Saturday, February 20, 2010

LA show report

Another very successful Los Angeles pen show. Despite a handful of cancellations due to the snowstorm back East, turnout among dealers and full-show registrants was strong, and there were some truly outstanding pens on offer, with notable strength in early Watermans. Sunday's "public" attendance seemed to be down a bit, though this is often quite variable at this particular show. In fact, this is not so relevant for those of us on the vintage side, as most of the Sunday shoppers are more consumers than collectors, and are looking almost entirely for new pens. This year, however, we were wearing two hats, and the table display was devoted entirely to the American Art Plastics line of celluloid and ebonite stock -- so we were hoping for as many penturners and custom pen fans as possible on Sunday. As is, quite a few ended up with samples of our new materials; and when you have something good, all you really need is for word to spread.