All,
Thanks for all the comments. Wanted to answer a couple of the questions.
The kits are Comfort grips made without the gripper.
I have always preferred to stick with a traditional shape of the pen and let the materials speak for themselves. Any experienced penturner will tell you that is harder to turn a straight line than a bunch of curves. I have made more complex designs in the past but they do not seem to sell as well although they are neater to look at. The straight lined approach is easily sold because they are very comfortable in the hand while writing.
My best selling kit is the comfort pen without the gripper. It is small enough to carry in pockets which is especially important because most of my sales come from military personnel out here in Hawaii. Although easy to fit in the uniform, it is easier to hold onto than a slimline and has a nice weight to it.
I don't know if it has anything to do with the area I am in but I sell 2-3 times more acrylics than I do wood. Out here in Hawaii, Koa pen turners are a dime a dozen and I probably do so well with acrylics because they are unique and I do not know of anyone else offering them out here. My top selling material is still Curly Koa, followed very closely by any acrylic I can turn out. Although I prefer wood pens for my own use, people seem to like the unique colors of the acrylics I offer at shows. An added bonus is that I can usually get more money for acrylics also.
Chris