(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.)
Saying “uncle” probably doesn’t mean the same thing to Luke Wiechman as it does to you or me. Uncles figure prominently in his development of woodworking and carpentry skills, and his first pen was a command performance for an uncle.
“I was doing lots of flat work – cutting boards, charcuterie boards – as well as building furniture. When my wife’s uncle showed me a pen he had made out of wood, I wanted to know how he did it.” By way of answer, Uncle Darrell escorted him out to the shop and walked him through making a kit pen. He also gave him a little lathe and some tools and some kits, and sent him home.
However, it all sat for a couple of years – “I made that one awful pen, and then stopped.” But one day when Uncle Darrell happened to be on his mind, Wiechman went back out to the lathe, and was quickly hooked. “There’s something so therapeutic about turning. I can zone out.”
Supporting a kit pen habit became a little expensive, so Wiechman incorporated his business and expanded the kinds of kit items he worked with, to include pizza cutters, crochet hooks, and whatever else comes in a kit. “Flat things weren’t fun anymore.” The one gift lathe has turned into three. The business is named after his father in law, who essentially became his dad as well, until his sudden death in 2020. “Papa J” was heavily involved in supporting people through addiction recovery, and now in his honor Wiechman finds some charity to donate to quarterly from the proceeds of his business.
A chance encounter with Scott Lewis of Tri Star studio in 2023, through a post on Facebook, opened the world of custom pens. Lewis sent him a pen, along with the measurement data showing how it was made. Nic Pasquale and Rob Sanchez were early mentors, and he closely watched Jason Miller’s Craft of Analog videos on Instagram to see in detail all the steps and processes in making a pen. “I wasn’t a big pen user – I didn’t actually use a fountain pen regularly until I made one, but it has become a mainstay. People in the pen community met me where I was at, and I’m learning!” At the moment his favorite pen is a “Ghost” pocket pen from Jacob Pawloski at Mad Science, with a white ghost-shaped cap that glows in the dark.
Looking at Wiechman’s work on his Instagram account, it’s difficult to believe it’s only been a little over a year that he’s been doing this craft – already he’s producing things with a distinctive look. “I was obsessed with this material from Flower Girl Blanks, I used to make bottle stoppers with her stuff. I thought, Wouldn’t it be awesome to do flowers in pens?” A month after starting to make custom pens, he began pouring blanks. This is the point at which Kristina Wiechman became involved in the business in a major way. Although she quickly discovered she is allergic to resin, she has a detailed vision of what she wants to create in a blank, and will choose colors, mix up mica powders, place any additives in piles, and give detailed instructions for achieving the result she has in mind.
Because they both love flowers and gardens, there are dried flowers in many of their materials, and when Luke makes a pen cap he leaves a recess for Kristina to build a finial with flowers. He says that the Venetian glass finials of Hello Tello’s pens were one inspiration for what they are doing with flowers. But inspiration comes from all directions; two recent blanks were cast to match the colors of their cats, and often he spots sneakers or energy drink cans at the gym that strike his fancy. “These companies have already done the hard work of coming up with the color combinations, so I’ll ask someone, ‘Can I take a picture of your shoes?’” He was commissioned to make a pen containing flowers from a wedding bouquet, and would like to do more of that kind of storytelling with pens, as well as making dried flowers from things they grow in their yard.
The floral inclusions in pens and nib holders are going to be getting a bigger canvas. The Wiechmans are working with Nikki Egleton-Volz of Olive Frog Designs to create a proprietary mold for cast pen rests. Some will be made to match pens, others will be used to cast inclusions a little too large to be put into something the size of a pen.
Both of the Wiechmans work in enterprise information technology, and the artistic crafts have definite mental-health value for Luke. “Creating things keeps me centered.” It can also bring lightness into life. “I don’t take myself too seriously as a pen maker – my stuff is more fun and whimsical, whereas artists like Atelier Lusso make things so beautiful they belong in a jewelry store!”
Even aside from the makers who directly mentored him, Luke Wiechman is full of praise for the community of pen makers. “I have been blown away by the support – the pen community as a whole has been so welcoming. The flat-work community was very cutthroat. There is an abundance mindset in the pen maker community, everyone is willing to help you as long as you make your own path. I want people to look at our stuff and say, ‘Papa J made that.’
The Wiechmans’ work can be seen on Instagram @papajww and at Papa J Woodworks. And maybe at the Chicago Pen Show.
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