Review: Pen Wraps From Exbpens

[Seville]

Well Bruce i have to agree and disagree. Agree on the dark colours for the interior and disagree on the velcro. Fountain pens are fiddly beasts and so an extra fiddle with straps doesn't bother me. In fact the over use of velcro reminds to much of old guy shoes.

 

Philip

Edited December 2, 2012 by Seville

[jacksterp]

This thread has "forced" me - forced me I tell you - to order one of her pen cases as a Christmas present to myself.

[tandaina]

Me too! These are lovely!

[jacksterp]

Me too! These are lovely!

 

Please post a picture, if possible, of the one you ordered.

[Cedric T]

My Mystic Roo pen wrap has just arrived! Beautiful lavender material, it's slightly fuzzy like suede.

 

[tandaina]

Pretty! One of you folks nicked the one I ordered just ahead of me. But she was very quick to offer me lots of options and is making a case from fabric I picked. I'll post photos when it arrives.

[jacksterp]

Cedric - that is absolutely beautiful!

[GardenWeasel]

Mine...and I love it!

 

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i82/nukemkb/aaf7f09b5f208f51f833653a3f959c6e.jpg

[trhall]

It's been over 10 months since my last post about my pen wraps? Shame on me. Let's fix that… right now. I mentioned that Elizabeth had made me a few 6-pens wraps, but had neglected to post any images. And that was a year ago.

My original wraps are over 2 years old now, and I use them daily. They are in wonderful condition and are holding up well to having pens pulled in and out of the slots several times a day. The 6-pen wraps are nearing a year old, and they also get daily use, and are equally aging well.

Since last year, I've had Elizabeth make me some other items, but that's all detail for later post. Let's talk about one of my three almost-year-old 6-pen wraps now…

As you may recall from my original post, Elizabeth has a website where you can purchase ready-made pen wraps and other items, but you can also ask her to make something custom for you. You may also recall that I'm a bit.. boring. I'm a guy who likes darker colors and fairly plain-looking patterns.

As always, I told Elizabeth what I wanted: 6-pen wraps where the slots were individual (the previous wraps hold that many, but I don't like my pens to touch). I wanted some splash of color, but still my "dark" look. I also wanted longer ties, and wanted them made from cloth instead of leather or cord.

Elizabeth went through her (sizable and varied) collection of fabrics and sent me photos of what she had. After narrowing down from a large number to a smaller number of choices, we discussed each of the three wraps individually. This one is the "blue and brown" wrap.

Looks fairly "standard", right?

I had mentioned to Elizabeth in another email some details about myself. One of those is that I'm half Taiwanese, so I do like Asian / Oriental art, characters, etc. Another thing I mentioned is that I really liked some of the wraps she had made on her site (and those that others have posted in this thread) where there was a strong contrasting color to the outside of the wrap. Sort of a "surprise" when you open the wrap up.

So what did this particular wrap look like when open? Peek-a-boo!

Wow. I LOVE the contrast of the orangish-brown interior to the blue exterior, and I really like the character on the pocket fabric piece inside the wrap!

The pens all fit deeply in the slots, as you see above. In the photo below, I've pulled the pens up a bit so you could see them in the wrap.

Pens (still pulled up so you can see more of them) below, from left to right:

Edison Pearlette Custom, Purple Web Celluloid, Pearl clip

Edison Beaumont Custom, Sheaffer Tiger Eye Acrylic

TWSBI Vac 700 Clear

Danitrio Sho-Hakkuku Murasaki-dame

TWSBI Diamond 540 Smoke

Edison Double-Ended Skinny Pearl

I'm loving my wraps, and enjoy using them every day. Who else has photos to share of their EXB Pen wraps?

[RPB]

Very nice update there trhall! Some nice wraps. Here is one that I had from EXB a while back but has not seen enough use really. Time to get it used properly! I am a bit of an introvert, hence the colour (whilst my favourite in Blue) is very simple.

Edited November 6, 2013 by RPB

[daintydimsum]

lovely stuff! btw though, would you happen to have a larger picture of your danitrio murasaki-dame? I've been wondering what the finish is like. the nibs.com pictures make it look rather dark.

 

 

It's been over 10 months since my last post about my pen wraps? Shame on me. Let's fix that… right now. I mentioned that Elizabeth had made me a few 6-pens wraps, but had neglected to post any images. And that was a year ago.

My original wraps are over 2 years old now, and I use them daily. They are in wonderful condition and are holding up well to having pens pulled in and out of the slots several times a day. The 6-pen wraps are nearing a year old, and they also get daily use, and are equally aging well.

