RECAP: INSIGHTS X STATIONERY SHOW 2016

Just like any other industry, stationery and pen brands do their best to announce new products every year. But before the general audience gets to see the novelties, they are introduced to the vendors and stores during so called 'stationery shows'. Basically a huge pen show, but closed for the general public, without direct sales (meaning you can't buy new products directly at the show), and with more than just pens (stationery in the widest sense of the word).

I was lucky to be invited -along with a couple other bloggers- to a blogger meeting at the Nuremberg Insights X stationery show last weekend. It's only the second edition of this particular show, but it already features around 260 brands spread over multiple halls with a combined size of three football fields! Needless to say it was quite an overwhelming experience, but a great one! I met a bunch of interesting brands, both known and unknown (to me), and the people behind those brands of course.

Before the picture overload, I just want to thank the organisation team behind the Insights X expo. I'd also like to thank all the brands that I had the pleasure of talking to, it's impossible to list them all here, but i'd encourage you to visit the exhibitor list on the Insights X website, and check them out for yourself. Last but not least, it was the perfect opportunity to meet some other (pen) bloggers: GourmetPens, SBREBrown, AllThingsStationery and Bleistift!

As I said earlier, it's stationery in the widest sense imaginable, from kids' backpacks to greeting cards and everything in between. The show was split up into six categories: luxury writing, desk acccessories, paper, bags, artist supplies and stationery. Of course I personally spent most time browsing the various pen brand exhibitors, more than enough to explore there. We also visited a couple non-pen brands too of course.

Along with the visit, we were also overloaded with a bunch of goodies and samples of new products. Part of those products were relevant to this blog, and thus will be reviewed at some point. But of course there were also some less interesting products (I'm talking about kids' crafts products, coloring pencils, small toys,...). We didn't really know what to do with these, and it would've been a waste to throw it away, so we decided to donate to the children's department of the mental hospital where my mother works. 

But enough talking, I'll leave the rest of this post speak for itself with the pictures I took during the show. It's impossible to pack everything in one post, but here's a selection of what I found most interesting...

KAWECO