Our Story

The Brief, But Notable, History of Speakeasy Pen Emporium & Supply Co.

 

It all started with a Rabbit Hutch.....

When Jess met Jason in 2005, he had a hammer, a multi-functional screwdriver, and a corded drill that had the cord cut off. Jess would not realize this until she decided that she wanted Rabbits, and they needed a hutch. Much to her surprise, she discovered that Jason had no power tools and no idea how to use them. So, she went out and did what any good girlfriend would do, and she got that man the nicest set of power tools that she could afford (which were, at that time, Black and Decker.) After much trial and error, a heated argument that two Rabbits did NOT need an 8ft long box, a lot of sweat (and a few tears), and PLENTY of laughter, the Rabbits had a lovely safe home to live in, and Jason had a set of tools.

Jason and Jess got married in 2006, and by late that year, they had moved into their new house. The house had a washing machine that probably came over on the Mayflower, and that is where the next story starts.

Christmas Eve, the washing machine decided that it did not care to drain water anymore, and on Christmas Day, Jess asked her father to look at it. While he was down there, he saw a 3ft tall replica of a Church complete with tiny pews, an altar, a piano, and coat racks. The whole thing was worse for wear. He asked Jason about it and found out that it was something that Jason’s Great Grandfather had built and displayed every Christmas and that it was given to him when he was a teenager, but it hadn’t been put out for a long time because of its condition. Jess’s Dad offered to help his new son-in-law bring the old Church back to life, and by the following Christmas, it had new walls, windows, flooring, and a fresh coat of paint, and it was proudly displayed in their front yard, complete with lights, and it played Christmas music again. Jason’s mother had always loved the Church her Grandfather built and said she wished she had one just like it. So, Jason decided to make her a smaller replica because “how hard can it be.” Jason bought the wood, glue, tiny hinges, a string of miniature lights, and a coping saw. He struggled to make that first little Church, but he finally completed it and took it to the hospital where he worked to show it off. The nurses loved it, and he had several requests for tiny Churches by the end of the day. Jason also decided there had to be something easier to use than a coping saw. Jason bought a Scroll Saw and made tiny Churches, puzzles, and signs for several years. But then Jess had a GREAT idea…

When Jess and Jason were at their local Woodcraft, she saw some pens and decided that she wanted to learn how to make them. So, as a good husband does, Jason went out and found her a lathe and tools, bought her a few blanks and pen kits, and found someone to come over and teach her how to do it. The day the instructor came over, Jess had a migraine, so Jason learned instead, and as it turned out, Jason liked turning way more than Jess did, and Jason added turning pens to his list. Eventually, he grew tired of wooden blanks and wanted to move to acrylic blanks. He also joined some pen groups on Facebook. When Jason saw a Second Amendment blank that he liked by Patterson Grant, he reached out to (his now friend) Patterson about buying one. When Patterson told Jason the blanks were $12.00, Jason said, “Who in their right mind would pay that much for a Pen Blank? I will just learn to make my own.”, and he did. Through trial and error and copious amounts of wasted materials, Jason learned how to make label cast blanks…which he now proudly sells for $12.00. Eventually, Jason was able to quit his 9-to-5 job and start casting full-time.

Early in 2021, the offer was made to us to buy T. Shadow and Co. Jess made the difficult decision to quit her full-time job and join her husband in the adventure of small business ownership. So far, it has been a wild ride, and they have enjoyed all of the people they have gotten to meet, spend time with, and share their craft with. They hope you will enjoy their products as much as they do.

And to think it all started with a Rabbit Hutch….