Pelikan Hubs are back for 2022!

[Parker51]

On 11/18/2022 at 2:14 AM, Christopher Godfrey said:

<If they are going to be effectively making money on these events>

 

I cannot see how Pelikan make any money on these events: rather, it must <cost> them, since they give away promotional materials, paper and ink (although not the latter this year apparently, but certainly they have done so in the past)

 

I have sent you a PM, Intensity, and would guess that you will be very welcome.  I am emailing the Boston Hubmaster to relay that I am unable to come.  Go and enjoy meeting other Pelikan afficionados (although you will find that the majority are attached to contemporary FPs, in my experience -- my own interest is vintage)

No, Pelikan has not directly made any money from any event they have facilitated. They were clear in their correspondence to me that they do not Sponsor the Pelikan Hubs. What they received was the good will of their customers and exposure to potential customers. It was and is a form of advertising.

 

Corporations routinely spend money on advertising to promote their brand. They sponsor sporting events, sports venues, cultural events, even educational events. Sometimes they provide and give away merchandise and sometimes they provide cash.

 

I have attended many pen shows and it is a routine part of the promotion of the businesses that participate in the shows for them to provide prizes to be given out at the shows, to underwrite the cost of the show and pay for certain extras at the shows such as coffee service and some food such as Pizza and dessert. 

 

While the Pelikan Hubs are unique, promotional activities are not. The decision to neither provide Ink or an alternative changed the equation as far as people spending their time on a promotional activity for Pelikan and so a significant number of people did not attend this year. 
 

Here and I suspect in many parts of the world peoples time is very valuable and so taking the time to attend a hub and in return receiving little simply does not make sense. I for one do not work for free for Corporations. My voluntary activities are focused on my family, friends, neighbors and community and I am quite busy. And thinking of a Pelikan Hub as an opportunity for recreation, well, perhaps a little, yes, but only a little. If it was scheduled earlier in the week it would have been better. Put bluntly, there were many other activities that I could have participated in that occurred yesterday evening, so there was an opportunity cost associated with attending the Pelikan Hub. 
 

We talked, and while they will not be called hubs, it is our intention to contact a variety of other manufacturers and see if they would like to Sponsor some special events in our community promoting their products In cooperation with our local pen club. We will even promote it and publicize it, document said event and report it to the appropriate pen related publications. 

[jchch1950]

Talking and meeting pen lovers is a way to learn more about fountain pens.I didn't feel that I was working free for a corporation. I was able to know more people that have the same hobby, had the opportunity to see pens that are 50 or more years old and some of the latest models.

[inkstainedruth]

I was sort of amused that at the Pittsburgh Hub, there were a number of people geeking about various Sailor pens people had brought, and later in the evening there was a group of people geeking about various brands and styles of notebooks and planners.
Our hub ended up being in a classroom in one of the buildings on the University of Pittsburgh campus, and was a potluck (we weren't allowed to eat in the classroom itself, but the next room over was a lounge and we ate in there.  Sadly, the guy who arranged for the room showed up just long enough to collect the freebies from Pelikan, but then had to leave -- he was worried that he had gotten COVID....  That will be the third person I know in under a week who's gotten it.  My brother may have gotten it from his housemate, and told me about it in our weekly phone call; and a friend of ours in Ohio got it at something she was at recently, because people out there are NOT being as good about masking up at things (as opposed to our region for the organization we belong to (aka, the "other" hobby) where the regional  president enlisted the aid of an ER doctor to be her "COVID deputy".  Apparently they're now looking into lifting restrictions for indoor events somewhat if they can figure out a way to build temporary air filtration systems (she's now enlisted a second deputy -- a friend of ours who has a PhD in Physics -- to figure out how many a certain size space will need for indoor events; at the November meeting, which was in a 2 story building in one of the county parks last weekend, we had to eat outside -- not pleasant since we had a cold snap, but still warmer around here than THIS weekend is).  But apparently the filtration systems can be cobbled together by taping some sort of furnace filters (I think) to floor fans.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Parker51]

Our local Pelikan Hub was significantly under attended, with fewer signing up for it, some cancellations and some no shows. Given Pelikan provided neither Ink for Participants to take home or Ink to try out there, the result was not so much a Pelikan Hub, but more like a poorly attended Pen Club meeting with some newbies. I felt bad for our organizer who likely will not do it next year. The former one likely won’t either and I won’t. We talked however of contacting other manufacturers about their Sponsoring of a Pen Club special event to focus on their brand. We visited Edison in the past on a field trip and likely will again. I was very impressed by how Pilot representatives interacted with people at each pen show I attended this year and how generous they were and likely will start off by contacting them. Given the ability to interact electronically we might be able to have one of their representatives make a presentation at one of our club meetings, maybe we could even live stream it. 
 

