Vendor Showcase - 2024

Stadium Pen Blanks

Michael Hardin

Michael Hardin

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Stadium Pen Blanks was founded in October of 2018 as an off-shoot of Hardin Penworks. From a single Fenway Park stadium seat, Stadium Pen Blanks was born. Since then SPB has acquired material and blanks from 190+ stadiums for 220+ sports teams, 35+ US Navy Ships, 30+ vintage aircrafts, several historic buildings, and culturally significant materials.

SPB was the driving force that helped shape the market for professional and fancy Certificates of Authenticity. Today many vendors, distributors, and artisans have upped their game with the new standard of what a nice COA should look like.

  

Drop Anchor Creations

Michelle Bagley

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Come ashore and see what Drop Anchor Creations has to offer. Owned and operated by Michelle Bagley and Ed Hood. Founded in October of 2018, they offer a wide range of label cast and embed blanks that may spark your interest. And should you need something a little more personalized, they can do that too! They look forward to helping you set sail and find your bounty.

  

Cobb Brothers

Rick Cobb

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We are a small custom woodworking shop located in the hills of West Virginia. We specialize in creating one-of-a-kind pieces, from ink pens to kitchen cabinets. My brother and I grew up building things we wanted and needed, including the houses we live in now. Our Father taught us the importance of working with our hands. We believe that craftsmanship is something to be proud of and that is why we strive to create the highest quality woodworking pieces.

  

Jolly Roger Blanks / GW Pens

John Greco

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Jolly Roger Blanks is the in-house blank brand for GW Pens. John Greco, the artisan maker behind both brands, has been a custom pen maker for more than a decade with work carried by the Philadelphia Seaport Museum, The NY Times, as well as retailers nation-wide. John has been commissioned to make pens for Prince Harry, President Obama, and Pope Francis with a sister copy of the Pope’s pen being kept in the Philadelphia History Museum.

Through the course of his work as a pen maker, John began making his own blanks. Today John offers everything from wood and resin blanks to marble slabs including pieces with historical or cultural significance for other makers from his Woodstown, NJ retail shop.

  

Leaping Lemur Craftworks

Scott Vaughan

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The pen blank making portion of Leaping Lemur Craftworks was born out of a backyard protest in Little Hocking Ohio. I make a lot of playing card based blanks as well as segmented, resin, wood/resin hybrids, watch parts, steampunk and combinations of playing cards and other things. Stop by the table to see what I have.

  

TBCBushings.com

Brian Nikitas

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TBCBushings specialize in Turn Between Center bushings. We make the best bushings that you can buy. I’m Brian Nikitas and I started making them for myself and soon realized that there was a market for supplying other pen makers high quality bushings. When I first saw these on the market, there were only a couple different sets available. I started making them for any pen kit made. They are 100% made in the USA. I am the designer maker and shipping department. A one man show if you will. I started about 10 years ago machining the high tolerance bushings to help pen makers achieve better fitting pens. If you need bushings, we are the place to go. If you can find the set you need, I can make it for you. We do custom sets for the not so standard projects also.

  

Cross Cut Creations

Robert Dedinsky

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Cross Cut Creations started as a new homeowner who needed to learn how to complete a few home DIY projects with essentially no tools. Christmas time comes and so does a drill and circular saw. Getting on Youtube to figure out how to fix X, Y, and Z led to video after video of woodworking projects that looked doable. The first woodworking video was how to build a bench, and several years later, still no bench.

After consuming a ton of content from some of the most popular YouTube makers, home DIY projects morphed into woodworking (mostly making planter ladders, giant yard games, computer monitor riders, and other things), and further morphed into turning on the lathe (along with a basement full of tools). After learning how to turn pens, resin casting was the next step in the maker journey. Now specializing in pen and turning blanks, this is where the evolution of Cross Cut Creations stands today. We still do the occasional woodworking project, but primarily focus on finished turning projects and project blanks for makers.

