Costas Schuler | The Pen Guy | Mercedes Pens | Recycle Pens

The Pen Guy Moving to www.penguyart.com

2013-02-10T23:15:00.001-08:00

I finally made the big move from blog spot over to my new word press site at www.penguyart.com.

Blog spot was a great place to start blogging about my Mercedes Pens art car and my pen recycling art project but I wanted the flexibility of a self hosted word press site that has given me the freedom to offer more.

As a graphic designer I wanted expand my business by offering Word Press CMS based web solutions to all my clients. I knew the day would come when I would have to switch and 2013 seemed like the right time to do so.

The good news is that I am still collecting pens, still making recycled pen art and still passionate about this project. Now I am able to do more, showcase my past accomplishments, with great videos, articles and photo galleries. And best of all, make it easy for you to find out about pen recycling and how to start a pen drive in your community and help move this amazing project forward.

I am hopping those of who have subscribed will go over to my new site and sign up for my monthly newsletter or at least grab the new rss feed so can still get the latest blog posts.

I would love to hear from you all and please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think.

The Pen Guy Art at Tiny Town Cafe | 12-21-12

2012-12-20T20:14:00.001-08:00

I am happy to announce the first and hopefully not the last of my recycled pen art showing at the best little coffee shop in town called tiny town cafe. There will be an art opening tomorrow on 12-21-12, supposedly the end of the world according the mayan calendar, but I am hopping the graphics department missed something and was off by a billion years.

Tiny Town cafe is located in down town forestville ca and will be also featuring art by: Clinton Yeager, Heidi Knoop, Josh Conley, Kaija Sabbah and music by Bobby Joe Ebola. I hope to see you all there, and I mean all of you all crammed into a tiny little coffee shop.

The Pen Guy Now at PenGuyArt.com

2012-10-30T21:32:00.002-07:00

The pen guy site is now is located at www.penguyart.com so if you have the old url thepenguy.org please change it or else you will be redirected to some Japanese squatter site. Oops I did it again, fell asleep at the switch and lost my url yet again a year later. That's for not checking my Gmail account which I refuse to use.

The photo above was taken at the 2012 Sacramento Auto Show were 8-9 art cars were invited to show for the entire show. Once we all figured how get back home after dropping off our art cars at the show things when well. The Mercedes Pens was there for about three days while I drove the car without any decorations on it. The picture shown above was taken right before the chain link when to keep the riff-raff off the car. I am still receiving pens from all over the world and thank you to the ones that have donated pens in the last 2-3 months. Keep sending them in.

How to Repair your 300SD Window Switches

2012-09-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

Do you have a 300SD 126 Mercedes Benz and all of a sudden your window switches decide to quit? Well last night It came to me, why not open up the switch boxes and see whats going inside, maybe its as simple as dirty connectors.

I opened these baby's up and they were filthy to the max, covered in lint, dirt and grease. I took care to follow the steps necessary to remove the switches from the tricky 300SD console.
I gently removed the switches from the body and then took out the metal parts. Once inside I cleaned everything up with mineral spirits and a dozen q-tips and then put everything back and was good to go.

To my astonishment I got 3 out windows working again for the first time in years. I had been living with one window for the past 4 years and now my passengers and I can enjoy all three:)

Lucky for me I saved $100 and the hassle of having to take apart the door panels to check out the window motors.

Pens, Pens Pens and more Pens

2012-08-16T10:27:00.001-07:00

I wan to take a moment to thank all those who have donated their used pens in the last couple of months with a post and a picture. Unfortunately I misplaced some of the envelopes and I dont know were they came from to give credit to some of these beautiful empty pens, I know its a long shot but if you recognized your pens let me know.

I appreciate all the pens that came in and look forward to going to my PO box every day to check for more used pens. Often times I take my youngest daughter who loves to find the box, insert the key and open it to see whats inside. Most of the time there is a package waiting for us and if its too big I receive a yellow note from the postmaster to come to the front desk to pick it up.

So far I have created a couple of large pieces covered in used pens and this week I am creating four frames made from old pallets with mirrors and pens. I will posting those on my site in the next couple of weeks.

