Jim and I needed a vacation after all of the Athena stress, but we had trouble figuring out where to go. We ended up deciding on a long weekend trip to the St. Louis Pen Show. We weren’t really sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised.
The entrance/registration desk was at the same level as the hotel lobby, with the show itself one floor below. Thankfully, there were both two elevators and a stairway, so there wasn’t a bottleneck — at least not that I saw.
The space allotted for the show was rather large. There were two adjoining rooms, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say there was a large conference/ballroom with an anteroom. However, you want to look at it, both areas were used as show floor.
Right before entering the actual show, there was a “Pens for Kids” table that had a scavenger hunt booklet. I saw several kids walking around the show with their booklet open and items crossed off.
The show felt similar in atmosphere to BWIPS. It was a quieter show, with more opportunity to speak to the various vendors. The attendees seemed more relaxed, with less of the “feeding frenzy” feel of the DC Pen Show.
Friday night included a dessert party — yum — and pen auction. And, per usual, both Friday and Saturday nights saw many attendees and vendors hanging out at the bar.
Speaking of food and drink, we were also pleasantly surprised by the hotel restaurant. At other pen shows, the hotel restaurant food is decent at best. But this hotel restaurant is fabulous. And, on top of that, there are several restaurants within easy walking distance of the hotel.
Organization
The entrance lines moved quickly, and everything was well-labeled. There were volunteers available to watch tables, allowing vendors easy breaks. I didn’t talk to anyone about behind-the-scenes details this time, but the vendor atmosphere was relaxed and happy, usually a good indicator of a smooth show.
Free breakfast was available to pen show vendors and attendees staying at the hotel. There was also a map at the show entrance to help people find vendors (see above). Attendees purchasing day passes got colored stickers to wear — a different color for each day — that doubled at nametags. I don’t know if everyone got them, but we got a very nice shoulder bag with the pen show logo and information on it and a 4×6 blotting paper card. They also had several show exclusive items — mug, ink, etc.
I didn’t sign up for any classes, nor did I hear anyone talking about them, so I don’t know how those went.
Layout
The St. Louis Pen Show had a roomy layout. Aisles were generous, both for vendors and attendees. The vendor seating aisles were so large, I kept mistaking them for sales aisles. 1/4 to 1/3 of the space could have been given to the sales aisles to help with occasional choke points when people stopped to look at tables on both sides of the sales aisle.
On Friday, it didn’t feel at all crowded, which was great. But, on Saturday, there were some additional choke points between the tables along the walls and the table lanes in the main room (for example, between table 242 and H-01). But still, neither room felt particularly crowded.
Selection
There seemed to be a pretty even balance between modern, indie-made, and vintage pens. Notebooks/paper and inks made a decent showing, although the brand variety could have been a little better. And, as another pleasant surprise, there was a fun sprinkling of non-stationery vendors with things like jewelry, clothing, and knives.
If I could add anything I wanted, I would love to see a chocolate vendor. What can I say, DC and BWIPS have spoiled me.
Price
The St. Louis Pen Show is definitely reasonably priced. It’s $5 for a 1-day pass, $10 for a 3-day pass, and $30 for a trader pass which gets you Thursday access.
Accessibility
As I previously mentioned, the rows were roomy. Jim and I easily made it around with canes. You could probably have fit a walker through, assuming people would move out of your way. A wheelchair or mobility scooter would have maybe fit down the aisles, but trying to turn from one aisle to the next would have been very tight (if possible at all), and the angular aisles around the anteroom likely would have been difficult to navigate.
There were a handful of random seats around the show floor and two large, round tables. Unfortunately, the seats were mainly near the ballroom doors and in the anteroom. It would have been nice to see some chairs at the far end of the ballroom or along the middle cross aisle.
Noise levels were pretty average for a pen show, and there was a small nook of the anteroom with nothing in it that someone could probably use as an emergency cool-down corner in the event of an overload.
My biggest issue was that for someone staying at the hotel, it’s a long walk from your room to the show, especially if you end up in a room at the end of the hallway.
Scoring
Overall Score: 4.31 / 5
Organization: Normally, I’d score organization, but, without knowing anything about the vendor-side of the organization, nor the classes, I don’t feel comfortable scoring it.
Layout: 4.75 / 5 – I’m only knocking a tiny bit off for the tightness at the end of the aisles.
Price: 5 / 5 – Ticket prices are great. Getting a day free with the 3-day pass is fantastic.
Selection: 4 / 5 – I wish there were a greater variety of brands, but I appreciate the balance of product types
Accessibility: 3.5 / 5 – The hotel itself seems decently accessible. I don’t think much thought was given to accessibility when planning the show itself, as there weren’t any obvious accommodations.
Have you gone to the St. Louis Pen Show? Do you want to? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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