  

Ursa Quirks

Sarah Dedinsky

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Sarah Dedinsky is a high school math teacher and mother to an active 2 year-old. She doesn't have a ton of spare time these days, but she likes to spend her spare time creating. Sarah's business, Ursa Quirks, focuses on using Polymer Clay in order to create unique jewelry and pen blanks. Sarah loves experimenting with different colors and patterns. She creates tube in blanks (currently available in Sierra, Bolt Action, Zen and Tiny Giant) that are designed to be right at or just over the bushings. All you need to do is sand them to exactly where you want them and finish them as you desire. You can apply a CA finish if you choose, but the material doesn't require it. Sarah's blanks can be polished or simply left matte. Sarah can't wait to meet all of you at that show and hear about all the things that you are making!

  

Hidden Valley Woods

Eric Rorabaugh

Facebook

Hidden Valley Woods is a small one man operation from southwest Virginia. I started turning a couple years ago and started cutting my own turning woods. I want to teach the business to my soon-to-be 4 year old grandson (when he gets older) and allow him to learn.

I will be bringing local to southwest Virginia, domestic woods to the expo in various sized turning blanks and maybe a few slabs, etc.

 

Classic Nib & Arizona Silhouette

Niels & Debbie Mathiasen

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Classic Nib/Arizona Silhouette is GROWING – But still FAMILY/VETERAN owned! In April 2016, Niels and Debbie Mathiasen purchased Classic Nib from Roy & Dee Robaldo. In December 2020, Classic Nib purchased Arizona Silhouette from Barry Gross. In March 2021, Classic Nib purchased most of Wood-N-Whimsies from Tim & Tracey Nicholas. Since the expansions we have been working feverishly on combining all the websites into one, and we brought in our daughter Ashley to spearhead that effort. While it has taken longer than planned, our goal is to have the combined website operational soon.

We have chosen a new business name and HOPE to publicly debut under that name at Mate 2023! Our new name will better reflect who we are and where we are located. Also in the plans is a relocation to a new custom-built office/warehouse/shop building. For MATE 2023 we will be bringing our vast assortment of pen kits, blanks from our family of artists, pen turning supplies and more!!

 

TurnTex, LLC

Curtis Seebeck

Facebook

TurnTex, LLC is a small, full time family business located in Central Texas and the primary source of income for a family of three and two full time employee. My name is Curtis O. Seebeck and I am the owner. I take extreme pride in my workmanship and believe that nothing but the best quality, customer service, and support will suffice and believe in treating my customers with respect, better than I would expect to be treated.

TurnTex, LLC is the leading authority and a pioneer in the field of stabilizing and casting and has been at the forefront of this industry with Cactus Juice Stabilizing Solutions and Alumilite Casting Resin. Cactus Juice is the first to offer affordable DIY stabilizing resin and dedicated vacuum chambers for all types of stabilizing needs. TurnTex was the first to start using Alumilite Casting Resins for woodturning and helped make it a mainstream casting product.

  

Divine Turning Supply

Braxton & Erica Frankenbury

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DIVINE products with DIVINE expectations. We use top of the line supplies and materials available to provide you the opportunity to make exceptional finished products. Whether it's something we make or a product we resell you can expect nothing but DIVINE results.

  

Speakeasy Pen Emporium & Supply Co.

Jason & Jess Rose

Facebook

For custom pen making supplies, trust the team at Speakeasy Pen Emporium & Supply Co. in Ohio. We offer USA-made turning tools, adhesives, resin, carbide, mica, blanks, and more. Our company is woman- and disabled veteran-owned. We serve Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky, plus ship all over the United States and the world.

  

McKenzie Penworks

Tim McKenzie

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We're a family run business that prides ourselves on the quality of our work and our service to our customers. Whether it's our patent pending DiamondCast® material or our line of US manufactured pen kits, we're here to help you with your pen making needs.

  

Salty Sailor Coffee Co.

