London Writing Equipment Show 2017

[lionsze]

Just wanted to say hello....I have never posted here before.

Attended the London show as my very first pen show. I enjoyed it very much and was slightly overwhelmed. I deliberately came late (arriving at 2pm and spending only two hours) to avoid spending too much money. this made my experience even more exciting as there were so much to see!

I did not think of what I was looking for before I arrived; thought I would get some vintage pens and ended up taking home a Sailor that I have been wanting one for years. And I desperately needed the Pilot Tsutsuji ink.

My boyfriend and I enjoyed it so much that we were thinking maybe we would go to the next show in Sheffield's too :$

 

I have a quick question.

After the looooong corridor, going to the hall through the right set of double doors. What is the name of the dealer of the right hand side just as you walked through the double doors? He has a rather attractive collection of Japanese pens (Sailors, Pilots, and quite a few short pens....And he educated me about the `cult` pen which has the body and the nib as one piece of metal). I enjoyed speaking to him but forgot to take his card. If anyone knows which dealer I am talking about could you let me know his/company's name please?

Thanks

[TheBigGuy]

I didn't enjoy the London show this year as much as last year.

 

It was absolutely packed with people bumping into me the whole time, and the place was boiling hot.

 

I think we need a better venue next year. Bigger, more spread out.

 

It was disappointing that there weren't more items of stationery.

 

Also, almost all the stallholders there need a damn good lesson in decent sales and marketing! Shocking!

 

Big kudos to Pure Pens and Diamine for the free ink bottle. I've bought from Pure Pens in the past, and I'm very happy with the service I got from them, so please support them.

Edited October 3, 2017 by TheBigGuy

[eachan]

Why? What, exactly, was so wrong with their sales and marketing?

[superfly7]

glad to hear some of the reviews here both critical and laudatory. wish I had a better idea of the market to judge a bargain!

[dapprman]

I have a quick question.

After the looooong corridor, going to the hall through the right set of double doors. What is the name of the dealer of the right hand side just as you walked through the double doors? He has a rather attractive collection of Japanese pens (Sailors, Pilots, and quite a few short pens....And he educated me about the `cult` pen which has the body and the nib as one piece of metal). I enjoyed speaking to him but forgot to take his card. If anyone knows which dealer I am talking about could you let me know his/company's name please?

Thanks

 

If you're talking about in the main room, that will be Sarj Minhas.

 

[milkb0at]

I have a quick question.

After the looooong corridor, going to the hall through the right set of double doors. What is the name of the dealer of the right hand side just as you walked through the double doors? He has a rather attractive collection of Japanese pens (Sailors, Pilots, and quite a few short pens....And he educated me about the `cult` pen which has the body and the nib as one piece of metal). I enjoyed speaking to him but forgot to take his card. If anyone knows which dealer I am talking about could you let me know his/company's name please?

Thanks

That was Francis Katz of www.inkwell-pens.com. I bought my Platinum pocket pen (one of the short pens) from him, and you're probably talking about the Pilot M90 / MYU / Murex pens.

[lionsze]

If you're talking about in the main room, that will be Sarj Minhas.

 

Thanks for your reply.but this was not the person I was looking for.

In the main room, far far right in the corner.

 

At the end of the long corridor is Write Here (Shropshire pen shop). Then on my left are one set of doors; walk in and on my immediate right hand side by the door.

[lionsze]

That was Francis Katz of www.inkwell-pens.com. I bought my Platinum pocket pen (one of the short pens) from him, and you're probably talking about the Pilot M90 / MYU / Murex pens.

Oh yes! That`s him! Thanks!

And yes! The pens too!

[sandy101]

Why? What, exactly, was so wrong with their sales and marketing?

 

Considering the people who went to the fair can't remember who was selling stuff at the fair, it would suggest there's a lot wrong.

 

I had the same problem last year. I bough t a nice pen, but I couldn't say which shop I bought it from - or who to return to if I wanted to buy another one.

[TheBigGuy]

Why? What, exactly, was so wrong with their sales and marketing?

 

Seriously?

 

* Very few people doing any kind of pre-show marketing

* Very few show-specials being advertised (that I could see)

* Very unclear as to who most people even were! (ie no names on the stalls, no name badges)

* Everyone seemingly doing the same as everyone else

* Hardly anyone doing anything eye-catching to bring people to their stall

* No real sense of event or occasion (notable exception is Pure Pens with their ink testing station)

* No attempt to make the pens look special, or even to identify what they are (not everyone at the show is an expert)

* Hardly anyone attempting to capture email addresses for follow-up marketing

* The people who I actually did give my email address to haven't even followed up yet! (That should all have been written and ready to go before the show even started)

 

 

And that's just off the top of my head. Trade-show marketing is a specialist discipline. There are dedicated books on it. I doubt many of these people have read them.

 

Trade show marketing should be in three categories: pre-show, at the show, after the show. Most of these guys flunked on all three.

 

The final test is this: I walked into that show with £1,000 in cash in my pocket, ready to spend. I walked out with £1,000 still in my pocket.

 

Shameful.

