(Last Updated: 03-10-2024)
UrushiPen is the United States authorized dealer for Danitrio pens.
Where did Danitrio come from? Let’s explore.
Bernard and Dani Lyn
Danitrio was started by Bernard and Dani Lyn, a married couple, in 1974. (Danitrio is named after Dani.) Danitrio is still very much a “mom and pop” company, where Dani is still involved in the day-to-day operations. The Lyns are Taiwanese, though they’ve made California their home for many years.
Bernard has always been very passionate about Japanese culture. During his childhood, Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule. It is probable that young Bernard was influenced by Japanese culture during his formative years. He’s in his 90s today and has retired from the company operations.
For the first 25 years of company history, Danitrio wasn’t known for top-end pens. They made rollerball pens for the corporate market. Around 1999, Bernard decided he wanted to take the company in another direction. He could combine his passion for Japanese culture with his pen company.
Urushi and Maki-e
In an interview, Bernard Lyn said, “I have my own dream and that is that I want to be [a] very successful salesman for the art…When in business, we don’t think we are selling our pens, as we feel we sell our Maki-e ‘on pens’. We decide the designs first and then select our pens for them.” In other words, the art is more important than the pen itself. They’re producing artwork, and they chose pens as their medium.
Though the pens can be considered artwork, they are also, well, pens! As befits a work of fine art, the pens are completed with high quality gold nibs. And depending on the style of pen, the filling system is either eyedropper or cartridge/converter. All Danitrio pens are completely functional, as well as beautiful.
Are Danitrio pens Japanese?
There’s a lot of discussion in the pen world about whether Danitrio pens can truly be considered Japanese. It’s true that Danitrio’s founders are Taiwanese, and that the company was started in the United States.
But the heart of the company is Japanese. All the urushi and maki-e work is done in Japan by maki-e artisans where they apply their traditional techniques to produce such beautiful craft. Without those Japanese artisans, we would have no pens to be proud of. As Bernard Lyn said, “We wanted to make Maki-e pens mainly because I love the art.” If the art was gone, there would be little purpose in producing pens anymore.
Bernard and Dani Lyn are delighted to bring unique urushi and maki-e pens to us where we hope here at UrushiPen we can continue to propel their vision forward. You can explore the full range of Danitrio pens at UrushiPen.com.
References:
Pen & Design, Interview: Bernard Lyn of Danitrio.