17 December 2021

The Pen Show of Hope. Madrid 2021

The Madrid Pen Show of 2021 was not like those of previous years—it just could not be.


This pen show had everything against—a pandemic, a hotel that was closed on the planned dates, a new venue, the changing local policies, the unclear and ever changing travel requirements, a new mutation of the virus discovered days before the event... So, not much was in there for the pen show to be celebrated and, much less, to succeed.

But the people responded. There was a real crave in the Spanish aficionado to reconnect with the community and with the market.


Needless to say, the event figures did not reach the values of 2019 (no pen show in Madrid in 2020) and before. On this occasion, only 49 traders and about 1000 visitors joined the party. But it was a good party.


Several traders reported that they were selling more pens than on previous pen shows, which shows that there were some savings after two years without similar events.

But it was the sense of community what made the event successful. Visitors from all over Spain –from the Canary Islands and from the Balearic Islands, from the Basque Country and from Andalusia, from Murcia and from Catalonia...-- gathered at the Meliá Castilla Hotel and spent their money on pens that came all the way from all over Europe (UK, France, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, …) and from the US.


So, the Madrid Pen Show is alive and kicking. This year´s edition proved how well connected the Spanish community is despite the pandemic, and in 2022 the Madrid Pen Show will be even better.


Montblanc 146 – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
December 15th, 2021
etiquetas: España, Madrid, evento, mercado

2 comments:

Papish said...

It was an amazing sensation that of being there again! Loads of beauties waiting to be admired and picked, old friends and new friends to meet, paper, inks, swaps, gifts... All that makes this community worthy.

I fell in love with Pilot WA nib thanks to Inktraveler and their fifteen Pilot nibs inked for us to try. I received my first urushi pen as a much valuable gift and I couldn't say no to a beautiful Jackdaw with a great flex nib.

I came back home full of happiness and I'm sure next year will be better.

Hugs and kisses from the Canaries!!

Bruno Taut said...

I am happy to hear the Madrid Pen Show went so well for you. Sure enough, the 2022 edition will be even better!

Cheers,

BT

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