Nestled in the foothills of the mighty Wasatch Mountains of Utah you will find Hobble Creek Craftsman, a small, home based shop that strives to offer products that cannot be found anywhere else. We strive to make items that have intrinsic value that can be passed down from generation to generation, friend to friend.
Recently, we came across these pens online and were completely smitten with their creativity and beauty.
Mark Koster started Hobble Creek Craftsman in 2014. A retired airline pilot, he holds a degree in technology management with an emphasis in architectural woodwork. Mark began tuning pens and other things on a wood lathe years ago in his home woodshop in Orem, Utah USA.
That love of woodworking lead him to figure out how to make custom pen blanks, which spawned a small home based business. He began casting pen blanks with alternative materials including Japanese Chiyogami paper. While researching and sourcing for unique handmade paper, he came across the Rossi 1931 web site. From there he developed his own process to make these beautiful custom pens.
• Handmade item
• Materials: Florentine paper, Rossi paper, Resin, Alumilite, brass
• Made to order
• Ships from United States to selected countries.
This is one of his higher end designs sold as a custom made fountain pen and rollerball set.
Mark tells us:
“They are a matching pen set, done with your Rossi Art Nouveau Flowers Wrapping Paper. I make my own silicone molds, by which I suspend each custom made pen tube (embellished with the Rossi paper) and pour a high grade resin, which is key (and costly). All of that is then put into a steel container, under high air pressure to cure. The high pressure curing ensures an air bubble free blank that can then be turned on a wood lathe, polished and assembled. The entire process of making a high grade custom pen takes about 4 to 5 days to complete, from raw materials to a completed pen set.“
Marks designs run from inexpensive…for a simple empty ” tube-in blank”, where the customer has to buy a kit, (which includes all the working hardware that makes the pen work ) to his high quality custom pen sets.
“CUSTOM WORK IS MY SPECIALTY! ASK IF IT CAN BE DONE,
AND I’LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO!”
Mark Koster
Orem, Utah 84097
www.etsy.com/shop/HobbleCreekCraftsman
or you can email Mark at hobblecreekcraftsman@gmail.com
I too fell for this craft.
Each pen has its own story.
All the best