Dallas Pen Show 2012

On Saturday, September 22, Kevin and I left Austin around 6:30 a.m to head for Dallas for the Dallas Pen Show! This was our first pen show ever, and it was a good introduction to pen shows, I think. It was about a four hour drive to get to the show but it was well worth it. At first, we were both a little overwhelmed by everything but we quickly got our bearings.

We did bring our camera but you know... with so many pens and goodies around, it's really hard to remember to take pictures of things instead of petting them...so...there aren't many pictures. I swear, for the next show, I'll be able to handle it better!! We spent a good seven hours walking around, talking to people, looking at things, picking things up, testing things, etc, etc.

Kevin took this of me, gazing longingly at things I couldn't buy. EYE CANDY!!!!! Do you spy me, with my crazy pink tote bag?

I had a very short mental list of things I was interested in (Mabie Todd/Esterbrook). I was quickly distracted from this mental list and kept adding things to it as I walked around.

We also had the pleasure of meeting Julie (@FPOkami), which was really great, and we even went for dinner after the show (a hard-earned dinner because lemme tell you, walking around for that long and looking at pens really works up an appetite). It's so awesome to meet pen people in real life!!

Please keep in mind that I woke up at like 5 a.m and we drove for four hours before walking around for seven hours before eating a proper meal. We had a delicious Italian dinner and great conversation!

I'm sure you're all curious what we came home with... I'm a little ashamed. I did go with no pen budget but some of the things were irresistible. Big surprise, right? Poor Kevin.

Inks: Visconti purple, Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline, 2 Noodler's Comanche Rouge, Diamine Aqua Blue, Diamine Apple Glory, and J. Herbin Green Apple scented ink. 

Isn't the baby Diamine bottle SO CUTE?

Paper - Quo Vadis Habana - with WHITE paper! Score!

One of my favorites.

Pens - Waterman 12 vintage + wet noodle nib and a Peter Pan celluloid lever filler from 1939 + XF or F nib. I was generously gifted a Conklin SS crescent ringtop + F (?) flex nib from Kim at Penquest, and Kevin was gifted a Pilot Varsity in green (hi Arnie!).

Sure, they look pretty unspectacular in this picture. But just wait until the reviews. They are NOT unspectacular at all.

I was also able to spend awhile with Mauricio from VintagePen.net and I was able to try out several (extremely delicious) pens from his personal collection!! What a treat! We also chatted about pens in general and he shared his wealth of knowledge with us.

Overall, we had a grand time and it would only be more fun with more pen friends! If you've been on the fence about attending a pen show, make it happen Cap'n! FPGeeks have some pen shows compiled here. Pen people really are awesome. I can't wait until next year to attend the Dallas Pen Show again!