Commissioned to make pens for Prince Harry and Governor Christie

Like I’ve said in a previous entry, I am the Master Pen Maker for the Historic Pen Company (HPC). I still run and operate Greco Woodcrafting, but I am also the one behind most of the pens you see offered by HPC. They acquire many different pieces of unique, historic “witness wood” that I treat and turn into pens for them to sell (a portion of which is given back to the community the wood is from). As a history buff and pen lover, I have been very fortunate to have this kind of partnering between our two companies.

Although the wood HPC acquires is historic, they recently asked me to make something to commemorate a soon-to-be historic event. Prince Harry was going to visit Sandy ravaged Seaside Heights, NJ with NJ Governor Chris Christie. The Mayor of the town spoke with the Historic Pen Company to see if we could make something special to be given to them, and that is exactly what we did.

With wood that had originally been part of the Seaside Heights Boardwalk, I made a matching pen set for the Prince and the Governor. Was I excited? Was it a nailbiter? Yes and Yes! If you’ve read my ‘How long DOES it take?‘ segment talking a bit about my acrylic pen making process, you know none of my pens are quick-hits. Add to this fact that before I begin actually making the pen I first give it a special heat set resin treatment and you are really looking at several days start to finish. And with the Prince arriving in a few days, that was about all the time I had. In short, these pens had to be perfect with no time for a do-over.

So….I’m sure you’re wondering if I was able to get them done in time. Of course! I mean really, when is the next time I’ll have the chance to make a pen for royalty?? So without further delay, here are some pictures of the pens on a piece of Seaside Boardwalk wood. You can check below the pictures for a link to an article about this that was on USA Today’s online edition.

Pens by Master Pen Maker John Greco of Greco Woodcrafting, commissioned to make pens for Prince Harry and Governor Christie.

Pen for Prince Harry crafted by John Greco of Greco Woodcrafting.

Pen for Governor Christie made by John Greco of Greco Woodcrafting.

Here is the link to the article from USA Today.