The nominal access fee is EUR 3 per day or EUR 5 for the three days. However, as it was the case on previous years, the sponsor will offer free tickets on its website. It might also be worth to check some of the fountain pen fora in Spanish (::1::, ::2::), where those invitations were also published.
In 2016, about 1300 visitors and 65 dealers, plus some illustrious guests (::1::, ::2::), contributed to create a truly exciting experience. It is also the major celebration –the “fiesta mayor”— of the very active Spanish pen community.
I will be there.
Romillo Nervión – Sailor Iron Blue
Bruno Taut
Nakano, September 27th 2017
etiquetas: Mdrid, evento
It is over a month now since the 2016 Madrid Pen Show and a review is long overdue.
This was the 13th edition of the Madrid event, and my personal 7th. About 1300 visitors, 65 traders, and three days of gathering together made it the most important in Europe nowadays. Traders came from all over Europe –France, UK, Italy, Germany, Croatia…– and from North America. And on this occasion also there were also visitors, potential buyers, from outside of Spain. This represents a quantum leap forward in the natural evolution of this pen show.
Personally speaking, this was a most interesting event. The Madrid Pen Show is the major celebration of the Spanish fountain pen community, and therefore this is both a commercial event and a social meeting. Both aspects can be seen on one of the classic features of the show—the video made by Mr. José Riofrío.
Now, is there anything really special in this event with respect to other pen shows? What does it make any pen show different from the rest? Guest visitors SBRE Brown and Azizah Asgarali (Gourmet Pens) have some ideas, and some experience on other pen shows (::1::, ::2::, ::3::, ::4::).
Ethernautrix on FPN also attended the show.
Organizer Alfonso Mur, one of the owners of sponsor Iguana Sell, and two illustrious visitors.
Clavijo Velasco Ro-iro – Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-jaku
Bruno Taut
Nakano, December 22th, 2016
etiquetas: Madrid, evento
The XIII Madrid Pen Show will be celebrated at the usual venue –the NH Eurobuilding Hotel— between 18th and 20th of November.
It is just short of two months ahead of us, but it might not be that long in order to plan a visit to Madrid and attend this major event. Let us remember that the Madrid Pen Show is currently the biggest pen show in Europe.
The life of brick and mortar shops is hazardous these times. In the last months, the Madrid pen scene has seen a couple of significant changes.
The first was the disappearance of a very traditional shop, Jomar, in the Barrio de Salamanca area of town.
On the other hand, Papelería Debod has become very active in the area of fountain pens. Interestingly enough, this shop is selling Twsbi products in Spain. Papelería Debod is located near Plaza de España, in front of the Egyptian temple of Debod:
These changes remind us some of the big questions in the pen business today: Is the fountain pen market profitable? Are traditional shops a viable business model in the world of Internet and online shopping? I do not have any real answer, but I tend to be pessimistic.
I wonder whether it is worth to write about yet another pen show. In a sense, all of them are one and the same: people gathering around fountain pens. But I attended the 2015 Madrid Pen Show (November 13th to 15th, 2015) and I feel compelled to speak about it.
The Madrid Pen Show is currently the biggest event of this kind in Europe—70 tables, 62 traders from 13 different countries, and over 1200 visitors in the two and a half days of the event.
The following video by Mr. José Riofrío truly captures the pleasant atmosphere of the event. The commercial side is a given to any such show; the social part is also there, but is often limited to the local community of stylophiles. The Madrid Pen Show is, in this regard, the meeting event of most of the Spanish pen community, regularly connected through the Spanish pen fora, mostly the Foro de Estilográficas and Relojes Especiales – Grafos. Some of the members of this community can be seen at the dinner party, which by now is an integral part of the celebration.
The pixelated figure (min 3:05 and 3:12) corresponds to Mr. Tom Westerich, who after greeting the camera decided he was too important to appear on the video and filed a complaint before YouTube. This is, therefore, the "Westerich-correct" version.
A lot has been said and written on how to proceed in events like this, but I am afraid that even the most seasoned collector becomes overwhelmed by the sheer amount and variety of pens. It always becomes difficult to decide how to spend the always limited resources.
But if asked, I would advice in the following terms:
I. Keep focus on what you want. This might be either a model, a brand, a category of some sort, etc. Your eyes and your brain will quickly filter the signal from the noise.
II. But do not close your eyes totally to those pens not fitting your primary interest. A pen show is a magnificent opportunity to see and to touch extraordinary pens, which takes me to point III.
III. Ask, touch, try,… and ask again. Take the chance to learn about your beloved objects.
IV. Explore the show before buying, but also consider that some pens might be rare finds. Sometimes, what is left behind might be gone forever.
V. Assume you will not see every single pen in the show. There are just too many, and that is why rule I becomes even more important.
