All posts by grossbar

The Woodworking Shows Cancelled

AZ Shipping Box #1

Amid the Coronavirus concerns I am sorry to report that the Columbus and Syracuse Woodworking shows were

AZ Shipping Box #2

cancelled as well as Totally Turning in Saratoga Springs.

Last Thursday Lenora & I flew to Columbus, rented a car, went to the show and set up the booth which takes about 4 hours.  As we were leaving to go to our hotel, the Ohio Fair Grounds informed us that the Governor of Ohio had declared a state of emergency,  immediately shutting the show down. So we had pack up all the supplies, and put them back into the boxes and have them shipped back to us at the warehouse in Bensalem for arrival next Monday.

When full, Box 1 (as shown) holds approximately 2,500 pounds of pen kits and accessories.  Box 2 holds about 2,000 pounds of supplies, here it is just before filling it back up again!

I will now have time to fill you in on the Grand Central Holiday show, and start making some YouTube videos that everyone has been asking for.  If you have any suggestions for topics that you want to see on a video, please feel free to email me with those suggestions.

Thanks for the input – Happy turning – Barry

The Woodworking Show

Pen Making Seminar

The Woodworking Shows have started, and my seminars have been full, so I apologize that it has taken so long to get this blog to you.

The Grand Central Holiday Fair was over December 24th, and I did not get home until Christmas day morning after closing up the booth.  On the 26th, we were back up in NYC, packing up the booth to put it in storage. Hopefully we will get to use it again next year at Grand Central.  Four days later, we had to have our shipping crates loaded for The Woodworking Shows with over 3,500 pounds of pen kits, blanks and supplies.  To say that we have been just a bit busy is an understatement!

Two weeks ago was the Baltimore Woodworking Show followed by the New England Show and we are getting supplies ready to leave for the Kansas City Show this weekend.  I just wanted you to know we are alive and kicking, and In the next few blogs I will start to detail the information about the Grand Central Holiday Fair but for now we will see you each weekend at the Woodworking Shows.

Happy Turning – Barry

 

Grand Central Holiday Fair Time

Holiday Show Booth Preparation

It is that time of the year again, Grand Central Holiday Fair is coming up in 29 days.  The panic and stress is really kicking in now.  I have to get ready to take over 1,300 pens to this show and I am not yet there.  I have about 700 ready so I will be in high pen making mode for the next 29 days! I am making pens morning and night and going to the warehouse during the day.  As you can see I have my booth in our sun room and touching up the paint with special fire retardant paint (NYC fire regulations).  Next week, I will start to lay out the new graphics and put the pens in place to make sure it all looks good before we take it to NYC on November 16th.

This weekend I will be demonstrating casting and turning acrylics at the Ohio Valley Woodturning Symposium and during the other demonstrations, you guessed it I will be making pens!  So, if you are in the area stop by the symposium in West Harrison Indiana and say hi!  Happy Turning – Barry

Pen Making Class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking

MASW-2019

Another great Pen Making Class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking this year. As you can see – Lots and Lots of pens made, over 200 in total! This was my 7th year at the school and the diversity of classes offered coupled with the eagerness of the students to learn keeps me excited to return! Every year my students both stimulate and show me ways to do things I have not thought about.

I want to thank all of you who attended for a great week of Fine Writing Instrument making!

Thank You and Happy Turning – Barry

Anniversary Sale and Pen Class!

Marc Adams Classroom

The Anniversary sale is still going strong!
For this final week we are offering all the items that we had on sale the three previous weeks, plus new additions!

These past few weeks have been very busy getting ready for this week’s SOLD OUT, week-long Fine writing Instrument class at Marc Adams Woodworking School in Indianapolis.  This is a top notch woodworking school that everyone should consider attending. This will be my seventh (7) year teaching there with another full class of 16 students.  We will create over 10 pens during the week, while learn different skills such as:
segmenting using the Gisi technique,
sharpening your tools with CBN wheels, friction and CA glue finishes, tool techniques, and much more. 

That means we make up 18 sets of everything, this includes 2 spare sets – just in case. We’re packing notebooks, pen kits, bushings, blanks, sanding materials, instructions, PowerPoint presentations and more.  I am preparing everything with the help of my elves here at the warehouse in Pennsylvania.  In the class we will be drying and stabilizing wood blanks, clear label casting pen blanks, making exotic pen blanks using material such as shredded credit cards, abalone pieces and strips, watch parts and many other unique items!

Next year in 2020, I am already booked to teach to two (2) different classes.  One at Marc Adams again in August, and the other at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts in June.  Stay tuned for exact dates in the coming future and if interested, sign up early because they fill up fast.

Happy Turning – Barry

Arizona Silhouette’s Anniversary Month – Week 3!

Jumbo Box Elder Burl Blanks

Our 7th Anniversary Sale is going well with one more week to go.

