Scriptus Preparations 2022

And so we have coming up a weekend full of pens and pen people and stationery and the thrill of a pen show. We are totally unprepared. I have been putting off promoting this event and/or doing a terrible and self-sabotaging job promoting this event mainly because I’m so worried we’re going to show up to the library and be a complete disaster and a small? Medium? Large? part of me is hoping there are as few witnesses as possible. We are going to have Franklin-Christophs, we’re going to have some fun things, maybe a few surprises if they make it in time, as of this writing not yet having shipped but who knows what the fastest FedEx speed will be. I’m PUMPED and wired and also sort of already fried.

From a previous era.

If it wasn’t clear, we have been scrambling to get ready for Scriptus this year. Everyone else seems raring to go, things getting checked off their list, social media posts already published, boxes probably already boxed up and labelled. We are all a bit rusty from the last three years off. Where’s the cash box? Where’s the key to the cash box? Do we need a sign? No time to order more WP t-shirts, no time to put in that order, no time to do any number of the things we probably should’ve gotten started on two months ago. Actually, our own warehouse team is probably already packing up boxes, labelling things, Brendan’s post-it notes in their organized chaos. We are trying to go lean this year.

The problem, Liz, Jon says, is that all of your projects are so fantastic and also so incredibly labour and/or time intensive and generally yield very little, i.e. are sometimes literally just freebies. 

Don’t underestimate the power of a free cat button! I say, stroking my homeless cat while he nuzzles me after having demolished my plants.

I don’t think I am, he responds.

I think it’s mostly just me that’s feeling the crunch of impending pen show madness, pen people patient in a long line, unhappy babies, feral children under the tables, me laughing a bit too wildly in social awkwardness after three years tucked away above a derelict shop, finally let loose in the world. Also, Jon is supposed to be ordering fresh pretzels for our Esterbrook event on Saturday, to go with the Oktoberfest theme as per the Esterbrook people, and he can’t find any local pretzel people who are able to do this and I’m of zero help to him. There may or may not be pretzels. I’m not supposed to advertise it because we have no confirmed pretzels yet. I suppose I’m doing scramble-lite as I use the kids as an excuse to head to the park, bundling everyone up and throwing things into the bottom of the stroller, forgetting my coffee on the kitchen counter, hoping whatever was left in the bottom basket last time will make up for what I’ve forgotten. The other day Caleb peed on a tree in Allan Gardens and a homeless guy gave him a thumbs up.

In any case, please stop by the shop, or stop by our tables at the show. Another year, another baby to add to the mix, our team’s cars packed to the gills with bins and boxes. I would love to see you and say hello. Our table will be full of surprises, including these two cat buttons. Yes, that is correct: with your purchase, you can pick your favourite cat and wear him proudly. No, you cannot have one of each, you must choose. It is the price of a free button. Extremely limited in quantity.

If you absolutely must have one of each, find someone in our line-up who is allergic to cats, and take their button.

The cats were painted by Kat Trovato, who also does custom cat and pet portraits.

Here is a fun blog post from our last Scriptus show which was in 2019. A thousand years ago! Ugh. My insides are gloopy. Time! Agh. Here’s another one from 2016. Ugh again. I am ill-equipped for this life of having feelings.

You can see all Scriptus related blog posts (I think) by visiting this link (I hope) or by searching Scriptus on the wonderpens website.