In any case what Pelikan sent was very underwhelming including the “appreciation gift to the hub masters”, so given the inconvenient time, day of the week and location preferences of Pelikan I believe it will be skipped. Plus, the time and day of the week conflicts with the (we can’t talk about here) practices of some of our local pen club members. 

[Mulrich]

I was really looking forward to attending but had a last minute work thing and the drive was too far. Looking forward to next year though. 

[JulieParadise]

4 hours ago, Parker51 said:

Our local Pelikan Hub was significantly under attended, with fewer signing up for it, some cancellations and some no shows. Given Pelikan provided neither Ink for Participants to take home or Ink to try out there, the result was not so much a Pelikan Hub, but more like a poorly attended Pen Club meeting with some newbies. I felt bad for our organizer who likely will not do it next year. The former one likely won’t either and I won’t. [...]

 

In any case what Pelikan sent was very underwhelming including the “appreciation gift to the hub masters”, so given the inconvenient time, day of the week and location preferences of Pelikan I believe it will be skipped. [...]

 

Same in Berlin. We had 52 people sign up, about a dozen cancelled (some probably for the good reason of "I fell ill, spreading this would be a bad idea"), another dozen did not show up without notice, some people asked to attend on a shorter notice, some showed up totally unexpected, so in the end we were 37 people. Events are really hard to plan if you never know who and how many people will show up in the end, so I am a tad bit sour about that.

 

Not many were interested in the Passion magazine and the paper pads did not spark much interest either but were a nice thing to try out the pens we had brought.

 

Was it worth the hassle? -- Well, I'd still volunteer to organize such meet-ups in the future, but I prefer the normal meet-ups with a smaller crowd, although the Pelikan Hub always draws in new people. The next time I'd also be smarter and not just call up our usual space but try to secure a location with something written down. It is always sad if you have to act all business-y on occasions that you'd think work with just trusting each other and have someone's word, but okay, I am able to learn ... 

 

As for the people who were there and the meeting itself it is of course more than worth it! We have such a nice crowd in Berlin with many pen friends who became just that over time: Friends. (Thank you all!)

[TSherbs]

"Passion" magazine?? What kind of naughty gathering was going on in Berlin? 😆

[Parker51]

18 hours ago, JulieParadise said:

 

Same in Berlin. We had 52 people sign up, about a dozen cancelled (some probably for the good reason of "I fell ill, spreading this would be a bad idea"), another dozen did not show up without notice, some people asked to attend on a shorter notice, some showed up totally unexpected, so in the end we were 37 people. Events are really hard to plan if you never know who and how many people will show up in the end, so I am a tad bit sour about that.

 

Not many were interested in the Passion magazine and the paper pads did not spark much interest either but were a nice thing to try out the pens we had brought.

 

Was it worth the hassle? -- Well, I'd still volunteer to organize such meet-ups in the future, but I prefer the normal meet-ups with a smaller crowd, although the Pelikan Hub always draws in new people. The next time I'd also be smarter and not just call up our usual space but try to secure a location with something written down. It is always sad if you have to act all business-y on occasions that you'd think work with just trusting each other and have someone's word, but okay, I am able to learn ... 

 

As for the people who were there and the meeting itself it is of course more than worth it! We have such a nice crowd in Berlin with many pen friends who became just that over time: Friends. (Thank you all!)

Do you have a formal association (club). We formally organized in order to address banking needs. Here there are application forms and reporting requirements which take up much time and effort, but we have been assured that once everything is approved and in place the paperwork will lessen. 
 

One of the things I have observed regarding immigrants to the US from many countries is how surprised they are at the level of professionalism and oversight by different governmental levels with a corresponding lack of informal and personal relationship based decision making and influence. They seem to not really believe that there is a system and process in place to address most eventualities and begging, cajoling and other methods of persuasion simply don’t work, rather following the rules, completing the forms and waiting is required.

