What do we look for in a gift? Beauty and utility that make an emotional connection. Our products
are designed with this in mind, sure to conjure that connection every time your friend or loved one uses them. Hope and Grace pens make the perfect gift for professionals, new or graduating students, poets, artists or anyone who marches to the beat of their own drum. The recipient of your pen will be stunned by its beauty and pleased in the knowledge you chose a useful, hand-crafted work of art just for them.
Pens not their style? How about a stylus for their touch-screen device, a pen/stylus combo, an artists' pencil, key fob, bottle stopper, shaving kit or even a seam ripper? Choose from items in stock or contact us to have yours custom made.
Be sure to 'like' our page on Facebook!
About the artists:
Bryce is an active duty U.S. Marine recently returned from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan,
Bob Rudolf is a recently retired US Marine living and working in Iwakuni, Japan.
John Redfield is a former active duty Marine living and working in Iwkauni, Japan.
We specialize in inlayed, segmented and designed fine writing instruments perfect for poets, artists and professionals who march to the beat of their own drums. We also offer a variety of beautiful and useful home and office accessories like coin racks, wine bottle stands, ring boxes and much more.
Where can I order?
Check out the current inventory at the Articents Store or on Etsy!
What are your shipping, return, etc., policies?
Payment
Direct Checkout or Paypal are preferred. Checks or money-orders are acceptable, and your product will ship when payment has cleared. All taxes are included in the price. You can cancel your order for a full refund until the day the product ships (be quick, we are!).
Shipping
When we were living and working at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, U.S. Postal service was our only shipping option. Since we've only recently returned, we're still weighing our shipping options. Unless otherwise noted, your item will ship USPS (please ensure you provide a USPS-deliverable address).That being said, I'll ship ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. If you can help me put the right info on the package, I'll send your order. Adjustments to the shipping charge apply.
I will refund shipping cost overages greater than about a dollar. Bear in mind the shipping cost includes postage, packaging and handling.
Refunds and Exchanges
If you are unhappy with the beauty, make or manufacture of your Hope and Grace Pen product, return it within 30 days from the day you received it for a refund minus shipping. Please specify why you returned it to help us make future clients happy. If the item is damaged during delivery, send it back and we will replace it to the best of our ability. If the item is lost in the mail, we will replace it to the best of our ability. As U.S. Marines, we value integrity and honesty among our highest traits. We practice it ourselves and expect it of others as well.
Here's a guide to help you custom-order your Hope & Grace Pen.
Recycling and Eco-friendly
Whenever possible, we use recycled materials both in production and shipping. We use old newspaper as a packing material and oftentimes create shipping boxes from discarded cardboard, particularly with larger, oddly-shaped items. When your package arrives with strange markings and/or newspaper inside, please don't think badly of us! Know that we're doing everything we can to re-use and re-purpose materials.
Why are they so expensive? It's just a pen!
Oh, contraire. Hope and Grace Pen products are painstakingly hand-crafted by an artist investing hours of creativity, imagination, experience and hard work. Unlike art that hangs on a wall or collects dust on a shelf, your Hope and Grace Pen goes with you to show off and share. Compensation is
based on a number of factors, including intricacy of the design, number of hours to complete, and the cost of hardware and materials. Hope and Grace Pen products often take three to four times as long to produce than traditional hand-lathed pens. When you look at them not as utensils but as works of art, you see their value.
What materials are my pen made from?
When your Hope and Grace Pen was crafted, the artist used material you specified or from stock available. If not identified or listed as "assorted woods," it may be too late to try to determine because color and grain vary depending on cut, shape and staining. Sometimes the artist uses whatever material the muse provides! But rest assured, this helps ensure your pen will never be duplicated and will always be unique.
Recycling and Eco-friendly
Whenever possible, we use recycled materials both in production and shipping. We use old newspaper as a packing material and oftentimes create shipping boxes from discarded cardboard, particularly with larger, oddly-shaped items. When your package arrives with strange markings and/or newspaper inside, please don't think badly of us! Know that we're doing everything we can to re-use and re-purpose materials.
