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2009 Seminar Comment Cards
While we do this pen show as a labor of love, we know
our success depends on whether we are doing it right and whether or not our
attendees enjoy the seminars. For the
first time in our 20 year history, we decided in 2009 to solicit written
comments and suggestions about our seminars; both your “Likes and
Dislikes.” An overview of the comments
is provided below: In a nutshell, it
looks like we’re doing things right!
Susan Wirth’s seminar at
9:00 a.m. feedback
* Great
(Anon.)
* Excellent!! (G.G.)
* Wonderful
(P.W.)
* Lots
of fun; picked up some good pointers! (J.C.)
* So
good…… I could see the difference in my
writing… (S.B.)
* Very
enjoyable; a little scattered but fun (P.W.)
Note:
Susan is always a little scattered; that’s part of her charm and why we
adore her!
Joel Hamilton & Sherrell
Tyree’s seminar
at 10:00 a.m. feedback
* Great! Always
informative and entertaining (M.S.)
* Always informative!
Great seminar (Anon.)
* Great presentation; lots of good information (Anon.)
* Excellent; absolutely excellent; informative, clear and
very helpful.
Please bring
them back (Anon.)
* Excellent (J.D.)
* Excellent repair workshop (T….)
* Excellent! Savvy
people (D….)
* Excellent info about pen repair (Anon.)
* Well organized; well presented; very informative (Multiple
replies)
Greg Minuskin’s seminar at
11:00 a.m. feedback
* Great job, very fun! (T.B.)
* Wow! (G.O.)
* Fantastic; wonderful presentation (M.E.H.)
* Great “hands on” presentation (J.C.)
* Great job; Fun, Informative (C…..)
* Wonderfully informative and fun… (M.C.)
* Fascinating and informative…. Enthusiastic ….(T.R.)
* Very engaging speaker …. (D.K.L.)
* Excellent (K.B.) (D.H.T.)
* Informative ….. Interesting …. Entertaining (Multiple replies)
Janet Takahashi’s seminar
at Noon feedback
* Great seminar! Very hands on….(C.G)
* Great handouts; good hints….(T.A.C.)
* Excellent class. Very informative (K.K.)
* Excellent … worth the price of admission (T.R.)
* Excellent; Covered a lot in a short time (D.S.)
* Entertaining; informative; very talented (E.C.)
* Very nice seminar; well organized to teach so much in a
short time …(L.I. and others)
* Very helpful (C.J.)
Lynn Sorgatz’s seminar at
1:00 p.m. feedback
* Completely fascinated with the material
* Great seminar; Lots of information (Anon.)
* Very informative on early Parkers and very rare Parkers
(S.B.)
* Lots of information; enjoyed the handout of early pens
(D.B.)
* Very informative (G….)
* Interesting and informative (J.L.)
* Nice lecture; aside from some technical problems;…good information about vintage rare Parker pens.
* Lots of knowledge (P.W.)
Stan Pfeiffer’s seminar at
2:00 a.m. feedback
* Absolutely fascinating! (B.C.)
* Great lecture!
Awesome images of rare Parkers.
Thanks for sharing…..(D.D.)
* Best seminar I saw today (B…..)
* Wonderful! Very
organized and full of great anecdotes.
Best seminar so far! (T.M.)
* Loved it; beauty of the passionate collecting comes
through… (B.R.)
* One hour isn’t enough.
I can listen to SP for hours.
Powerpoint presentation professionally
prepared. (A.S.)
* Very interesting; very well organized; great seeing the
collection (D.B., C.G. S.B. …)
* Fascinating pen history; handouts were useful and slides
were very professional (Anon.)
Nancy Olson’s seminar at
3:00 a.m. feedback
* Great Information; well presented! (B.C.)
* Love the slide presentation & outline. Very Well done! Very
knowledgeable. Thank
.” you!! (T.R.)
* Excellent; well done; easy to understand (J.C.D.)
*
* Very interesting and helpful advice; please come back
(A.S.)
