About The Guided Pen
ن وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ
nūn — by the pen, and what they inscribe
Surah al-Qalam opens with an oath sworn on the pen itself. That is where our name comes from: a pen with somewhere to go, and words worth keeping lit.
The story
The Guided Pen began with a small observation: the words people live by spend most of their lives on paper — framed, admired, and invisible after sunset. The verses that steady a household deserved to hold the room in the quiet hours too.
So we make one thing, and make it properly. A verse, a name, a line that carried you through something — drawn in a classical script, cut into wood, set behind glass and lit from within, so the words themselves become the lamp.
We are a small workshop and glad to be one. Every piece passes through the same few hands, and none leaves the bench until it would be welcome on our own walls.
Wa mā tawfīqī illā billāh
“And my success is not but through Allah.”
Materials & build
Four honest parts, nothing hidden: wood in front of light, glass in front of wood.
Black wooden frame
A solid wooden surround in black, finished by hand — quiet on the wall, so the light is what you notice.
Glass front
A clean glass panel protects the lettering and gives the glow its depth and shine.
Laser-cut lettering
The verse is cut from wood to a fraction of a millimetre — real relief and shadow, never a print.
RGB LED backlight
An even LED panel sits behind the letters, washing light through and around every stroke.
Every piece is assembled and checked by hand before it leaves the workshop.
Light & remote
The backlight is colour-changing RGB with adjustable brightness — sink it to a low amber ember for the evening, or bring it up to a bright, even wash. Settle on one tone that suits the room, or let the colours drift slowly through the spectrum.
Everything is driven from a 24-key RGB remote: colours, presets and brightness. Batteries are not included — the remote takes a CR2032 coin cell and the LED strip takes 3 x AA. On the wall, the piece mounts like a picture frame — one hook, level it once, done.
24-key RGB remote
Colour and brightness from across the room — no app, no pairing ritual.
Batteries not included
Included in the box, and swapped in seconds when it finally tires.
Hangs like a picture
A single fixing on the wall, exactly as you would hang a framed print.
Care
A Guided Pen piece asks for very little in return for its light.
Now and then
Dust the frame and glass with a dry, soft cloth — that is the whole routine.
For fingerprints
A little glass cleaner on the front panel only; keep moisture away from the wood.
Every year or so
The remote takes a CR2032 coin cell and the LED strip takes 3 x AA. Neither is supplied — both are easy to find and quick to fit.
Sizing & bespoke
The classic panel
Every design comes in three sizes: A4 at £99, A3 at £149, A2 at £209. A4 for a shelf or a desk, A3 for a hallway, A2 for the wall of a living room or a majlis.
Bespoke, in your own words
Type your own text in the customiser, in Arabic or English, and the lettering is scaled to fill whichever sheet you choose — A4 £129, A3 £179, A2 £239.
Open the customiserPlanning something monumental? Pieces wider or taller than A2 are quoted by hand — tell us about the wall and we will come back with a drawing and a price.
Bring one home
Ten classic designs ready to light, or your own words set in wood and glow.