STANFORD’S HIDDEN GEM

By: Christine Farrington

Finding themselves having to work from home during COVID 2020, after being a flourishing wooden pen company selling at the Elgin Train Market in Grabouw, Dave and Di Mohr decided on the brilliant idea of creating another medium of fountain pens. Combining their skills, Dave being a hands-on finely tuned craftsman and Di an artistic spirit, this combination resulted in the Stanford Pen Studio being born.

My first sighting of one of the pens came when my friend, Marian sent me an Instagram picture of one of the SPS pens she had painted with the eyes of a leopard on the cap and the rest of the body on the barrel. I seriously couldn’t believe my eyes at how beautiful it was. This was followed by another pen shown again on SPS’s Instagram page painted by Val Myburg – breath taking work. Finally, seeing a pen painted by Su Wolf of Trevor’s Trousers – based on a Louis Vuitton suit Trevor Noah wore and did not want to give back, made me realise that these pens were one-off works of art, and that Stanford had a “hidden gem” in this Special Pen Studio.

Captivated by the pens, I decide that Dave and Di’s story needed to be told. Knowing them, albeit briefly since 2014, I made an appointment to visit them at their studio and see how the process of making a fountain pen evolves. Di makes the resin barrel and cap in various colours, pink, blue, green, black – these then go to the artist where the fine artwork takes place. Once returned, the barrel of the pen and the cap go to Dave in his workshop in the most delicate stage and this is where Dave has to use his exceptional skills not only on a small metal lathe but with a CNC lathe (a computer numerically controlled piece of kit). From beginning to end the process from Di to Dave takes long hours of heating, cooling, and finally, polishing.

When the two halves of the pen are ready, they are mounted with a silver or bronze metal ring and a stainless-steel nib which bears the engraved logo of SPS. Dave anodises the titanium clips for the cap to get different colours to match the pens artwork. The top of the cap bears their logo. With pen now complete it is polished and packed into a “hoodie” a felt lined material pen holder made locally and packed in a smart black presentation box bearing the SPS logo stamped on the lid in wax. Each “masterpiece” flies off the SPS Instagram page. DHL Couriers whisk them away to collectors and buyers around the world.

Dave and Di proudly call the SPS a family. With artists, Marian Binder, Su Wolf, Hanna Farmer, Lisa Strachan, Paula Louw, Hoodie maker, Robyn Foxcroft and SPS logo designer and artist, Val Myburg. This is a happy and talented family. I was blown away by my visit to the Stanford Pen Studio – a hidden gem of our beautiful village.

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PLAYGROUP 2½-4 YEARS KINDERGARTEN 4-6 YEARS