The Story Behind Amateur Pen

Behind the brand

There wasn't really a grand business plan.

There was a pen.

And a lot of ideas.

Amateur Pen started with a simple love for making things — drawing, painting, playing with paper, designing little objects, and turning thoughts that lived in my head into something I could actually hold in my hands.

I’m a doctor by profession. Which, if you had told me a few years ago that I would also be running a little creative business filled with notebooks, calendars, paintings, bookmarks and paper things, I probably would have laughed.

But life has a funny way of making room for the things you love.

Why “Amateur Pen”?

Because amateur felt honest.

I didn't start as someone who knew everything about art, stationery or running a business.

I was simply someone who loved making things.

Some things turned out beautifully.

Some didn't.

Some ideas stayed as ideas.

Some became products.

And some went through approximately seventeen versions before I finally decided, okay, this one can leave the house.

The pen became a little symbol of that process — of trying, experimenting, making mistakes, trying again and enjoying the process along the way.

So, Amateur Pen felt right.

Not because we aren't serious about what we make.

Quite the opposite.

But because we never wanted creativity to feel intimidating or overly perfect.

A little bit of art. A little bit of paper. A lot of heart.

Amateur Pen grew from the belief that ordinary things can be made a little more special.

A notebook doesn't have to be sitting untouched on a shelf.

It can hold your grocery list, your terrible doodle, your big idea, the name of a book someone recommended, or a sentence you don't want to forget.

A calendar isn't just a grid of dates.

It can sit on your desk and quietly become part of your everyday life.

A bookmark can be a tiny reminder that says, yes, you should probably read that book you've been carrying around for three months.

And a painting doesn't necessarily need to belong in a gallery.

Sometimes it just needs to make you happy when you walk past it.

That's the kind of things we like making.

Made for real life

We've never wanted Amateur Pen to feel like a place where everything is impossibly perfect.

Because real desks aren't perfect.

Real notebooks aren't perfect.

Real days definitely aren't perfect.

There are unfinished lists, coffee cups, scribbled-out plans, plants that may or may not be surviving, and approximately 47 tabs open somewhere.

And that's okay.

Our products are made to live amongst all of that.

To be used.

To get a little messy.

To be gifted to someone you love.

To eventually carry little pieces of your life that you didn't realise were worth remembering.

And then there is the doctor part.

Being a doctor and being creative can sometimes feel like having two completely different versions of yourself living under the same roof.

One loves structure, precision and responsibility.

The other wants to pick up a pen and see what happens.

I've learned that they don't actually have to compete.

Maybe that's one of the reasons Amateur Pen means so much to me.

It gives the creative side of me somewhere to exist.

Somewhere to experiment.

Somewhere to make something simply because I like it.

And somewhere to remind myself that being practical and being imaginative aren't opposites.

So, why do we keep making?

Because there is still something wonderful about making something with your hands.

Because a handwritten note feels different from a text.

Because a thoughtfully designed notebook can make you want to write.

Because beautiful things don't have to be expensive.

Because little objects can hold surprisingly big memories.

And because sometimes, after a long day, making something completely unnecessary is exactly what you need.

That's Amateur Pen.

A small creative corner built around paper, art and the little things that make everyday life feel a little more yours.

We're still learning.

Still experimenting.

Still making things that sometimes work and sometimes teach us something.

And honestly?

We wouldn't have it any other way.

Thank you for being here.

— Deepika
Founder, Amateur Pen ♡