There are some on forums and the Facebook Pelikan Hub website who feel I have been a defender of Pelikan else a shill, but I am not as I have only defended them where the fault lay with people not reading the text (such as the limit on numbers) else not filling out the form properly. But that is in the past. How do I feel now there is just a few days to go till the event.

There have been accusations against the Pelikan/Hamelin P/R department for failing us the pen fans. Now part of this i still say is not true, but only part. The whole event has been handled badly this year though there has been fire fighting. While we have to accept hubs were rejected due to application numbers being too few (and so hub masters initially being accepted then being told the hub had been dropped) and also people being rejected due to no hub close enough to them, it must be remembered that both Pelikan and Hamelin are German companies, so there was probably a distance limit of 50-100km, none of your Aussie 1000km being considered local. We also have to accept that Pelikan could not just close off application at 10,000, but needed to confirm that there were 10,000 who could attend the accepted hubs.

Pelikan have tried some fire fighting. Apparently people who were rejected were given the contact info for accepted hub masters in their country so they could have the option to attend and not receive a gift, else replace someone who had dropped out. Note that in the hub master application you do agree to your data being made available so this does not fall foul of UK and European GDPR rules. I was contacted by … no one (I did speak to one person on Facebook who had been rejected but she was 2-3 hours travel each way). Also the discount voucher that all participants are meant to get has also been sent to those rejected (more on that in a bit).

So moving forwards and the kits were sent out. Mine arrived in reasonable time. We were informed we would receive:
For you, as Hub Master:

• Your dedicated Hosting Guide, filled with helpful insights to orchestrate your event flawlessly
• Your exclusive Hub Master Pin
• Table stands to promote the event
• A giant commemorative flag for all your participants to sign
• Exclusive gifts & prizes (quantity varies depending on your Hub’s size): You will find several historical posters from the Pelikan archives and bottles of the 2026 Ink of the Year, Pyrite. One of each is a personal gift for you, while the remaining ones are to be given away as prizes during your event!

For your participants (Gift Bags):

• A souvenir postcard
• A collection of official stickers
• A Pelikan notepad
• A special gift voucher

All sounds fine. As a small hub this inferred I would receive my own bottle of ink, a pin, and a poster for myself, then one or more bottles of ink and other posters to either share amongst the others attending else to use as prizes. So what did arrive? Well no giant commemorative flag – though apparently one of the paper posters has now replaced that. No gift bag for the hub master – yes no gift voucher for us. Oh and just the 1 bottle of ink. Yes just one. From what we’ve seen online you need something like 30 to 50 people attending a hub to get a second bottle. This infers that there should be no ink for my participants!! Oh and there were suggestions about splitting bottles using small vials – except no vials were provided. Fortunately I have a load spare from past samples I have bought and been given, plus I have a scientific grade 2.0-10.0ml pipette allowing me to create 5.0ml samples for those on my attendee list who are still coming.

So what are my numbers like? Well I have lost a few, but only one of those was open about it being due to the lack of ink, and in previous years we have always dropped a few before the actual day. Generally we’ve passed their bottles and gifts on to them at a later stage, but this year it has just meant I can give out larger samples, plus I will get a gift code as well.

It must be remember that hub masters are not paid and do not get expenses (though in the past any accidental duty charges have been recovered). Any deposit for the location must come out of the hub master’s own wallet. Added to this, in the US hub masters of the larger events are now finding themselves hit by customs and duty charges. I am not sure if others else where are finding the same.

So over all it has been somewhat of a cluster f*ck this year. Partly the fault of people not reading the blurb, but increasingly of the Hamelin P/R department. Despite the bluster of some, those with large Pelikan collections threatening to never buy from them again are in reality just expelling hot air, but the reality is they do feel hurt. I know in some areas private events are being held, so in England where there are none north of Birmingham (though two in London for the first time) events are taking place in Leeds (already held), Liverpool and Manchester. There is also a lack of communication from Hamelin. There is a form in the email the hub masters received but not one appears to have received any answer, not even generic ones.

So will I consider being a hub master again next year? Well I can’t anyway as I have a clash (same one as last year) however part of me still wonders if this will be the last year for the Pelikan Hubs.