Pen Display Drawers

[judo]

I'd been looking for something to store my growing pen collection in for a while but the boxes that I saw were either too small or too expensive. Then I came across an oak, 7-drawer cutlery cabinet at a local auction which was a bit bigger than I was looking for but seemed ideal for vintage pens. The date engraved for the original owner on top of the box was 1874. They took a lot of care when engraving brass plates in those days.

I stripped out the cutlery fittings and tried to make inserts to carry pens. However the inserts I made looked a bit crude and unprofessional but looking around I couldn't find any suitable liners for sale in the UK. Eventually I purchased some vacuum-formed trays from Gary at gopens.com in the US which fitted perfectly as shown in the photos. The liners are 12" x 16" and I have a few left for future projects. The drawers are graduated in depth, with the top four ideal for pens and the lower ones great for storage of ink bottles etc. Room for my collection to grow.

[Chrissy]

Very nice.

[Barkingpig]

Perfection & if only I could find one before it was stripped of it's cutlery compartments! We just don't see many of these old chests in the States; I was a "fool for flatware," prior to the pen & ink foolishness.............sorta like trading the devil for the witch.

[my63]

That is an excellent transformation. You can work on filling it now.

[judo]

Thanks for all the messages on my cabinet. I'm pleased with the way it worked out. The cutlery had all been removed, before I bought it so I don't think I was destroying any "heritage". Probably a lot had been broken or lost in the preceding 140 years. It now seems appropriate to house vintage pens in an antique chest of drawers which is given a new lease of life. I have space for 48 pens (double rows, front and rear) in each of the top 4 drawers which totals 192. If I convert the bottom 3 drawers for pens I can probably get 2 layers which would make a total of 480 for the whole chest. Still some way to go yet but there's lots of time.......

[shawnee]

I know this is like two years ago, but can I say that I love this so hard that I've actually gone onto Ebay and purchased two chests to DIY myself. They are nowhere near as nice as yours, but such a great idea given the cost of pen chests and the slightly dubious quality of some of them.

 

Thank you for the inspiration.

[inkstainedruth]

I keep looking at things like this, but haven't found anything that was affordable and big enough. Someplace I was recently I saw what I think was either a furniture salesman's sample or a child's toy dresser, and was very tempted. It had some deeper drawers at the bottom, but I wasn't sure if they were quite deep enough for most ink bottles.

I also saw a very pretty desk that had similar lower drawers, but it wasn't in the budget at the moment.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[shawnee]

I keep looking at things like this, but haven't found anything that was affordable and big enough. Someplace I was recently I saw what I think was either a furniture salesman's sample or a child's toy dresser, and was very tempted. It had some deeper drawers at the bottom, but I wasn't sure if they were quite deep enough for most ink bottles.

I also saw a very pretty desk that had similar lower drawers, but it wasn't in the budget at the moment.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I really wanted a set of map / architect drafting drawers but way out of my price range and then it becomes its own piece of furniture and I’d have to fess up to my husband about my pen habit.

 

There are some great pieces of furniture out there at junk shops and some really fun things to repurpose. I seriously considered getting an old sewing box for easy transport to shows and clubs.

 

How much space do you need, Ruth?

[inkstainedruth]

Well, today when I was out and about, I saw a secretary hutch/desk in the window at a thrift store, and said "Hmmmm...." Of course I don't know where I'd put it in my house, or if the drawers would be big enough to fit all the bottles. Normally I don't really care for "colonial" style furniture, but the thing caught my eye because it was painted red. Of course I also have no clue as to what it cost....

Right now, I have a small Arts and Crafts desk flanked by a couple of 3 shelf bookcases from Pier 1. The ink (mostly) is in these nice foldout rattan covered cloth boxes from IKEA, but I can only fit 2 of those per shelf (and one shelf has to do double duty as a nightstand). The other bookcase also has some 24-pen zipper cases from Rockler (and I've got a sixth one on order, because they didn't have any in the store the other day -- in theory it's arriving tomorrow).

