Review: Pen Wraps From Exbpens

[Fabienne]

I was gifted on by a friend here, and bought another. She is wonderful!!!

[trhall]

Received my EXBPen wrap last week and promptly filled it with pens I chose one of the silk-lined wraps, and it is even more beautiful than I'd hoped. In addition, the fabric is so soft that I don't worry about any scratches on my pens. One thing that makes these wraps different from some of the commercial wraps I've tried is the fact that they can hold a pen of any size or length. The pockets are generous, and the length is adjustable because it's not sewed into a specific size of flap. My short pens fit perfectly. My longer pens fit well too.

 

This is quite lovely! Glad to see that you were even more satisfied than you had hoped. Elizabeth does such great work.

[dfollett_98]

trhall:

 

Thank you very much for posting about Elizabeth's beautiful pen wraps. This is a solution I was looking for when transporting my journal pens. Just sent her an e-mail with a custom color request. I appreciate your post.

 

Don

[trhall]

Thank you very much for posting about Elizabeth's beautiful pen wraps. This is a solution I was looking for when transporting my journal pens. Just sent her an e-mail with a custom color request. I appreciate your post.

 

Don - Please do post your custom wrap if you don't mind, once you get it. I love seeing all of the variety and know it helps drive more folks to shop with Elizabeth. I really enjoy my wraps and use them daily still. They hold up very well.

[Letsdisinfect]

This post made me contact Elizabeth about making a pen wrap for me. She was amazing (aka incredibly patient)and helped me find exactly what I wanted. It shipped today and I can't wait to post pictures!

[IWantThat]

I've now ordered my second pen wrap, in a brighter color this time. I feel like I will never need another (kind of) pen wrap, though I keep looking at those on the website for a third option

[Cedric T]

Just received my Woodhue pen wrap from EXBPens. Very pleased with the design and craftsmanship, I can see that this was created with care and pride.

 

[Chi Town]

I curently have a "custom" order, on order with Elizabeth. Can't wait till she completes it!

[IWantThat]

I had my eye on the Wood Hue wrap - beautiful! Enjoy it in good health and pen-safety

[trhall]

Just a follow-up. I've been using these pen wraps daily since I got them, and I pack and unpack pens all the time from them. They are holding up very well. In fact, I may have Elizabeth make me a larger pen wrap.

 

I'd love to see any other wraps anyone else has ordered!

[Daisy]

I went to take a look at how Elizabeth put these pen wraps together, and unfortunately the Lulu links were broken. I think Lulu rearranged things on their site, because the PDF is still there to purchase -- I just had to hunt for it.

 

Here's the current link to the downloadable instruction PDF:

 

http://www.lulu.com/shop/elizabeth-boling/the-pen-wrap/ebook/product-17412766.html

[Daisy]

P.S. She did all her own sketches -- so very cool!

[trhall]

I went to take a look at how Elizabeth put these pen wraps together, and unfortunately the Lulu links were broken. I think Lulu rearranged things on their site, because the PDF is still there to purchase -- I just had to hunt for it.

 

Thanks, @Daisy! I found the new "home page" link on Lulu for her books:

 

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/exbbooks

 

I also emailed Elizabeth to let her know so she can update the website. Thanks again for the update.

 

P.S. She did all her own sketches -- so very cool!

 

Agreed! She has another book on design sketching on Lulu. She does a neat job with that.

[exboling]

Thank you for letting me know about this! I have changed and checked the links; I hope there won't be any more trouble with them. And thanks to everyone for your kind reviews. EXB

[OcalaFlGuy]

A couple points on wraps and none are meant to diss the very nice ones in this thread.

 

Try not to let form get ahead of function. You Can Make a pen wrap Too Nice to use (IMO).

 

First be sure and use materials that are At Least hand washable. Remember we are talking liquid ink filled FPs here. Inkcidents are going to happen. Sooner, or Later. Some of the nicer fabrics are dry clean only. One day you're Going To Want to wash the ink(s) out of your wrap and it's nice to be able to do so.

 

Chose a darker, multi-colored material for the inner liner so that WHEN an inkcident occurs, the stain is less noticeable.

 

Lastly, consider losing the cutesy beaded ties. Yes they are beautiful but they're also fiddly. Go for a Velcro attached retainer like the one below. It's much easier and quicker to have secured and ready to go when you are on the run.

 

Like this, wrap and photo by Wanda Lo.

 

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Daisy]

Good points, OcalaGuy. The only thing I would add is that as I browsed Elizabeth's offerings, I noticed a number of her fabrics are "reclaimed" -- as in cut from previously-worn clothing. Generally speaking, these are safe to at least hand wash, and frankly I'd not hesitate to throw them in a gentle-cycle wash as long as there was neither bleach nor dryer involved. Even the silks. You might want to hand wash them the first go-round, just to check for colorfastness, but you gotta figure that if it's been cleaned even as few as three previous times, it's bled probably as much as it can bleed, shrunk as much as it's gonna shrink, and been banged up during normal wear more than any hand wash would give it. Just keep it away from bleaches and dryers and it should be fine, handstitching and all.

 

Wool, be careful: it can always shrink more. Ditto for a nice acetate or other synthetic. But on her site, IIRC, I only saw silks, cottons and linens, none of which I'd worry about in a hand wash if they were, uh, "pre-owned."

 

I think I might make one of these. I'm not sure yet because I don't know if I'll have the time, but I just might. Such things have been known to happen.

 

 

 

 

P.S. Watch out for the beads in the wash -- they may be more unsuited for the soapy water and agitation than any fabric used. Wooden beads come to mind, as do fragile glass beads. But even these should have no problems in a hand wash, provided they can take a soak.

 

(edited to add p.s.)

Edited October 6, 2012 by Daisy

[Anne-Sophie]

I bought one of the very first 8 pen wraps that Elizabeth sold on Pentrace many years ago - it holds my Japanese pens to this day!

Can't get a better person than Elizabeth - that's for sure!

 

I got two from her at a pen show, I wasn't sure at first, that she was the same person but the timing of your purchase and the similary in craftwomanship is too similar.

[trhall]

Neat photos from @tenurepro showing a Nakaya Long Cigar in one of Elizabeth's wraps.

 

I will also try to take some time to post a few of the newer wraps I've had Elizabeth make for me recently. I chose to have 6-pen wraps (with 6 dedicated slots; her three-slot wraps will take 2 pens each) made with fabric ties. They look great.

[TMac]

I recently purchased a wrap from Elizabeth. I can attest to the quality and craftsmanship. She is great to communicate with and a real pleasure to do business. Next wrap I buy will definitely be one of hers.

[Seville]

Well Bruce i have to agree and disagree. Agree on the dark colours for the interior and disagree on the velcro. Founta pens are fiddly beasts and so an extra fiddle with straps doesn't bother me. In fact the over 7use of velcro reminds to much of old guy shoes.

 

Philip