{"id":144,"date":"2017-08-07T13:41:56","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T17:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=144"},"modified":"2024-01-15T13:10:22","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T18:10:22","slug":"2017-dc-pen-show-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2017-dc-pen-show-1\/","title":{"rendered":"2017 DC Pen Show #1"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

This weekend was the <\/span>2017 DC Pen Show<\/span><\/a>. I\u2019ve been waiting to go since I learned about it in fall of last year. My fianc\u00e9, Jim, and I are moving soon, so we’re busy doing all the pre-moving stuff chores and errands. That means we didn\u2019t have a full weekend to devote to the show, as it deserved. We were only able to go for part of the day on Saturday. <\/span><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t think I had any real expectations before the show. When we got there, though, I realized that I had formed expectations because they were blown completely out of the water. The show was much bigger, and MUCH better attended than I could have possibly imagined. There was so much to see that I\u2019ll be dividing my overview of the show into three pieces. Stay tuned for the other two!<\/span><\/p>\n

We met three friends there, all of whom happened to arrive early (while we were just on time). The show was already packed, despite officially starting at 10am (when we arrived). They\u2019d already run out of the \u201cofficial\u201d swag bags several minutes earlier. But it was ok, I\u2019d come prepared with my bag of holding. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

The admissions procedure confused me as, once you paid, you weren\u2019t given anything to prove it. So anyone could just walk right in. But perhaps that was just a result of being in a new location this year. \u201cGrowing pains\u201d, as it were.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Small Room<\/h2>\n

We started with the small room, as it was right next to the \u201cregistration\u201d desk. Immediately inside the door was the <\/span>Kanilea Pen Co.<\/span><\/a> and I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m relieved or saddened that their pens, though fantastically beautiful, didn\u2019t <\/span>speak<\/span><\/i> to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

While I was checking out the giant table of pens across from Kanilea, Jim was <\/span>very<\/span><\/i> happy to discover that Mr. Yoshi Nakama of <\/span>18111<\/span><\/a> still had some of his \u201c<\/span>Stone Mask<\/span><\/a>\u201d pens that are very reminiscent of the Easter Island Moai. It was on his \u201cto buy\u201d list for the show, and I will readily agree that it is VERY cool. It\u2019s got a slightly rough texture that is unlike anything that I\u2019ve felt on a pen before.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Once I got past the crush of people bottlenecked at the entrance (the result of having two big pen tables there), I got a decent look at the entire room. It was roughly the size of my entire apartment, perhaps a bit bigger, and every wall had a vendor\u2019s table. I doubt I can properly explain the layout of the room, so I drew a little picture for you. <\/span>*grin*<\/span><\/i> Don\u2019t expect perfection, I\u2019m trying to remember the room from the half hour I spent in it on Saturday morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

The room was so full of people and vendors that we all lost each other and ended up just checking it out at our own pace for the most part. I was able to alert Jim that the <\/span>Ink Journal<\/span><\/a> table still had some of the <\/span>Robert Oster<\/span><\/a> Soda Pop ink, so he swooped in and bought the last bottle they had. He also took advantage of the \u201cTake a Pen, Leave a Pen\u201d table and picked up a Noodler\u2019s Ahab in exchange for a demonstrator pen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jim\u2019s strategy was to take a quick turn of the room, then go back and really look at what he was interested in. On the other hand, I made slow progress, giving each table my undivided attention on my first pass. The variety of pens available intrigued me. <\/span><\/p>\n

Walking around the room, I was searching for \u201cthe pen\u201d for my series. You know, the pen I\u2019ll hopefully be signing books with. I specifically wanted a fountain pen that was red and white, and I wanted it to really <\/span>speak<\/span><\/i> to me. There were many lovely pens, even a metal one that looked blood spattered but was, unfortunately, ballpoint. Even pawing through the various pen blanks at <\/span>The Woodshed Pen Co.<\/span><\/a> booth revealed no sign of <\/span>my <\/span><\/i>pen.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I finished my circuit of the small room, Jim tracked me down and joined me in my leisurely perusal of the last few tables I hadn\u2019t yet seen. He decided to go scout out the large room while I picked up the <\/span>Ink Miser Ink Shot and Inkwell<\/span><\/a> from their inventor as well as <\/span>Noodler\u2019s<\/span><\/a> DC Pen Show Ink, <\/span>A House Divided<\/span><\/a>. With my bag of holding a bit more full, I made my way to the large room.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo\u00a0\"Photo<\/p>\n

Did you go to the DC Pen Show? Are you interested in going? Leave a comment and let me know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This weekend was the 2017 DC Pen Show. I\u2019ve been waiting to go since I learned about it in fall of last year. My fianc\u00e9,<\/p>\n

Keep Reading2017 DC Pen Show #1<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[417],"tags":[118,83,81,43],"class_list":["post-144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pen-shows","tag-2017-dc-pen-show","tag-dc-pen-show","tag-pen-show","tag-story","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-2k","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8001,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2022-dc-pen-show-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":144,"position":0},"title":"2022 DC Pen Show, Part 1","author":"Rachel","date":"August 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I attended the DC Pen Show on the Thursday for the first time. It wasn't exactly what I expected.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/penshow22-IGSm.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8050,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2022-dc-pen-show-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":144,"position":1},"title":"2022 DC Pen Show, Part 3","author":"Rachel","date":"August 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"My third of 7? posts about the 2022 DC Pen Show. This time I review the show, especially how the organizers handled the hotel construction situation.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/penshow22-IGSm.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5193,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2021-dc-pen-show-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":144,"position":2},"title":"2021 DC Pen Show, Part 2","author":"Rachel","date":"August 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Having shared my experience at the 2021 DC Pen Show, now I'm sharing my review of the show. Find out how it rates in my standard pen show rating categories.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/penshow2-IGSm.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5149,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2021-dc-pen-show\/","url_meta":{"origin":144,"position":3},"title":"2021 DC Pen Show, Part 1","author":"Rachel","date":"August 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Finally, a big pen show! Read on to find out about my experience at three of the four days of the DC Pen Show and what I bought.","rel":"","context":"In "Pen Shows"","block_context":{"text":"Pen Shows","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/stationery\/pen-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/20210807_100201.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/20210807_100201.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/20210807_100201.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11001,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/2023-dc-pen-show-part-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":144,"position":4},"title":"2023 DC Pen Show, Part 3","author":"Rachel","date":"August 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"My final post about the 2023 DC Pen Show. 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