For months now, I’ve seen all the pen dudes raving about the Dudek Modern Products The Groove ($55) — this gorgeous solid wood walnut block with holes for pens and a slot for the ubiquitous Field Notes books (or similar) and I thought “Wow, that’s a pretty manly product.” I confess, I thought it was a “Guy Thing”. Then Mr. Mike Dudek kindly sent me one and, holy smokes, was I ever impressed! It is beautifully finished with a smooth satin stain, the edges are ever-so-slightly rounded in a way that makes you want to touch this block, to fill it with your favorite notebooks and writing tools and set it proudly on your desk.
As soon as it arrived, I filled it with a few of my favorite things. My vintage Esterbrooks (and my lone Parker Duofold) look fantastic against the warm wood block. The Field Notes Salesman Edition is almost a perfect match for the color finish on The Groove.
I was able to fit four Field Notes into the “groove” comfortably and Mike sent me The Groove model with 0.5″ holes for pens. Mike also offers a version of The Groove with three 0.675″ holes in the center row for larger diameter pens. All the fountain pens, my Karas Kustoms RETRAKT and Retro 51 all fit easily into the 0.5″ holes. The only pen I had that is large enough to require a larger diameter hole is the Kaweco Student.
If you are not interested in storing pocket notebooks, Mike also makes The Cube ($40) which is just a 9-hole walnut wood cube and is also gorgeous.
I knew The Groove would be well-crafted and perfectly created for its task but I didn’t realize how much I would like it. It really is fabulously beautifully and suitable for any well-appointed desk. Just just for dudes!
Now, for the giveaway! Mike has graciously offered one Groove to a lucky reader here at The Well-Appointed Desk. To enter, leave a comment and tell me which of your pens or pencils are worthy of such a classy home.
FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Friday, November 1, 2013. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? One entry per person, please. Winner will be announced on Saturday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 30 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Fulfillment will be handled through Clicky Post/Dudek Modern Goods and this giveaway is open to US and international readers.
DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Dudek Modern Products AKA Clicky Post for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.