Editing The Pen Addict 662/transcript (section)

== Stationery trends and pen shows ==

* All right. Let's get into stationery the rest of this show. I know we've been bouncing around a little bit, but we needed to catch up. And we've had a lot of things going on, to say the least. So I wanted to bring up this topic. Not that I have anything new to say.
* But it's a topic that I can't really get my head out of. And it's something I'm tracking really closely. And it's the concept, at least this is in my head, that our stationery show is the new pen show. Okay. And this kind of started last year with the Oseka Stationery Fest and how it kind of broke my brain a little bit in what type of stationery show I personally enjoy. Now I want to make a couple things clear here. Right? Like, pen shows are, like, totally fine. And not everyone's going to be into, like, what I consider, like, a stationery show. Right? Traditional pen shows aren't going anywhere. They're totally fine. You know, I didn't have a great time at the Atlanta pen show. Not because of the people that were there. But it was just like, oh, this is just, there's nothing to do here except shop. Right? And I think certain parts of our community want a little bit more if they're going to commit to, like, a multi-day event. Right? You know, if you're going to the Atlanta pen show on Saturday afternoon and taking care of things, and, like, there's a real added benefit to having that show in that area for local people to come and get their stationery fix and their fountain pen fix and all that stuff. It's fantastic in that aspect. But for an event, in the broader sense of the term, it was super, super lacking. So, we're seeing kind of this, I hesitate to call it a split. It's not a split right now because what I'm calling the stationery festivals are so new. And, actually, they're kind of broken right now in their newness in that they're getting overwhelmed. Right? They have a problem where they have too many people. And I worry if a traditional fountain pen show that doesn't change, like in Atlanta, is having a smaller crowd because it's not bringing anything interesting to the market. So... People sure aren't traveling. Yeah. Like they used to for Atlanta. Right? Like, that's not happening anymore. Yes. It's not happening. And there's other things going on in the global market and the economy. And, like, there's, this is not a very black and white discussion. Like, there's nuance everywhere in this discussion. And, you know, take everything I say as simply my opinion, not like a state of the union. It's just a feel that I'm getting from the community as someone who is, you know, pretty dialed in and has a lot of, gets a lot of feedback from a lot of different people. And that things are changing quickly. When, it's been built up for years. Like, 10 years ago, having, like, this stationery type show that was, like, full of classes and interesting vendors. That was always kind of like the dream, right? The stationery con or the pen con. You would joke about calling it. And now those things are actually starting to happen. And they're showing to be successful.
* And there's, like, three or four, like, big conferences this year. No, not conferences. But events this year that are more stationery focused than, say, traditionally fountain pen focused. And they're selling out tickets. They have a lot of hype behind them. And all of this is to say, this is just something I'm following intently. Like, I am very interested to see how this goes. And as I mentioned before, each station, there's been two popular stationery shows so far. The Yoseka Stationery Fest, which was in Brooklyn last year that I attended. And then Chicago had one in March. And they both had huge flaws and problems with the running of the show. But had a huge upside in, you know, potential and vibes. So, like, I don't want to sugarcoat that they didn't have problems or anything like that. But the fact that they're having to solve for an overcrowding situation or on the converse side, somewhere like Atlanta is going to have to try to solve for, like, a deterioration of attendance. Like, which side would you rather be on? Yeah. Right? Like, I – right? So, which do you want to fight to fix? Well, it's like a lot of people want to come to these stationery fests. Let's fight to fix, you know, the attendance and the space and the crowd sizes and the ticketing and all that stuff. So, again, I – this is just my opinion, something I'm watching very intently. Because I feel a change in the force, if you will, in the overall community, right? The overarching community, and this is a complete sidebar, is, like, you know, I wonder what the stationery community is spending their money on just as a concept.
* Right? And, like, there's – you know, I don't know how many thousand dollar pens people are buying these days. Right? Like, the market is starting to change, and I find it very, very interesting. Yeah. So, it's cool to see. Yeah. I don't know about the, like, the spend. Like, I genuinely don't know about the spend. Who knows? Yeah, I don't either. And I wonder, like, some of the pen shows with a declining audience, like, I wonder if it's that important to them, like, realistically. Exactly. Like, I don't know the answer to that question. Like, I think of a show like Atlanta.
* I feel like at a certain point, the large crowd was detrimental to the show. Sure. Like, to the existing show that was there and was, like, hard to manage.
