September 25th has passed and in its wake the Pelikan Hubs event has come and gone. The second annual Pelikan Hubs occurred in 72 cities divided amongst 29 countries. I had the privilege of being the Hub master for the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA location. This year, Philadelphia faced a unique challenge owing to the traffic restrictions put into place with the Pope’s arrival into town. With that in mind, the venue had to be carefully selected. Ultimately, I decided to host the event at Goat Hollow in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. Goat Hollow is an American brassiere with a great selection of hand crafted beers and a menu that has plenty to offer provided in heaping portions. It’s a nice neighborhood location with a wonderful private room upstairs that served to host our group. For a reasonable fee, we were provided our own server, Collin, who did an excellent job fulfilling our orders. Food and drink were enjoyed by all and while I can’t speak for the whole menu, the poutine was exceptional.
Goat Hollow: Exterior (left) and upstairs (right) [Credit: Goat Hollow]
With full bellies and some libation, the group seemed to instantly mesh and fall into a familiar groove. Despite several last-minute cancellations, the gathering was enthusiastic. Prior to dinner, I was able to wander amongst the attendees and learned a little bit about everyone and what drew them to the event. Some attendees drove a respectable distance to be able to participate. We also had the good fortune to have some of the team behind Goldspot Pens in attendance which proved to be a substantial resource. They were able to share their experiences with the brand as well as bring a Stola III, M600 Pink, and an M805 engraved demonstrator for the ogling, three pens that I had not previously seen in person.
Pelikan endeavoured to provide more of an experience for everyone, taking to heart the lessons learned from last years event. We were provided a full set of the standard production Edelstein (pronounced EY-dell-shtein) inks for dipping and testing. Many were able to avail themselves of swabs and become introduced to an ink previously unfamiliar to them. It was the first ink sampling opportunity for a few of the attendees but some of the veterans were able to help guide them through the experience. At the end of the evening, everyone was invited to take home a bottle of their choosing. Along with a flacon of ink, Pelikan provided everyone a catalog, a Hubs themed cup, a tin of Edelstein Amethyst cartridges, and a two pen soft case.
Ink sampling table and “swag bags”
Pelikan swag provided gratis
As for me, I shared my entire flock with the group as well as whatever knowledge that I could. I enjoyed being able to discuss the pens and the brand, which are my passion, in person with fellow enthusiasts. I was also happy to identify a couple of pens for those that were unsure of their model’s designation. There were some great stubbed nibs from some of the well-known nib meisters which is always a treat to see and write with. Everybody was very friendly and open about sharing. There were even several non-Pelikan pens brought along which provided a welcome bit of variety. We gathered for a total of three hours and I was having such fun that I almost forgot to take a few photos. I enjoyed the gathering immensely and look forward to participating in next years event should Pelikan choose to continue this affair (and they should).
Check out all of the photos from the Hubs around the world on your preferred social media via the hashtag #PelikanHubs or see them aggregated at Walls.IO.
Couldn’t ask for a better Hub group. Philadelphia Hubs 2015 attendees
Goat Hollow | 300 West Mt. Pleasant Avenue | Philadelphia, PA 19119 | 267.428.5672
Joshua, thanks so much for hosting! You found a wonderful venue (and I can only imagine what a challenge that was!) and made it all possible. We had a really nice group last night.
I was very happy to do so and I’m glad the venue worked out so well. There was much hand wringing over the decision. It was a great group and I look forward to meeting again.
Sounds like a terrific group of pen folk to hang with and play with pens & inks for the night. Great summary and a pleasure to read. Congratulations on a magnificent evening!
Thank you for your kind words. It was a great evening and I’m glad your club was able to partake in the festivities as well.
Joshua, you’ve got some great typos in your post that you might want to correct :). We had a similar fun time in Dallas, made even better by already being gathered for the Dallas Pen Show.
I’m glad that Dallas proved to be a good time. I’m sure the pen show probably added to the experience. I’m usually pretty good about typos but I did find “grove” in place of “groove.” Thanks for the heads up.
What were some of the highlights of your Hub’s discussion? Did you talk about vintage as well as modern birds? And what were your initial impressions of those three new pens the Goldspot members brought? Thanks.
The conversations were quite varied. I know we talked a lot about the special editions that have come out in the Classic series such as the Citroenpers, Bols, and Deutsche Telekom to name a few. The new Bayou, Mars Red, and Neptune Blue and their origins were a big discussion. We discussed models made for Levenger and what separates the Souverän from the Classic series. That’s just what comes to mind. So many conversations were had, it was all over the place in a very fun and interesting way. We did touch on some vintage stuff but the bulk of the gathering was centered on modern production.
I thought the M600 Pink was nicer than anticipated. I was surprised that the barrel wasn’t designed for an ink window like the other striated models. The Pink was more cherry red than barbie bubble gum which I was pleased to see. The M805 engraved demonstrator had a really neat look to it but left me unimpressed. At the end of the day its an expensive clear demo. The Stola III had a nice feel in the hand. Great weight and size. I think it’s really going to fill a nice position as an affordably priced entry level pen.
Very interesting; thank you. I take it no one from Goldspot revealed that they’d be the next to do a new LE. 😉
You’re welcome. I think that there are more blanks out there and the potential for more of these small limited edition runs but Goldspot did not reveal to me that they’d be offering one of them anytime soon (and we did discuss the recent phenomenon).
It doesn’t seem like the two from Fahrney’s have sold as briskly as the Bayou. Perhaps I’m wrong about that. In any case, I too think there likely will be more of them. I’m hoping the next one will be green o’ green. What those remaining M600s are going for at ebay is too much for me.
Hey Josh, I am new to your blog but enjoy it very much. I have many high end pens but enjoy writing with my 18C-750 3B and BB Engraved Pelikans the most, although the Nakaya 14k BBB cursive italic is pretty incredible, too. Nibs.com product.
I have two questions: my Engraved Pelikan is getting a little worn around some of the gold plated edges, can I send it to Pelikan and get that fixed? If not, where?
Also, how can I attend the Pelikan Hub next year here in Atlanta if they have it?
I would love to have gone this year.
Thank you in advance for your help. Rjb
P.S. (They ought to have substitutes for people who cancel. Usually it’s about 10%.).
Thank you for your message Richard. I’m glad that you’re enjoying the blog.
1) I assume that you are referring to brassing or wearing of the gold plate to reveal the base metal underneath. Not much to do about that if that is the case. There are some people that can replate the trim but it’s often more trouble and expense than its worth. If you want to pursue further, email me some pics at thepelikansperch@gmail.com.
2) Keep an eye on Pelikan’s website. They have a section dedicated to the hubs. You can also subscribe to their newsletter or follow along here at the Perch for updates. It’ll be sometime in 2016 should they decide to host another event (I think that they will).
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