Flash:
Dallas:
OCT 5, 2002:
For Immediate World Release:
Film at 11 PM:

The North Texas pen show was great. Over 35 tables and over 40 dealers just wheeling and dealing right and left.

Stan Garner and I had a table and we sold about 20 pens and a desk set or two. Stan got an almost mint Parker 21 set in the box for a price that could only be considered small change. I walked away with a vivid blue Dixie flat top. We had the pleasure of Karmann Goff and her son visiting us. We all had on our snail badges and we got a lot of questions about Pentrace.

The crowd was steady all day with the surge, as usual, being right around noon. There were a couple of times I had to bob and weave to get to some tables. Several feeding frenzies took place over some new old stock (still in the cellophane wrap) Parker 51's in the origial box. It was your typcal Texas crowd, jeans, boots, Willie Nelson sneakers, cowboy hats, faded Dockers, and the Cartier representative in a charcoal worsted wool suit with red silk tie!

Yes we saw the new Parker 51 Special Edition. Yes I like it. No we didn't get to look under the hood. However a reliable source told me his new one was a great writer. Mine should arrive about Tuesday so a writers report will be posted soon.

One of the real treats of the show was to visit with David Broadwell of Broadwell Custom Knives (www.gallery.broadwell.com). David does some work in Damascus steel that is out of this world. Guess what, David is making custom pens, really unique pens. Unique was a word used a lot by people looking at his pens. Damascus steel barrels with beautiful red acrylic, some new hard rubber and gold, brown acrylic acetate that made people drool. Quality feel and quality work that incorporates Bexley nibs. Please bug David so that he gets the pictures on his home page, these are one of a kind art work fountain pens, that you just gotta see!

This was my fourth year in a row to participate in this show. This year was bigger and better than ever and had expanded to two rooms. My congratulations to the North Texas Club for a job well done. I believe and hope next year will include even more dealers and be an even bigger and better show.

Will Thorpe

Thanks for the kind words, Will. David and I enjoyed visiting with you. Yes, the North Texas Collectors Show turned out to be a great little show. Cozy and friendly and probably about the size the NTX Club wants to keep it. Any previously voiced concerns we had about the Penwright sponsorship issue were thoroughly addressed and resolved by the show coordinators and PenWright, and in retrospect I think the whole thing stemmed from advertising/registration copy that could have been better worded.

One of the highlights of the show was Ed Weyman’s daylong demonstration of fine calligraphy. Ed must have lettered over a hundred cards for everyone who came through the door. Our nine year old daughter, Katie, managed to sneak over to his table during brief lulls in the crowd and got her teachers’ names lettered so we can mat and frame them! Ed, sharing your talent was a real gift to those who came out to the show.

Katie was so inspired by Ed’s work that she spent the last hour of the show with Sherrell Tyree, and Gary Wells, trying to pick out a fine flexy nib pen to do lettering with. This kid had a budget and knew exactly what she wanted. She ended up with a nice little blue Waterman pen and pencil set. Stan Garner sold her a Sheaffer school pen and gave her another. And she earned a Phileas ballpoint for helping Susan Wirth pack up her two tables at the end of the day. This morning before church she was in the kitchen proudly flushing the Waterman and filling it on her own.

I guess we’ve taught her well when it comes to pen show etiquette. Whenever she wanted to look at a pen she asked permission first, then asked if it was a screw fit cap or friction fit. Haven’t we all cringed a time or two when someone manhandled one of our pens?!

I made a couple of Christmas purchases and bought another Parker 61 for myself. Sam and Frank were missed and there was no one for me to buy some green ink from. A “most embarrassing moment” came after sitting down with Mike Walker to look over the cas of Dorics he brought. I spent twenty minutes checking them over carefully, asking questions, finally settled on the one I wanted to buy, and asked how much he wanted for that one. “Oh, these aren’t for sale. All these cases are my private collection I brought to show.” I didn’t know that! I politely wrapped up our visit, slunk into the other show room and consoled myself by buying the 61. (Mental note, make Mike Walker a “not for sale” sign for next year)

I got to meet Will and Stan, of course, but missed meeting Karmann by about 5 minutes. It was late afternoon before I thought about getting a picture of Will in his spiffy hawaiin shirt and his buddy Stan, but they had already left the building. Enjoy visiting with them. I did manage to get a picture of Ed Weyman and his array of dip pens with the longest, most flexible nibs you ever saw, and the obligatory picture of my husband, David, plying his trade. That’s Sherrell Tyree, wearing white, in the background with a customer. She and Joel Hamilton stayed busy all day. Joel was trying to entice David with the gorgeous oversize golden pearl Parker Vac he had. Sometime during the afternoon the Oversize was gone and David drove home a sad man! It was a very enjoyable show and a wonderful day with old and new friends.

Sue Broadwell