There aren't a lot of interestingly designed pen stands out there. The majority of them will be some kind of block, with holes cut out to safely store your pens. Some of these can be quite ornate, like Penquisition's PenSkew, with a design cut out of the side, but in terms of shape, they're all quite similar. There's nothing wrong with that shape (I use my custom PenSkew every day and wouldn't replace it with anything else, it just looks too good), but if you have a whole collection of pens, you will probably need more than one and it's nice to have some variation.
Pavlo Salapata of PhoenixPenStands, armed with a 3D printer and some trippy programming, has set out to change the face of the pen stand market and produces lighter and airier designs than his competitors, with intriguing forms than can be quickly assembled from just a few pieces of plastic. I asked him what made him decide to start up his Etsy shop.
'I was always designing things for and fiddling with 3D printing since university, it's always been a hobby of mine and something I did for fun after studying. A good friend of mine, who is very passionate and knowledgeable about fountain pens, was showing me his collection one day and telling me all about the different nibs, styles, etc. This was all new to me but he mentioned how much more enjoyable they were to write with than normal pens. Being curious, I borrowed one of his and tried it out to find that it was indeed just as good as he had said, I got a bunch of my own shortly after and started building a small collection.
One day I was sitting thinking of what to design next when the idea of a fountain pen holder came to mind, I decided to make it in the style of a samurai sword holder, as that same friend is also into samurai swords and culture, and that became the very first pen stand, which I showed and gave to my friend. At this time I was trying to make my hobby into something more serious and decided to put the design on Etsy to see what would happen, it ended up selling quite a few which encouraged me to make more designs and experiment with different styles. After some time it's turned into what you see today!
It is and always will be my very first business and has sparked my joy of creating and running small businesses. Shortly after I left my career as a mechanical engineer and now operate a small 3D printing startup company. I recently started another store selling much bigger items which you might find neat: etsy.com/ca/shop/7WondersStore, and a couple of things in the works that I'm very excited about.'
3D printing interests me, and as you may be able to tell from my previous reviews, I enjoy like pen and ink stands that are created using this technique. Pavlov said he'd send me a 'bunch of goods' to review, and he wasn't kidding.
Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you like pen stands. You'll be seeing... a few of them. Quite a few.
I also enjoy supporting small businesses rather than larger companies, and I want to encourage individuals who create and sell their own goods. It's a more personal experience when you buy from them, and the products are very often better quality than cheaper, mass-produced items. You might have noticed that many of my reviews are of products from small businesses - that's intentional. I want to raise awareness of these Etsy shops and little-known online stores, because they make brilliant stuff. Spread the love and tell your friends if you see products you like in my reviews, it helps the person who makes them!
So, what do these pen stands look like? I haven't finished the photoshoot yet, but here's a sneak peek...
Find his shopping at this link: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PhoenixPenStands
Disclaimer: I am not paid to feature shops on my blog. I will only ever feature those that I believe supply quality items, those I would buy from. I do this to showcase shops that I think are deserving of online traffic and custom, and to show my readers interesting items that I think they may like.