[A Smug Dill]

On 11/22/2022 at 3:17 PM, Parker51 said:

Given Pelikan provided neither Ink for Participants to take home or Ink to try out there, the result was not so much a Pelikan Hub, but more like a poorly attended Pen Club meeting with some newbies.

 

It certainly didn't feel like a Pelikan-themed event here in Sydney, which is fair enough if Pelikan is adamant that it is not sponsoring the Pelikan Hubs, but only ‘lending’ the events its recognisable brand name for, um, the ability to draw otherwise lukewarm interest? This is the first Pelikan Hub I attended, so there is no baseline against which to compare previous turnout or mood of the gatherings; and, after nearly three years of the pandemic (which does not ‘finish’, especially now with the next wave of cases on the horizon, as advised officially by the government), one could argue that the world is a significantly different place now, so what happened in 2018 and 2019 are no longer valid or reasonable yardsticks anyway.

 

I knew about the previous giveaways of full retail bottles of ink, but then I was also forewarned that it is not a feature of the Hubs this year, so its absence (or even comparative austerity) had no bearing on my motivation one way or the other.

 

The venue itself, with all due respect and appreciation to the (Co-)Hub Master who was pulled in late to stand in as the primary and make the Hub actually happen, did not make it easy for the forty or so(?) attendees to broadly mingle, or gather around in more than small groups of four or sometimes six. My impression was that many of the attendees came in twos (not at all implying that they were couples), so in a sense the socialising was mainly in small clusters of two to three attending ‘units’. Both myself (and my wife), and the few folks we had exchanges with, seemed to have brought along a couple of token Pelikan pens each in their on-hand collections of ten or so pens; and the inks in the pens, as well as the inks that were brought along in bottles, and of which (in some cases) generously made available for others to take samples in empty vials the owners also brought along, were predominantly not Pelikan.

 

The Pelikan presentation, both in view of the awkwardness of the venue and the absence of proper AV equipment, was more of a distraction that attendees obligatorily sat through, without really getting any useful or meaningful information from it. The Pelikan M205 Apatite was not actually in stock at the bookstore-slash-stationery-seller on whose premises the Sydney Hub event was held, notwithstanding the presentation stating that it was available from 10th November. The “personal message” was hardly personal; and the giveaway notepads, some of which were immediately put to use at the event, could have been any other brand of (or, otherwise, a generic) throwaway-grade notepad without commanding any recognition. Who brought and/or was using which paper — and Rhodia, not surprisingly, featured strongly — probably grabbed more of each other's attention.

 

One thing that stood out to me was, how shall I put it… the number, and thereby proportion, of (I think, judging by my perhaps questionable ability to distinguish between the major East Asian races visually) Chinese women in their early to mid-twenties among the attendees. Just to be clear, their racial origin is not really of any importance; but it speaks strongly to the demographic they represent. Not the sort of fountain pen user who is likely to turn up, as singles or in twos or threes, to a local meet not organised by someone of their own demographic, except for events organised (in name) by the bearer of an internationally recognisable brand such as Pelikan. Judging by what they brought with them, they're unlikely to consider it a disincentive that attendees weren't given a $30 bottle of ink by the event sponsor; but the lack of effort by Pelikan to showcase what it has to offer while they were there, and attract their (not tightly constrained) discretionary spending, would have been more disappointing. Obviously, if Pelikan is not actually of a mind to sponsor the event, then that is not going to happen; the enthusiasts, even the ones who count themselves aficionados of the brand — and my wife and I like Pelikan well enough, and have a dozen of so its piston-fillers — aren't going to do Pelikan the favour of bringing predominantly Pelikan pens and/or pens filled with Pelikan inks to show and/or impress upon that subset of Hub attendees what Pelikan offers (if they don't already know either broadly or in-depth enough).

 

So, I agree, by not providing a set of Edelstein inks for Hub attendees to try out, even if “supply chain issues” prevented Pelikan from giving away 6,000 bottles of IOTY 2022 to registered guests (and I do mean framing them as guests of the company), the company has to be making a conscious decision not to leverage the Hubs more strongly as a marketing exercise. The A5 notepads are a waste of time and resources; I think it'd be better off giving away prominently branded, thinner, better-made, stitch-bound A6 pocket notebooks that someone may actually carry with them for this or that for a week or a month after the Hubs are over. A bound or loose insert in such notebooks exhibiting the available Edelstein ink colours would probably be a good idea, too.

