Disabled artisan builds global brand of premium fountain pens｜Taiwan News

A Tainan artisan has created a global brand of handmade fountain pens. Kuo Tung-tzu’s cedar-clad pens have found fans all over the world, and his family workshop is a small but tight business. Earlier this year, one of his pens made it to the hands of Lai Ching-te to sign his first document as president, which raised the profile of the Tainan workshop even further. Despite catching polio as a small child and having mobility issues, Kuo has always believed in himself. His business continues a proud tradition of craftsmanship that is hundreds of years’ strong in Tainan.

Kuo Tung-tzu makes a round of his workshop. You can see from the crutches that this business owner is handling difficulties few of us have encountered.

Kuo Tung-tzu
Fountain pen artisan
My mom had a big influence on me, because she told me, “We didn’t choose for you to have this difficulty with your legs. So there’s no need to feel ashamed of it. If people bully you, that’s just something to tolerate.”

This encouragement from his mother gave Kuo the self-confidence to develop expertise in a profession and to take pride in his life journey. He founded a company that creates handmade fountain pens, and sells them all over the globe.

Kuo Tung-tzu
Fountain pen artisan
So long as a person wants to survive, and we’re given just a little bit of land that’s our space, then we can grow. If you don’t want to work, you’ll always feel tired, even if you’re lying on the softest sofa.

If you ask what Kuo’s wife Huang Ching-chu thinks of her husband, her eyes well up. She’s been at his side through decades of struggle, and has no complaints or regrets.

Huang Ching-chu
Wife of Kuo Tung-tzu
I really admire him. Although he has mobility issues, he works harder than the average person.

Now their son and daughter both work in the marketing department of the family business. The whole family works together to make this Taiwanese brand a player on the global stage.

Kuo Ting-fang
Daughter of Kuo Tung-tzu
Don’t limit yourself, or think you can’t do something. Just give it a try. Maybe you’ll have the chance.

In the first official document signed by President Lai Ching-te after assuming office, he used one of Kuo’s artisanal pens, an honor which has further raised this Tainan brand’s profile. As the saying goes, “Heaven helps those who help themselves.” Kuo’s life story is an example of perseverance we can all celebrate.

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