Pen Posses for Dummies

[carlos.q]

Is there anyone who can post (and maybe pin) a basic outline for organizing a pen posse?

The situation is as follows: I live on an island where very few people use FPs. Furthermore, there are very few places where you can buy FPs or inks. After reading many threads here and on the FPN about pen posses, I believe this could be a way of bringing together some people that share the same addiction ...err... hobby.

The thing is, I wouldn't know the first thing about organizing a pen posse. How to do it? Is there a basic procedure to organize one? What do you actually DO in one of these meetings? How frequently do you meet? How do you keep people interested in coming to other meetings? When does a pen posse become a pen club?

At this moment I have the following: a list of some 10-12 FPG/FPN members that live in Puerto Rico and a friendly B&M owner who knows a couple of collectors and who would be willing to lend his store for a first meeting.

Any help? :confused:

[KrazyIvan]

My take on it is just have a party and tell everyone BYOP. Bring your own pen. :D

[AltecGreen]

Ethernautrix probably gives the best outline since she coined the term pen posse.


Basically, here's how it goes.


1) pick a place and time for a pen posse and announce it
2) make sure that it is a place suitable and that you want to be there in case no one shows up
3) show up to the pen posse.

This is how it started. Many of the early meetings were no more than one to three people in a random location usually near food. It then grew to what it is today. We meet as often as members want to meet. For us, this can be at times weekly. We've done at most three meetings in one week (we met on a weekday evening for dinner). Rarely do we go more than three weeks without a meeting. Once people meet and have live interactions, you will want to meet again. A live meeting is at times much like being on a forum but in real time and with much more interactivity. You can handle pens, try inks, share stories, etc.

What do we do? Almost anything actually. It is usually pen and ink centric although we have had pen posses were other things were the feature. We've met at a distillery and then had dinner inside a winery. We've stuck MB pens inside of a chickens beak. We've had a karaoke party. Use your imagination.

We are thinking about doing a live Pen Posse broadcast. We are investigating how to do it while maintaining the spontaneity of a Pen Posse.


A Pen club is a different beast. Pen Clubs tend to be more formal, officers, dues, etc. In our area, we have the PPPC. The meetings are more like mini-pen shows. It has a very different vibe than a pen posse.

[dannzeman]

When you get something put together you'd like pinned, just let me know.

[AltecGreen]

Lisa and I should write up something a bit more descriptive and have it pinned.

[jor412]

Our group does something similar. We have once a month lunch meetings at a restaurant. Next to pens, there always has to be food. :p We try out each others' pens and inks; sometimes raffle off items; have repair demos; etc. We've had anything from 12 to 40 people showing up. We also have spontaneous mini-pen meets where pen people are within each other's vicinity and decide to have lunch or dinner. I think the pen people here found each other through a non-pen-related forum and they started an egroup and the pen meets.

[carlos.q]

Lisa and I should write up something a bit more descriptive and have it pinned.
This would be really great! I think that maybe you could include various examples of what can be done at a pen posse. I have picked up ideas from reading some threads about the subject, but your help would be most welcome. :thank_you2:

A pinned thread giving examples could be just the motivation needed for others to organize their own pen posses!

[chiaroscuro]

Sign me up, Carlos -- and let me know if there's anything I can do to help organize. We could pool funds to get gift certificates as give-aways or door prizes. Maybe set up a paper and ink testing section?

[carlos.q]

Sign me up, Carlos -- and let me know if there's anything I can do to help organize. We could pool funds to get gift certificates as give-aways or door prizes. Maybe set up a paper and ink testing section?
Yay! That's the spirit! I'll soon be contacting other FP aficionados living in Puerto Rico so we can choose a date for our first meet.

[ethernautrix]

Well... I didn't just coin "Pen Posse," I started it back in September, 2008, on another board when an Australian member said he'd be coming to the States in October. I sent out the call for anyone who wanted to meet him. About a dozen of us convened, and it was so much fun, I just kept calling for Pen Posse. A couple of years later, it became its own thing

Here's the lesson: I kept calling for Pen Posse. Even if one other person showed up, it was fun. Even if no one showed up and it was just me, I would have had fun, cos I called for Pen Posse at places I would go to anyway. It took at least a year to catch on to the point where it became "a thing." It wasn't instantaneous and it wasn't automatic. I kept calling for Pen Posse, and then I reported back. I think photos helped, too.

I wrote "the rules" for the other board, which is down now, so I can't access them. But they are Very Simple.

1. Pick a date, time, and place. (Don't try to set a meeting by who can make it. You can spend months trying to accommodate everybody's schedule and location. Just pick a date, time, and place. Those who can make it will; those who can't make this one can make the next one.)
2. If you call a Pen Posse, show up. Be on time.
3. Anyone can call a Pen Posse. Anyone. You can.

That's it.

:-)

[carlos.q]

I wrote "the rules" for the other board, which is down now, so I can't access them. But they are Very Simple.