 

On the other hand, I think holding the event after work hours on a Friday evening isn't actually such an inconvenience or deterrent to attendees. People are equally free to organise mid-week dinner and drinks with friends or family, in their own homes or at commercial hospitality venues, if clashing with other casual social activities is a concern. Obviously, different people have different habits; but precisely because large-scale and/or more formal events organised by third parties are more likely to happen on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night, my wife and I are far more likely (or, you could say, habitually) to catch up with friends over dinner either earlier in the week, and see family on Saturdays and Sundays during the day. Friday and Saturday night get-togethers do happen, when a large enough group (even if just seven or eight people in the family across three households) needs to lock in a time when everybody is free for dinner; but the an event like a Pelikan Hub needs to cater to far larger and more disparate groups, so it makes far more sense for Pelikan to want them held on Friday after work.

 

[JulieParadise]

3 hours ago, Parker51 said:

Do you have a formal association (club). We formally organized in order to address banking needs. Here there are application forms and reporting requirements which take up much time and effort, but we have been assured that once everything is approved and in place the paperwork will lessen. 
 

One of the things I have observed regarding immigrants to the US from many countries is how surprised they are at the level of professionalism and oversight by different governmental levels with a corresponding lack of informal and personal relationship based decision making and influence. They seem to not really believe that there is a system and process in place to address most eventualities and begging, cajoling and other methods of persuasion simply don’t work, rather following the rules, completing the forms and waiting is required.

 

Sorry, but I do not seem to understand what you are referring to with your comment and what you are trying to say.

 

12 hours ago, TSherbs said:

"Passion" magazine?? What kind of naughty gathering was going on in Berlin? 😆

 

This one: www.pelikan-passion.com/int/experiencing-the-brand/customer-magazine (several editions available; attendees at the Hub got a printed version). 

 

@A Smug Dill Regarding the timing I agree that a Friday evening is just one possible day. Many people would find it convenient to meet after work on another weekday ("I'm in town anyway") while others just want to go home after work. Then there are people who think that a Friday night is a nice closure of their week before heading into the weekend and stay within their closer family, so Friday is perfect for them, while others would prefer a date on the weekend as this is the only time when they are free. There'll never be a date that suits everyone.

[Penguincollector]

The Hub in Portland, Oregon was well attended, although there were a bunch of no shows. Our Hubmaster is an amazing person who loves ink and is very generous with her stash. (She gave me a bottle of Sheaffer’s King’s Gold🥰) It’s held in an event space in a brewery, so we get to eat and drink (mostly in the main taproom) while we get to sample 3 long banquet tables of inks. There were Edelsteins of years past, rare inks, ink mixes that were similar to rare colors, and a little Xmas tree with tiny Diamine samples! We got to examine other member’s collections of rare pens, some folks were selling pens- there were soo many beauties! One man had so many Sheaffer PFMs- I had a severe case of pen envy!  There was a raffle held to cover costs that most attendees donated items for and I won a gorgeous 2 slot handmade leather pen case. There was a woman who generously let people try and gave away samples of Birmingham inks. We all were given gift bags with the notebook, Apatite samples, and  Robert Oster blotter paper. 2 tables of assorted paper samples from vintage Crane to Muji and Tomoe River were set out. There was a jar of ink samples to pick from, and a “ no kill ink shelter”  where you could pick up inks others dropped off. The Pelikan Passion magazine was also available. I had a really good time and as a very socially awkward person with hella anxiety, that’s high praise.  I am so appreciative of the care and planning that went into the event. 

[Intensity]

What I'm getting out of these posts is that the hub experience is strongly a function of the local organizing conditions and attendance variables.  For some it was a large and lively event, with food options, activities, raffles, gifts.  For others it was a small event with perhaps awkward clusters of people and not much to see or do, certainly not much focus on Pelikan.  I think at my first hub only a handful of people brought any pens to show (and only 1-2 people had Pelikan pens with them at all).  I would have liked to see more people sharing their pens, art/writing/etc., but we really had very little of that aside from a small handful of people. 

