(Caroline Foty's first fountain pen was a 1970s Sheaffer No Nonsense that still writes perfectly. Since she discovered pens by independent makers, she wants "one of each, please" and wants to meet all the makers. Maybe you do, too. She lives in Baltimore with pens, cats, and all kinds of fiber arts supplies.)
A stroke of adversity provided the incentive Jason Olson needed to take his hobby to the next level. “I was a product manager, and they showed me the door.”
Being laid off changed the role of pen making in his life. “I needed to take my fun and profitable hobby and move it forward quickly.”
Olson received a good education in the industrial arts in high school – woodworking, welding, industrial design, and even some landscape design. He built furniture, like tables and desks, including the rolltop desk his daughter currently uses to do homework. Pens were not initially part of this repertoire of making, although they were definitely something he paid attention to. “I always wanted to have cool pens to take on business trips. Retro 51s were the gateway pen.”
Then, a friend got a free wood lathe from a work colleague, that came with some pen kits. “I kept going over to use his lathe until he said, ‘So, are you going to order a lathe, or what?’ And one turned into two, turned into a metal lathe, and a drill press… We can’t park anything in the garage.”
Olson emphasizes the use of unusual materials in his pens. “Fossils, fordite, anything that’s different. I search weird websites looking for materials, you have to buy it when you see it or it’s gone.” Among his scores have been bits of material from a space shuttle, the Hundred Acre Wood, Folsom prison, Apollo 11, and the Copa Room floor from Howard Hughes’ Sands Casino in Las Vegas. “I did a group of gambling themed pens, with a stand and a $100 clay poker chip from the Sands.” Because he so often uses unusual woods, his garage also contains a vacuum chamber to stabilize his wood pieces.
With a stash of such materials, inspiration is basically found by looking through his storage drawers. Sometimes people who are commissioning pens provide materials as well. “People bring us materials that are important to them. I like telling stories in commissions.”
Olson does cast his own materials. “When I need something specific to match a fossil or other piece, I will. Learning to cast is one of the things that got me to meet some of the other makers. But casting has exploded with people who are much better at it than I am.”
Olson’s main trademark is the metal work on his pens. “I don’t make pens without clips. I did a few pens without clips at the beginning…but everyone else did, too.” He was mentored by Tim Cullen (of Hooligan Georgia) and David Broadwell, both masters of metal. “It took awhile for me to find my niche as a guy who does metal work and uses interesting materials. That’s my lane, I try to stay in my lane.” He is planning to attend a one week engraving school in Missouri, to add to his repertoire of metal skills. “I was scheduled for the school, but there was a hurricane that week…”
One master of metal knows another. Olson’s favorite pen he didn’t make himself was made by the late Greg Hardy. “He made me a pen representing a hot rod I rebuilt. I cast the material to match the car. He etched the grille of the car on the clip, and racing stripes in the cap. It’s amazing.”
Each new project presents Olson with new opportunities for creativity. “I enjoy envisioning and developing a design and building it into a piece I can hold in my hand. There are challenges each material and design give me. The weirder it gets, the more challenging it becomes.” And this ensures there is always growth. “Different metals, different techniques, I’m always trying something. There will be an ‘aha’ moment – why haven’t I always done this?? If you’re not going forward, you’re going backward.”
Jason Olson’s work can be seen on his Instagram @writeturnz, his website writeturnz.com, and at pen shows in California, Baltimore, Miami, Orlando, Dallas, DC, and maybe San Francisco and New York.
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