Since last year, I've had Elizabeth make me some other items, but that's all detail for later post. Let's talk about one of my three almost-year-old 6-pen wraps now…

As you may recall from my original post, Elizabeth has a website where you can purchase ready-made pen wraps and other items, but you can also ask her to make something custom for you. You may also recall that I'm a bit.. boring. I'm a guy who likes darker colors and fairly plain-looking patterns.

As always, I told Elizabeth what I wanted: 6-pen wraps where the slots were individual (the previous wraps hold that many, but I don't like my pens to touch). I wanted some splash of color, but still my "dark" look. I also wanted longer ties, and wanted them made from cloth instead of leather or cord.

Elizabeth went through her (sizable and varied) collection of fabrics and sent me photos of what she had. After narrowing down from a large number to a smaller number of choices, we discussed each of the three wraps individually. This one is the "blue and brown" wrap.

Looks fairly "standard", right?

I had mentioned to Elizabeth in another email some details about myself. One of those is that I'm half Taiwanese, so I do like Asian / Oriental art, characters, etc. Another thing I mentioned is that I really liked some of the wraps she had made on her site (and those that others have posted in this thread) where there was a strong contrasting color to the outside of the wrap. Sort of a "surprise" when you open the wrap up.

So what did this particular wrap look like when open? Peek-a-boo!

Wow. I LOVE the contrast of the orangish-brown interior to the blue exterior, and I really like the character on the pocket fabric piece inside the wrap!

The pens all fit deeply in the slots, as you see above. In the photo below, I've pulled the pens up a bit so you could see them in the wrap.

Pens (still pulled up so you can see more of them) below, from left to right:

Edison Pearlette Custom, Purple Web Celluloid, Pearl clip

Edison Beaumont Custom, Sheaffer Tiger Eye Acrylic

TWSBI Vac 700 Clear

Danitrio Sho-Hakkuku Murasaki-dame

TWSBI Diamond 540 Smoke

Edison Double-Ended Skinny Pearl

I'm loving my wraps, and enjoy using them every day. Who else has photos to share of their EXB Pen wraps?

 

[85AKbN]

L2k in a Leaves on Water (currently sold out).

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img23/6792/rlz5.jpg

[avlisyar]

Here is the one I just received called Rich Loam.

Liking it a lot!

 

 

[Jeje3325]

This thread has "forced" me - forced me I tell you - to order one of her pen cases as a Christmas present to myself.

Wow this Japanese version is fantastic.

I tried going on her site but it seems off line...

Anyone got a lead?

[85AKbN]

Wow this Japanese version is fantastic.

I tried going on her site but it seems off line...

Anyone got a lead?

 

try this:

 

http://www.exbpenwraps.com/

[Fabienne]

Elizabeth's wraps are da BOMB!!! Thank you longdistance for sending me one. I am a faithful customer. BTW, she is in Indiana! Yes, the Midwest is a most sexy place!

[dashboi666]

Thanks for this thread guys... hopefully the shipping costs are okay and Elizabeth has some free time for I hope to be her next customer!

[mwduffy]

I've been using EXB pen wraps (http://www.exbpenwraps.com) for a couple of years now. I first learned about them from a posting on the FPN. How could I not be intrigued by the idea that someone was running a pen wrap making operation out of a former turkey coop, using her mother's sewing machine, an ironing board, a couple boxes of sorted beads and many tubs of fabric. Well, I haven't looked back since I first contacted Elizabeth Boling, by day a Professor of Education and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies at Indiana State University, by night a pen wrap maker extraordinaire.

 

I'm up to twelve of her wraps now and can't speak highly enough about her work. Her website has it right - wraps are compact, soft and satisfying to the senses. Elizabeth is incredibly patient as you work through selecting colours and fabrics and ties and beads. Given her day job, she has a sharp eye for what works and what doesn't, and she'll offer suggestions if you're open to them (if you're smart, you will be). And she listens to what you say so she has a real sense of what you're looking for in a final product. She spares no effort to make sure you're pleased with what she makes for you. Of course, there is a downside to all of this. It's the dilemna you face when having to choose between her equally beautiful wraps. Having to rotate my pens was hard enough. Now I have to rotate my EXBs!

[trhall]

Wow, @mwduffy! You succinctly described why I love Elizabeth's work. Wonderful summary. Couldn't agree more!