 

I didn't really care about the freebie bottle of Apatite, personally--that's not what would have enhanced my experience or opinion of the event.  I don't know really if people truly just came for a free bottle of ink--personally I went to see the community and other people's collections and hobby preferences.  But I do think limiting venue options with funding rules definitely has an effect on how these meetings go.  I would have preferred a classroom or a conference room of some sort, with better table arrangement and maybe some more input from Pelikan on the programme.  But every hub organizer must take on the very difficult task of finding available spaces, and I'm only beginning to understand the restrictions and difficulties they must face.

[fireant]

19 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

The Pelikan presentation, both in view of the awkwardness of the venue and the absence of proper AV equipment, was more of a distraction that attendees obligatorily sat through, without really getting any useful or meaningful information from it. 

 

I didn't want to pay the charge for the AV equipment so I uploaded it to my google drive and emailed the link to all the participants in the reminder email. 

 

I think the free ink is a big draw in normal years. But we'd have a few attendees back then, grab their ink and go.  I've hosted the hub in my town since 2015. We normally get about 70-75 sign ups and about 50 attendees with about 50% of the people repeat attendees or they were in the pen club. This year was odd, we had 75 sign ups but only 25 were either previous attendees or were in the pen club. So we had about 40ish show of the registered but we had a lot more bring guest or who were in the pen club but didn't register. Since my space holds up to 150 it wasn't a big deal. 

 

The one odd thing this year-not sure if it was because of all the new people. Towards the end of the evening (right before we packed up, someone made off with a lot of the paper: an almost a full tray of crown cotton mill, about 2"s worth of tomoe river paper, all the vintage papers, and not sure what other paper they took. The paper is quite a loss because I have I reuse it year after year. But I can always track down more.

In addition, not sure if it was the same person or someone else, but someone pocketed several demonstrator pens pretty brazenly in front of other guests. I had other attendees email me about seeing them taken. I felt pretty sad about that when I saw the email, but I figured if someone really wanted the inks/pens that bad, so be it-they took the pen with Sailor Kingdom Note Dorcus Hopei Binodulosus-so they have excellent taste.

 

6 hours ago, Intensity said:

What I'm getting out of these posts is that the hub experience is strongly a function of the local organizing conditions and attendance variables.  For some it was a large and lively event, with food options, activities, raffles, gifts.  For others it was a small event with perhaps awkward clusters of people and not much to see or do, certainly not much focus on Pelikan.  

 

The first three hubs we'd get people who were (like me) very socially awkward, so I tried my best to introduce them to people I knew were warm and welcoming and they would sit and join them. When they tell me they are socially awkward I tell them it's perfect since no one will be looking at them, we're all looking at pens, inks and I mean come on, we're usually looking at ink dry on paper.  This year we also made buttons that had a nib on them. I gave them out to people who'd been to hubs before or who were in our pen club and were very friendly. Then I told new peeps to ask me questions or if they didn't see me, to ask anyone with a button.

 

I do think having things to draw people in/keep them interested is very important. One year we had a tiny space, so I made trays of inks from different countries (with flags lol) and I had pen club peeps walking them from table to table saying, welcome to India, Japan etc. We've done ink shootouts and this year shootouts with voting. We also showed peeps how they can sometimes make a faux version of a unobtanium ink (Faux lilac/Lamy Dark Lilac) and Montblanc Racing Green and faux racing green and used ink spotches to show how close they were.  We always have paper samples they can try and I usually put out about 50+ Pakistani Dollar Pens filled with a variety of inks, so that people can try really rare inks. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sinistral1]

@fireant I'm sorry about your paper loss - hopefully you will be able to replace most or all of it.

[fireant]

I had tons out and most of it was there all evening, just those last few minutes...sigh.

Oh well I have more and it's just an excuse to snag more.

I think next year, I will help someone host and then after that, turn the event over to someone else in the pen club. I think maybe more people should have a chance to host it since it really is a lot of fun.

 

[jmccarty3]

In spite of, or perhaps because of, the large attendance (>60), the Dallas Hub was disappointing. We had to chip in to pay for the venue, which was a municipal recreation center. We also had to chip in if we wanted pizza, which was horrible--I would gladly have paid more for better quality. The Hubmaster did a good job of organizing, but there was almost no interaction between tables. I brought my fairly large collection of birds, including many limited editions, but they attracted no interest, unlike in the past. I drove for over an hour in very heavy traffic to get there, and I will not be doing that again in the future. I don't believe Pelikan is investing enough in the Hubs to make attendance worthwhile. They are getting a lot of exposure for a relatively small investment. The hubmasters have a very difficult and thankless job without any compensation.

