Hi all,

On behalf of the PDX Pen Club, I want to thank everyone who attended the 3rd Annual Northwest Pen Round-Up!

The attendance by both buyers and sellers was very good. The attendance by vendors was better than, I think, we had anticipated and we had to make extra room for a couple of the sellers.

There was some "tire kicking" and buying going on and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I saw quite a bunch of extraordinary vintage pens for sale. Also a number of modern pens that I had never seen before.



I sent my show report to our local group and some others who attended the Round-Up and got a reply from Sam Fiorella of Pendemonium. She and Frank are longtime sellers at many pen shows around the country and they are longtime friends of mine, so her input is always welcome. This is what she had to say about the Round-Up:



I think Michael's write up might be a little modest about how nice the
Northwest Pen Round Up really was!

Just a few observations. This was our first time at the Round Up. We
used to attend the Portland Pen Show and we're not strangers to pen
shows across the country.

1) Ya'll did a GREAT job putting the Round Up together.

2) We felt so welcome here. Loved the atmosphere

3) The people who came to the show both veteran pen people and new
pen people were all happy to be there. We had great discussions with
people who were so excited to be around all the pens and be able to
ask questions and just talk pens in general. I had the honor of
viewing an awesome private collection and having time to talk serious
pens with this gent. I also had the honor of talking with a few
people who were at their first pen show and were thrilled to see all
the pens and be around like-minded people. Answered a lot of
questions, probably not always the answers the new pen people wanted,
but honesty didn't seem to rain on their parade in the least. These
new collectors had found their element.

4) Who would ever complain about being able to walk to the next room
for good beer and good food at very affordable prices? Perfect.

5) I thought lighting might be an issue, but it was not. Stuart
brought us lamps. We had some lighted loupes and it was easy to point
people toward the outside for daylight pen viewing. Lighting is so
often a big deal at shows - there's too much, there's not enough, the
lights are hot, the light is not white enough. Yikes! We managed
perfectly with our lamps and loupes and it sure didn't seem to be a
problem for those who looked at pens at our table. We felt good about
having Stuart's lamps, they served us well.

6) Keep doing what you're doing. Don't get all fancy - schmancy.
Seize what you have. Frank and I loved the Northwest Pen Round Up,

after all it is in beautiful Portland!

Our thanks to all of you who helped put the Northwest Pen Round Up
together. Job well done.

Sam



Photos courtesy of John Gram, Frank & Sam Fiorella and Bruce Grembowski.

Multnomah Falls - Columbia River Gorge



An Omen?





The earlybirds have arrived!








Sam listening intently








Peddle powered Brew Cycle bus








Mike R. with a bag o' penz (pretty good ones, too!)




A couple of old hippie pen collectors




It's always pandemonium at the Pendemonium table






Polychrome Pups




Good food and libations




A good way to burn off beer and food