McLaren Family Crafts is co-owned and operated by Buddy and Margaret McLaren. Read on to learn more about us.
We are located in the rolling hills of Brown County, Indiana, just 15 minutes northeast of Nashville, Indiana.
We don’t sell at a permanent location. To buy from us in person, check out our Schedule of Shows.
We value your writing experience.
We imagine you’re a lot like us. A good pen or pencil makes the mundane task of writing more of an experience than a chore. We enjoy elevating that experience to the best possible. Life’s too short for bad pens. If you’re here reading more about us, we’re sure you feel the same way or have a friend or loved one that does.
When you go nice, you never go back.
Okay, we have to admit we use a disposable pen from time to time. But our primary pens and pencils are like the ones we make for our customers. You’re sure to become a pen aficionado, too. That is if you’re not already.
Our special touch
There are others that sell the same things we do. However, there are some things that set us apart from them.
Free refill
No, we don’t refill your drink. We do, however, include a free first refill with every pen we sell. This is in addition to the refill that initially comes in the pen. We also include a card with the refill type listed on it so you can continue to get the same kind.
Free display or gift box
Every pen or pencil we sell comes in a free box that you can use to either display it or give it away.
We test drive every pen type
Before we decide to sell a type of pen, we test it to make sure it’s a good pen. It disappoints us a lot to put time and effort and money into a pen or pencil only to have it quit working on us. We want to save you the same disappointment by trying the products out first.
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean we wear out your pen before you get it. We test pens we make for ourselves specifically to try out. We do test every pen to make sure it works and writes properly, though.
Note: This doesn’t apply to custom orders of pens that aren’t listed on our website.
We’ve tested the refills, too
A pen can be nicely balanced and look superb, but if it has a bad refill it’ll just sit around collecting dust. To keep that from happening to your investment, we’ve tested refills until we’ve found ones that fit our high standards.
We mean family
You will have noticed by now that our business is named McLaren Family Crafts. Included in that family is not only us (Buddy and Margaret), but all the kids, too. Since we homeschool them, they have more of a chance to help. They help us sell at shows, organize materials, pack boxes, and anything else they can find to do, all the way down to the preschooler. The toddler can’t help much yet, but she tries.
Both our sets of parents brought us up to value family. By purchasing one of our products, you become a part of our extended family. To keep the pressure off, you can consider yourself a third cousin twice removed or whatever. You can show up at Thanksgiving, but make sure to bring a dessert!
Our crafting journey, more about us personally
Both of us have been crafting most of our adult lives as well as crafting off and on as kids. Buddy is interested primarily in woodworking, with a focus on hand tool work and small turning. Margaret is primarily interested in crochet and knitting, though she likes pretty well any craft that uses yarn or thread.
We’ve tried out several different kinds of products to sell before settling on exclusively selling pens and pencils. These products have included dryer balls, cowls, scarves, bags, and even carved signs. You may still see some of these products at our booth at shows, but they will by no means comprise any bulk of our offerings. You may also have seen things from our business for crafters called The Golden Poplar.
Our interest in making our own pens started when Buddy noticed a class on pen turning at Marc Adams School of Woodworking. Buddy was already looking at getting a really nice pen and he had taken a few classes at MASW. So we jumped on the chance for him to learn to turn pens.
After turning out (pun intended) a full portfolio of pens during his week-long class, Buddy was sold on pen making. He’s even taught Margaret how to make the pens. And if that wasn’t enough of a family affair, even our daughters are learning how to turn their own pens (well, not the preschooler or toddler).
We are in the process of adding leatherworking to our craft resume soon. Then we can bring you things like journal covers, pen cases, and other things to support your writing habit.
What do I do now?
Now that you’ve learned a little more about us, feel free to look around the website some more.
Ready to buy?
You can check out where we’ll be selling in person by looking at our Schedule of Shows.
You can also browse of current inventory of pens or our custom stock pen listings.
Want to know more about us?
If you have any further questions, check out our FAQ page.
Our craft business mission statement:
“To further the legacy of crafting through the creation of crafted items as well as educating and supporting others in creating their own crafts.”
