{"id":16588,"date":"2015-04-09T11:30:59","date_gmt":"2015-04-09T15:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/04\/girl-turns-her-hobby-into-a-business-that-continues-to-grow-in-saratoga-county.html"},"modified":"2015-04-09T11:30:59","modified_gmt":"2015-04-09T15:30:59","slug":"girl-turns-her-hobby-into-a-business-that-continues-to-grow-in-saratoga-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/04\/girl-turns-her-hobby-into-a-business-that-continues-to-grow-in-saratoga-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Girl Turns Her Hobby Into A Business That Continues To Grow In Saratoga County"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\"anna\n<\/div>\n
Anna Williams began her business Pens Ink as a 10- year-old girl\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY ANDREA PALMER<\/p>\n

Anna Williams began Pens Ink as a 10 year old
\ngirl with an interesting hobby. That hobby
\nhas turned into a burgeoning enterprise.<\/p>\n

In 2009, at age 8, Anna saw a YouTube video
\nof a teenager making pens on a lathe and
\nthought it looked fun. For two years she begged
\nher father, Mike Williams, for a lathe on which
\nto make pens. Finally, he bought her a starter
\nlathe and she began turning pens as a hobby.<\/p>\n

A two-page website with photos was created
\nfor friends and family to keep up with Anna’s
\npen-making and give her encouragement.<\/p>\n

In 2011, at age 10, Williams received an inquiry
\nfor pens from Australia. She was shocked.
\nSaid Williams’ father, “At first we thought it
\nwas spam mail, but then we realized it was for
\nreal. At that point we knew we needed to think
\nabout Anna’s hobby as a legitimate business
\nopportunity.”<\/p>\n

Williams and her father took a trip down
\nto the county clerk and registered Pens Ink
\nas a DBA.<\/p>\n

Williams began to go to festivals, church
\nbazaars and arts and crafts shows, setting up a
\ntable with her pens and business cards. Pages
\nwere added to the website and a professional
\nlogo was developed. Williams developed different
\nstyles of pens and expanded her line of
\nproducts to include other items.<\/p>\n

Business picked up when Williams joined
\nher local Chamber of Commerce a year later.
\nA contact at Curtis Lumber suggested she join the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County. The
\nChamber asked Williams to bring her lathe
\nand hold a pen-turning demonstration at an
\nupcoming mixer being held at Curtis Lumber.<\/p>\n

It was here she met Pete Bardunias, CSSC
\npresident and CEO. From there, Williams received
\nher first Presidential Order (a pen made
\nof historical wood), after a customer heard
\nWilliams during a radio interview with Melody
\nBurns on Talk 1300. Williams was featured in
\nseveral magazines and papers, and most recently
\nCBS News. The recent exposure on CBS
\nNews has brought an onslaught of new orders.<\/p>\n

Williams cites joining the Chamber as one
\nof the best decisions she’s made with her business,
\nstating that it gave her legitimacy as a
\nbusiness and not just a fly-by-night young girl
\nwith a hobby.<\/p>\n

“As years went by, I started gaining respect
\nwithin the Chamber community. People started
\nrealizing I was there to stay. It has opened
\na lot of doors for me through networking and
\nrelationships,” she said.<\/p>\n

Williams has wood from the Erie Canal,
\nBrookside Museum, Adirondack Lake, the
\nSwallowtail Lighthouse, the USS Constitution,
\nthe USS Intrepid, Certified Bethlehem Olive
\nWood, and soaking barrels from the Jack Daniels
\nDistillery–just to name a few. Williams
\nworks with a supplier for her presidential and
\nhistoric woods. She has wood from Stonewall
\nJackson’s Prayer Tree and from the estates of
\nboth George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
\nHistorical woods come with a certificate
\nof authenticity.<\/p>\n

Williams and her father believe that the
\nexcellent craftsmanship of Williams’ work sets
\nher apart among other pen-turners.<\/p>\n

“The pen-turning world is predominantly
\nretired gentlemen doing this as a hobby or very
\nsmall business,” said Mike Williams. “Anna is
\ncompeting with people who have been turn ing pens for 30-60 years and are passionate
\nabout the hobby aspect of pen-turning. I told
\nAnna, you can either sell cheap, or you can sell
\nquality. Even at age 10, she went with quality.”<\/p>\n

Williams works with many area professionals
\nand businesses with employee incentive
\nand corporate gifting programs. Many of her
\ncustomers are professionals who special order
\npersonalized pens for long-time clients, or
\nemployers wishing to give a special thank you
\ngift to an employee. Though Williams has an
\ninventory of pre-made pens, every pen special
\nordered from Pens Ink can be customized and
\npersonalized.<\/p>\n

Pens Ink has expanded its product line to
\nwine stoppers, cuff links, purse hangers, letter
\nopeners and golf ball divot repair tools. All
\nitems can be special ordered and personalized.
\nMaterials available include a variety of exotic
\nwood including historic wood and chestnut,
\nacrylic, stone, sterling silver and other materials.
\nWilliams is working with a jeweler to
\nprovide the option of precious metals for pen
\ncasing and components.<\/p>\n

Williams’ father does all product photography
\nfor the website. He developed the
\ncompany website. The family basement houses
\nWilliams’ office and work studio. Williams tries
\nto answer all emails and website inquires as
\nsoon as possible–after her homework is done,
\nof course.<\/p>\n

So where does Williams see herself in 10
\nyears? “I’m going to let this business take me as
\nfar as it will take me. When I’m ready, I want to
\nopen other businesses as well. I like the business
\nworld. It’s fun, it’s hard, it’s complicated
\nand a lot of work, but I love it.”<\/p>\n

The website is www.pensink.com<\/p>\n

Photo by Andrea Palmer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anna Williams began her business Pens Ink as a 10- year-old girl BY ANDREA PALMER Anna Williams began Pens Ink as a 10 year old girl with an interesting hobby. That hobby has turned into a burgeoning enterprise. 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