for my hand. I asked Richard to work his magic on it and transform it into the smallest needlepoint nib reasonably possible which he did. What a thrill it was to have him transform this nib from a (whatever size it was) to one that will allow me to draw my teeny tiny designs!
Next, I visited Bertram's Inkwell where I met co-owner Jim Rouse. I must say, he was a gentleman and a sport. I ended up with six bottles of Diamine ink, a leather 10 pen zip around case and a leather 3 pen flap case.
Starvation finally drove us both to leave in the evening because I had come from my school where I taught all morning and had not even stopped for lunch.
Thank you to all the charming people we met especially Mike and Bob Novak who tells the truth even if we don't want to hear it!
To all who missed the show: stay away next year so I can have it all to myself!

I had a grand time again on Sunday, picking up two more Esterbrooks...

..I called my sister on Saturday morning, to ask her what my niece's favorite colors are, because I'd decided to get her an Esterbrook as well. After hearing me describe them, my sister said, "You've never given me a fountain pen!" in slightly menacing tones.

So, back to Elaine's table, where I acquired two more Esterbrooks, one blue, one copper. I met Playpen, and wandered, and eventually made it back to Richard's table, where he was turning one of her pens into a super-needlepoint. How could I resist? I showed him some of the other pens I had with me (not the Core, though) and he turned my Legacy Heritage into a super-needlepoint for my birthday. Whee!

I also got to sit at his table while he, David Kirschenbaum, and Ron Zorn geeked about equipment, and while David showed off some amazing pens in his collection.

The flaw with this Fountain Pen show, if it can be called a flaw, is that I really am trying to cut back on the number of pens I purchase. But with enablers like David Isaacson and Richard around, that gets harder and harder.

hi,

i had a blast as elaine's assistant!!

loved meeting french,velma,playpen and her husband(his name escapes me--a senior moment) and george.

terry mawhorter, who runs the ohio show was there and he was so patient with my obsessive friend marie as she pored over his pencils.

i enjoyed my time with ron zorn and tyler. robyn zorn makes the best cookies!!!

barbara and richard binder are extrordinarily kind!!

all in all--a great show--thanks to the long island pen club--terry, mike, nancy. spouses, kids et al.

I'm sitting in a B&B in Wildwood, Noo Joisey, and I'm tired -- even after having napped for a couple hours this afternoon -- so I don't have too much to say. But I do want to tell everybody how much fun I had at the show and to state loudly for all to hear that I hope and expect to attend next year's Long island Pen Show. Terry and Mike did a bang-up job of putting together a thoroughly wonderful first-for-the-venue show. There wasn't enough free coffee to last all day, but that's a small complaint...

I was busy but not crushingly so, and that gave me a lot more time to schmooze with the victims clients on the other side of the table. I know I'm there to work, but the repartée and general good times with my friends are what give me the greatest pleasure about shows. Meeting new people like French and playpen, and renewing old acquaintances with Aunt Rebecca, Elaine, Velma, and others, well, it really doesn't get any better. It is important to point out here that watching Velma's eyes light up when playpen started noodling with the super-needlepoint Platinum was priceless. And getting the chance to whack Velma's Legacy Heritage into another super-needlepoint, what a way to wind down an evening. This was before I did a fine stub on a Simplicity for Ron Zorn, but there are highlights and there are anticlimaxes, and as much as I love Ron, a stub doesn't beat out making a super-needlepoint.

This show stands -- at least for the moment -- as unique. I purchased no pen for my collection. Instead, I bought a "51" Flighter to flip. Before I sell it, however, I'll have to get Daniel to gnid the cap while I gnid the end of the barrel, and I'll have to do a complete surface restoration and replace the clip, but that's all fun stuff.

Dinner was good --really good -- all three nights we were there, but the prize goes to Bigelow's Seafood, a sit-at-the-counter seafood shack that does clams as well as most of the ones in God's Country (aka New England).

'Nuff said, I'm going back upstairs.