* And, you know, they could have adapted, and all of these, they could have adapted to embrace that, but it requires a lot of work. Yeah. Yeah. I think, I mean, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but my expectation is that some of these, some of the best pen shows around, they're essentially run by volunteers.
* Totally. Totally. So, you've got to want to do that work for the love of the game, right? Right. Because you're not making money on this. And so, I think the existing infrastructure of pen shows, which the modern hobby has kind of moved into, I think there is, it's not really sustainable for them to hold on, like, to manage that. Yeah. And I think what should happen, and I think what is clearly happening, is new shows with new incentives are being created, and that is probably the right way forward. So, I think of something like a San Francisco, I think of something like the more stationery-focused conferences. Like, I'll say, the thing, the show I am most interested in going to is the Chicago Planet Conference. Right. Like, hearing Anna talk about that, like, that's where, that is, I really want to go to that. Like, that sounds great, and I think would be professionally very helpful and interesting for me, but just like, it sounded like the classes that they were putting on were fantastic, and unlike anything anywhere else, right? Yep. And so, like, I would like to do that, do those experiences. Like, there was an experience that Anna ran, right?
* It sounded really great. I don't remember what it was now, but it's building a journal or something. Oh, sure. Yeah, there's all kinds of different classes. We did a sigils art class at the California Pen Show, just all kinds of different types of things you could do. And so, like, I think that, you know, the way forward is people who want to put on a good show for the sake of putting on a good show, and that's kind of the way that it will work, is my expectation. Yeah. I think, like, my short version is I'm looking for an event, and I'm not looking for, like, a show, right? Like, what we call a traditional Pen Show. I want to go and do things more than shop. I want to shop. I want to spend my money. Like, I'm down for that. But for me to spend two and three days at a place, I need more than that. And the shows that do that successfully, like the New California Show, I think has done a really good job at this. You're essentially trying to turn the Pen Show into more of a conference. Yep. Right. Than just a shopping event. Because by doing that, by programming the show, you're keeping people there. And that is a benefit to everyone. Yeah. It's a symbiotic relationship. Yeah. Like, otherwise, you're just having a, you know, a trunk show at a hotel room. So, yeah. So, anyway, that was – I haven't really talked about this with you that much other than just in passing. And like I said, I don't have, like, all the answers, and I'm going to pretend to have all the answers. And I know how difficult this is. Like, I've straight up told people I do not want to run one of these events no matter – if I could create my absolute perfect event, I still wouldn't want to run it because it sounds like a nightmare. So, like, shout out to everyone who does do this. Like, I'm, you know, I'm not trying to just, you know, like, you know, shots fired type of situation. Like, I understand how hard it is and the challenges that we see in this. So, it's not easy, but it's more of an observation of, like, a change in the community that I'm seeing just in general terms. So, anyway. I was really surprised when I read Refill and, like, kind of how down you were on the Atlanta show. It was like, oh, wow. Yeah. Like, that's a change. It kind of hurt. Yeah. It kind of hurt. Yeah. Like, I think that came across – like, it was just a bit like, oh, man, like, that's not – that's not what I want to see. Like, that's the show, you know, like, for me, in my mind. I mean, obviously, it's not anymore, but, like, it felt like that. And I don't know. It's just sad. But I'm not surprised at the same time because, as I already said, like, I just don't know if the incentives align for the promoters of the show to put the amount of effort in. Now, of course, there are simple things, right, as you referenced a few times. They just put the correct date on the website. Yeah. Yeah. So people can find the show and come to it. But, like, I don't expect the Atlanta show. I don't expect any of the smaller shows to truly program a conference.
* Correct. But the bigger shows, especially those that are set up by members of the new community, I absolutely expect that. Because otherwise, why do it?
* Well, Myke, one of the reasons why these shows need to step their game up because we have a lot of great online opportunities to buy pens like our good friends at Pen Chalet. So what's going on over at Pen Chalet? Oh, they have the best stuff, Brad. They sell all the products that you're looking for from the brands that you love. They have fast and reliable customer service with new pens being added to the site every month and discounts, discounts, discounts. You're going to find fantastic prices over at Pen Chalet. Close out specials, special discounts and discounts for listeners of this show that I'll get to in a minute. As well as all of the products that I mentioned, you know, like rollerballs and fountain pens and points and mechanical pencils. Pen Chalet also has some limited edition products and all the accessories that you're going to need as well. They are the one-stop shop. You can go there and get whatever you want. And Pen Chalet is always adding new stuff from new brands. That brand list gets longer and longer and longer every time. They're selling exclusive things. They're selling things that you can get at better prices than anywhere else. That's what they're all about. Pen Chalet do international shipping with great shipping rates and free shipping on orders of over $75 in the U.S. Pen Chalet has low prices on high-quality pens with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So take yourself over to penchalet.com slash penaddict. You will get 10% on anything at Pen Chalet and also see some exclusive offers for listeners of this show.