[fireant]

1 minute ago, jmccarty3 said:

In spite of, or perhaps because of, the large attendance (>60), the Dallas Hub was disappointing. We had to chip in to pay for the venue, which was a municipal recreation center. We also had to chip in if we wanted pizza, which was horrible--I would gladly have paid more for better quality. The Hubmaster did a good job of organizing, but there was almost no interaction between tables. I brought my fairly large collection of birds, including many limited editions, but they attracted no interest, unlike in the past. I drove for over an hour in very heavy traffic to get there, and I will not be doing that again in the future. I don't believe Pelikan is investing enough in the Hubs to make attendance worthwhile. They are getting a lot of exposure for a relatively small investment. The hubmasters have a very difficult and thankless job without any compensation.

 

 

Ouch I am sorry. I''d have loved to see your collection.

[Ceilidh]

11 hours ago, fireant said:

 

Ouch I am sorry. I''d have loved to see your collection.

@jmcarty3 does have some lovely Pelikans!

 

I agree about the lack of interaction among tables, though. It was partly due to the way they were arranged, I think. I gather that finding a suitable place is the most difficult part of the hubmaster's job.

[A Smug Dill]

16 minutes ago, jmccarty3 said:

I don't believe Pelikan is investing enough in the Hubs to make attendance worthwhile. They are getting a lot of exposure for a relatively small investment.

 

One would have thought that, having instigated yearly Pelikan Hubs for the better part of a decade, the company must have a clear idea of what it hopes to gain from the event (or festival of sorts, I suppose), and plan as well as invest in it accordingly. The impression I got, however, is that Pelikan doesn't really know what it wants or expects from the marketing exercise, at least not in 2022. Is it a case of the company not knowing how to navigate the landscape in the age of the pandemic (since it will not be ‘over’ any time soon)? Or just that the Fine Writing division barely survived as a line of business through 2021 and 2022, and is still trying to find its feet again?

 

(Quoting from another Pelikan Hub thread on FPN…)

On 8/26/2022 at 2:44 AM, Kumachan said:

I assume that these Hub events are a means of getting more fountain pen fans exposed to Pelikan products at one time,

 

The way I see it, the enthusiasm and love that fans of the brand have for Pelikan pens (and inks?) is what money cannot buy. Testimonials in ad spots in informercials invariably come across as scripted and phony; whereas talking in person to users of Pelikan pens (who can be bothered to register and then actually show up for a Hub gathering) gives the curious prospective convert some confidence that the opinions and sentiments expressed are genuine. That doesn't mean Pelikan should avoid being seen as sponsoring the Hubs; but the company really ought to take active steps to encourage the discussion and exploration of Pelikan products at the events, instead of doing scantly more than lending its name to the occasion, but somehow expect (or hope) that the attendees would ‘organically’ turn the conversation towards (what positively promotes to strangers and newcomers to) the brand. Providing everyone with a pad of A5 paper that sports the logo and name of the brand in the top corner of every sheet is not going to do it; and that small ‘gift’ would be ineffective at inspiring a mild sense of obligation (to speak well of Pelikan, or otherwise be mindful of its best interests) in the name of reciprocity, if that was part of the intent.

 

Imposing heavily on the volunteer Hub Masters to contribute, and/or treating the event as an opportunity (at the company's instigation) for fans to ‘give’ their time and advocacy to the brand out of love or goodwill, but otherwise pretending they are just locally organised fountain pen user gatherings and leaving everyone to their own devices seems counterproductive. Especially when, in that context, interrupting the flow of conversation to demand people's attention to a marketing presentation of the Souverän M800 40 Years Limited Edition pen and the Apatite special edition pen and ink (but without exhibiting the actual products), felt jarring.

 

On 8/25/2022 at 12:27 PM, markofp said:

If I DON'T own a Pelikan, but wish to try one, is that a thing? Are there inked pens for trial?

On 8/25/2022 at 1:37 PM, Fuzzy_Bear said:

Many bring their flocks with them. And many will let you try theor pens, as long as they trust you.