* Very informative on getting published (S.B.)
* Very informative; professional; “you’re a delight.” (E.B.)
Note to E.B. We
completely agree that
John Mottishaw’s seminar
at 4:00 p.m. feedback
* Fabulous! Practical; very helpful (C.D.)
* Awesome! Like no
other. Learned more
about nib adjustments in 45 minutes than in 1 year
of practice.
* Fantastic! Very generous (J.C.)
* Great seminar; lots of wonderful information…. (T.A.C.)
* Excellent! Fascinating to watch. (Anon.)
* John was great ….adjusted my nib. (D.D.)
* Very helpful and informative; Great!
(J.H.)
* An honor to meet him and have a class with him. (S.R.)
* An excellent, informative presentation by an entertaining
speaker. (A.T.)
* Excellent; informative; useful; terrific workshop
(Multiple replies)
Ward Dunham & Linnea
Lundquist’s seminar at 5:00 p.m. feedback
* Awesome. I
waited…for this seminar and was not disappointed (Anon)
* It is always a pleasure to listen to Ward; no matter the
subject. (I.K.)
* Not enough time. Loved every bit of it.
(Anon.)
* Great; fabulous; please schedule him every year. Great history, info
technique, etc.
* Great info on wax seals and calligraphy. (Anon.)
* Most enlightening!
Best ever! (B.C.S.)
* Most informative.
Well done! (Anon.)
2008 COMMENT CARDS - “LIKES AND DISLIKES”
We at the LA Pen Show do this event as a labor of love. For the first time in our 20 year history, we decided to solicit written comments and suggestions; both your “Likes and Dislikes.” An overview of the comments is provided below:
Security
* The best security guards in the world. Alan’s great! (Anon.)
Positive feedback
* Great!!! (Anon.)
* Great Show!! (C.P.)
* Great Show! (D.) (E.S.)
* Great show - loved it! (S.)
* Great. (T.H.)
* Great show, great deals ! (B. C. & W. B.)
* Great show. Wonderful people; I had a great time. I really liked the added space...(D.N.)
* Great Show! Wonderful experience overall. I will be back, God willing. ... (C.H.)
* Great as usual! (Anon.)
* Great Show. I’ll be back next year. (L.)
* Great Show! A lot of great items! (T.)
* Great fun. Very friendly people. No dislikes. (M. B.)
* Great show as always. Thanks for all your hard work. (C.C.)
* Great show. Nice to see everyone. (M.R.)
* Great show. Wonderful prices. Overall a good time! Will be back next year! (A. E.)
* Great show! Where was Henry Gostony? (B.C.)
* Great, as always. (A.)
* A great show - dazzling choices. The vendors were extremely helpful and friendly. (S.P.) (The initials are correct and the author is not Stan)
* Always a great show. Thanks for being in Manhattan Beach. (M.J.)
* The show was great. Susan Wirth is both informative and amusing. (S.G.) (Edited)
* This is the finest show. I would not have any hesitation in recommending it to my friends. Don’t change a thing. (J.B.)
* Excellent show - As always a very positive experience. In particular the wide variety of sellers is a plus. ... (J.S.)
* Fabulous as always! (J.)
* I love the show! I love the people! (F.Z.)
* Wowee! ... What a show! (Anon.)
* Wonderful! Much more than I expected! I will definitely be back! (C.A.)
* Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. (S.)
* Wonderful show. Great venue. Superb weather. Very well attended with lots of interesting people. (C.)
* Excellent show! Learned a lot. (C.N.)
* Interesting and informational (M.M.)
* Very interesting and beautiful (M.L.)
* Always a delight; well run. (J.N.)
* Good show as usual! (J.W.)
* Who says fountain pens are dead? Not if the crowds at the LA Pen Show are any indication. Really great. Thanks, Boris, Stan & Chris. Special thanks to Julia! (S.K.)
Note to S.K. - We agree that it’s not possible to find nicer people than Julia and Boris!