[TheRealMikeDr]

A pen show (and this seems to be shifting from what I've read) has it's roots in true collectors - not retailers. And while they have retailers there most of the people (at least here in the US) are not pen retailers - they're collectors. Sure it's a place where you and I can go to to purchase a pen - but it's not a true trade show - they're more of a place where people of like mind can come to buy and sell things they collect. As such you don't see tiresome marketing ploys (Have you signed up for our rewards card?) or hard sales tactics ("I've had ten people look at this pen so you better buy it now because it won't last long!!") etc etc.

 

And no offense - but if you went to the show with a bundle of cash and left without buying anything I don't know that you can blame the show. I've only been to a couple shows but finding pens to spend my money on has been incredibly easy to do and my problem has been the opposite!

 

I invite you to come across the pond to the Ohio Show coming up in a few weeks - you'll find plenty to spend your money on I promise!!

Edited October 4, 2017 by TheRealMikeDr

[Beechwood]

Well RMdr, thats a very accurate and pertinent response.

 

 

Lets get some perspective here, a great many of the vendors were private individuals for whom pen shows are an enjoyable means of passing on their collection to others, this is not a business for them - its a hobby, and thank goodness they are there.

 

To get a flavour of the show there is a youtube vid of the event,

 

 

For the small number of people who want it to be more of a business marketing event there are many more who say keep it low key, they dont want to be sold to, or be on a marketing list.

 

I dont understand some of the criticisms that have been made such as no name cards, every stall that I went to had business cards or displays showing their name, and remember that these are often private individuals who simply want to reduce their collection.

 

Nor do I undertsand the criticisms about the stands not being special, there were some wonderful displays from the likes of Jack Row, Worcester Pen Company, Henry Simpole - put on a superb display and still took the time in a busy day to talk to and engage with people, and many many more. You could spend an hour looking at the Sarj pens alone, as he says - a one man pen show!.

 

I hope that we can all thank the organisers, they do a great job and without them putting on this event then this hobby of ours would be much the poorer. We should also thank the vendors, they do all they can to make the show a success.

 

Have a look at the Youtube vid and see if the criticisms can be justified.

[eachan]

Thanks for answering, TheBigGuy. I really did want to know. Unfortunately, I wasn't in a position to attend the show but I think there were other things that would have interested and apealled to me.

[milkb0at]

I'm listening to this week's Pen Addict podcast and it was fun to listen to Myke's thoughts on the show which were along the lines of:

 

- too many vintage pens

- too many repeated pens - everyone had P51s, Vacuumatics etc

- not enough modern/new pens

- not enough British makers

- not enough proper shops (no Cult Pens, no Writing Desk this year)

- not enough paper, ink or other accessories (Tas mentioned the ink issue already)

- but he accepts that the background of the show is in collectors getting together to move their pens along and vendors seemed to be doing decent business, so it might just be the show isn't for some people.

 

I mostly agree. I'm well out of my comfort zone with most vintage pens, which was 95% of the show, and I thought I'd be able to try some modern standard pens like the Platinum 3776 or Sailor Pro Gear - nope. I was low on my Rhodia Dot Pad but assumed I could pick up a fresh one there - nope. I thought I could pick up some standard inks (Waterman, Skrip) - nope. Perhaps some of those were there, but then that falls into the marketing people are talking about above.

 

As I said in a previous post I had a great time and would love to go again, especially as I'm now armed with more knowledge. Perhaps it's just a case of expectations, perhaps it means there needs to be a different London show catering to a different crowd, or perhaps the show should be bigger to give space to Cult Pens et al.

 

Basically, I loved it (I spent 5 hours there, taking it all in and trying to learn as much as I could), but would be even happier if there was a more even mix of vintage / modern / accessories.

[ianpw]

I didn't enjoy the London show this year as much as last year.

 

It was absolutely packed with people bumping into me the whole time, and the place was boiling hot.

 

I think we need a better venue next year. Bigger, more spread out.

 

It was disappointing that there weren't more items of stationery.

 

Also, almost all the stallholders there need a damn good lesson in decent sales and marketing! Shocking!

 

Big kudos to Pure Pens and Diamine for the free ink bottle. I've bought from Pure Pens in the past, and I'm very happy with the service I got from them, so please support them.

 

I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy the show this year, happily you are a very small minority (but certainly the most vocal). However I do take on board some of your comments:

I agree It was packed this year up by 61% on last year (possibly something to do with the pre-show marketing by us (UK Pen Shows) and some of the exhibitors that you have rubbished in your recent posts. The volume of visitors meant that the aircon was struggling to cope with initially.

With regard to a larger venue, this will be difficult to achieve. Any show that we arrange has to be financially viable within three years, it also has to be fairly central and easy to reach by car and public transport. UK Pen Shows have been running there pen show programme for almost ten years and during that time our visitor entry price has remained the same as has the cost of the dealer tables any change in the fine balance of venue cost/size could adversely effect those costs to dealers and visitors. There are other factors that come into play when selecting a show venue but I won't bore you with those now.

I agree with you regarding more stationary but you have to remember that the shows are rooted in the collector's market hence the high proportion of vintage pen tables. This is changing slowly and I would certainly welcome notebook suppliers and this is being actively chased.

