2018 Baltimore Pen Show?

[Tasmith]

Less than a week away! http://baltimorepenshow.com/

[inkstainedruth]

Less than a week away! http://baltimorepenshow.com/

 

Ack! It's already Saturday, isn't it? That means I have just *four* days before I get in my car (driving down on Thursday, and maybe hitting some antiques stores en route).

I'm soooo not ready. I have to figure out what pens I want to get repaired this show, what ones to bring to do color comparisons with, what ones to have inked up for stuff like signing credit card receipts, taking notes of who had what, and of course journaling (and maybe doing some writing/drawing and or research notes for a longterm project), and what ones to bring empty in order to play with inks I buy. Oh, and what ones to bring just to show off....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Tasmith]

Jotting down my wish list and what to bring list today. Thought it would be appropriate to write these in the small Fountain Pen Day notebook I got at the Baltimore Pen Show a few years ago from Cary Yeager.

[EricTheRed]

I am glad to see its back in downtown Baltimore. I look forward to a great show!

[CraigN]

Hi all,

 

My wife and I attended the past two shows that were located near the airport, and look forward to a show that is located downtown.

 

Can someone please recommend restaurants that are within walking distance of the Marriott? We will spend Friday and Saturday there and may go to the Inner Harbor on Friday for dinner at Phillip's and possibly a visit to the National Aquarium. That leaves one more night for dinner at another location.

 

Thank you in advance for your input.

 

Regards,

Craig

[SpecTP]

Walk eastward on Pratt towards the harbor and there will be a lot more dining options. Check out Miss Shirley's if you do. Faidley Seafood is 10min north for crab cakes. Wit and Wisdom in the Four Seasons towards the Harbor.

 

also don't forget Edgar Allen Poe's graveyard is 4 blocks NW of the hotel.

[CraigN]

SpecTP,

 

Thank you for the dining information. I will keep these in mind.

 

I don't know where you live in MD, but the wind is roaring in St. Mary's County compliments of the offshore storm. Steady winds in Leonardtown are in the 30-40 mph range and gusts above 60 at Pax River NAS. This combined with the loss of electricity (twice) at our house made it an easy decision to abort our plans for today. We will attend the show on Saturday and Sunday.

 

Looking forward to a good show. Thanks again for your response!

 

Craig

[SpecTP]

it was a very nice day at the pen show. OPM closed down the government due to the high winds and our offices were closed too.

 

I got to leisurely check out the vendors, got some ink, gear and got a few pens worked on by Indy-Pen-Dance and Richard Binder.

[inkstainedruth]

I'm back in my hotel room after today's festivities. Didn't get all the shopping done that I had planned on so I'm going back Saturday morning for at least a couple of hours.

A lot of tables were empty (presumably weather related issues) or the vendors got there really late. Or else were planning to to just do Saturday and Sunday. I don't know for sure because it's my first year attending this show.

Currently (about a quarter to 10 PM EST) watching The Weather Channel and there have been crawls across the screen saying that MD has declared a State of Emergency (which may make my trip home more, um, exciting than I'd care for... because I have to drive more or less right into it Saturday afternoon/evening, in a car that is both lightweight -- not so good in high winds -- and won't do well driving through flood zones....).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[CraigN]

Ruth,

 

Unfortunately it looks like you are heading into more wind and some snow already on the ground. I'm originally from western PA (Mercer County) and have previous experience driving the PA Turnpike in inclement Winter conditions. Enjoy the time spent at the show tomorrow and please drive safely.

 

Regards,

Craig.

[MightyEighth]

I had a fun time at the show today. I picked up my first Parker 51, an Aerometric from 51. As a bonus, I got to meet FPN celebrity Ruth this morning (hope you had a safe drive home).

 

Heading back early Sunday morning for Richard Binders nib smoothing workshop.

 

Marc

[inkstainedruth]

@ CraigN -- I actually had good weather the whole way home (although the first part of the trip was quite gusty at times, I had sunshine for most of it). I did notice a bit of snow on north-facing slopes after I got on the PA Turnpike (particularly the stretch between Bedford and the Allegheny Mountain tunnel, but didn't really see any when I stopped for dinner in Somerset or at the New Stanton rest area. Certainly nothing like the time a few winters ago when we had to drive up to Meadville in January and followed plows all the way up I-79.... Or the time when we were going to something in Erie and didn't see the last minute notice from the woman running the thing we were going to before we left the house ("Erie is under a snow emergency! What does that mean for the event? Nothing....!") Uh, gee, Tammy, thanks for the timely heads up.... Of course after driving through several inches of unplowed snow that night on little side roads with cars parked on either side... (and that was AFTER having nearly slid into the car in front of us getting out of the parking lot at the site) we said "Screw the after party -- we're just going HOME!" On I-90 even the truckers were taking it easy. But by the time we got to Grove City the roads were fine....