* I greatly enjoyed the Show! R.)
* The LA Pen Show is outstanding. The location at the Manhattan Beach Marriott is especially nice. (M.W.)
* Nice show. I seemed to find a bunch to buy! (P.)
* Very nice show. Good selection of merchandise to view. (T.G.)
* Very much like the show; always good.....” (D.C.)
* Fun Show! (Anon.)
* More choices this year (Anon.)
* Enjoyed the Show (F.)
* Keep up the good work - See you in 2009 (H.R.)
* A show with charisma.... (I.)
* This year was another hit. We always enjoy the ambience and seeing the newest designs and the vintage favorites. (E.J.)
* Nice having Bristol Farms nearby! Good show! (Anon.)
* Wonderful experience for the beginning collector. Friendly dealers & fair prices. (R.A.)
* This was my 1st show. It was much more than I imagined; it was wonderful; can’t wait until you come to LA again! (J.C.)
* Fine show (N.F.)
* I’m a “first timer” and a novice. I found it interesting but a little overwhelming. It probably won’t be my last. (P.M.)
* Very nice (K.)
* Very nice show. Well organized (Anon.)
* This was the first pen show I’ve been to and it was excellent. (J.F.)
* Lovely and huge selection of pens! Lots of intelligent people here to answer questions. (V. T.)
* Well displayed. Well organized (J.B.)
* It was much more fun and informative than I thought. Everyone was very helpful and giving of their knowledge. (L.C.)
* Enjoyed the show very much. Found exactly what I needed. (A.S.)
* Overwhelming selection of pens. Very helpful vendors. (Anon.)
* It was very good. (V.)
* Good (G.B.)
* Have you heard of Businessman’s holiday? It is like this show. You have a relaxed atmosphere and you do a good business. (C.Z.)
* Only dislike is that it’s only once a year! Thank you for another wonderful time. (D.S)
* Your sit down lunch is most appreciated! Please continue it. (A trader)
Mixed feedback
* Cannot think of any negatives except room price. Great show; had fun (R.M.)
* You must be doing something right - this show is getting bigger and more interesting (OK, and more expensive) every year. Keep up the good work. (E.G.)
(Nearly every good hotel can command a room rate that reflects its value. While we at the LA Pen Show can find a lower room rate, we feel that a change of venue would be a loss to the LA Pen Show. The Manhattan Beach Marriott is newly renovated, provides for the needs of this show and has wonderful eating establishments all within a short walk.)
* Nice show. A little crowded, but good opportunities. (Anon.)
* Very nice show - a bit crowded (S.)
(We understand the issue of being a bit crowded, but believe that being at the same property for several years improves our attendance and the venue seems to work nicely with some great restaurants within walking distance.)
* I especially enjoyed the seminars. They were the best part of the show. I would appreciate next year if every presenter had a summary handout. (J.W.)
(It’s very difficult to have our speakers provide a handout since many are conducted by people who speak “off the cuff” and won’t have a handout.)
Negative feedback
* We would like a 2 day show; both Saturday and Sunday, for the general public. (Various replies)
While we have received a number of requests for a 2 day show, we don’t believe it’s a good idea. A great number of people attend as “traders.” They have pens for sale; both new and vintage, but either can’t justify the cost of a table or simply didn’t pay for a table in time to get one. To leave those people without any right to sell pens is not a good idea in our opinion.
* Provide chairs to allow the public to sit down (Anon.)
(Chairs are available in the common areas of the Hotel. They can be used by anyone attending the Pen Show if they aren’t otherwise taken. We simply don’t have room for chairs inside the ballroom.)
* Need more coffee and pastries (Anon.)
(We are one of the few shows that provides complimentary pastries and coffee on Sunday morning. In light of several suggestions on this topic, we hope to limit entrants to Pen Show table holders and stop people from taking a greedy number of pastries!)
* Perhaps add another airport. (Anon.)
As much as we’d like to determine which airports are in LA, I doubt we have much clout to make this happen.