Pen Studio is my one-woman lathing adventure specializing in creating exquisite hand turned pens and gifts. I often refer to Pen Studio as "we" because no one works in a vacuum. I design and turn pens, but often work with other wood-turners who make artistic blanks that I use. It's a community of ever expanding ideas, techniques and resources offering endless possibilities. Every day yields a new idea.

I like to think of every creation as a personal luxury item and potential heirloom. Hand-crafted items make thoughtful, unique gifts for special occasions like Graduations, Promotions, Birthdays, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Christmas, Hanukkah or that hard to find business gift for an important client, accountant, attorney, boss or assistant.

Every pen has a story

Whether the materials used are organic or man made every pen has a written story card. Imagine having a pen made from the hand rail of a sunken ship, historic wood from the Holy lands, timber recovered from an Irish bog dating over 10,000 years, or how about a corkscrew turned from the grape vine prunings of a vineyard? A broken antique in the attic? You can't part with it, yet it is beyond repair. Why not keep it in the family and enjoy it at the same time by turning it into heirloom pens?

I surprised a family friend with a scrimshaw fountain pen made in the original scrimshander technique of scratching a design on a piece of ivory (in this case a turned and polished Casein blank) with a sewing needle and rubbing lamp black on the etchings to make the image visible. My research also led me to native hardwoods that were available in a busy New England whaling port. I elongated the lower wood barrel and chose a fountain pen to represent a whaler's harpoon like that depicted in the scrim. The unique gift was made more distinctive by her family heritage that traces back to a Captain of a whaling ship based in that specific New England port. Since she lives in California, this was a fun way to bring her whaling roots home to her. What's your story? See examples of Story Scrolls and Gift Packaging.