Again thank you all for your continued support, please keep sending your used pens and especially your notes, I really appreciate them:)

Pen Donation by Connie in Santa Monica, CA

Pen Donation by Emily

Pen Donation by Mandy, Ohio/China

Pen Donation from Kent England

Pen Donation by Sarah in Brookline, MA

Pen Donation by Michael in Philadelphia, PA

Pen Donation by Anonymous

Pen Donation by Innocence in New York,NY

Pen Donation by Shauna in New York, NY

Pen Donation by A. El Paso, TX

Pen Donation by John. B. somewhere serving our country:)

Pen Donation by Matt Yardley, PA

Pen Donation by Crista in San Franscisco, CA

Amazing Recycle Pen Art Showing at the Greentivities Exhibit

2012-07-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

Recycle Pen Art by The Pen Guy - Time Warp

I just completed my second recycle pen art project in time to be shown at the Sonoma County Fair exhibit called "Greentivities". “Greentivities”, is a new, fun, interactive, and exciting venue for both kids and adults to showcase examples to the community with ways to approach recycling, reuse and conservation through art and hands on demos.

How I got there was a text book case of convergence. Last Wednesday I was walking around down town Santa Rosa and I run into Rebecca at the Share Exchange Coop who knew Anita at the Greentivities booth at the faire and suggested I contact her about a speaking gig. I then got a call from Anita and went down to see her Saturday to find out more and sign up to speak. I asked about submitting a pen art piece and she said "yes"... if I could get it to her within 48 hours. Needless to say I met the deadline and my second piece proudly hanging at the fair along with some great recycle art including a few art car chairs made by Patrick Amiot of Sebastopol, and amazing scrap metal drummset.

What I love the most about this piece as opposed to my other one called "The Giving Tree" is that due to time constraints I didn't have time to over think it too much so I just went with the flow and worked as quickly as I could to get-r-done. When I showed my wife for the time it has this amazing effect on her as if she was being pulled into it and experiencing a time warp as well. On this particular piece I got to reuse 448 donated pens.

I also got to use some of my favorite pens donated from all over like the world. I have a Mummy pen, an etch-a-sketch, a french fry, pen again and the operation pen. I love it when things line up, especially all the pens.

Recycle Pen Art by The Pen Guy - Time Warp

Recycle Pen Art by The Pen Guy - Time Warp - At the Greentivities Exchibit

Pen Art by The Pen Guy Headed to Terracycle

2012-07-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

Pen Art Shipping Container Made from Reclaimed Wood

I finally got my act together and sent the first installment of my pen art over to terracycle last Monday. I had been procrastinated for months now sitting on this penting but I finally decided to get-r-done. A week ago I went over to my dads place and he provided all the wood he had been stockpiling for a couple of years and made my self a very sturdy shipping crate. Mom was very excited to get rid of some of that lumber and told me to come back again:)

I go it done in about 3 hours and then all I had to do is plastic wrap (kitchen grade) the piece, cover it fresh bubble wrap and seal it up with boards and more screws. 85lbs later it was ready to ship and so I headed to my local shipping store for the big send off. It Should arrive in Trenton NJ in about a week.

Pen Art Made by The Pen Guy

Pen Art Tucked Safely Tucked Away Under a Bed of Bubble Wrap

Pen Art Container Ready for Shipping

Sushi Pen Review by The Pen Guy - Something Smells Fishy

2012-06-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

One of the many perks as the pen guy when I am no out back creating pen art out of donated pens is doing the odd pen review here and there. Today's pen is brought to you by the Prank Place who sent me this pretty raw looking "Sushi" pen. If you love sushi, then you need one (or all!) of these great Sushi Pens! Each ballpoint pen writes with black ink, comes with its own ballpoint cover, and has a delicious sushi at the other end of the pen!

On the pro side, its a great looking pen and does well for short notes and sushi phone orders. I would say a great addition to your pen collection or super duper deal if you owned a sushi shop.

On the other hand its not really a good pen if you like to journal or write long notes. It doesn't glide over the paper that well and the fact that the barrel is narrow makes it hard to handle and your hand will eventually cramp up. The sushi pen is unbalanced, top heavy and awkward to write with.

I am sorry but I have to give the sushi pen a three out of five dead fish rating.

