60 THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD Nikki Devine, Director of Studio Pens Ltd, writing instruments specialist, talks to Craft Focus about their quality collection of pens Tell us a little bit about the company. Where are you based? When did the company start? Studio Pens is the authorised UK distributor for Kaweco, Esterbrook and Schmidt Technology. We’re a small father and daughter business. Ian has a background in manufacturing and has been in the pen business for many years. My background is in marketing. Ian became involved in the pen world quite late in his career, as the result of a chance meeting in 1999 with George Kartsotis, the founder of US pen brand Retro 51. Over the ensuing years, Ian served his apprenticeship in the writing equipment business, becoming a distributor for Schmidt Technology along the way. In 2009, Ian met Michael Gutberlet of Kaweco at Paperworld and subsequently became their UK distributor. The business flourished. Me, Ian’s eldest daughter, joined in 2015, fulfilling a lifelong ambition of Ian’s to build a family business. Studio Pens has continued to show year on year growth, and in 2017 we moved out of The Studio in Ian’s garden in Surrey up to a small business unit in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. Ian handed over the goods in and shipping to me, to be able to focus soley on overseeing the business. By early 2020 we were bursting at the seams again, so in February 2020 we bit the bullet and took on a larger industrial unit at Follifoot Ridge. That summer, we took on the US household pen brand, Esterbrook. Talk us through the current products you’re particularly excited about. Do you have a favourite? I’m excited about the Esterbrook Nebulous Plume fountain pen. It’s a joint venture with Ferris Wheel Press and is a thing of beauty. The pen comes in a beautiful gift box, complete with a bottle of matching Ferris Wheel Press ink. It’s quite special. I’m also loving the limited edition Kaweco Bronze Sport series. It’s a heavyweight pen in the classic Kaweco Sport design, with intrinsic antibacterial properties that’ll last you a lifetime. My current favourite is the Kaweco Collection Smooth Sage fountain pen. It’s a semi-limited edition, as the Kaweco Collection pens are only produced for 12 months, and I just love the colour. Hobby & crafts have boomed over the last two years! Have you noticed any new trends? Journaling is huge! It wasn’t just for lockdown. How would you advise a retailer who is interested in stocking your products? Start small – once you see how much your customers love our pens you can build the range, but initially you only need a few pens to make a nice colourful display and draw in your customers.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=