About us
Meet the Founder
Alex Fritz, is the founder, CEO and artist here at Motor City Pens. Alex started the company in February of 2023 as a junior in high school. But the journey began long before then. During his freshman year of high school, Alex found the hobby of making pens. He first started with kit pens and then quickly moved to the world of bespoke fountain pens. After turning pens for a while, Alex began to cast his own materials and color combinations and is always expanding his skillset so that he has more to offer. Alex is self taught and works on a wood lathe, doing everything by hand. Alex's other hobbies include driving, cars, CAD design, and playing board games with his family.
Motor City Pens
Motor City Pens is based a half hour north of Detroit (The Motor City) and was inspired by our founders love of anything car related. Our company takes inspiration from the automotive world and combines it with a high quality, custom product for our guests to enjoy. By offering many different products and services there truly is something for everyone here at Motor City Pens. Our goal is not only provide our guests with an amazing experience and high quality hand made products, but also to raise the bar of creativity.
The Process
Many of our guests wonder what goes into each one of our products, and so this section is all about our process.
Each pen starts off as rod stock, which is cut up into three pieces. One for the body, section and cap. Then each piece is drilled out, tapped, and turned to the rough shape of the pen. Because all of the pens are hand made, no two will ever be the same, and the dimensions will never be perfect. Following the turning is the sanding and polishing. Here at Motor City Pens we take great pride in the mirror shiny finish each one of our pens recieves. Following the polishing each pen is cleaned, sanitized, and tested. Then it is listed on the website or shipped off to the guest who has ordered it. In total this process takes betweek 6 and 10 hours of work per pen, spread out over the course of weeks if not months.
If you are still curious about the process, feel free to contact us, we are always happy to talk pens and help our guests better understand what goes on behind the scenes here at Motor City Pens