Mercedes Pens Makes the Doggie Boogie Movie Trailer

2012-06-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

About a year ago the Mercedes Pens Art Car was hired to be in a movie called Doggie Boogie about Pijo the dancing Dog. Yesterday I run into the trailer and to my big surprise I found a brief shot of Pijo jumping in the Mercedes Pens from the passenger side. This was the scene right before the big chase scene, with a taxi cab going after Pijo in the back seat looking out. In fact a Pijo stuffed stunt double was used made from hair collected from the real deal. Not sure when the movie will hit the big screen but I am looking forward to my art cars big day on the silver screen. Its a very cute movie and the color scheme is simply magnificent, perfect movie to for The Mercedes Pens.

Doggie Boogie Movie Trailer

The Pen Guy Launches Recycled Pen Art Project on IndieGoGo

2012-05-25T03:28:00.001-07:00

I am happy to announce the creation of my very first art piece called "Giving Tree" a 48"x48" piece covered with about 500 sharpies. I am also launching my Indiegogo fundraising campaign to raise $8250 to help me create another seven "pentings".

I have been collecting pens ever since I started the Mercedes Pens Art Car with the idea that I was going to create more art with used pens.

At the beginning of the year I had about 30,000 pens piling up and overflowing out of my pen bin in the back yard as seen here. Then I got a giant boost from TerraCycle who partnered with me by giving me a giant pallet of about 30,000 more used pens and then commissioned me to create two pentings.

I took the opportunity from this first piece to launch a fundraising campaign and step out believing that this crazy pen art dream could really happen in the next 60 days. I have been thinking about this for many years and the timing was finally right to take the plunge and put my big dream out there.

With the support of my family and close friends I take the step into what I believe to be an appointment with destiny and to go on to create some of my best work ever in the coming years.
The only way I could possible image doing this is with your help and support and it can be done in four significant ways:

Contribute financially to my campaign
Tell your friends about it on facebook, twitter, email and the rest.
Donate all your pens to: The Pen Guy POBox #994 Forestville Ca 95436
Send your good thoughts my way.

Its simple and beautiful.

I would love to hear back from you so please leave your comments

Mercedes Pens Helping Those in Spain Learn English

2012-04-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

The Mercedes Pens art car was just published in the latest English work book called "Contrast" by Burlington Books for students in Spain who are learning English.

The student is asked to read the story about the pen Guy and the Mercedes pens and then write a 60-80 summary. Here is my summary in less that 26 words: "Not only am I doing my part to collect old used pens from around the world, I am now helping others learn English, Pretty Cool"

The Pen Guy Receives 30,000 Pen Donation From TerraCycle

2012-03-07T18:09:00.001-08:00

I just received one of my biggest pens donations ever last week from TerraCycle at a whopping 30,000 pens that was delivered on a pallet about 5 feet high all the way from Trenton, NJ. I will be partnering with Terracycle to create art works made from pens and sending them over as soon as I am finished.

The Pen Guy and His Pen Donation from TerraCycle

Their goal is to help eliminate the idea of waste by creating collection and solution programs for all kinds of typically non-recyclable waste. In essence they turn the non-recyclable recyclable by creating waste collection programs, “brigades,” and turning the collected waste into new products, ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled backpacks.

Since my last post back in December I have received more used pens in the mail at my PO BOX and from local thrift stores collected locally so I wanted to take a moment and play catch up and thank every one and their mother for all the wonderful pens that came in.

The Pen Guy and His Pen Donation from TerraCycl

A Big Thanks Goes to:

Misty over a Photo Lab a certified green company who will be sending all their sharpies & highlighters. They offer complete pro lab services to professional photographers throughout the United States and around the world.

