I just got back from this year's NJ Pen Show and I'm glad to report that the show is as delightful as it was last year. We were sad because the inkwell guy Paul Terban and his inkwells were not present as expected. That was a big disappointment for us.

We also did not see Art Brown with their usual array of paper and other interesting products.

Another big disappointment was that Richard showed up sans pig. I waited an entire month to visit with that pig but alas, he was not in attendance. It seems that he had other business this weekend...

David was, however, present in his very conservative pants and it was a pleasure to see him and say hello.

Terry Mawhorter and his son were there in their usual position right opposite the main door and I of course stopped by to say hello for a minute....

Gary Blehm was there with his really cute Penman posters. I suggested that he illustrate Shakespeare in the future. It will be interesting to see if he follows my suggestion!

After a lovely lunch with Elaine we headed back to the show to see what other mischief we could make before heading back to New York in all the lovely Saturday traffic. It only took
1 1/2 hours to get back to NY...eeek!

We are now looking forward to the Long Island show!

*envy*
*great googly mooglies of envy*

Life intervened, and while it was lovely to see an old friend, I missed the entire show.

I'm off to mope in the corner.

The pig in question, named Pete, was indeed not there. But the Senior Pig was at the hotel, dressed to the nines, and lovin' it. He (Pig) informed me that he (Pete) had been asked politely (BWAHAHAHAHA!) to stay home because he (Pig) has First Rights at shows. You can see him (Pig) reclining in luxury by visiting today's blog entry.
There's also a brief bit about the show there -- and a picture of my latest purchase, nailed at the show on Friday morning.

I was very happy to be able to attend the NY/NJ Show, especially since I have missed the Boston show this year.

The highlights of the show for me, included haunting Richard Binder's table (who, as I understand it, will be hosting his own Nibgrinding Apprentice reality show next summer?), having the flow of my Nakaya adjusted by John Mottishaw, acquiring the perfect wooden pen-chest, and finding the exact Parker 51 I had been looking for.

Despite spending most of the day at the show, I still did not get a chance to locate and say hello to some of the people I had been looking for! I was also a bit disappointed that on Sunday, some of the vendors seemed to have already left. Is that typical?...