:-)

Thank you ethernautrix. Most of the information I have on pen posses I got from your posts on FPN. :thank_you2:

I am confident I have the initial "call" part licked. What I would like are more examples of what we would actually DO once we meet. This may seem like a very noob request, but I have never attended a pen posse, a pen club or a pen show...

So any and all ideas are welcome!!! :help:

[AltecGreen]

I am confident I have the initial "call" part licked. What I would like are more examples of what we would actually DO once we meet. This may seem like a very noob request, but I have never attended a pen posse, a pen club or a pen show...

So any and all ideas are welcome!!! :help:


Well, a lot of it is not that different than the chat box on FPGeeks except it is live. You sit down and start talking about pens inks, etc. To start just bring stuff to show and discuss. It's all very natural once you get started. People always want to look at pens, try them out, try out inks and paper. Later, you can talk about pen repairs.

[ethernautrix]

So any and all ideas are welcome!!! :help:

:-)

Just show up with some pens and wing it! That's what I did. It helps if you like talking to strangers. :-D Over time, they become your friends.

Mostly what happens at Pen Posse is conversation. Even at the Karaoke edition, there was the singing (word used advisedly) and then there was just about everybody else but me in the other room talking about pens. Hahaha. It's true.

You could name whatever theme you wanted, but for your first one, just bring some pens, probably to a cafe, so you can enjoy snacks, too. Bring some pens and inks. The conversation will develop organically from there.

:-)

[jacksterp]

Great advice in this thread.

I'd like to get one going in Raleigh, NC.

[dobemom]

Hey, Carlos!

Ive never been to one either, but while reading this I had a couple of thoughts. First of all, whenever you can get a couple of folks who are involved in the same kind of activities in the same room, you have a great time. I've never been to a pen show ( ok, I don't think I really knew they existed, because I'd never seen one advertised ) but I do go to a ton of dog shows...bear with me here, it's not as disimilar as you'd think. You go to some building or field you've never been to and sometimes it's out in some state forest that takes you forever to get to. You walk in and look for the ring your breed is scheduled to show in. The minute you find the ring, you are standing with a dog of the same breed as everyone else has. You've maybe never seen any of these people before, but in a matter of seconds someone walks up and comments on your dog. Next thing you know you're talking aobut dogs, breeders, training, feeding, classes, who knows who and who has the most enviable records. You share bait, you share tips on grooming, or you just chat about the trip there. You all have a bond that is undeniable...you have the dogs. I've gone to twelve national Doberman shows in fifteen years and as soon as I get to the host hotel I know I'm in the company of friends, most I've met and some I haven't yet.

So, if you maybe send out twelve plain postcards on reasonably nice card stock, handwritten by you with your pen ( maybe in a funky color ink ) you will have twelve people who recieve an invitation someone took the time to hand write. Already there is sympatico. Who knows? Maybe someone at the post office or a letter carrier sees the card and has a friend or ralative who also uses a fountain pen and they think to tell them about the card they saw ( the advantage of the card is no envelope to hide the message ) and maybe give them your contact information. If say, six people can make it to the meeting place, there will probably be a dozen or eighten fountain pens accompanying the people. A dozen or two pens can involve a dozen or two stories and a bunch of show and tell. A good time is had by all and plans are made to meet again. Sounds like a posse to me! :bump2: Just roll with it!

[AltecGreen]

Great advice in this thread.

I'd like to get one going in Raleigh, NC.

You can go to the Research Triangle Pen Club (http://www.rosspens.com/tripen.htm).

It's called a club but sounds like they are halfway between a pen posse and a more formal club.

[tato_gt]

Hey I live in Cabo Rojo... I guess you are planning to meet near San Juan right??

[carlos.q]

Welcome to FP Geeks, tato!
Yes, the idea was to meet a Saturday afternoon in San Juan. However, I've been too tied up at work to organize the first meet. I'm going to try this early next year and I'll send you an invitation.
I know a FPN member that, if I remember correctly, lives in Mayagüez. Maybe you can organize a posse in the west!

[BENZ]

Carlos, I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but there is a Virtual Pen Posse group that just turned a year old. Apparently, it was started for people that don't have any type of pen group in their areas. Quite a few of the people there are also part of local pen posse groups too though. I have been going to their chat room for a bit now and have met several people from not just here, but most other FP boards/sites also. They have a group page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/VirtPenPosse/ and the chat room is on IRC on the euIRC network (the room name is just #VirtualPenPosse). I'm sure quite a few people there could give you tips as well- plus it's just a great group! I hope to see you there ^_~

[jbb]

Carlos, I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but there is a Virtual Pen Posse group that just turned a year old. Apparently, it was started for people that don't have any type of pen group in their areas. Quite a few of the people there are also part of local pen posse groups too though. I have been going to their chat room for a bit now and have met several people from not just here, but most other FP boards/sites also. They have a group page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/VirtPenPosse/ and the chat room is on IRC on the euIRC network (the room name is just #VirtualPenPosse). I'm sure quite a few people there could give you tips as well- plus it's just a great group! I hope to see you there ^_~

^_~