Enjoy the pen show near you, even if overwhelmed.
Special thanks to Mr. José Riofrío and to Antolín.
Parker 51 demi, vacumatic – Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue
Bruno Taut
Madrid, November 17th, 2015
Edited on December 16th, 2015 due to privacy complaints of Mr. Tom Westerich.
etiquetas: Madrid, mercado, estilofilia, evento
News in the Madrid pen scene. The brick and mortar shop Miestilografica.com has closed. The online business seems to continue. On the website, the owners still mention the address of the physical shop (checked on May 8th, 2015).
The 11th edition of the Madrid Pen Show was celebrated on the weekend of November 14th to 16th, and I am bound to report on it. But that is no easy task, as mostly all that there is to say had already been written on these Chronicles.
Year after year, the pen show is the big celebration of stylophiles in Spain, and even more than that, as some foreign residents also attended the event. Therefore, this is a major social gathering for many of us, a meeting point for people you only know by name or by alias on a number of pen fora or through email. And then, face to face, a lot more information is actually exchanged.
The conversation often moves onto the dining table, where pens and paper are spread our easily.
Sarj Minhas is well known in Madrid.
The commercial aspect is obviously important, but a pen show is rarely the place to find unexpected bargains. Pen traders do know their job and what they are selling, and they are also aware of the typical customer at those events—we are there because we value pens, and we would pay a lot more that the average person on the street. In fact, we know we are quite foolish when we pay more than, say, EUR 10 for a writing tool. And that is a common mistake among newcomers to a pen show—“pens are not cheap”, they say. Of course not, albeit there might be exceptions buried in the myriad of pens on display.
The space in between tables was scarce at times. That seems to be solved for the 2015 edition, when over 500 sq. meters will be available.
Gary Lehrer, David Nishimura and Carlos Sánchez-Álamo. Among others, of course.
A visitor and a trader. Rick Propas and Jim Marshall. Photo courtesy of Foro de Estilográficas member Antolín.
A third leg in a pen show is the didactic one. Some events do this very well by organizing seminars and workshops. Madrid Pen Show fails at that, but by no means the learning aspect is absent. Both traders and visitors are often well versed on pens and they are willing to share their knowledge. That comes very easily, and it is indeed a pity not to take benefit of this well-informed crowd.
Jonathan Steinberg, Darek Sot, David Nishimura--all of them trading pens.
Figure-wise, the Madrid Pen Show congregated about 1200 visitors and 67 traders over thee days. For the next edition (November 13 to 15, 2015) there will be a maximum of 72 traders on a larger lounge of over 500 square meters. The Madrid Pen Show is now the largest event of its kind in Europe.
Jim Marshall attending some customers. Photo courtesy of Antolín.
Some interesting changes in the pen scene in Madrid have taken place recently.
Álvaro Romillo’s brick and mortar shop, “Club de Estilográficas de España”, is now closed. However, his plethora of online business related to pens remain active. That includes the manufacture and distribution of his brand RomilloPens.
On the other hand, two other shops have open in the past months:
-- IguanaSell, a well-known online business, is now also a physical shop at Madrid’s Barrio de Salamanca. It is devoted to watches and pens, and it only sells new goods. IguanaSell, might be worth to note, is the sole distributor of Nakaya in Spain. Its address is as follows:
November is the month of the Madrid Pen Show. This year, it reaches its 11th edition and has become one of the greatest pen events in Europe. Indeed a remarkable feat given the lack of manufacturing tradition (of pens, that is) in this city, and the mostly domestic-market-oriented pen industry in Spain in general.
The Madrid Pen Show will be celebrated during three days –from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th— in November at the hotel NH Eurobuilding. The admission fee is EUR 3 per day or EUR 5 for the whole show. Free invitations are available courtesy of the sponsor IguanaSell: visit their shop in Madrid or asked for those via the submission form.
So far there are 68 traders who have confirmed their assistance. They come mostly from Europe, but there are usually traders from the US as well. Some of them are well known in the pen scene in general, and active participants in the pen-show world tour (not that it officially exists as such, but sure there are pen shows every weekend somewhere in Europe or America).
If you happen to attend this pen show feel free to say hello.
The Tenth Madrid Pen Show was celebrated about a week ago (November 15th to 17th). It was an exciting event with thousands of pens, and hundreds of visitors and tens of traders…
For the first time in its 10-year history, the number of visitors surpassed the figure of 1000. The number of pen traders, though, was smaller than on year 2012 with just over 40 of them, coming from Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, UK, USA, Switzerland, and Spain. But those figures are enough to make this event one of the leading pen shows in Europe.
That about the commercial aspect of the show. The social part was very active too. After all, the pen show is the big party of pen stylophiles in Spain, and meeting all those brothers in pens becomes as important as finding and buying that rare tool. But the vast majority of visitors were Spanish –the exceptions being German, Japanese, Mexican and Portuguese— and attracting foreign customers might be the next challenge for organizers in the years to come.