@ MightyEighth -- Good to meet you. I always like getting faces to go with the names. Congrats on the 51! What color and what nib? And I hope the class went well for you. I liked it when I took it at my first pen show -- although I wasn't totally awake at 8:30 AM... I understand why he schedules them that way -- so as to not take time away from customers wanting work done during regular show hours -- but still, it's awfully early (and while I'd gone to bed around 10:30 the night before, I'd basically driven to DC on zero sleep after flying back from the Pacific Northwest the day before that...).

I actually stopped at an antiques mall in Hagerstown on the way home (I'd been to the two next to it on the trip down to Baltimore but didn't have time to hit that one as well). A few pens, including a Snorkel and a couple of 51s. No, I didn't buy any of them. Feeling a bit poor after B/W -- especially when I got charged $31 US in a parking garage a couple of blocks away from the show site. For approximately 4 hours.... That hadn't factored into my budget at all (especially after I had looked at the place's website and it sounded as if it would have been more like six or eight bucks for that amount of time... ). I had thought the "valet parking" for the hotel I had gone to seemed to be an exorbitant amount....

Still, I got home with a bunch of ink, a few needed converters, and a cute little older model Pelikan Pelikano. For five bucks plus the cost of a converter, I couldn't resist.... And decided that I really DID need a nice looking 12 pen zipper case. Got to meet some folks, got to say hi to some others, and got to eat a crab cake sandwich Friday night..... AND, on the way down, I got to pick up a brown-glazed Wade Whimsies pelican miniature figurine, to go with the white one I found last fall in the antiques mall in Salamanca, NY.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Toll]

I spent about two hours at the Pen Show yesterday and I had a great time. I would like to have stayed longer but we were without power in our DC-area home and we wanted to get back and check on things. Anyway great energy and attendance new vendors, including Dromgooles (very nice people) and plenty of space to move around. The best Baltimore Show to date. I parked up the street, a five minute walk, 14 dollars for three hours. I bought two pens a Montblanc Alexander the Great (stunning) and a Montblanc 342-G with an oblique nib. What a contrast between the two! Lots of other tempting pens for sure. Congratulations to Bert Oser for a very nice show.

[cjr]

The Baltimore Pen Show is becoming my preferred show over the DC SuperShow, despite the fact I live within an hour of the DC show! I was worried that the Baltimore show moved back downtown this year because I know parking is a pain. However, I found a parking spot on-line (first time I ever tried that) and was able to park from 0930 to 1730 for just $15 dollar. The best part was that the spot was just one block over from the hotel!

 

As for the show itself, it is much more approachable than the DC show. Less crowded and more room to maneuver around and talk to the vendors. Sure, there are fewer vendors, but when I’m at the DC show, I never have time to visit them all anyway! I managed to get a beautiful Franklin Christoph Model 02 Limited Edition with a Masuyama fine cursive italic nib to add to my collection of FC pens. My wife found a nice Sailor Pro Gear Slim with a music nib. We visited the ink testing station that Van Ness set up in the hallway (thanks Van Ness!) and found our first Robert Oster ink (Blue Water Ice) which we then bought at the show. Dropped off a Sheaffer PFM snorkel with Martin’s Pens for restoration, and pick up a bottle of Noodler’s “Luck of the Draw” show ink.

 

Didn’t know Noodler’s was doing a Baltimore show ink, but we saw it at the Luxury Brands table and, of course, I had to have a bottle. I’ll post a review under Ink Reviews later.

 

All in all, the Baltimore show is my favorite, and I will continue to visit each year — even though it moved downtown!

[Tasmith]

Had a great time at the show today. Didn't buy too much, a bottle of R&K Salix and two Pilot Con 40s from Anderson Pens plus a Susan Wirth memorial Black Pen Society pin (the design is wonderful).

 

My wife went with me for something to do and ended up buying a Retro 51 "Betsy" pen from Andersons. I think she has a Retro 51 themed pen for pretty much every season and major holiday now, with couple extra just to be sure!

 

Talked with Hugh and Karol from the Kanilae Pen Company. You really have to see their pens in person to appreciate how beautiful they really are.

 

On Friday I put a link to the show on my LinkedIn feed and it got over 40 views. Hopefully that helped add a few more pen enthusiasts to the show.

 

For being in downtown Baltimore, the location was very easy to get to and from the major highways. Parked in the Marriott garage for its convenience and paid $14 for three hours. Not bad.

 

Thank you Bert for great pen show!

Edited March 4, 2018 by Tasmith

[MightyEighth]

 

@ MightyEighth -- Good to meet you. I always like getting faces to go with the names. Congrats on the 51! What color and what nib? And I hope the class went well for you.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

Thanks, Ruth. I don't have pictures yet, but it's a teal Lustraloy just like the one in this photo. Date code is third quarter '51. http://www.hepworthdixon.com/shopimages/products/extras/PAR.51_7996.jpg

 

I really enjoyed the Binder workshop and I do feel I got a lot out of it. I'm going to restrain myself from immediately going after my current set of pens to work on, though, instead opting to get a few *very* cheap pens for practice first.