Why are they so expensive? It's just a pen!
Oh, contraire. Hope and Grace Pen products are painstakingly hand-crafted by an artist investing hours of creativity, imagination, experience and hard work. Unlike art that hangs on a wall or collects dust on a shelf, your Hope and Grace Pen goes with you to show off and share. Compensation is
What materials are my pen made from?
When your Hope and Grace Pen was crafted, the artist used material you specified or from stock available. If not identified or listed as "assorted woods," it may be too late to try to determine because color and grain vary depending on cut, shape and staining. Sometimes the artist uses whatever material the muse provides! But rest assured, this helps ensure your pen will never be duplicated and will always be unique.
In general, Hope and Grace Pens are made from a variety of common and exotic woods and other materials like antler, aluminum or plastic (usually for inlay or accent). A variety of adhesives are used to keep intricate designs together. Most products are finished with a durable high gloss using multiple coats of cyanoacrylate, lacquer, and other products.
What kind of customizations can you do?
If you like something we've done, mention the product and style and we can repeat the process for you (hopeandgracepens@gmail.com). Bear in mind that no two products will ever be identical. No customizations are done by machine or laser engraver; everything is done by hand. Therefore, we
tend to shy away from names, text or script printed or burned into the wood. But individual initials, symbols, and simple characters are usually acceptable. Just tell us what you want and we'll let you know if we can do it. Patterns we've used in the past include Celtic knots, checkerboard, circles, polka dots, stripes, calico, waves, and even "dragon skin" (looks sort of like scales – perfect for fishermen or Dungeons & Dragons nerds!). "His & Hers" sets are available, as well as desk sets (pen, letter opener, magnifying glass, etc.). Depending on a number of factors, it could take several weeks until you receive your customized products. Be sure to order well in advance if it's a gift!
I noticed my pen has flaws. Is this normal?
Because your pen was hand-crafted, often with intricate designs, some minor flaws are inevitable. But just as in all of us, flaws help make each a unique individual. If you're unhappy with the beauty, make or manufacture of your Hope and Grace Pens product, simply return it within 30 days of receipt for a refund minus shipping. Please specify why you returned it to help us make future customers happy.
What's your return policy?
If you are unhappy with the beauty, make or manufacture of your Hope and Grace Pen product, return it within 30 days from the day you received it for a refund minus shipping. Please specify why you returned it to help us make future customers happy.
What's that poem in the background of some of your pictures?
It's the first few lines of
Sir Edmond Spencer's Sonnet #30:
My love is like to ice, and I to fire:
How comes it then that this her cold so great
Is not dissolved through my so hot desire,
But harder grows the more I her entreat?
Or how comes it that my exceeding heat
Is not allayed by her heart-frozen cold,
But that I burn much more in boiling sweat,
And feel my flames augmented manifold?
What more miraculous thing may be told,
That fire, which all things melts, should harden ice,
And ice, which is congeal's with senseless cold,
Should kindle fire by wonderful device?
Such is the power of love in gentle mind,
That it can alter all the course of kind.
Refills and replacement parts
Stylus tips:
Stylus tips are easily replaceable when they wear out from over use! Stylus tips unscrew (lefty-loosey) from the pen body. Take your stylus with you to the office supply store to ensure your replacement fits. In the slim chance they don't carry your model, write to me at HopeAndGracePens [!at] gmail.com and I'll make sure you get one. Expect to pay a small fee and postage.
Ink:
All writing instruments have ink refill cartridges available. Take the old cartridge to your local office supply store to ensure you get the correct refill. In the slim chance they don't carry your model, write to me at HopeAndGracePens [!at] gmail.com and I'll make sure you get one. Expect to pay a small fee and postage.
If you no longer have the instructions to disassemble your pen refer below:
What kind of customizations can you do?
If you like something we've done, mention the product and style and we can repeat the process for you (hopeandgracepens@gmail.com). Bear in mind that no two products will ever be identical. No customizations are done by machine or laser engraver; everything is done by hand. Therefore, we
I noticed my pen has flaws. Is this normal?
