NEW FOR 2024!
Heritage Collectables are pleased to announce the start of pen repair and restoration courses in spring 2024
Places will be strictly limited, due to one-to-one tuition on individual projects.
Barry Martin has over 25 years experience in repairing and restoring vintage fountain pens. Learn tips and knowledge of the trade from a professional pen smith!
The Venue
Courses will be held in a restored cottage in the grounds of Chateau de Grandchamp, Normandy, France. Situated in the Baie du Mont Saint Michel. The chateau has 30 acres of parkland with lakes.
Tuition takes place 10am – 5pm. The cottage is equipped with workstations, tools, modern kitchen & WC. Also, a log burner on chilly days and air conditioning for the summer months.
Courses available:
Module One, Three consecutive days of demonstrations and tuition. This course assumes no prior knowledge of pen repair.
Day One, Button fill, lever fill and leverless fill, crescent fill.
Day Two, Cap repairs, piston fillers, snorkels.
Day Three, Nib adjustment. Work on completion of student’s own projects with expert guidance.
Coffee and tea provided. Join us for lunch in the chateau dining room or a walk in the park, or both!
The aim of this course is to ensure by day 3 a confidence in buying and restoring pens. An ability to undertake basic repairs.
Module Two, This three-day course tackles more challenging mechanisms.
Day One. Parker Vacumatic including the Parker 51
Day Two. Onoto de la Rue and piston fills.
Day Three. Crack repairs and working on individual projects with expert tuition.
Also, coffee and tea provided, complimentary lunch in the chateau dining room.
This course gives the ability to take on more challenging projects. The confidence to take on more complex mechanisms and expensive pens.
With both courses students are invited to bring up to 5 project pens to restore with expert guidance. Alternatively, learning on pens supplied by Heritage Collectables.
Price £385 (447 euros) for a 3 day course.
What’s included?
Consumables such as ink, O rings, sacs, Vacumatic Diaphragms, cork seals, shellac etc
Tea, Coffee, Lunch,
Full use of specialist tools.
Expert tuition.
Chateau de Grandchamp is easily accessible by road N175
We are close to 3 sea ports, St Malo 40 mins drive, Caen/Ouistreham 1hr.15mins drive,
And Cherbourg 1hr.20mins drive.
The nearest airport is Rennes 40 minutes drive away.
Tanis, although a small village has many accommodation options, ranging from yurts and hobbit houses to camping, air bnb and gites.
The town of Pontorson (10 minute drive) has a range of hotels and restaurants.
Mont Saint Michel is only 9km away.
Interested in joining us?
To register your interest, please complete the form below
If you prefer you can email us direct –
Barry @heritagecollectables.com
We look forward to hearing from you.
We will keep you up to date on course dates and availability.
If you have an interest in learning to restore a particular type of pen, please let us know in your email so we can be sure to have plenty of spares and consumables ready for you.
Please note the Chateau is our private residence and is not open to the general public. Students enrolled on our courses will have exclusive use of the Chateau gardens and grounds during course hours.