 

- Marc

[inkstainedruth]

I spent about two hours at the Pen Show yesterday and I had a great time. I would like to have stayed longer but we were without power in our DC-area home and we wanted to get back and check on things. Anyway great energy and attendance new vendors, including Dromgooles (very nice people) and plenty of space to move around. The best Baltimore Show to date. I parked up the street, a five minute walk, 14 dollars for three hours. I bought two pens a Montblanc Alexander the Great (stunning) and a Montblanc 342-G with an oblique nib. What a contrast between the two! Lots of other tempting pens for sure. Congratulations to Bert Oser for a very nice show.

 

Wow. On Saturday I went back for a few hours after checking out of my hotel, and the garage on W Lombard (a couple of blocks from the site) stiffed me to the tune of $31 US for about 4 hours....

If I go to the show next year I may be hitting you up for info on where you parked....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

I really enjoyed the Binder workshop and I do feel I got a lot out of it. I'm going to restrain myself from immediately going after my current set of pens to work on, though, instead opting to get a few *very* cheap pens for practice first.

 

- Marc

 

Good idea. When I took the class the fee included a couple of real cheapies (I think they might have been Reforms, because that's what he had listed on his website when I looked later on).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[MightyEighth]

 

Good idea. When I took the class the fee included a couple of real cheapies (I think they might have been Reforms, because that's what he had listed on his website when I looked later on).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

There were two Jinhao pens in the kit (Lamy Safari copies) that were setup to require work, but I fixed them so I need more :-)

[CraigN]

Hi All,

 

We just returned from Baltimore and enjoyed our visit to the show.

 

This was our third trip to this particular show and it has improved and grown each year. High winds on Friday kept us at home while we watched trees swaying outside and we lost electricity twice. We drove to the show Saturday morning. I’m not a fan of driving in any downtown but the Marriott was easy to find. It improved my confidence that Marilyn used to travel to Baltimore when she worked at Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE). We took a trip around the block until we found the parking lot entrance. Hotel check-in was easy and early, then on to the show.

 

The show was located just off the Marriott lobby and was easy to enter. There were two conference/ballrooms full of tables, with more people set up in between. Our first stop was to Mike and Linda Kennedy for a nib adjustment of Marilyn’s Montegrappa Symphony and to leave two pens for repairs. They were busy with all sorts of pen needs including walk-ins from pen dealers. We enjoyed our time with them but moved on once our repair work was in their capable hands.

 

Bert Oser deserves a lot of credit for organizing an excellent show, and the show web page was very informative. It allowed me, through the provided links to exhibitors, to discover the Carolina Pen Company. My next stop coincidentally was to Jonathon Brooks’ table. The material used in his pens was very attractive and I left in possession of a lovely blue/gold swirl “Aiken” model. He installed a nib and inked it so I could test it. I have lots of pens but this is my first that didn’t come from a pen factory of some sort (think Sheaffer/Pelikan/Visconti/etc.). The pen is beautiful, comfortable, and provides a good writing experience. The other pen purchase of the day was a brown striated Sheaffer vac-fil (smaller than a Valiant) from Gerry Berg. His Sheaffer pens are very nice and he does excellent rebuilds of vac-fil filling systems. We also visited Hillary of Point of Distinction to pick up a Diplomat Aero pen that had returned from Germany with a cap replacement.

 

We made rounds of the ballrooms but ended our pen shopping for the day. There were lots of pen to see and touch, and we made mental notes of pens to seek on Sunday.

 

Dinner was at The Yard restaurant, also located just off the lobby. Crab cake sandwiches were very good. Other menu items looked good as well, but hey, we’re in Baltimore, hon.

 

Our visit to the show on Sunday was to pursue pens that we saw & touched the previous day. Marilyn bought a white Pelikan 600 (so lovely) and a Bexley Promethius prototype from Howard Levy. I bought a Sheaffer Roseglow (a vac-fill) from Terry Brack to complete my collection of Sheaffer striated colors.

To sum it up, Marilyn & I really like this show. It reminds me of why I like sharing a hobby with my wife and best friend. We also attend the DC Supershow, but this one (for now) isn’t overcrowded in a crazy way. Vendors I spoke with seemed to have enjoyed that show as well and reported good business.

Outside the show, the Marriott staff was always very friendly and helpful. Our room was nice and very clean. Parking in downtown Baltimore is not cheap and our $30 parking at the hotel was good for exactly 24 hours after we checked in. Reception staff informed me that street parking in downtown was free on Sundays so we left the parking lot at the ~23 hour mark and found a spot on the street a block away.

 

MightyEighth, I recognized you by your leather jacket, but don’t always do well with self-introductions. I will try to do better next show.

 

If you are in the area during this show, or need an excuse to visit Baltimore, please stop by.

 

Regards,

Craig