The studio behind
Smart Paper Craft
Eleven years, two workbenches and one stubborn idea: everyday writing tools deserve the same care as furniture or watches. Here's who we are and how the place got built.
From a garage
in Mooloolaba
2014
Sunshine
Coast
Daniel started turning pens in a rented Mooloolaba garage in 2014, mostly to fix his own hand-me-down Parker. Neighbours asked for one. Then their friends did. By 2016 the weekend stall at the Esplanade markets was outselling the day job, so the day job went.
The studio moved to Parrearra in 2019 — a proper bench, a second-hand book press, and room for a binding table that an old colleague swore we'd never fill. We filled it. These days the bench handles pen commissions, the bindery runs journals in small weekly batches, and Saturdays belong to calligraphy students.
What hasn't changed is the deal: materials you'd choose yourself, prices written on the wall, and a phone call when your piece is ready. That's it. That's the business plan.
The road so far
Eleven years compressed into six moments. The certificate on the wall says "small business of the year, 2022" — the bench says we got lucky with good customers.
First pen sold for $65
Huon pine, wonky clip, still writing today — the owner emails us a photo every Christmas.
Esplanade market stall
Every second Saturday for three years. Where we learned what people actually ask for.
The Parrearra studio opens
Binding table, press, and the first numbered journal — No. 001 went to Daniel's mum.
Workshops begin
Four seats in the back room. Now eight seats, a waitlist, and a proper kettle.
Sunshine Coast small business award
We framed the certificate and hung it next to the tea shelf, where it belongs.
Pen No. 1,400 ships
A Riverbank huon pine to a collector in Perth. He called it "the one that got me writing letters again."
The framed bit of paper
It hangs slightly crooked. We've decided to keep it that way.
Three humans,
two workbenches
Small enough that the person who answers your email is probably the person making your order. That's deliberate.
Daniel Mercer
FOUNDER / TURNERPens, nib tuning and the strong opinions about ebonite. Former cabinetmaker, full-time pen nerd since 2014.
Sarah Whitcombe
BINDER / TEACHERRuns the bindery and the Saturday calligraphy classes. Trained under a fourth-generation bookbinder in Fremantle.
Ollie Tran
ENGRAVER / PACKEREvery engraved name, gift box and shipping label since 2023. Also the reason our parcels smell faintly of cedar.
Apprentice bench, weekends
We take one student a term for lathe basics — unpaid advice, free tea, real tools. Ask at the counter or via contacts.
Pieces we're
still proud of
Twelve-pen wedding suite
Ebony and brass for a Noosa ceremony — one pen per witness
Journal No. 001
Still on Daniel's mum's shelf, spine intact
The 160gsm blend
Two years of testing paper that takes flex nibs without feathering
1968 Parker resurrection
Our most-requested repair story — full write-up in the journal
A short list of
stubborn rules
- FSC-certified or reclaimed paper and timber — no exceptions since 2019
- Every nib test-written before it ships, every journal pressed 48 hours
- Prices on the wall. If a job needs a custom quote, you see the maths
- Repairs for life on anything with our bench number
The film roll
