Here are the top nine pens I made of 2020, though it was a hard choice. They are each so unique, I really need to share more of the ‘before’ pictures. I find the woods I use fascinating because I use the gnarliest, and quite frankly, ugliest burls I can find. By definition, burl is where the “grain has grown in a deformed manner”. Burl also “results from a tree undergoing some form of stress”. That really sums up the year, doesn’t it?

To me, that’s the beauty of it. It takes me a many hours to make a single pen. So much so that the enterprise itself is not exactly ‘financially viable’. But that isn’t why I do it. I thoroughly enjoy taking these challenging pieces of wood and slowly coaxing out their true potential through special care and hard work. In the end, something absolutely stunning is revealed.

That’s what I would like to take away from this year. No matter how much hardship is thrown our way, we can always reveal the potential within. In truth, the road will likely push us to our limits, but just think about that amazing diamond forming inside us all the while.

I wish you all the best in the new year.

Warm Regards,

Chad