The Grifos Pen Company

[diplomat]

Hello dear FPNers.

 

While engaged in some research to improve and enlarge my “List of Italian FP producers” I got in touch with Maurizio Stura, CEO of the Grifos Pen Company.

 

Maurizio proved to be a friendly person, deeply passionate into his work and eager to collaborate to explain the difficulties of being a “small player” in the industry and to share the amazing story that made him to this point.

 

This post just wants to be an homage to him and to his company, but more than that an interesting reading for my FPN friends, who are usually keen in fountain pens “backstage stories” and in discover more about the objects they use to love.

 

Diclaimer

Please note: honestly I cannot imagine how this small piece of mine may benefit in some way Maurizio’s work, but I can anticipate someone would think it does. Then, I’d like to point out clearly that the following is entirely my output, that these are information collected by discussing with Maurizio for the above mentioned article and that – due to their length and their out of topic nature – did not make the original article. In other words, the post is not “back edited” by anyone else than me.

Well, at the end of the day I think I am by now known from you guys and I think you’ll know that I like to write a lot about fountain pens

 

The Company

The Grifos Pen Company is located in the small village of Champdepraz, in Italy’s Valle d’Aosta, at the very north left corner of the country, in a good position with easy access to Turin, Milan, Lyon (France), and Switzerland.

The HQ is in a modest sized building where the complete writing instrument production is: fountain pens, roller pens, ball pens, and mechanical pencils.

The Grifo’s “core” business is twofold:

• 
   
  
• On one hand they provide small customized production batches, sometimes as small as only 20 pieces, with engraved corporate logos or names. Grifos fulfills this important niche in the pen business because only a small company like this, with a high level of engraving ability and flexibility, can in an economical way provide customers with small customized jobs, quality products and affordable prices.
  
• On the other hand, with their own “Grifos” brand name they create original design writing instruments using precious metals, gold and silver etc., brass, resins, briarwood, natural African buffalo horn, and leathers from alligator, python, lizard and stingray skins.
  

The Man

At the very heart of the company is Maurizo Stura, Grifos founder and CEO. As you would expect if you are familiar with the Italian fountain pen history, Maurizio’s story starts in Settimo Torinese: the heart of the industrial district of the fountain pen in Italy since the 1920s.

Maurizio was a young boy, only 12 years old, when he began his first job in Settimo, pen mounting operations for plastic pens. The young boy main goal at time was to have a little pocket money while studying, but slowly an additional, unexpected benefit arose: the passion for the writing tools that would have marked his entire life.

Maurizio continued working on pens throughout his school years, constantly learning more about the art and business of making pens. As a young man, now armed with an electronics and pen making background, another Settimo pen company hired him. The new job began just as the company changed its production from plastic, low-end pens to silver, high-end pens. Maurizio used the next 11 years continuing to improve his knowledge and experience in the art of making high-end pens from precious metals. In 1995, under the company’s assent, Maurizio entered the world of e-commerce by starting a selling pens internet business. Those were the pioneers years of the ecommerce (or, well, at least in Italy ) and Maurizio’s new business ranked among the first 200 Italian companies to use ecommerce that year. In the following years Maurizio’s internet business continued to grow.

 

He ultimately left the parent company to start his own business, in order to pursue his personal views in design, choice material, and customer service.

Thus, in February 2002, he created the Grifos Pen Company.

 

The Craftsmanship

Today the main Grifos selling point is the company’s ability to handmade everything in house (except the nibs – both in solid gold or stainless steel – which are outsourced from the famous German company Bock) including the engraving Guilloché technique.

Guilloché is a technique that origins from the 18th century and that consists in using a manually operated natural diamond cutting tool to engrave metals, resulting in brilliant diamond cut patterns. Today this is essentially a dead art, considering that craft is handed down from father to son using machines that are still operated as they were three centuries ago. The Grifos Pen Company has a Guilloché cutting machine in-house, thus allowing their experienced silversmiths to engrave on site, whereas few pen companies do Guilloché engraving within their own facility. As long as Grifos knows there are only about three craftsmen in the entire Europe who have the ability to use these manually operated machines.

In addition Grifos writing instruments are made with truly precious metals because all artisans at Grifos belong to a silversmith guild, which complies with both compulsory Italian and European laws. This compliance is verified by marking each writing instrument with a rhombus shaped stamp encasing the mark “*AO 23”, their guild symbol. This hallmark insures each customer that Grifos brand is using solid silver or gold.

 

The Product

Grifos product range develops in many writing instrument collections, and each collection is designed by Grifos’ owner and main silversmith, Maurizio Stura.

The design phase usually begins with a sequence of ideas; they are mainly influenced by Maurizio’s passion for history, his desire to use workable, natural materials, and his long experience in the industry. The first step of the design process starts with pencil sketches before drawing the designs on the computer with detailed fittings. The computer rendering help to identify and anticipate any production issue. Next, Maurizio makes a handmade brass prototype using a lathe machine. He continues to observe and improve the prototype for several days until he is comfortable with the design.

There is a commonality among all designs, regardless of material, making Grifos’ products recognizable. The main distinctive design point is the rounded band design and the engraving on it, the Grifos Company symbol, a Griffon, at the same time powerful and calm, and motto, “Alius Ex Alio…” the Latin says for: “One for the other, one after the other.” An 11th century Abbey mosaic, unearthed in 1979 and located nearby the Grifos HQ, inspired the company symbol and motto.