The third leg of any event like this should be the didactic one. A pen show is a great opportunity to organize workshops and seminars on all things fountain pen—from history notes to calligraphy training to fixing procedures. Attracting younger generations –potential users and collectors— is also an investment for the future. However, these activities are totally ignored during this pen show. I should add, however, that some traders in Madrid organize a monthly encounter –the Tertulias of Amigos de las Estilográficas (their website is far from being updated, although the events are celebrated)— where the didactic side of pen collecting is covered. The paradox is that the November meeting was not celebrated because of the Pen Show.
But the best summary of the Madrid Pen Show might be the following video. The author, José Riofrío, has captured the pleasant atmosphere of both the commercial and the social dimensions of the show, including the dinner of a large group of stylophiles.
These events are easily overwhelming, but also very pleasant.
My thanks to Mr. José Riofrío.
Pilot FCN-500R-B – Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuyu-Kusa
Bruno Taut
Madrid, November 24th, 2013
etiquetas: evento, estilofilia, mercado
A pen show is always an overwhelming experience. There are too many pens on display and too little money. On top of that, a pen show is a meeting point where a number of stylophiles congregate. It is easy -and convenient too!- to talk and to exchange information and experiences. Those are, in fact, the basic elements of a pen show—the commercial and the social.
However, not all pen shows cater the social aspect in the same way. The raison d’être of a any such event is obviously the commercial, and its success is based upon the arithmetic of the trade. The social aspect is, therefore, too often overseen by the organizers.
Vymars's table.
The De Leo and Gargioulo's tables.
Such is the case, in my opinion, of the Madrid Pen Show. This year, the change in the venue roughly doubled the available space, but it seems that only traders could benefit from this. Most of them could display more pens, and they were more comfortable behind their tables. But we visitors felt there was not much more space to move around than on previous years. On Saturday, the big day of the event, the lounge was truly crowded. I should also note that this year there were more cafes and restaurants around the hotel, but many of us thought they were too far away.
Sarj Minhas's table.
Toys from the Attic.
It is my contention that the social networking associated to these events does generate economic benefits that would cover for the cost of devoting some specific space to this more relaxed activity.
Entry fee, EUR 3 per day. Voided with the invitation shown on this link. Carry one copy per person per day.
Opening hours for visitors: Friday: 11:00-20:00 Saturday: 10:00-20:00
Sunday: 10:00-14:30
The Madrid Pen Show is one of the big trading events in Europe. On the last edition about 50 traders and 1000 visitors gathered to discuss and learn about pens, and to trade them too! This year, the event will take place at a much larger venue –roughly twice the space of that in previous years—at the NH Eurobuilding Hotel. However, the organizers say the number of traders will not change by much. The primary consequence will be a more relaxing atmosphere in less crowded lounges. And, hopefully, more pens.
The Eighth Madrid Pen Show has just finished. As is often the case with these events, it was a big celebration for all of us lovers of fountain pens and other writing utensils.
Paradoxically, this show is becoming one of the leading events of its kind in Europe. We should remember that the pen industry in Spain was never truly important, and it was localized mainly in Barcelona, and Spanish pens are seldom, if ever, collected by foreign stylophiles. So, those arguments that apply to other pen shows located in cities with a deep manufacturing tradition do not apply in Madrid—does anybody come to Madrid in search a locally made exotic and unique pen? Maybe the 43 traders from Europe and America supplied a number of outstanding pens.
Last year, the seventh edition received about 1000 visitors, and this year everybody said there were less people (about 850, Pen Show sources say), as was the trend on other European pen shows. Figures about the size of the transactions are not made public.
However, this pen show has a big problem of space. Some of the trader’s tables were small and moving around became difficult with just a few number of visitors. Organizers said that the venue for next year’s show will be bigger. I look forward to it, but I am also afraid that organizers think more of the trader than of the visitor. Having more space for more traders with ampler tables is great, but too often the social aspect of the show is ignored. Pen shows are also a meeting place for stylophiles, who keep in touch through fora and blogs. And few occasions are as perfect as pen show for a gathering.
Then, what many an organizer ignores is that those meetings increase sales. We all love to talk about our hobby and we enjoy testing each other's pens. Having a place to sit and a table to display our treasured pens will trigger even more curiosity on other pens. And right there, there are over ten thousand pens ready for the action.
I do believe the social aspect of a pen show needs to be favored. If only, because it will increase the economic yield. But it seems that only in Japan this aspect is taken into consideration.
(Sailor ProGear, senior nib – Daiso red cartridge)
Bruno Taut November 14th, 2011 [etiquetas: evento, Madrid, mercado]
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