Jun 25, 2025
A great experience all around! - This was a 5/5 experience start to finish. Jonathon was awesome when setting it up, is an awesome instructor, and we left with a lovely pen we made, having never used a lathe before. I took my son (17) and he loved it as well (“6 out of 5”). Can’t recommend it enough.
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Jun 16, 2025
Wonderful time making a hand turned wooden pen. - This was truly a wonderful experience. I always liked wooden pens, it was super amazing to make my own. Jonathan is very friendly, extremely knowledgeable in his craft, as well as an excellent teacher. I had no machine experience. He was very patient, gave me great guidance and was very safety conscious. It was exciting as we approached the final polishing stage, and the pen blank had taken shape. I highly recommend this experience with Jonathan. I love my pen!
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Jun 16, 2025
Amazing class with Jonathan - What a superb experience! Jonathan was kind, patient and very helpful in assisting me in turning my pen. At the same time he allowed me and encouraged me to do the work myself. It was very rewarding to turn, sand, polish and assemble my pen and I have a wonderful souvenir of this experience to take home with me. I definitely would recommend this experience. No prior skills necessary!
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Jun 1, 2025
An unforgettable, soulful experience in craftsmanship - For context, my girlfriend and I are Montreal locals and parents. I set this up for her birthday. There are three key feelings I want to commend that this particular experience triggered in us. These three left in us an impression that made the experience unforgettable and I mean that in the most positive way.
First, the feeling of "Jonathan has done this before. Jonathan's got this!". He had a plan (and backup plan) for every step of the process of making a pen from scratch. And not just a pen, a truly beautiful pen that is *yours*. Not *feels like* is yours. It is yours as he doesn't touch your pen in the making but coaches you as you go no matter how little experience you have with woodwork (like us).
The second feeling is "I am truly expressing myself through this pen". As you go through the process of carving, you realize that you have this ability to truly do what you want. To be creative. There is true beauty in that. My girlfriend and I talked about it after and we realized that we each created a pen that reflected how we felt in those hours after both having hard days at work. It is true creative expression, something most of us are not lucky enough to have a lot of in our professional lives.
Last but not least, "Jonathan is investing himself into something he is truly passionate about. It is inspiring." We spoke about a lot of things with Jonathan throughout the experience. He is undeniably a genuine/curious person with a passion for many things but defitnely an authentic passion for woodwork born from childhood. He had an idea of how to monetize his passion while creating these feelings in them. Rare is the exchange between two individuals so deep.
I want to thank him from both of us with this. I plan to go again in a year with a new design idea.
I simply cannot recommend this experience more to any audience. Only feedback I'd tell Jonathan, and I did, is to slowly scale to creating similar workshops but for other objects. He had already started :)
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May 31, 2025
Unique creative experience in Montreal - I had an amazing experience pen making with Jonathan. It was so fun to learn a new skill and feel safe and well guided - no prior experience is needed for this. Not only is Jonathan an expert at woodworking but he is a patient, kind and fun teacher and encourages creativity. Located only 15 minutes from Downtown Montreal, in a quiet neighbourhood, this experience is accessible to all. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys trying new things and would like to walk away with a one of a kind handmade pen!
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May 31, 2025
Fun couples experience! - Had a great time learning all about a lathe and really enjoyed the hands on aspect. Jonathan let us doing everything ourselves and had a great set up. Would recommend for couples or small groups!
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May 31, 2025
Great hands on learning experience - Really a fun and educational experience with Johnathan. He was a very kind host and good teacher. This was my first time using a wood lathe, but he ensured we were safe and got to leave with a beautiful hand crafted pen.
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May 29, 2025
An Amazing, Hands-On Experience – Highly Recommend! - I booked this pen-making class through Jonathan's website as a unique date idea with my girlfriend, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences we've done together. The main part of the workshop involves using a lathe to shape your own wooden pen - which sounds a bit intimidating at first, but Jonathan's guidance throughout made it really approachable and fun. There’s something incredibly satisfying and rewarding about seeing the raw piece of wood transform into a functional piece of art.
We each walked away with a beautiful handmade pen that we got to keep. I made mine over a year ago, and it's still my go-to pen - super smooth to write with, solidly built, and surprisingly stylish.
If you're considering booking - do it. It's 100% worth it.
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May 27, 2025
Fun introduction to pen making and wood working - Jonathan is a very knowledgeable and fun host. He will teach you new skills and show you how to build a pen from start to finish without doing it for you, while still providing good support and guidance. The experience is a great intro into wood working and Jonathan makes it fun and relaxing. Overall a great experience and worth the time and money!
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May 27, 2025
Amazing experience - Jonathan was an amazing guide to pen making!
My partner and I didn't know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised by the ease and fun of the experience. Jonathan gave us different types of wood to choose from, and we were quick to work on the design. We felt very well taken care of throughout the entire experience and ended up making 3 pens! Jonathan is extremely friendly and it was easy to become friends shortly after (he has amazing stories)!
To this day, we still carry these special pens and use them for special occasions.
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