Made to Order

Thank you for your continued patronage of Bokumondoh.  Thanks to you, my dear customers, orders from overseas for my work have leapt in the last several years.  Urushi lacquer is a significant element of Japanese culture, and I am so pleased that I have been able to contribute to the reputation of this element of Japanese culture outside Japan through my Bokumondoh craft.   Also, many of you are return customers, and I am really enjoying the relationships that my work has enabled me to have with you.

 

Until recently, I had been able to handle working directly with each and every one of you from the order through delivery phase, but due to the volume of requests that I now receive, this has become impossible.  The number of inquiries (for individual orders, as well), questions, as well as detailed custom requests, has skyrocketed.  Since English is not my mother language, I have had to enlist the assistance of friends just to deal with this aspect of the work process.  I want each and every one of you valued friends and customers to be fully happy with my finished products, so to that end, I ask that you adhere to the communication scheme that I have described on this page. Please understand that since I am not fully comfortable communicating in English, when the length, number and frequency of questions increases, the communication itself becomes an impediment to my progress on the actual lacquering work.   This situation has directly resulted in the explosion of my waiting list and work completion time to what you see now – many months.  I will do my best, but I ask you to please also do yours —  To assist me in focusing on the work.

 

Please read and follow the instructions found below.


Price:

  • Kawari-nuri items start at 33,000JPY.
  • Designs incorporating [large quantities of] mother of pearl start at 40,000JPY.
    ※These prices are approximate, as the exact price will fluctuate based on the specifics of the design.

Order flow:

The following is a description of how my process now works.

  1. Select the design you prefer from within those shown on my Instagram.

  2. Send me a written request telling me the maker and model of the pen you would like me to lacquer. Please do include links to the photos showing the design you are interested in. I must ask you to confirm physically that you can remove any clips or roll stops. In your request, please make sure to include a note stating that you have confirmed that any clips or roll stops can be removed. Pens with removable clip list by fudefan

    ※Regarding requests to lacquer pilot vanishin points:  I will only accept requests from customers who remove the clip themselves before shipping the pen to me for work. Include the cap. And I will reattach it. But I will not attempt to remove it myself because it is a precarious and dangerous process that often damages the pen beyond repair.

  3. After receiving your written request, we will send you a note confirming that we have received it.

  4. Once we reach an agreement on the work content, I will send a final note (e-mail) signifying my agreement to perform the work you have requested and will put you on a waiting list.

  5. We will contact you to inform you that your order has come up in the queue. 

  6. After you receive the note (e-mail) I send you in step 5, you may ship the pen to us in Japan.

  7. I will inform you when it arrives.

  8. Once I have completed the lacquering, I will send you a photo of the pen to make sure that you are satisfied with my work.

  9. I will send you the payment request via paypal.

  10. I will ship the pen to you as soon as we confirm your payment.

Notes:

  • I will not accept requests to mimic the work of another craftsman or company.
  • I will not accept requests to apply images or designs of objects or animals in Raden, Rankaku or other materials.
  • For any new designs, or designs not included on my page or in my Instagram pages, I will accommodate requests only in Japanese language or from people whom I have met in person before I ask for.
  • Please understand that as a natural material, lacquer presents very different appearances depending on the season. Mother or pearl(Raden) as well has this nature. As a result, each finished pen will have a slightly different character. This very phenomenon is the allure of lacquer handicrafts.
  • Please understand that I perform the application process by myself, by hand, and as a result, the end product will almost definitely not look exactly like what you see in my photographs of past work. Further, depending on the pen model / material, pen size, angle from which a photograph has been taken, and lighting conditions, the appearance of the finished product can vary dramatically from photographs of past products fabricated in the same style. If you are not comfortable with this procedure, I would ask that you consider not ordering from me.
  • We will not re-lacquer or refund any finished work. Services are non-refundable.
  • We can purchase fountain pens (some of the models) from Eboya, Sailor and Pilot on your behalf, so please let me know if you would like those pens to be lacquered.

Please fill in the form below to request a quote or to be added to our waiting list.  I will get back to you as soon as possible. If you just want to join the queue, you can just  fill in the required fields.
※We currently accept two pens per order.
※There is currently 10 months waiting period. (03/13/2024)

Note: Please fill out the fields marked with an asterisk.