 

The Markets, the industry and the next steps

Grifos is now producing around 5.000 pens a year, counting in everything from the corporate pens to the high end “on demand” jewels with diamonds and other precious stones.

Grifos has an official distributor in Mexico and has single contracts with wholesale dealers or retailers in several countries like USA, Russia, Japan, France, Italy, Hungary and UK.

However, the majority of sales are made through the ecommerce channels: the corporate website and especially the ebay store.

This is an uncertain time for the writing industry, as recent news on brands that closed down or were sold shows. Luckily the last full year ended with black figures scoring a good +18% over the previous year. That allowed Grifos to sail safely during the dangerous 2009, avoiding a too negative impact from the credit crunch crisis.

With a satisfactory level of producing quality and a good mix with price, the next challenge would be to expand the brand recognizability and to better cover the international market.

 

Good luck for your future challenges, Grifos!

[Siv]

Great article - thanks for posting this.

 

I had a quick look at their website and there are some interesting finishes - lizard and snake skin!

 

Looks like they will also offer a bespoke pen service when you are design your own pen. They seem to make only one style though and it's impressive that they can sell 5000 a year all in the same style.

[hari317]

Very interesting article about Grifos, Thanks Andrea!

[jlepens]

I have their Africa Landscapes pen. Wonderful resin. Very nice pen.

[diplomat]

Thanks for your comments Siv and Hari.

In the 5K figure the "corporate" pens are included. I think they have a different style. Also, there is an entry level line with different pens than Grifos.

 

Ciao,

 

They seem to make only one style though and it's impressive that they can sell 5000 a year all in the same style.

[FrankB]

Thanks for an interesting article. I have wanted to know more about the Grofos company and this informaton helps.

 

I got two Grifos Sphinx FP's earlier this year. They are made of celluloid and they are beautiful. The pens are a good size, perhaps Pel M-800 sized, and very comfortable writers. The nibs are both M, and are very smooth, reliable writers. If these two pens are any indication of Grofos' quality, I will definitely be looking for some more in the near future, and I will remain a fan of the brand.

[escribo]

Thanks, Diplomat, for such a nice article.

 

I just got my first Grifos today. I say first -- there will be others (once the wife settles back down).

 

The guilloché is exquisite. The grooves are so amazingly smooth & shiny that moving the pen around in

the light knocks your eye out.

 

I will have more good to say about the pen later, I'm sure, but for now, thanks for the essay.

I enjoyed reading Maurizio's story; I wish him the best. What a "self-made man" story, eh?

 

Rgds,

-esc

Edited October 14, 2009 by escribo

[itremont]

I was pleased to read this article on Maurizio and his company. I love collecting -and using- fountain pens, and I am fond of those from Italy. Maurizio's case stands out for several reasons: his is a family-owned company (his wife Nadia and his little Alessandro are in, too!) facing tough competition from powerful penmakers like Visconti, Delta, and Aurora); his customer service is unparalelled (he does it personally), faster and more efficient than any corporate group; and his pens are beautifully handcrafted. Most of the pens I see on his catalog are built following two basic designs; one for resin models, and the other one for his guilloche and other precious finishings. I personally love his beautiful resin models: the same woman with different dresses. They are functional and write well. I am a proud owner of at least six different variants of these resin pens, and hope that one day I can own several of his pens with the Allius ex Allio inscription. I am thankful Grifos and Maurizio's family are in the fray.

[jar]

I only have one Grifos pen, a silver guilloche, but it is a jewel.

[shahrincamille]

For the board's information Maurizio is a member here too - he goes by the name "stubnib".

 

If you fancy any of the pens produced by his company (Grifos, Nero Muse and Nyloe) you might want to contact him direct first - he might just give you a special price which you cannot possibly get elsewhere, even from his eBay store. That's how I ended up with the Grifos Yale red stingray skin, Grifos Basilisco indigo cobra skin and the Grifos Driade briar root FPs - all superbly-made pens, and all of them write perfectly out of the box:thumbup:

 

 

 

ShahrinB)

[Pinmin]

Thanks for an interesting article. I have wanted to know more about the Grofos company and this informaton helps.

 

I got two Grifos Sphinx FP's earlier this year. They are made of celluloid and they are beautiful. The pens are a good size, perhaps Pel M-800 sized, and very comfortable writers. The nibs are both M, and are very smooth, reliable writers. If these two pens are any indication of Grofos' quality, I will definitely be looking for some more in the near future, and I will remain a fan of the brand.

Please consider posting a review w/ pics, thank you.

[son vo]

Does anyone have the contact details of Maurizio (emails or official website of Grifos pen? I am having difficulties in contacting them to buy several pens in one go. I have wrote to a lady named Nadia at Grifos, through the Amazon market place email, to express my interests to buy several pens from Grifos.

 

Many thanks

 

VTS

[jar]

Does anyone have the contact details of Maurizio (emails or official website of Grifos pen? I am having difficulties in contacting them to buy several pens in one go. I have wrote to a lady named Nadia at Grifos, through the Amazon market place email, to express my interests to buy several pens from Grifos.

 

Many thanks

 

VTS

Maurizio is a member here, user name stubnib. Try PM.

[sub_bluesy]

Breathing a little life into this thread. I just received a Grifos Pen and the City guilloché in sterling silver today and its pretty amazing. The pattern is generated by hundreds of lengthwise score marks in the silver tubing short of the decorative polished bits. Its a very impressive pen in person and unlike anything in my collection. Very special pen at a very reasonable price.