PNW Pen Show

Well, that was exhausting and incredibly fun! I had such a great time at the PNW Pen Show. It was my first time exhibiting there and I learned A LOT! Like...even if you have two tables you can still bring WAY too much stuff. The upside of that dilemma was the ability to continue to refresh the inventory all weekend long. There were things that I would like to improve on next time I do a show but over all it was a great success. 

I started planning my inventory several months ahead, which is necessary for a lot of the items I sell as they need to be imported or I need to plan what I want to bid on at auction to fill inventory gaps. I started packing up two weeks ahead and then loaded up the whole lot the day before the show started and drove into Portland. My daughter and a friend of hers flew up from California to help me out and I could not have done it without them. There were times we were three deep at the table with all three of us helping someone. They were indispensable and have already been asked to return with me next year. 

I think the best part for me was actually meeting some of my online customers in person. Wonderful to put faces to their names and thank them in person. I also really enjoyed all the people who asked questions or just wanted to engage in pen conversation. We got quite a few first time pen buyers which is awesome, we has some kids who bought pens (which makes me so happy) and we have a vintage pen a gentleman had been looking for and was writing with immediately. And we have had one lady's "grail pen" and she was so so happy.  That was great to see!

If you came by this weekend, thank you! Looking forward to seeing you again next year.