www.PensInk.com - Latest News

Albany - Tulip Festival

Turning a Pen

Latest News

What have I been up to? *...keeping pretty busy!*
October 28, 2014 - Business & Professional Women Business Fair (Schenectady, NY) Pens Ink was asked to have a booth at the Schenectady Business & Professional Women's Business Fair. I met a bunch of wonderful women, made some friends, and had a great time! I have to give a very special thanks to Ms. Lori Snyder for inviting me, and another thank you to all the women that made me feel so special. I hope I'm invited again!
October 21, 2014 - Pens Ink donates a pen for the silent auction at the Hope Center - Breast Cancer Awareness Event (Latham, New York) Pens Ink was invited to participate in the Breast Cancer Awareness night at the Hope Center in Lathen, New York. Pens Ink donated a Breast Cancer Awareness pen that was made with Pink Mother of Pearl stone with a chrome finish and pink Swarovski crystals. I had a great time meeting everyone and seeing the great things the Hope Center does for women with breast cancer. It was also nice to see many of the local women business owners coming out to support this special event.
June 11, 2012 - Pens Ink donates products to the 45th Anniversary Chamber Classic Golf Tournament Pens Ink has donated products and has been invited to the Chamber Golf Tournament. Lucky for the golfers I won't be playing golf. I might make ball divot repair tools, but I never said I know how to use one! I will only be attending the dinner at the end of day. The great thing is that my mom and dad have been invited too. Lucky for my dad, he doesn't have to eat McDonald's in the car waiting for me.
May 14, 2012 - Pens Ink is featured in Southern Saratoga Magazine Pens Ink is featured in Spring/Summer edition of the Southern Saratoga Magazine. I would like to thank Stacy Morris at the magaize for taking the time to interview me and listen to me ramble on about my pens! She was great!!! I would also like to thank Mr. Bardunias, President and CEO of the Southern Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, because I'm sure he told them about me. You can read the full article here. The full magazine is in this file. My article is page 26 of the magazine.
May 18 - Pens Ink online artice is here! For all of you that are not local to the New York are or had the magazine but waiting for the full artice online - well it's finally here. Again, I would like to thank Mr. Cronin, Melissa Novak, and everyone that worked so hard to put my article together. You can reda the full article here.
May - Pens Ink donates products for the 2012 Jerry Walsh Memorial Cake Eater Classic to benefit ALS of Utica, New York Mr. Walsh was a close friend of my dad's and my grandma and grandpa. He passed away from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and his wife, children, and friends have a golf tournament each year to remember him and to raise money for to support research and cure for ALS. I never met Mr. Walsh, but he was a barber in Ilion, New York where my dad is from. I saw a picture of my dad getting his first haircut from Mr. Walsh. My dad must be old because the picture was black and white!!! This years benefit will be held on Sunday, June 3rd at Hidden Valley Golf Course. Click here and here for more information.
Saturday, May 12 - Apple Blossom Festival in Red Hook New York This was a nice day. The weather was great and lots of people were out looking at everyones crafts. I had a great time, and had a pretty good day. The people were very nice and I got a lot of compliments on my pens and other products I had at my table. I did some demonstartions on the lathe while people watched. I have to admit that I get a little nervous when people are staring at me. The nice thing is that my dad had to drive the hour back to our house while I got to take a nap. I think that was fair!
Thursday, May 10 2012 - Chamber Mixer - Mohawk Honda The Southern Saratoga Chamber of Commerce hosted a Social Mixer at Mohawk Honda on Thursday night. It was a busy day because I had school all day, had homework, went to the mixer at 5:30 - 8:00pm, and had potential customers coming to the house for an 8pm meeting. I had a great time and met many new business people, and they were all very nice! The picture to the right is of me with Mr. Jim Law (Sales Manager) from Talk 1300, and a new friend Ms. Susanne Simpson (Director of Sales) from DZ Restaurants. Below is a picture of me networking with Mr. Michael Christensen (President & Headmaster) from Saratoga Academy of the Arts & Sciences. I was afraid that he might ask me if my homework was done!!!! :=) Bottom right are two new members of the Chamber, Mr. and Mrs. Bower (owners of Saratoga Table Works). You should she the amazing tables he makes!!! You need to take a look at his beautiful, ausome, and amazing tables.

