We left Thursday about 6pm for the 2013 Raleigh Pen Show. There was some rain, but we managed to skirt the storm front and took a last minute course adjustment to avoid any further rain. We ended up stopping to sleep and arrived at the show about 1pm, which was a bit later than usual for us, and people were starting to worry, it was sweet. The show was already bustling with people, and despite being in a much smaller room than last year, it was still pretty cozy.
There were lots of people we haven’t seen in a while including our dear friend Pearce Jarvis from Canada, George Rimakis, Sam Marshall, Martin Ferguson, Ross Mckinney, and a whole bunch of other people. It took all day to set up, and then we Went to our hotel after the show ended. It was a beautiful evening, the sun setting and we sat out on the patio and had dinner which included steamed dumplings with hot sauce, salad, pasta, and a terrific local beer (ok, two) from the Triangle Brewery.
Saturday morning came quick, we had breakfast with some good friends, talked some business, had a nice breakfast at the Embassy Suites. We love that big buffet!! It was a busy day, saw lots of people, many of whom we only get to see at Raleigh. The day went by quickly and then we had dinner with the young George Rimakis, it was fun to get to know him better, and it turns out he is a trumpet player like myself as well. After two days of torturing George with two very very early Waterman pens I bought at the Chicago Pen Show (first ten years of the company he thought), he turned the tables on me and offered me three Aikin Lambert pens with price labels, a nib and cash. I was literally sweating deciding if I should make the decision or not. They couldn’t have gone to a better home though, and one of the Aikin’s was a Safety, so I couldn’t pass that up.
2013 Raleigh Pen Show Finds – Aikin Lambert and Sterling Pencil
Immediately following dinner was the auction. There were a lots of attendees, and it was a fully packed house. Ok, it was right after the dessert party, but with auctions, I don’t want to deliberate, I just want them to start. Lisa and Jonathan Veley helped out at the front again, along with Joe Nemecek doing the walk down the isle. Terry is a fantastic auctioneer and over 120 lots in this years auction. Lots of hard rubber waterman lots, Sheaffer skripserts, lots of Sheaffer snorkels and PFM’s too. I managed to get one sterling pencil for the collection, a nice unmarked chased slender one, and accidentally won a lot of two snorkels. Another good tip, always inspect the items before the auction, as it turns out, while in decent shape, both snorkels have incorrect caps on them. Oh well, we always need parts, right?
Lisa was victorious as well, sporting auction number 1A up front winning three lots of skripserts, to upgrade pens she already has in the pen chest. Since there were a number of Skripsers up for auction, all with reserves, and seemingly little interest, at one point Terry looked at Speerbob, who was buying most of them, and just asked if he wanted it for the $25 reserve. It was pretty humorous. While a large number of Waterman pens in the auction, none of them were really fantastic pieces. All had significant wear or other issues. I’m sure I could have used some parts, but I am trying to back off of parts pens. I want them whole at this point (Yes, I realize the three Aikin Lamberts I got didn’t have caps, and one didn’t have a nib. Be quiet).
Sunday was busy for a Sunday. There was decent traffic and saw lots of the same people, which was nice. We like spending a weekend with friends, except for that working thing. 🙂 We did managed to buy a few pens, a Lamy studio, a nice Parker, but Rob Bader was gone, so the pen I had decided to purchase for myself was not an option. Hopefully, I’ll see him soon to get it, if I remember what it was.
2013 Raleigh Pen Show Finds – Skripserts, Lamy, and Parker
The trip home we had decent weather and actually had the moonroof open part of the time. We pulled over to sleep which is rare for us, stopped for a quick break here & there, and got home around 2:30. All in all another delightful Raleigh Pen Show and we were glad it took off this year, after threat of not happening. If you haven’t been to this show and are in close proximity, we highly recommend it!
Cheers!
Brian & Lisa