The current desk isn't *quite* wide enough to put a desktop blotter I picked up for cheap somewhere along the line a couple of years ago. It's got a fold up top, and at the moment the top has become a display shelf for various silly knickknacks, including the two small Pelikan pen stands I've bought, a mini "Lucky Cat" (battery powered arm ), a FunkoPop Doctor Who "14th Doctor" and stuff like a rocker blotter (not that I actually really use the desk for writing). The top also has some smallish boxes on it because I don't really have a better place to put them; thinking that the ceramic Kliban cat Christmas ornament should really go someplace where it doesn't get knocked over and broken....
Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[kestrel]

Try looking for a vintage spool chest. They were used in cloth stores to store/display spools of thread. I have found two and both are now pen storage. A medium size chest can store more than 250 pens.

[shawnee]

Try looking for a vintage spool chest. They were used in cloth stores to store/display spools of thread. I have found two and both are now pen storage. A medium size chest can store more than 250 pens.

 

That's a great idea. Thanks!

[SpecTP]

this is not as good looking, but it's eminently practical and you can spot pen location at glance. https://www.amazon.com/Ikee-Design-Jewelry-Organizer-Drawers/dp/B072M6QNZ1/ref=asc_df_B072M6QNZ1/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216528895112&hvpos=1o16&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15354797841531050600&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007779&hvtargid=pla-352740984624&psc=1

[PAKMAN]

Awesome!

[inkstainedruth]

@ kestrel and shawnee -- I keep looking at those, but every one I've seen for sale is priced at far more than I can afford.

@ SpecTP -- the problem with the unit you show is that it appears that the drawers are transparent. That might be okay if you have the ink bottles in boxes, but some of mine don't come that way, and I like to keep them out of the light.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[kestrel]

@ kestrel and shawnee -- I keep looking at those, but every one I've seen for sale is priced at far more than I can afford.

@ SpecTP -- the problem with the unit you show is that it appears that the drawers are transparent. That might be okay if you have the ink bottles in boxes, but some of mine don't come that way, and I like to keep them out of the light.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Most of the spool chests I see are overpriced (for me) too but every now and then. One that I bought was missing some of the hardware which I replaced with matching stuff from Lowe's. The other had all new brass hardware and some cretin had glued psychedelic mirrors to the sides. That dropped the asking price dramatically and I was able to remove the mirrors. Appearance doesn't affect pen storage.

[SpecTP]

@ kestrel and shawnee -- I keep looking at those, but every one I've seen for sale is priced at far more than I can afford.

@ SpecTP -- the problem with the unit you show is that it appears that the drawers are transparent. That might be okay if you have the ink bottles in boxes, but some of mine don't come that way, and I like to keep them out of the light.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

I like it transparent so I can spot the pen I want without having to open them all. Indoor light doesn't harm pens.. it's UV that you have to worry about, and you don't have to worry about that while indoor.

 

There is also this case from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074PMBXCS/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[shawnee]

+2 for the use of the word cretin, Kestrel.

[A Smug Dill]

I use an assortment of storage cases for my 'good' pens:



To give you a sense of scale:

[judo]

I know this is like two years ago, but can I say that I love this so hard that I've actually gone onto Ebay and purchased two chests to DIY myself. They are nowhere near as nice as yours, but such a great idea given the cost of pen chests and the slightly dubious quality of some of them.

 

Thank you for the inspiration.

 

Thanks for your kind words shawnee. I often find inspiration from the posts on FPN - People from all around the world with one common obsession and a million different experiences. Sorry for my late response to your post but I was on holiday in February and missed it. You've certainly prompted a lot of discussion since. I've also looked for spool chests here in the UK, but they've all been too expensive. I suppose that's why we keep looking for hard to find vintage stuff in the hope one turns up eventually at the right price? I hope you'll post pictures of your cabinets when you're ready?

[shawnee]

Hello all. I'm back. What did I miss?

 

Also, as promised, here's my pen cabinet that the husbot feels is large enough that it should have its own zip code. I call it Gertrude or Suki depending on my mood. I like the fact that I can add pen trays as I need to and it locks with a key. It is it's own piece of furniture so maybe just maybe I'd admit to the husbot that it's a bit on the big side, but I LOVE IT. LOL.