Pen Donation From Photo Lab

Jane from 1promotionalproducts.com for a box of about 1500 working rejects from a promotional products and apparel company in Utah. Lots of Gel pens that are now everywhere:)

Pen Donation From 1promotionalproducts

Pen Donations from the USA

Someone over at Boston Scientific
Marie. D, Salem NH
Henry Ford Hospital Detroit, MI
Morehouse San Anselmo, CA
Stephani N. Maspeth, NY
Amanda L. Los Altos, CA
Bill and Louise M, Sebatopol, CA
Jamie S. Arlington, VA
Anyone else not mentioned who sent in pens the last three months

Pen Donation from the Green Gremlins in NY, NY

Pen Donation from Louise P. Ashlan, OR

Pen Donation from Klein, Levittown, PA

Pen Donations from Overseas

Pen Donation from Nicola, Kent, England

Pen Donations From Ashley, Glasgow, Scotland

4 Good Reason Used Pens Don't Work Well in this Photoshoot

2011-12-23T20:34:00.000-08:00

4 Good Reason Used Pens Don't Work Well in this Photoshoot

I just received two packages of used pens, a bunch from my friend Don R. in Hastings, Nebraska today, and a bunch of pens from S. Wilner in New York about two weeks ago just in time for Christmas. I decided to have some fun tonight and do a impromptu photo-shoot while holding a bunch of used pens in each hand. I am looking at these photos and I must admit that pens just dont work as a good prop. Even though I think this shoot was a complete failure, I am thankful for getting these awesome pens to add to my one million pen project.

Pentel Pens Just In - Recycology™ program explained

2011-12-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

Pentel Super Ball, Fine Superball and Quickball Pens Donated by Pentel to The Pen Guy

On one my recent meanderings I landed on Pentel's page called Recycology™, a program created to enhance their mission of helping the environment by creating less waste and increasing recycling activity. They are focused on protecting the environment at all stages of manufacturing by creating products that used both recycled content and post-consumer recycled content. All their products in this line are made from a minimum of 50% recycled content excluding consumable content and refills...cool!

I decided to take a chance and contact them about maybe sending me some old expired empty pens laying around the office and lo and behold they emailed me back:) Nicole from the Marketing department emailed me and said they had recently done some remodeling and there was a pile of empty pens with my name on them. I got two boxes of Pentel Super Ball pens, a box of Pentel Fine Superball and a box of Pentel Quickball pens and they came in the mail within days!!!.

Here is what Nicole said to me:

Hi Costas! We know exactly who you are! We have visited your blog and have seen your work. We think it is super witty and creative!

Honestly I was a little freaked about the "we know exactly who you are" line but getting the pens in the mail was well worth it. Its nice to know The Pen Guy and the Mercedes Pens project has had such a positive impact and that is why I will continue to collect empty pens.

3 Great Reasons to Donate Used Pens to The Pen Guy

2011-12-06T16:41:00.001-08:00

There are 3 Great Reasons to Donate Used Pens to The Pen Guy

You feel good about getting rid of all those used pens
You make room for new pens to take their place
I post pictures of your used pens on my site.

Thank you all for the amazing batch of used pens donated from Salt Lake City, Utah, San Marcos, California and Sharon Hill, PA. The pen Guy is a happy camper on this beautiful clear cold day.

Donated used pens from Salt Lake City, Utah

Donated used pens from San Marcos, California

Donated used pens from Sharon Hill, PA - Anjoli S.

Donated Cedax Pens - Great Pens With NOT so Great Side Effects

2011-11-23T14:31:00.001-08:00

Got these Cedax (Ceftibuten) pens in the other day all the way from Windsor Ca from my pen pall Nancy. V. a mere ten miles away from my PO Box. I have a bunch of medical pens on the Mercedes Pens but I have never featured any of them on the pen guy blog, so decided to investigate. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine Cedax (Ceftibuten) is a cephalosporin antibiotic used to treat certain infections caused by bacteria such as bronchitis and ear and throat infections. Antibiotics will not work for colds, flu, or other viral infections, bla bla bla. The decision NOT to ask my doctor about Cedax is based on the 13 not so pleasant side effects listed bellow at the end of the article, which are:

upset stomach
diarrhea
vomiting
mild skin rash
severe skin rash
itching
hives
difficulty breathing or swallowing
wheezing
unusual bleeding or bruising
sore throat
painful mouth or throat sores
vaginal infection

