Our Story

BIRMINGHAM PEN COMPANY

A tiny American pen & ink manufacturer.

 

Total full-time employees: two
Average cups coffee consumed per day: six

In 2008, brothers Nick and Josh entered the fountain pen industry operating from their parents' basement.

After a decade of contracting with many of the world's premier fountain pen component and ink manufacturers, Birmingham Pen Co. turned its first house machined fountain pen in 2018 and compounded its first handmade fountain pen ink in 2020.


 

Pittsburgh Terminal Building Warehouse


Our first workshop was in Pittsburgh's Southside, right along the Monongahela River in the Terminal Warehouse.

The gigantic brick and cement building opened in 1906 and was once considered the largest warehouse between Chicago & New York City. In the early days of Westinghouse, part of the 3rd and 4th floors were used for cold storage operations (pictured above with blocked-over windows.) The top floor was used to store munitions during World War 2. After the War, the boiler from a decommissioned U.S. Navy ship was installed into the Power Plant building for heat which operates to this day. 

Pittsburgh's Southside was once called “Little Birmingham” due to the area’s prolific manufacturing industry in the early 1900s. This Birmingham moniker was derived from Birmingham, UK - a manufacturing hub that specialized in, among other things, pen and nib manufacturing with thousands of craftspeople employed in the industry. We chose the name Birmingham Pen Company to share this little-known piece of history and continue the traditions behind the name.


 

Birmingham Pen Company Logo Ornate


We're a family-owned and operated small business.

Our current workshop is in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, about 20 minutes north of Pittsburgh. Dad has become the chief pen machinist operating our CNC lathe; he's developed some innovative custom tools that allow us to produce beautiful and unique pen parts efficiently. Mom is incredibly helpful with extra processing work and lends a hand with creative new product names. 



Our goals are aggressive and the journey is bound to be colorful... we're elated to have you join us for the ride!

Today, Birmingham Pen Company is producing a steady stream of exceptional & unique fountain pen inks that receive overwhelmingly positive feedback from the community. Fountain pens are machined in small batches with limited availability.



Find out why more than 20,000 people have joined our journey!

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Birmingham Mural in Southside Pittsburgh

Pictured is a building mural in Pittsburgh's Southside, paying tribute to the region's old moniker.

 

"The pen factory is humming."
-Dad