This week we’re offering Colt drill bits, and other Colt items, at over 40 to 50% off!  Spalted Birch pen blanks are back in stock and on sale, as well as Jumbo Box Dyed Box Elder Burl and Gold Dyed Spalted Maple. This week’s pen kits on sale are Cigar pen, Carbara Pen and the Policeman’s Pen

It’s a good time to stock up while you prepare for Holiday craft shows and gift giving.

Happy Turning- Barry

DC Pen Show a Success!

Moon Wood Pens

Just a quick update from the Washington DC Pen Show.  This was my sixteenth (16th) year that I have displayed my pens at this show and it was the best show in all those years!  My first show was with Rich Kleinheinz in 2004, where we split a booth because we did not know if our “hand made” pens would sell at a Fountain Pen show.  We were pleasantly surprised and I have been attending ever since.  I believe that the key for successful sales over the years is absolutely having new items for sale each year. I have “regular” customers that come each year to see what new pens I have and each year I pick up another new customer that asks me if this was my first year to display at the show!  They looked shocked when I tell them it was my 16th year there.

My new pen for this year was my “Moon Tree” pen which I sold several of them.  The pen is made from Sycamore seeds that flew to the moon and back on Apollo 14.  I told you about this pen in my last blog.  Fountain Pens were of course the most popular but the inlay kits from Kallenshaan still remain a very strong seller!  Every year at this show I see more and more younger people asking for fountain pens which is a very exciting trend.  Of course you still get the odd person who asks who uses a pen anymore?  But then again why are they there at a fountain pen show?  Still it was a great show and I hope it carries over to my next high end craft show in September in Tarrytown, NY.  Talk to you later – Happy Turning -Barry

Arizona Silhouette’s 7th Anniversary Sale Month – Save Big!

Moving Day 8/3/12 – 108 degrees!

Happy Anniversary – 7 Years and still counting!
Thank you to all of our loyal friends!

August is Arizona Silhouette’s Anniversary Month. It seems like only yesterday when we moved thousands of pounds of pen kits, wood and equipment 2,600 miles from Yuma AZ. to Bensalem, PA.  It was really hot that day,  they say that the heat in the desert is dry heat, NOT TRUE,  at 3 PM it was 108 degrees and we were sweating our #%&@ off!  The next problem was the moving company had an issue with their driver and all our products were delayed two weeks getting to our location in PA. But it ended well, and here we are 7 years later…..

To celebrate our 7th anniversary, each week for the next month, we are going to offer some of our best selling pen kits and pen blanks at great discounts!  We’ll be letting you know on the blog, and through our email list. Stay tuned for lots of savings!    

Happy Turning – Barry

 

Washington DC Fountain Pen Super Show – August 3 & 4, 2019

It is a busy week at Arizona Silhouette !

Our 7th  Anniversary is coming up in August (stayed tuned for news), and we’ve been getting ready for the 28th annual Washington DC Fountain Pen Supershow.  I will be a presenter at the DC Pen show, giving a seminar showing the equipment, tools, blanks and kits need to make a pen. In addition, I will be unveiling two new limited edition pens that were made from wood that was grown from seeds taken to the moon on Apollo XIV.

Moon Wood Pens

The lower barrel of the fountain pen is comprised from a piece of the Sycamore tree saved by astronaut Scott Phillips, and stabilized by the artisan.  The upper barrel is a photo of the Apollo 14 astronauts whose mission to the moon and back lasted seven days, with two of those days spent on the lunar surface. Only 11 fountain pens were made.

The ballpoint pen is the moonscape laser inlay kit with each end of the inlay replaced with slices of  Sycamore “Moon Tree” wood.  Moonscape is a limited edition series of 15 ballpoint pens. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Hope to see you at the Pen Show this weekend. It is held at the Marriott Fairview Park in Falls Church, Va.

 

Las Vegas Show Is Over

ICPCR Booth

The ICPCR wholesale Cigar Show is over and I am driving back home. Today Wednesday I drove 13 hours to get a jump on getting home.  The store owners liked the way the booth looked  and my large overhead sign did attract attention.  The pens that got a lot of attention were the Faux Cigar pens followed up by the tobacco leaf pens.

This show was huge!  Some of the larger Cigar Manufacturers such as Cohiba, Drew Estate, Perdomo, Oliva,  Fuente and others had booths which were at least 2,000 square feet with a minimum of 20 sales reps in each booth! And here we were with 2 people!   Speaking of people, I want to thank a good friend of mine Susan Doring-Zook who came out to the show to help me – thanks Susan!

Will I do this how next year is still  up in the air, I will have to see how many orders come in to make it worth the time and effort.  I have to get some sleep, I have another 1,500 miles to go before I get home – Happy Turning – Barry