* Right off the top, they have a stipula etruria. That's a hard word to say.
* It's like a classic black and looks like rhodium or gunmetal type of trim on there. It's a really classic-looking pen, and I was like, oh, man, this pen looks great. I don't own any stipulas. Then I looked at, like, the price, the discount on this. I was like, whoa. So we might have to investigate that a little bit more. This is a large percentage off of this pen, and it looks pretty cool. One I mentioned previously that is still on the list, the Pelican Twist. I'm not joking about this pen. Brad, you're going to have to shout about this twist, you know?
* I see what you did there. Thank you. I'm back, baby. Yeah, you are back. There is also, you know, yellow and lime green if you wanted to add in a different type of twist for some of these colors. It's just a good pen. It's a fun pen. It has an aggressively molded grip. Like, this is essentially a kid's trainer pen, but they write so well. And for the price, it's just great to have one of these. It's fun to have them laying around. Down here further, they have the Ranga Samurai fountain pens or the Ranga.
* I've used some of their ebonite pens, and they have some ebonite. They also have a resin one in this, and they're very, very swirly. I like the wild swirls. This one's blue and pink, and it's kind of wild, and I'm here for it. And they're a really good price, and they're very, very nice writers, very great pens. They have the Lamy Econ ballpoint pen if you're looking for a ballpoint. And then they have Aurora 100th anniversary ink in orange. Orange. Orange. If you listened to our STPA episode with all the hobbies, we had to pick the most orange orange inks to match the color of the rainbow. And Aurora orange was my pick for just a straight-up orange. So tons of stuff over at Pen Chalet. The list this week is exceedingly long, so go check it out because there is a lot more than I mentioned. So take yourself over right now to penchalet.com slash penaddict. Our thanks to Pen Chalet for their continued support of this show and the penaddict. All right. One little quick topic, and then we'll try to hit some STPA that came in while you were gone or that I overlooked. I made a traveler's notebook, Myke. You know, the classic traveler's company notebook, not just a traveling notebook. And I made it for literal reasons, like literally the traveling, a travel notebook, because I was wanting something to capture things when I'm on the go. And the two notebooks that I use at home, number one is my plotter, which is pretty much only work. Like it's got a planner, it's got a calendar, it's got work notes. It's not really made for like on-the-fly note capturing. And then aside from that, I have a desk notebook like that I'm scribbling podcast notes in right now. It's a Life A5 notebook, which I have a comment on that here in a second. I meant to put this in the show notes. I'll add that in just a minute. It's my desk notebook where like I test inks, I write nonsense, like I do reviews in it. And that just stays here. Like neither one of those notebooks, my plotter or this Life A5 notebook or something, for example, I would want to take to St. Jude, right? These would not be beneficial to me writing stuff in. Like I could, I just wouldn't like it as like a stationery nerd who has jobs for their notebooks like we all do. I wanted something a little bit different. So I made a traveler's notebook that's going to be my traveling notebook and my creative notebook. So that's part two is the creativity part of the notebook. I bought a watercolor paper insert in there because someone in this live stream chat has gotten me into painting with water brushes and just having playing with ink and water brush and seeing like how inks, ink characteristics look, painting ink ponies, which we have talked about and just having more of a creative fun outlet for that. And I wanted a place for that too. So it's kind of this all in one situation. I'll admit like I haven't like totally dove into it. I took a bunch of my St. Jude notes in there and I took some in a field notes that was good for carrying it around during the day. And then I would like transfer like important stuff over at night into the traveler's notebook. So this is a new setup.
* And when I'll be exploring more, I'm just kind of scratching the surface with that. But I wanted to throw that out there because that's a new thing for me. I've owned one in the past and it was a little bit my planner and work notebook, kind of what my plotter is now. My plotter is locked in on that job. I really love it for that. And I'm interested to see how this traveler's notebook takes hold. So that's kind of my new dalliance and we'll see how it goes. We'll report back later. All right.