Because your pen was hand-crafted, often with intricate designs, some minor flaws are inevitable. But just as in all of us, flaws help make each a unique individual. If you're unhappy with the beauty, make or manufacture of your Hope and Grace Pens product, simply return it within 30 days of receipt for a refund minus shipping. Please specify why you returned it to help us make future customers happy.
What's your return policy?
If you are unhappy with the beauty, make or manufacture of your Hope and Grace Pen product, return it within 30 days from the day you received it for a refund minus shipping. Please specify why you returned it to help us make future customers happy.
What's that poem in the background of some of your pictures?
It's the first few lines of
Sir Edmond Spencer's Sonnet #30:My love is like to ice, and I to fire:
How comes it then that this her cold so great
Is not dissolved through my so hot desire,
But harder grows the more I her entreat?
Or how comes it that my exceeding heat
Is not allayed by her heart-frozen cold,
But that I burn much more in boiling sweat,
And feel my flames augmented manifold?
What more miraculous thing may be told,
That fire, which all things melts, should harden ice,
And ice, which is congeal's with senseless cold,
Should kindle fire by wonderful device?
Such is the power of love in gentle mind,
That it can alter all the course of kind.
Refills and replacement partsStylus tips:
Stylus tips are easily replaceable when they wear out from over use! Stylus tips unscrew (lefty-loosey) from the pen body. Take your stylus with you to the office supply store to ensure your replacement fits. In the slim chance they don't carry your model, write to me at HopeAndGracePens [!at] gmail.com and I'll make sure you get one. Expect to pay a small fee and postage.
Ink:
All writing instruments have ink refill cartridges available. Take the old cartridge to your local office supply store to ensure you get the correct refill. In the slim chance they don't carry your model, write to me at HopeAndGracePens [!at] gmail.com and I'll make sure you get one. Expect to pay a small fee and postage.
If you no longer have the instructions to disassemble your pen refer below:
Hope & Grace Pens uses a number of different pen styles and manufacture types. However, nearly all refill types and colors are available in any stationary or office supply store. Take the old ink cartridge with you to ensure you get the right replacement.
-- Unscrew the nib: Fountain, click, capped and even some models of "twist" pens unscrew at the nib (pointy end). Apply gentle pressure (lefty-loosey) to unscrew it. DON'T FORCE IT. Once loose, be careful not to lose springs that may be on or under the ink cartridge.
-- If you have a fountain pen, pop out the old cartridge and be sure the new one "snaps" into place. Or get a bottle of your favorite color ink and use the plunger refill mechanism that shipped with your pen.
-- Pull from the middle. If your pen is two-piece and "twists" to extend the ballpoint, it likely pulls apart in the middle ( <-- --> ). Gently pull it apart to reveal the inner mechanics. DON'T FORCE IT. Once apart, you'll see the colored (usually black) end of the ink cartridge. Simply unscrew (lefty-loosey) and replace. To reassemble, simply realign the grain and apply pressure ( --> <-- ).
-- Pull off the end cap. If your pen is a single piece that "twists" to extend the ballpoint, the blunt end likely pulls off. Apply gentle pressure to remove the cap ( <---- -> ) to reveal the twist mechanism. Unscrew the mechanism (lefty loosey) and slide out the ink cartridge underneath. Take care not to lose the spring. Drop the new ink cartridge with spring into the pen and replace the mechanism and cap.
If all else fails, write us! HopeAndGracePens [!at] gmail.com
Other parts:
Unfortunately it would most likely destroy your pen if you disassembled it to replace the nib, tailstock, pen body, inner brass tubes, turning or click mechanism, or the clip. If these parts are damaged, please e-mail me a photograph of the damage with a description to determine if we can repair or replace it. If the damage was caused by me or in shipping, I'll repair or replace it free of charge. If the damage occurs after you receive it, I must charge an hourly fee plus the cost of parts and shipping with no guarantee of success (sorry!). Each instance will be addressed on a case-by-case basis, so write to me at HopeAndGracePens [!at] gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment