Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Miller.
Jason, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey started almost 20 years ago. Although a native Texan, my family had relocated up to Pennsylvania for a time, and December of 2000 my Grandfather came up from Texas for Christmas. He had been an Industrial Technology teacher (woodworking, photography, drafting, etc.) and had just learned how to turn pens on a lathe. He setup shop on the tailgate of his truck and taught me and my brothers how to make pens ourselves. We became so enthralled with it all that he surprised us by buying all the equipment we needed to get started for our Christmas present. From that moment on, we were hooked and made all kinds of pens off and on for many years after that. Eventually, life got busy for me, college and marriage happened, and pen turning went to the back burner for a while.
Fast forward to 2016. I needed a distraction from my work as a licensed commercial architect and decided to dust off the equipment that had been sitting in my parent’s garage. My initial intentions were to simply build back my skills at pen making and treat it more as a hobby. By random chance, I decided to blend my love of photography with the pen making and started up an Instagram account to display my work. Little did I know that simple move would spark something much bigger than just a basic hobby. I started getting a lot of attention from people who were interested in purchasing my work and quickly started selling pens throughout the US, as well as internationally in places like Israel, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
Continuing to develop my skills and having an ever-increasing group of followers on social media, I decided to take my shop to the next level. Up until this point, I had been focusing my efforts on “kit pens” as they’re referred to in pen-making circles. These are pens that incorporate pre-manufactured metal components that are then paired with wood, acrylic or resin bodies to create the complete pen. While still great fun to make, I did not feel challenged by them anymore and wanted something to expand my horizons. I began studying other pen makers like Bob Blanford (@rjbwoodturner), Shawn Newton (@newtonpens) and Tom Gauntt (@chesapeakepenco) who were doing “bespoke fountain pens” which entails turning and fabricating each pen component from a blank (block) of acrylic or resin. I knew this was what I wanted to do and slowly began acquiring the necessary tools over the next year or so.
In 2018, I dove headfirst into the world of bespoke fountain pen making. Many of those early experience were challenging to say the least, and I still keep a box of broken pen parts as a reminder that a large part of learning includes failure. Throughout the whole process, I’ve meticulously developed, adjusted and refined my pen making process to fit my preferences and expectations of what a bespoke fountain pen should be. I’ve continued to cultivate new friendships within the maker circle who have inspired and encouraged me along the way. It’s awesome to be able to consider myself a part of such a positive and uplifting group of people that is the pen community.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are obvious challenges with learning a new technique, process or skill. Probably the biggest struggles came from not meeting my own expectations. I’ve always been good at photography and music, so I assumed bespoke pen making would come naturally as well. But boy was I wrong! Making anything by hand means there is the potential for things to have unexpected results. I daily have to remind myself that this craft is one large process and each time I fail is an opportunity to grow and be flexible. Another struggle along the way would be finding my niche and developing my style for pen making that is unique to Jason Neil Penworks. Understanding and being comfortable with the fact that my creativity is my own and doesn’t need to mimic anyone else except who I am is something that I’m getting better at accepting, but can still be easy to forget.
Please tell us about Jason Neil Penworks.
Jason Neil Penworks is known mostly for the attention to even the tiniest details and the finishing of the pens I produce. My finishing process alone can take 2-4 hours just for one pen. I’d say I also push myself almost to beyond the point of what is possible in crafting pens by hand. I like to think because of my attention to detail, the owner of the pen gets a little treat or surprise each time they pick it up to write with.
I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve stayed true to who I am and to what I want to produce as a pen maker. Whether 300 people or only three people appreciate what I’m creating, at the end of the day, I’m not seeking the praise of those around me, but am simply chasing a passion I have to create something beautiful and uplifting.
There are several makers who have adopted a similar approach, but what sets my shop apart from others, is that I look to encourage other makers as much as possible to do better work than even myself. I’m not looking to become a monopoly or an exclusive recluse who never shares their secrets. With my shop, there are no secrets. I love to teach others something new and push their boundaries to new heights. In the end, even if we all have the same exact information for making pens, we are all going to create something unique.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Wow, that’s a hard one. I think that would be the yearly trips my family would take together (grandparents included). My brothers and I were homeschooled all the way through high school, so we rolled a lot of educational experiences into each vacation. From the Corvette Museum to the Kentucky Horse Park, to the Wright Brothers airstrip, to every lighthouse on the East Coast, my parents took every opportunity to expose us to the unique places and landmarks the States had to offer. I’m extremely grateful for those times we had as a family.
Pricing:
- Clarke model – $150
- Tucker model – $200
- Douglas model – $175
- Architect model – $400
- Elliott model – $175
- Sterling model – $185
- Fairview model – $150
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jnpenworks.com
- Email: jnpenworks@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonneilpenworks/
Image Credit:
Jason Miller
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