[theverdictis]

IMG_1811.jpg

 

Having recently built up a modest fountain pen collection, I wanted to have a way to carry around multiple at a time without scratching them up. The individual slots in my work bag left the caps a bit exposed, so I wanted something a bit better. While I really like leather, I found that most leather wraps were too bulky for me, or just too expensive for no particular reason. I wanted a fabric wrap, because I could get a bit more variety in fabric, and it was less bulky. I stumbled across a few posts about Nan and Ling's wraps, which are amazingly beautiful, but Nan seems to be a bit busy now and hasn't been responding to messages as of late. Luckily, I happened upon some posts from @exboling, who also makes wraps. She started out making some for herself, but also will make wraps for others. Yeah!

 

So, I went to Elizabeth's website to see what I could find. A few things immediately struck me about her site:

 

• She not only makes wraps, she provides instructions on how to make your own wrap, as well as sells a full PDF book on the topic.
• Provides a description of what a pen wrap is, and how to use it.
• Provides a list of her current inventory, as well as a description on how to contact her for a custom order.
• Interesting/Important to me, she is based in southern Indiana, and I am also based out of Indiana. I like to support local businesses.

I have a lot of respect for someone who will not only sell a product, but tell you how to make one on your own. However, since sewing is NOT my forte, I decided to see what Elizabeth had to offer.

 

After a quick look at her site, I decided I wanted to have her make me something a bit custom. I loved her work, but wanted a bit more conservative patterns. I liked the fact that Elizabeth uses new, vintage, and reclaimed fabrics. I emailed her, and gave her a general overview of what I was looking for. Once I gave her some indication on my fabric color choices (or, limitations, if you like - I only wanted dark exterior colors), she emailed me several images showing me what types of fabrics she had available. All I can tell you is that her website only has a small fraction of what fabric choices she has available. I quickly found 4 - 5 patterns that I liked for the interior of my wraps. I narrowed my choices down, and asked her to help me a bit with a good matching exterior color, and asked her to let me know how things went. Since I was a bit new at ordering something like this, and I had so many customization choices, I did waffle a bit and sent Elizabeth several emails trying to figure out what I wanted. She was patient with me throughout the process.

 

Elizabeth did mention to me in advance that this is not her day job, so to be a bit patient, but I was in no rush. In actuality, she quickly put together the first wrap (within the next day or so), the purple one. It looked amazing, except for one minor issue... In our flurry of email exchanges I didn't communicate properly and she put leather ties on the wrap. Before I responded to her (it was over a weekend, and I was slow in responding), she also created the blue one. While I do like leather, I wanted more of a fabric cord to go with the fabric. Elizabeth, once again, was very patient with me and remade a new wrap to my exact specifications.

 

IMG_1783.jpg

 

Elizabeth did an excellent job with both, and I like the fact that she did a slightly different interior on both wraps. I didn't ask for this - I asked for her best judgement. I'm glad she did this. It's a nice difference, since the interior patterns are a bit similar (wavy pattern).

 

IMG_1795.jpg

 

Here is a photo of the blue one wrapped up:

 

IMG_1797.jpg

 

Once everything was complete, Elizabeth emailed me and let me know she shipped the wraps. She packaged them nicely in a bubble envelope and even sent me a lovely hand-written card:

 

IMG_1812.jpg

 

Elizabeth is definitely all about customer satisfaction. She sent me all four wraps (per our discussion) to see if I liked the ones with the leather ties, and to see if I was satisfied with the build quality. Her craftsmanship is excellent. If I was happy, I could keep them all and send her a check. If not, I could return what I did not like and pay for the rest. The wraps have just the right layers of fabric. The wraps fold up very compactly, but I feel that my pens are well protected. Her lines and stitching look great and very professional. I am supremely pleased with how well these turned out. I ended up keeping all of them.

 

I have several more photos of each wrap, with and without pens at EXBPens Pen Wraps Photoset on Flickr

 

Would I purchase from Elizabeth again? You bet! I definitely will be. She was incredibly patient with me and has a great eye and was able to do exactly what I wanted with very poor instructions from me. I am pleased and impressed with her ability.

 

Pricing:

• Two-Pen Wraps - $12.00
• Three-Pen Wraps - $15.00
• Four-Pen Wraps - $17.00
• (Add an additional dollar if you want silk fabric)

These wraps were a steal to me. The quality is excellent, and I know that I have something crafted by someone who cares as much about her pens as I do about mine. I would gladly have paid double the price.

 

More information is available at: EXBPens (by our very own @exboling)

 

Thanks for the review and the useful website. Much appreciated Will definitely be checking this website out.