• Pen Making update

Let’s starts with some positives, I need to keep the positives in the front of my mind. Then we can deal with other things. As you can tell it’s not been all sunshine and roses.

I polished the pens I made last week and they are looking quite good. I love the way the polishing process makes them come out, no matter what the material it makes it really pop. So I am just going to show you them individually with their names and whatnot.

• Zeus large taper blue swirl
• Mars dome top mustard
• Titan small blue gravel
• Titan medium red swirl conway

I have only made 2 pens this week though, reasons why in a bit. The first pen that I made was a very thin white Neptune model . This is a fun pen to make but it has been quite controversial whether people think it looks good or not. Very mixed reviews but it has prompted conversation which in my view is a win.

The second pen I made was a Baldur model that is made from another gravel like material. Here it is uncapped too. I have not fitted a nib to it yet as I only have a few at the moment. The next pen I have in mind is a Gaea model which will be made out of a plain navy blue blank. Then polishing them all up on Sunday.

So, why only 2 this week. I have somehow damaged my shoulder and so moving my left arm is kind of painful and also I have had a bit of a cold too and well the workshop is not the best place when you have a cold. I am also pushing myself a bit too hard I think, I am constantly exhausted as all I seem to do at the moment is finish work, then make pens followed by sleep then rinse and repeat. When I finish making the pens I can rest I guess.

• Pen show preparation

Well as you can see, pens are still being made at a fast… ish rate. The other stuff has fallen by the wayside. I am brushing up on my calligraphy to write the labels for my table at the pen show in March. I have tried a few different scripts however I have settled on a foundational hand. It is not too impressive but it is one I can do at least, I still struggle with M’s, N’s and S’s.

I have business cards I need to get, I need to print out and laminate some stuff about the different designs I can do and that I will be accepting work for custom pens if people want that. I need to get some t-shirts printed for my wife u/posioned_strumpet and my eldest daughter (not on reddit). My wife still needs to make the pen sleeves which we are giving away with each pen. I need to get a credit card machine and a receipt book. Pick up a Rhodia notebook, some tissues and a bottle cleaning fluid or water. The biggest bit is secured though, I have managed to get a stock of nibs and things ready for the pens. Still a lot to do, if there is anything I am forgetting please let me know. I know I have forgotten something.

Anyway take care everyone, have a good weekend and I will hopefully see you next week.