Missed the Talk Show CLICK HERE to listen now Anna Williams is invited to the Melody Burns Talk Show on Talk Radio 1300. Saturday, May 5 2012: The first week of May, I received a call from Jim Law, the Sales Manager from Talk 1300 AM radio station. One of the talk hosts, Melody Burns was interested in having me on her talk show. So on Saturday, May 5th at 1:00pm I will be on the air talking about Pens Ink. I have no idea what she is going to ask. Hopefully she doesn't ask me something really hard!!! If anyone is interested, you can go to www.Talk1300.com and click on the "Listen Now!" link on the right side of the screen, and you can listen live. The show will be recorded and I will be posting it here on my website as soon as it is available. WOW!!! The talk show waas really cool, but I was soooooo scared!!! I was in a small room with Melody, I got to wear these headphones and talk in a really big microphone. I think one of her first questions was "Tell me about your business" and I thought in my head, Oh my God! what do you mean? Do you want to know how I make the pens? How I got started? Do you want to know if I pay taxes? That's when I knew I was in trouble. I don't think I knew that I would be so scared, but Melody was great and she really helped me through the whole process.

Anna Williams and her entrpreneurial spirit is recognized at her school. May 2012: I was surprised when our weekly school newsletter came out and recognized me for the recent article in Success magazine. They also made an announcement over the loud speaker and I was horrified, then I smiled, and then I tried to hide. It's one of those things where your happy to be recognized but embarassed at the same time. I also have to tell everyone that one of my best friends Grace was also recognized for her ausome writing and winning a contest. Yeah Grace!!!!!!!! Here is the the section that was written. I'm very greatful to everyone at school. Everyone has been very supportive of this little adventure of mine! Thanks Everyone!!! "Congratulations to 5th grader Anna Williams who was highlighted and honored in April’s Success magazine as (the youngest ever) Woman of Distinction and Up and Coming Entrepreneur for the business that she owns and runs Pens Ink. This journal high-lights businesses owners and entre-preneurs in upstate New York and the Capital Region. Many of you know that Anna makes and sells hand made and custom made pens that are beau-tiful. You can read about her interview and company that she runs on line at http://www.successmagazinesltd.com."
Anna Williams is interviewed for the April issue of Success Magazine ltd. April 2012: In early April Success Magazine ltd. contact me and asked if I would be interested in doing an interview for their magazine. I was very honored and accepted their offer. Mr. Tom Cronin, President of the magazine met me at the Chamber of Commerce Social Mixer in March and had mentioned that he would like to do a story on me. The experience was great and Mr. Cronin and his staff were wonderful to work with. The April issue was released in late April, and the online version of the full interview will be available at www.SuccessMagazineltd.com by mid-May. As of right now, only the partial interview is available. You will want to go to the "Articles" tab, and scroll down to the Pens Ink article. You can't miss it! I am the only one hunched over my lathe like the hunchback of Notre Dame with my Snoopy aviator goggles. Don't laugh to hard when you see it.
Anna Williams volunteers at New York historic site Erie Canal Lock 19 in Visher Ferry April 2012: As a new member of the Chamber, I was reading a copy of the recent newsletter, and saw an article about restoration efforts on the historic Erie Canal. They were looking for volunteers to help do some major clean-up on a Saturday, so I decided to help out. It was an exciting day. My dad and I showed up at 9:00am with our work clothes and tools. In order to get to Lock 19 we had to walk 1 mile on a nature trail. Heck, I was already tired by the time I got there. As you can see from the pictures below, there was a lot of work to do. We spent most of the time removing 100 years of dirt, grass, vines, and weeds from the stone walls and walking area. We also spread mulch at the base of the lock. I had a chance to meet a lot of nice people, and felt really proud of the work we did. There is still a lot more work to do, and I hope I will have a chance to work on this project again.


