The 2024 Triangle Pen Show at Durham, NC is now history. Terry Mawhorter, as always, did everything he could to assure a pleasant and smooth experience for vendors and attendees (even going around with freshly-baked cookies for vendors!) On Friday and Saturday there were a multitude of visitors, some new to shows (Yay!) and some seasoned, including a lot of friends from previous shows. The sales seemed brisk. Sunday was a contrast: many fewer attendees, and seemingly much fewer sales. People--including perfect strangers--greeted you and in general were warm and pleasant.

The down-side was the hotel space itself: very dim in the corners. one exhibitor got up early on Saturday to buy two lamps to light his display clearly. Plus, the ballroom wasn't very large, so that the hallways had to be used plus, I think, two additional rooms. One of them was quite out of the way. There was a vast array of new pens, vintage pens (not as many), some ephemera, watches, etc. However, it seemed to me that craft-made pens were in short supply, and some side-type exhibitors weren't present. I didn't see any artisonal candies (my favorites), 3-D greeting cards or jewelry--might have missed seeming them. The presentations seemed to be quite satisfying to the people who went to them. The auction seemed to be a little "weak" in sale prices, from what I was told. Not as many repair folks as usual, and those there were always busy.

All-in-all, a great show and one that should be on everyone's list for 2025.