Neil Kittleson

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Set your course for Salty Sailor Coffee Co. at MATE 2024, where the treasure isn't buried – it's brewed! Our booth is an oasis for coffee lovers and flavor adventurers alike. We don't just pour coffee; we serve experiences with every cup. Our beans? Sustainably sourced and roasted to perfection, ensuring each sip is a testament to quality and conscience. And the bounty doesn't stop there – navigate through our array of bagged varieties and branded merchandise. Join our crew for a day, savor our crafted cups, and sail home with your very own piece of the Salty Sailor spirit. Anchors aweigh to flavor and fun! 

  

Starry Night Resins

Elyce Longazelle

Instagram

Elyce is an elementary teacher by day and a resin artist at night. She loves color and is inspired by photography and nature. Taught by Jim Hinze, Elyce has been resin casting for the last 3 years. Elyce is a mom, doctoral student, and coordinator of controlled chaos at pen central.

 

Flower Girl Blanks

Kayla Cooper

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Hey there, my name is Kayla Cooper, and I am a woodworker and blank maker. When I started turning a couple of years ago, I longed for pen blanks that represented my wildflower personality. After a lot of convincing from fellow turners, I finally bit the bullet and dove head first into the blank making world, and I absolutely love it! Making flower blanks has given me a creative freedom that I haven't experience yet in woodworking alone. As my blank business began to grow, people started referring to me as 'the flower girl', which blossomed the name Flower Girl Blanks! To God be the glory for it all!

  

Sawdust Designs

David Lewis

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Sawdust Designs provides attractive, quality, and one-of-a-kind writing instruments, bottle stoppers, and other items into your world!

  

Cocoon Blanks

Jim Godoy & Leon Kelpin

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Our founders Jim Godoy and Leon Kelpin met at a makers group in Arizona and discovered their shared passion for turning. Jim had been in the industry for a few years already and Leon happily jumped in. Their garages were immediately turned into workshops and the product offering started to grow.

From turning pens, to stabilizing wood, to hybrid resin casting, to segmenting like no other, these two have made Cocoon Blanks a reliable source for great products and services for the turners out there.

Our Team works hard day to day to ensure the quality of our products lives up to our reputation. Our Turn Right Guarantee sets us apart, and our constant search for innovation and color combinations are what push us every day to provide the best service. We guarantee every blank we make. If you are not satisfied with one of our blanks at the time you receive it or if it does not perform to your satisfaction just return it to us and we'll repair it, replace it or refund it! 

  

Bentwood Ring Supplies

William Thornhill

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At Bentwood Ring Supplies, we are not just a company, but a community that thrives on the values that shape our identity. Our journey began with a simple vision: to provide unparalleled products and services to ring makers worldwide.

Ring Supplies for Ring Makers. Tools, Inlay Materials, Ring Blanks, and More!

  

Stainless Steel Bottle Stoppers

Dan Seeuwen

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Stainless Bottle Stainless Bottle Stoppers is a family owned business dedicated to making high quality Project Kits here in the USA. Some of our projects include bottle stoppers, honey dippers, bottle cap openers, and decorative loops (Keychains/X-mas Ornaments). For our project kits we offer turning mandrels. With the use of adaptable bushings the Universal Mandrel works for all of our turning projects and some other projects by other companies.

  

Ken's Penz

Ken Frisbie

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I am, Ken Frisbie, AKA: KensPenz. I am Small One Person Operation. Several years ago I wanted to make my own Blue Jeans Micarta. After I made those, the ideas started going, to try this and that. From there, through trials and tribulations, I decided to provide these Micarta products to other pen makers along with my other products. Thanks to Fellow Pen Makers it has grown and expanded.

  

Bullseye Turning Supply

Kate Harrow

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Bullseye Turning Supply is a family business run by sisters Kate & Savannah Harrow and their parents Deb & Lou. Located in Los Angeles, Bullseye focuses on American Made turning hardware, stabilized woods, and cast resins.