I also agree that kudos is due to Pure Pens, I approached Ross with the idea of setting up an ink testing station if we provided a table free of charge for it - the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Ian

Partner UK Pen Shows

Chairman - Writing Equipment Society

[ianpw]

 

Seriously?

 

* Very few people doing any kind of pre-show marketing

* Very few show-specials being advertised (that I could see)

* Very unclear as to who most people even were! (ie no names on the stalls, no name badges)

* Everyone seemingly doing the same as everyone else

* Hardly anyone doing anything eye-catching to bring people to their stall

* No real sense of event or occasion (notable exception is Pure Pens with their ink testing station)

* No attempt to make the pens look special, or even to identify what they are (not everyone at the show is an expert)

* Hardly anyone attempting to capture email addresses for follow-up marketing

* The people who I actually did give my email address to haven't even followed up yet! (That should all have been written and ready to go before the show even started)

 

 

And that's just off the top of my head. Trade-show marketing is a specialist discipline. There are dedicated books on it. I doubt many of these people have read them.

 

Trade show marketing should be in three categories: pre-show, at the show, after the show. Most of these guys flunked on all three.

 

The final test is this: I walked into that show with £1,000 in cash in my pocket, ready to spend. I walked out with £1,000 still in my pocket.

 

Shameful.

 

Your comments have been remarked upon by myself and some others.

I would add the following:

1. Our shows are NOT TRADE SHOWS!!! they are collector/user shows.

2. Don't come next year try Paperworld in Germany (Frankfurt I believe) or the Stationery Show in London or Manchester'

these are TRADE SHOWS.

 

Ian

UK Pen Shows

[Tas]

 

Your comments have been remarked upon by myself and some others.

I would add the following:

1. Our shows are NOT TRADE SHOWS!!! they are collector/user shows.

2. Don't come next year try Paperworld in Germany (Frankfurt I believe) or the Stationery Show in London or Manchester'

these are TRADE SHOWS.

 

Ian

UK Pen Shows

 

With respect, do come.

This time next year, you won't be the same person and the show won't be exactly the same.

 

Happiness,

 

 

[ianpw]

I'm listening to this week's Pen Addict podcast and it was fun to listen to Myke's thoughts on the show which were along the lines of:

 

- too many vintage pens

- too many repeated pens - everyone had P51s, Vacuumatics etc

- not enough modern/new pens

- not enough British makers

- not enough proper shops (no Cult Pens, no Writing Desk this year)

- not enough paper, ink or other accessories (Tas mentioned the ink issue already)

- but he accepts that the background of the show is in collectors getting together to move their pens along and vendors seemed to be doing decent business, so it might just be the show isn't for some people.

 

I mostly agree. I'm well out of my comfort zone with most vintage pens, which was 95% of the show, and I thought I'd be able to try some modern standard pens like the Platinum 3776 or Sailor Pro Gear - nope. I was low on my Rhodia Dot Pad but assumed I could pick up a fresh one there - nope. I thought I could pick up some standard inks (Waterman, Skrip) - nope. Perhaps some of those were there, but then that falls into the marketing people are talking about above.

 

As I said in a previous post I had a great time and would love to go again, especially as I'm now armed with more knowledge. Perhaps it's just a case of expectations, perhaps it means there needs to be a different London show catering to a different crowd, or perhaps the show should be bigger to give space to Cult Pens et al.

 

Basically, I loved it (I spent 5 hours there, taking it all in and trying to learn as much as I could), but would be even happier if there was a more even mix of vintage / modern / accessories.

 

Although our shows are rooted in the vintage collector hobby market we are changing our shows gradually , don't get me wrong we will always have an emphasis on vintage but this years show was 17% non vintage and our regional shows have around a 40/60% split in favour of vintage. This year we are missing The Writing Desk and Bureau Direct both of whom we hope will be with us in future years. We have approached Cult Pens on several occasions but have been told by them that they are an online store only! Our pen shows are slowly evolving and hopefully we will achieve something that everyone can relate to. BTW don't be put off by vintage pens the vintage nibs are generally better than the modern equivalents, come to one of our regional shows that are way less busy than London and sit down and chat to some of the vintage dealers they love their pens, have a chat with John Sorowka the nib guy and watch him work on a nib and make it write in a way that you wouldn't believe. For my own part I'm rooted in vintage (but then I am of a certain age!) however I have a rapidly growing collection of modern pens and always have a mix of modern and vintage inked up - try both you'll love it.

 

Ian

Partner - UK Pen Shows

Chairman - Writing Equipment Society

[milkb0at]

Thanks Ian, it's always good to get the background and details on such things. As I said, I had a great time. Perhaps I'll actually pay attention to the London stationery show to get my fix of non-fountain-pen stuff.

[Beechwood]

Perhaps I'll actually pay attention to the London stationery show to get my fix of non-fountain-pen stuff.

 

 

Been once and I couldnt recommend it unless you are in the trade, rather dull tbh.

 

Edited for no other reason than to show this lovely case full.

Edited October 5, 2017 by Beechwood