We are back from the Washington, DC pen show, but things will remain slow for the remainder of August, between family time and moving our workshop.
Attendance at the pen show was good, yet it seems that most shows -- this one included -- are becoming more and more dominated by consumers, rather than collectors. This goes beyond the divisions between new-pen and old-pen people, for while few who come to pen shows to buy new pens are collectors, a substantial numbers of those buying old pens aren't really collectors, either.
The need for collectors to carve out a space for themselves is becoming increasingly apparent, at shows and online as well. This has been highlighted in the discussions recently prompted by the temporary shutdown of the Lion & Pen site -- one of the few collector-dominated pen forums -- and the launch of David Isaacson's new Fountain Pen Board -- clearly aimed at collectors over users.
