If you weren't at the DC pen show, you missed a
heck of a good time! As soon as you walked into the
lobby of the Sheraton Premiere in Tyson's Corner,
Virginia and turned right, you were immediately blown
away by the phenomenal display of David Oscarson,
and greeted with a hearty handshake by the master
craftsman himself. Despite having his pieces
recognized by numerous publications as being among
the world's most prized, David, ever the humble
gentleman, would gladly spend hours discussing his
art with anyone who was interested. If you haven't
seen the majestic beauty of the Trellis collection or
the incredible artistry of David's Pierrot and Pierrette
pieces, you should definitely check out our
website. Without a doubt, David Oscarson
deserves his reputation as one of the world's
penultimate craftsman.
When you turned around, you were greeted by two
veterans of the DC vintage pen universe, Bill Enderlin
and Louis Wofsy. In addition to manning Pen Haven's
impressive vintage display, Bill and Louis were happy
to share their vintage pen and repair wisdom with all
passerby. Bert Heiserman, Pen Haven's other resident
genius, also made an appearance, proving that not
even major surgery can keep a devoted pen
enthusiast like Bert from taking part in a pen show.
Further down, at the end of the hallway, you ran into
our friends from Stipula, the master craftsmen
responsible for the latest Bertram's exclusive
masterpiece. If you haven't seen this remarkable
pen, you can visit our website for a
look at our exclusive Stipula Da Vinci retractable nib
fountain pen. This gorgeous piece is crafted from
Stipula's famous, warm amber celluloid, trimmed in
stunning rose gold, and finished off with a silky
smooth rose gold nib. We've kept this production
strictly limited and they're going fast, so make sure
to visit our website and purchase
this latest Bertram exclusive!
Then, leaving the Stipula table and venturing into
one of the main rooms, you came face to face with
the fun loving staff of Bertram's inkwell. We had a
huge display across the back wall, proudly showing
our collection of some of the world's finest pens while
having a great weekend spending time with wonderful
people, who make our small, family-run business a
reality.
In the slow moments we could be found laughing it
up with our friends from Aurora. They were busy
showing off Aurora's beautiful new masterpieces.
They were particularly proud of their beautiful Asia
collection. Each member of the five piece set is
carefully molded from a breath-taking green and
brown marbled resin, subtly evoking the rich soil of
the Asian continent. The Asia is definitely one of the
must have pens of the year.
Also, right across from Bertram's display, the
delightfully British Mary Burke was representing
Conway Stewart's line of fantastic pens. Take special
note of Conway's upcoming limited edition, the
Trafalgar, which commemorates Lord Nelson's
heroic victory over the Spanish Armada in 1805.
Crafted of beautiful blue stardust acrylic, each piece
comes with a blotter, specially carved of oak from
Nelson's ship, the HMS Victory, and presented in a
lacquered presentation box.
Oh, and who can forget Michael Hostetler of
Michael's Fat Boy, who had a great display against
the back wall. If you love the Fat Boy (and come on,
how can you not love the eye-catching uniqueness
of the Michael's Fat Boy) make sure to browse our website and pick up our exclusive
Limited Edition Silencer. We only made 100, and
supplies of this attention-grabbing pen are
disappearing fast!
So, a heart-felt thanks goes out to all the vendors
and visitors who came to the DC show! And if you
weren't there, you missed a great time. But that's
ok, because there will be plenty more in the future!
For example, we're having our own personal show in
our White Flint Mall store on November 5, 2005 which
is always a fantastic time! We'll be bringing in many
of the world's great pen makers and virtually taking
over White Flint, setting up tables up and down the
mall's hallways. If you can you really should stop by.
Also, Bertram's is putting on an international pen
show in Philadelphia this winter January 20-22, 2006.
We hope to see you there and we promise it's going
to be the best show yet!
Oh yeah, next time you stop by one of our stores to
say hi, make sure to have Ken tell you how he single-
handedly saved the DC show from a band of
marauding robbers! It's a great story!
We hope to see you soon!
Signed Spence Witten
Bertram's Is proud to have Spence join our team This
20 something has a passion and love for witting
instruments which is a pleasure to witness when he
egarly waits on our customers.