 

Given the lack of effort into making it a Pelikan-themed event, I was glad to see several (or many?) fountain pen lovers in attendance brought large (≥10-pen) carry cases filled with the pens that they enjoy, value, are proud to own, and was keen to show others and freely let others have a go at using… and most were not Pelikan pens. It just wasn't a, “Look, I really like the brand and have willing spent thousands on just the small proportion of pens I have brought with me today, including going to such trouble and expense to hunt down this limited edition or that rare vintage model,” even though there are indeed thousands of dollars' worth of gear in that pen case, type of event. What's a good way to describe it? Hmmm… I think Pelikan's offerings and/or ‘awesomeness’ were largely eclipsed by what else was there.

 

Not that it was an impossibility, or that “nobody in their right mind” would do so, but it's just unlikely that someone will of their own volition and motivation bring a broad selection of Pelikan pens with a view to promoting the brand to others, when Pelikan itself is not organising (to provide, or borrow from private owners with prior agreement, etc.) hundreds or thousands of dollars' worth of Pelikan pens for others to try. At the low end, I may have at least one M200 and M205 nib in every width grade that someone could order on the next standard colourway or special edition M20x pen he/she buys — and I have enough Pelikan pens onto which to fit them — but it would make no sense at all for me to bring them all, filled with the same ink, on the plausible expectation that someone would want to compare an EF nib against an F nib of the same type, or a M200 F nib against a M205 F nib, or a M200 EF nib against a M400 EF nib (and perhaps even a M600 EF nib, and so on). Yes, a Pelikan Hub would probably draw out people who would like to see the nibs and the differences for themselves first-hand; but it's up to Pelikan to see that as an opportunity to satisfy their curiosity and perhaps convince them of what they want to spend their money on next, and so make provision for that gear to be at hand. I'd prefer to be bringing what are customised nibs, or factory-condition nibs that are anomalies or at least don't fit one's expectations; for example, two M200 F nibs on which the tipping size (and width) is discernibly different when seen side by side, without requiring inspection through a loupe or magnifying glass. If I'm talking to fellow Pelikan users (and fans), that would be more interesting; and if someone is unfamiliar with Pelikan and pondering whether an F nib would best suit them, that would serve to illustrate to them that ordering a Pelikan F nib is “like a box of chocolates”. I wouldn't even need to have those nibs mounted on (separate) pens for that, let alone ink them up with the same ink to show the actual differences in line width on the page, or get messy and do a nib swap on the spot for the same purpose.

 

Letting someone try a Platinum UEF nib — which, again, most likely someone in attendance at a Hub event would be curious about, but Pelikan comes nowhere near producing or offering — or a Pilot Elabo soft nib, or handle a HongDian 960 (which looks awfully like a Pelikan M600 or M800 at a glance, but is actually not the same size as either of those) fitted with ‘standard’ EF nib or a transplanted Blade (or ‘long knife’) nib, is more gratifying to me in the name of broadening others' horizons and/or let them calibrate how Pelikan compares. Of course Pelikan is never going to satisfy that kind of curiosity among pen users; nobody would reasonably expect that. On the flip side, it's entirely on Pelikan to arrange a curated showcase of its products at the event, if that's what it hopes will be available to interested prospective customers. Sure, there would probably be someone there with a M205 that is fitted with an F nib, and someone else with a M405 fitted with an F nib; but is any mildly curious person going to go from table to table, attendee to attendee, in trying to find those two pens to compare? Even then, it wouldn't be a truly meaningful comparison, when in all likelihood their respective owners would not have filled their pens with the same ink.

 

Even if Pelikan is not of a mind to cater to any of that, but just wants to seed open ‘celebration’ for what fans like about the brand's pens and inks for others to see, it really still needs to make more of an effort and investment with a clear plan in mind.

 

[eerestis]

I don't really follow the comments here. In my mind Pelikan organized this to bring together pen enthusiasts on a certain date. That's it and the rest was up to the hub masters and attendees. I think it was known in advance that Pelikan itself is not going to do any local organization and therefore cannot influence what the local pizza tastes like or if somebody's interested in your collection or not. Surely they could invest more in the event, but this time they didn't.

 

I rather enjoyed the Hub, met nice people and tried out some nice pens. I would have liked an ink bottle or a sample, but as I made zero effort towards anything, I didn't feel like I'm entitled to something. I also don't like marketing and found the presentation lacking, but I had the advance attitude that there's obviously going to be some marketing to be tolerated. Wherever you go, there you are.