Anna Williams networks at the Chamber Breakfast in Clifton Park April 2012: Now that I'm a member of the Chamber, I had an opportunity to go to a Chamber breakfast while I was on spring break. I was a little nervous but had a great time. I met many other business people from the area and they were all very nice. I was also a little embarassed when Pete Bardunias (the President of the Chamber) formally introduced me to everyone there. I hope that some of the business owners will like my products well enough that they may want to buy them as gifts for clients, customers, or their employees.
Anna Williams Meets with the President and CEO of the Southern Saratoga Chamber of Commerce March 2012: As a result of going to the Southern Saratoga Chamber of Commerce social miker, the president and CEO of the Chamber (Pete Bardunias) asked if I would be willing to meet with him at thier office on Clifton Park. He wanted to explain more about what the Chamber does for small businesses, and wanted to learn more about my pen business. The meeting went very well and Mr. Bardunias was very nice and spent a lot of time with me. He explained what the Chamber does and how it could help my business get more exposure. I'm glade to announce that after careful consideration and checking with my accountant (that's my dad for those that might not know), I decided to join. So I'm proud to announce that Pens Ink is an official member of the Southern Saratoga Chamber of Commerce.
Anna Williams is invited to the Southern Saratoga Chamber of Commerce Social Mixer at Curtis Lumber March 2012: This month has been very exciting! The Southern Saratoga Chamber of Commerce invited me to their social mixer on March 8th. They asked me to display my pens and other products, do some demonstrations on my lathe, and bring plenty of business cards to network. They initially thought there would be about 100 business members there, but there was actually over 300 members present for the night. I had a great time talking to everyone about my pens, and the process of making them. I sold a couple pens, received a custom order, and promises of orders in the future. The night couldn't have gone better. I was approached by Success Magazine Ltd. who is interested in doing an article on Pens Ink. We will have to see if that happens. Also, the president of the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County was interested in learning more about my business and wants to talk with me further about what my plans are for Pens Ink. Regardless of where all this goes, I'm having fun and learning a lot!
A good start to 2012 January 2012 I thought business would be slow for a while after Christmas, but I was wrong! About 2 weeks into January I started getting orders again, and it has been steady through February. I have been using my time trying to figure out what new products I would like to offer everyone. After looking at a lot of different products from many companies, I have decided a few new products. In February, I plan to offer a purse hanger. This is a cool little gadget for women who don't want their purse on the floor or when there isn't enough room on the table. It is a round disk with a wrap around chain that pulls out and hangs down off the edge of the table holding the purse. The round disk has a rubber bottom that holds it in place on the edge of the table. It holds up to 8 pounds. It is available in gold and chrome, and with or without clear crystals. I can be accented with wood, acrylic, or stone and comes with a black velour cinch sack to keep it protected. The purse hanger can also be engraved. My second new product is for golfers. It is a ball divot repair tool. I thought that with such a mild winter, it would be a good time to introduce something for those golfers looking to get back out on the golf course. Each repair tool includes a built-in belt clip. This will be available in both gold and chrome finish and I can accent it with your choice of wood, acrylic, or stone. Like all my products, it can also be engraved.
December 2011 I am excited to announce that Pens Ink is now open for official business. I am now setup as a sole proprietorship with a DBA (Pens Ink), have my federal tax ID, and New York Sales tax certificate. It feels really cool to be official, but my dad said I'm not going to be as happy when it'pay my taxes. Grrrrrrr!!!! Christmas has been very busy and I have a lot of orders to fill including pens, wine toppers, gift boxes, and engraving. I have a few last minute orders as well that are a bit of a challenge trying to get them done, over to the engravers, and shipped out in time for Christmas Day. So far, I think everyone will be happy. Merry Christmas everyone!!!
November 2011 I am excited to annouce that I will be having my first offical table at St. Chritopher's Church Christmas Bazzar in Red Hook, Net York. It is only on Saturday, but I think it's a good way for me to learn what it's like and maybe my next show will be Saturday and Sunday. I'm really excited because I have a new polo shirt with my Pens Ink logo on it, and a Pens Ink logo baseball cap. I also have a 3 foot banner to hang on the front of my table. I will be bringing my lathe and doing some demos. Can't wait!!! My dad and I have a lot of work to do to be ready. I thought I would give everyone an update. I had a GREAT time!!! It took us a week to get ready for the show, but it was worth it. It was a very successful show. I met some really nice people, and many of the vendors were very nice to me and very encouraging. I also donated one of my Pens for a silent auction to benefit St. Christopher's Church.

Pens Ink donates a Princess pen to help support the local flood victims of hurricane Irene November 2011 I'm also proud to announce that I have donated one of my pens to the DeLuke Orthodontics, PC Auction Fundraiser. My orthodontist, Dr. Mike DeLuke started a fundraiser to raise money for the many families that have been severely affected by the historic floods that have hit us here in New York. Schoharie and Rotterdam Junction were hit especially hard. There are to formal organizations that have been established to distribute cash donations to these victims - Schoharie Recovery Fund and Rotterdam Junction Relief Fund. Anna October 2011 A lot has happened over the last 6 months. What started out as a hobby has been transformed into a small business for me. I started out this spring trying out my new interst in making pens. In only 6 months, I now make 5 different styles of pens and now making bottle stoppers as well. I'm still learning a lot, but getting more comfortable with the different tools, different types of turning material, and trying to stay organized. When I started, I was using traditional chisels, but now my dad is pushing me to learn how to use a carbide tip tool. Yuk! They are very sharp and work well, but it's also very easy to make a mistake and destroy a pen or wine stopper. My dad and I have had to spend some time talking about what I want to do with my business and if I'm serious about continuing. If I want to continue, I will need to setup an actual business and start paying taxes. That doesn't sound like fun.