(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.)
Not everyone can say they came to fountain pens through purses.
Mikayla Jackson was in a purse buy/sell/trade type group, and a leather planner cover popped up at a good price, so she sprang for it to try out the planner thing. It turned out to be a cover for a Hobonichi Weeks, and after acquiring such high quality paper, an obvious next step was a fountain pen: a Pilot Varsity, to begin with, which was a success and opened her eyes to the full world of fountain pens. “I wouldn’t make them if I didn’t like them to start with!”
Jackson’s father, who by this time was also her nextdoor neighbor, was a wood turner who specialized in pool cues but also sold kit pens in his Etsy shop. She went out and got him the required gear to make her some kitless pens. However, she became increasingly particular about her pens, wanting them to come out a certain way. Between that, and the temperature in his garage workshop in the Minnesota winters, the pen making stuff soon migrated to her house and he taught her how to turn pens on her own lathe. She bought her first resin pen blank at the Atlanta show in 2023.
Looking around at what was on offer at the Chicago pen show that year, Jackson found motivation for both style and technique. “There were not many clips, not many rings or fun finials. I wanted to take the things I love in a pen and make them in my pens.” This necessitated some attention to fit and finish. Her Ursa model has a clear cap, and she quickly learned about the demands of internal polishing. “Luke from PapaJ Woodworks spent time on Zoom with me showing me how to improve my internal polishing. I got feedback from Brian Gray on creating threads. I’m constantly tinkering with sizes and settings.” She inlays her cap rings so that they do not disrupt the flow of the colors in the material.
Jackson’s focus in her pen making has been on what she calls “whimsy” – “more sparkles, more mixing materials, more fun than a plain three-piece pen.” “There are a lot of somewhat boring, masculine pens, so I want to make a pen with some whimsy and maybe a little femininity.”
Her next design is going to combine some of those attributes in a pocket pen, an eyedropper version of her Ursa model that will be called “Ursa Minor.” “I thought – what if your finial is also an ink window??” While eyedropper pens can be offputting for some pen users, Jackson tried them and found them to be both easy and fun. “I guess eyedropper pens is my risky behavior.”
Inspiration for Jackson comes from photographs of animals and nature, and she can see those inspirations work themselves out in materials being cast by her mom, who also loves pens and enjoys designing the materials for them. She has been casting for about nine months, just for White Bear, with some mentoring from Jonathon Brooks. The DC pen show exclusive for this year was cast “in house” (i.e. next door) based on a photograph of cherry blossoms against a blue sky. “Our family has always been heavy into crafts – whatever we get into, we go all the way.” She thinks her daughter is going the same way: “She can take a pipe cleaner and make herself a toy and play with it for hours.”
Jackson’s career, before becoming a mom/pen maker, was in a medical laboratory, but her first career goal as a teenager was graphic design. That love of art might help explain the immediate maturity of her brand identity. She designed and drew her own logo, and named her business after the street she lives on.
Jackson admits to being a Sailor fangirl – “any Sailor with a medium nib” is her favorite pen. At the DC show this year, she acquired a pen in the popular Oparex material, from Wood Wonders of NC, which has temporarily eclipsed all those Sailors. While she admires the Oparex material, she isn’t sure she will be trying to work with it anytime soon. “I’m turning in my house with my five year old, so I can’t work with anything that might aerosolize or cause other air contamination.”
Bringing her ideas for fun and whimsy to her pens provides the continual rewards needed to fuel the work spent improving technique. “I love seeing an idea come to life, seeing all the things I like coming together in my pens.”
Mikayla Jackson’s work can be seen at pen shows in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, DC, and perhaps San Francisco (this year she is sharing a table at SF with Rob Sanchez of Rob’s Penworks) as well as on her Instagram @whitebearpens. Her website, White Bear Pens, is a work in progress.
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
