KarstenCustomWW

I am a father of three amazing boys (nine year old twins, and a 7 year old). My twins were born at 28 weeks, and had to stay in the NICU for over 3 months, which gave me a new outlook on life, and how I should be spending my time, doing the things I love. My wonderful wife is a saint to let me pursue this endeavor (see the first sentence above, she is the one looking after them, while I am in my shop), as it takes a good amount of time to make the art pieces that I do.

In a brief explanation, I am just a guy who found an outlet for my form of art. I was never the “art class” kind of guy, in school, but I have found, that I have always had an artistic side. When I came across lathe turning pens, I had to try it, so I bought a lathe and some of the tools required, and I was off.

I fell in love with turning on day one, and ever since, I have been honing my skills on a variety of items. I now cast all of my own acrylic, because I like to make as much of my own artwork as I can, and have the creative freedom to do what I want. Casting has opened up a whole new world of artistic expression for me, and allows me to create any color combination I want, or even try out embedding.

I started out giving pens and bottle stoppers as gifts at Christmas, to family members. When other people saw them, they wanted to know where they could buy one (or a few). That is what led me to starting this shop, and sharing my art with a more broad, and diverse group of people.

Everything I make is functional art, it has everyday functionality, but it can also sit on a table and be admired for its artistic qualities. I think people go through life, much the same as I used to, looking to streamline everything, not caring about the journey, but only concerned with the end goal. I have to admit that I was one of the guilty parties, that would walk into a big box store and buy the bag of 1,000 pens for $.26, and while they make a mark on paper, they were not adding to my journey, there was no beauty to be found. Now, I like to look at things with a different set of eyes, why not use a piece of art to sign those special documents, why not hold on to something beautiful while you go through the tedium of your day job, why not enjoy every part of what little time we have, even if it means buying something special to write with?