2023 SEMINARS - free with show admission
Seminars and Special Events are held on the ground floor in the Junior Ballroom accessible via staircase in foyer or elevator.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4
11:00 AM – PIERRE MILLER PEN SHOW ETIQUETTE
A few words on what to expect, and how to have the best time at a pen show.
A link to Pierre's background and how he entered the pen world: https://www.core77.com/posts/123970/Self-Taught-Designer-n-Machinist-Turns-Pen-Passion-Into-Successful-Business
SPECIAL EVENT 3 pm
SPECIAL EVENT 7:30 - 9 pm
The Black Pen Society and The Pen Notes Project present
VINTAGE PENS FOR THE MODERN PEN USER: EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK
Panelists: Paul Erano, Myk Daigle, and Trevis Young
Moderated by: Joshua Lax
The world of vintage pens offers an incredible opportunity to add fascinating, beautiful, and functional pens to your collection for relatively low costs. But where to start? What should you look for? Is it all about flex? What if the nibs are scratchy? Is it hard to clean and polish the pens? Is it annoying to fix them? Where can I learn more if I am curious?
The Black Pen Society and The Pen Notes Project invite you to a panel discussion offering an overview of what you need to get started in the right direction buying, repairing, and using vintage fountain pens. The program is geared to all fountain pen enthusiasts and makers of all levels and interests. The program is the inaugural event of The Pen Notes Project, a new YouTube channel devoted to presenting and preserving information about vintage fountain pens.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5
10:00 AM - DAVID RZESZOTARSKI PILOT VANISHING POINT
Pilot’s Vanishing Point is one of the most unique and interesting fountain pens ever made. Collector David Rzeszotarski will share his extensive collection of these fascinating pens from their origins to the latest models made today. We’ll look at the history, advertising, and evolution of the Vanishing point over the last 60 years.
Pilot Pen has generously provided giveaways for attendees of this seminar.
11:00 AM - DAVID PARKER AKA FIGBOOT
Presentation and interactive Q&A discussion about creating reviews, social media, and how it relates to the pen world.
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Watch this brilliant interview with David and Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, a fountain pen collector.
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12:00 PM - BERT ANDERSON THE HISTORY OF INK
What does a Mexican beetle have to do with the American Revolution? How did teachers grade homework in ancient Egypt? Which colors carried the death penalty for use in ancient Greece? How can you be killed by wallpaper? Colors have carried importance for us since the dawn of time, come learn a few ways humanity has used colors in the past. Ink maker Bert Anderson will go over a brief history of the uses of dyes and pigments around the world, including some unexpected and intriguing examples. A half hour presentation with a Q&A session following.
Bert is the scientific mind behind Anderillium Ink, the creator of the Limited Edition
2023 Washington DC Fountain Pen SUPERSHOW ink “Potomac.”
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1:00 PM - LETIZIA IACOPINI ROARING 90'S IN ITALY
Learn about the roaring 90s in Italy and how that decade gave birth to some of the most extraordinary models which are highly collectible today. Limited editions and standard production of Visconti, Stipula, Montegrappa and Omas will be discussed and analysed with tips on collecting.
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Letizia is a well known expert on Italian fountain pens and has written numerous books and articles, including the two volume “History of Italian Fountain Pens.” Her most recent book, “Parker in Italy 1900 - 1960,” was published in the summer of 2017.
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2:00 PM - DAVID SILBER LESSER KNOWN VINTAGE PENS
Lesser known brands/models from the Golden Age (of pens, that is), such as Eagle, Eclipse, Chilton, etc. How they are great to collect, excellent writers, reliable, and stories behind them
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3:00 PM - MIKE MATTESON HAVE YOU SEEN MY BAG?
We all love great pens, inks, and papers and we want to take them with us! Are
you interested in learning about great bags and backpacks? Mike “Inkdependence”
Matteson has been collecting backpacks, messenger bags, slings, pouches, and other
things for years, and he’ll be bringing bags and packs from at least 10 different great
carry brands. We’ll talk about what makes a bag great, how you can find a great bag for
your needs, and whatever else you might have questions about. We’ll have time for you
to get hands-on with a bunch of great bags after the talk and Q&A. Come and discover something you’ll want to carry with you for years!
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Mike is a blogger, YouTuber, Twitch streamer, and (when he's not doing that) he is a philosophy teacher at a University in North Carolina. He has been accumulating pens for as long as he can remember, and he's been talking about them on the internet since 2012. He is also a little too into cool bags and backpacks.
Here are Mike and Audrey discussing doing THIS seminar on their popular Friday Chat on 7/14/23.
Mike will be live streaming the SUPERSHOW so be on the lookout to say hi!
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4:00 PM - GEOFFREY PARKER PARKER - 135 YEARS, BETWEEN THE LINES
learn about the more nuanced and little-known pieces of PARKER’s history. More often than not these center on insights about some of the many talented people who made up the PARKER “family” - whether their name was Parker or not!
As always, any and all questions will be welcome.
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PUZZLE COMPETITION 9 pm
After the success of last year's Nib Wars event, ESTERBROOK wanted to bring the community together again -- and this time, you're invited to play along!
What's better than a good ol' fashion board game? And maybe some friendly competition along the way. During the D.C. Pen Show, we will be hosting a puzzle challenge! Teams of four will race the clock -- and each other -- to finish the puzzle in time. Whether you're a puzzle master or just want to hang out and share in some laughs with friends, everyone's welcome to this event!
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To register, click HERE to fill out the form. You can sign up as a group of four, or individually and we will assign you a team
prior to the event.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 6
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11:00 AM – THE GOULET PENCAST: LIVE RECORDING AND MEET AND GREET!
Join Brian Goulet and Drew Brown in-person for a live recording of the 100th episode of The Goulet Pencast - a casual and informal, tangential and extraneous, superfluous and extemporaneous fountain pen show where they talk about what’s going on at The Goulet Pen Company and in their fountain pen lives! Brian and Drew will attempt to do a shortened version of the show so that there's plenty of time to hang out and say hi afterwards!
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