Drippy Musings
70 Pen News posts. Shop news, pen show reports (Chicago, DC, Dallas and Ohio through 2020), holiday shipping deadlines and what came in this month. The running diary of ThePenMarket.com since 2013.
We had always heard good things about the Arkansas Pen Show in Little Rock, but they were all understatements. This was our first year in attendance, and we already can’t wait to go back. There’s just something about Southern hospitality that suites us fine. Here’s a view of the action at the 2018 Arkansas Pen…
These are the United States Postal Service’s recommended ship dates for merchandise to arrive in time for Christmas. Time quickly runs out at this time of year where shipping is concerned. Make sure to put in your orders in time to have by Christmas. This year the United States Post Office recommends that you ship…
We have seen tons of Mont Blanc knockoffs over the years, but now it looks like even the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is getting in on the act. I just got my annual request for a donation…got a soft spot for our 4-legged friends…and they gave me a disposable click pen. Everybody…
ThePenMarket.com just celebrated its 10th birthday in style at the Washington DC Pen Show! I can’t believe we have never gone in the past. Despite some organizational hiccups, it was phenomenal. So many pens! So many collectors! So many new and old friends! This is a Neuport 28 fighter plane used by the Americans against…
Happy Birthday, America! More than 50 names were dropped into our trusty panama hat. Lucky John L. won our June Lamy Lottery. Congrats, John! To start the celebrating early, John L. was the winner of our Lamy Lx Au fountain pen! We had more than 50 entries this year, and John was the lucky one…
Now that I have the time to travel to pen shows by car (and after an airlines put $20,000 worth of pens on an extended vacation in cargo before returning them), I have determined to make the most of the road-trip experience. Driving to the Atlanta Pen Show this year was particularly fun. In addition…
Helping us celebrate 100 blog posts, Mike D., our Lamy candyman, has given us a brand new Lamy Lx Au (Gold) to give away! This shiny, medium-nibbed wonder comes complete with its special case and papers. It also includes a free ink cartridge. It has a retail value of $70. Win this brand new Lamy Lx…
The editor of Pen World was reading through this very blog as he and the staff were working on the story about me in December and found my 4-part piece about helping to connect the generational divides by pen collectors. He really liked it and asked me to write my first story for Pen World…
It has been a crazy year for us at ThePenMarket.com. As some of you might know, I was working a full-time job…in addition to working full-time hours on ThePenMarket.com…while also coaching youth fencing competitions…while also writing a novel, seeing it published and ultimately being nominated for (and losing) a Pulitzer Prize. Toss in lots of…
One of the things that surprised me most at the Chicago Pen Show discussion, in which some veteran vendors and rookie collectors had some difficulties seeing eye to eye on matters of collecting and navigating a pen show, was that several veteran vendors who are extremely well versed in the history and details about fountain…
Tensions mounted during an after-hours seminar last month at the Chicago Pen Show. The Pen Addict, Brad Dowdy, and long-time pen collector and publisher Paul Erano held a discussion that was intended to help new pen collectors learn how to navigate their first pen show. It was a brilliant idea and an honest effort to…
Big changes this year in Chicago! New venue. New management. More entertainment. This year ThePenMarket.com is hosting a Lamy table at the Chicago Pen Show…in addition to its usual vintage/modern pens table. These Lamys are part of the special new nib-testing station for Lamy. Some of you might know that I’m this year’s marketing director…