Mercedes Pens Feature Video on Mercedes-Benz Reporter

2011-11-19T12:34:00.001-08:00

Mercedes Pens Art Car Featured on Mercedes-Benz Reporter - Video by Alex Kahl

Alex Kahl is a self professed auto-geek who is obsessed with cars, technology and the web. This obsession somehow led to the sweetest gig of all, test driving and writing about cars and getting paid for it. A few months ago he was in the Bay Area driving around in a top of the line Mercedes loaner and contacted me about doing and interview in Petaluma CA at TwiT TV. He writes for Mercedes-Benz and this video was just posted a few days ago on Mercedes-Benz Reporter . Its actually one of the very few videos showing the latest addition to the Mercedes pens Art Car including the drain pipe super fins and the additional used pens mounted on the roof of the car. Thanks Alex:)

Used Pens Donated by Artist Ben Schlitter

2011-11-13T19:37:00.001-08:00

These Pigma Micro used pens were donated by Ben Schlitter, an award winning designer, illustrator and painter from Santa Monica California. Ben is an illustrator and painter who owns an award winning multidisciplinary design studio called studiobenben. When getting his hands dirty Ben works mainly in acrylic and collage but he also enjoys creating illustrations and designing print, interactive, and motion graphics projects.
I wanted to capture the beauty of the pigma micron caps so I bunched them up with my daughters blue hair tie photographed them on a wooden fence using my iPhone3. Thanks Ben Great work!!!

Pigma Micron Pens Donated by Ben Schlitter

Illustration by Ben Schlitter Using Pigma Micron Pens

Used pens from Singapore Reunited with the Pen Guy

2011-11-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

This beautifully wrapped box of used pens came this week from Joanna C. all the way from Singapore and I took multiple pictures wanting to savor the moment. These used pens came wrapped in brown paper which I carefully removed to reveal the Black & Decker automatic dry iron box. Once I had this box opened I spilled the used pens on the ground to behold the treasure within. It was a windy fall day and a few dry redwood leaves were included in the final shot. Is it possible I could end up writing a novel about pens??? Who knows, but in any case I a big thanks goes out to my new friend in Joanna. Costas Schuler aka The Pen Guy has a real job as a graphic designer in Sonoma County and can be reached by email.

Pen Explosion at The Pen Guys House - Nobody Hurt

2011-10-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to find my pen storage bin with its door blown off its hinges and pens spilling all over the place. This bin was given to me with a broken hinge and it simply could not take the pressure of about 30K pens pushing up against it.

I had a sinking suspicion that levy was about to burst but ignored the voice telling me to wrap it up with some rope rope.
This afternoon I took care of it with a little duct and rope and I am ready again to receive your packages of empty pens in the mail.

Is there such a thing as too many used pens...NO. Keep them coming and thank you all for your support.

Pen Donation from Washington DC

2011-10-17T23:24:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the pens all the way from Washington DC. This is part of my commitment to thank every one who sends pens.

Pens Donations from San Jose and Sacramento

2011-10-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you both for the recent pen donations to the pen guy one million pen project.These two packages locally one from San Jose and the other from Sacramento California. Even though I have been very with work as a Graphic Designer building web sites and designing marketing materials I promise to continue to post on my blog at least once a week. I really want to make sure all of you who send pens in have your donations featured here on the Pen Guy blog.

New domain name for the pen guy = thepenguy.org

2011-09-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

I have to confess I fell asleep at the switch and someone else bought up my domain name "penguy.org" doh!!!! But I bought thepenguy.org so it should clear up with google in a fews days and the new url should show up. He even took my tag line "The Pen Guy, On a Mission to Collect a Million Used Pens" and with only 3 entries google will quickly bury this pen guy impostor. I was upset to say the least so I decided to bury my frustration by posting and letting everyone know that I am still collecting pens and to thank Anna W. from Philadelphia, PA for sending this wonderful golden box filled with her used pens.

Mandy's Pens From Ohio Just in

2011-08-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

Its been a very long time since I posted but that doesn't mean I am not collecting pens from all over. Thanks to all my friends at local thrift stores and around the world I have been getting about 1500 pens a month. August was a phenomenal month bringing in 3,000 used pens. This particular batch of pens was sent in from my long time supporter Mandy with sent in her third installment of dried up used pens.

Pens just in from the Shakespeare girl

2011-08-17T17:54:00.000-07:00