Meet Steve And Nancy Montgomery

We recently connected with Steve And Nancy Montgomery and have shared our conversation below.

Steve and Nancy, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?

Looking at an event with many vendors, there are so many amazing talents to be shared! There’s people who cook, people who paint, people who quilt, people that sell amazing natural minerals or all the representatives that are charismatic and are able to promote their national brands of products!
We on the other hand, look at all the amazing talent of woodworkers! After laboring for 3 years we know how much time it takes to make those expensive cutting boards! We know what it’s like to make small furniture! And we know, that people want to have a one-of-a-kind piece of art!
So we were encouraged by a family member early on to get a small 5 watt laser to help embellish and finish a small wooden piece.
We took it one step further by being able to bring that five watt laser to each and every show so that the items we bring to sell are only halfway completed. We work with the client right there at the event for their final personal touch. They design with us by a photo, a particular font, or a special saying in their family that makes their gift one of a kind!
By giving the client the opportunity to design with us, it’s something that they wouldn’t have done just walking by our booth. They have the opportunity to try their hand at something new, creative and make it their own outstanding gift to give for their next event!
Yes at that point, we are the only one in that room, or that event that has the opportunity to captivate our audience into something surreal! We often ask did you plan on doing this today? And they reply no, we didn’t know you were here! But we will now order all of our gifts from you from now on! Where can we find you, when will you be back and can we do this again?!
That makes us feel so excited not only for our business but for their opportunities to come back and create more with us! Being the only one in the room with a laser? Now that is truly creative when people get to experience the event with us!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

First of all, our true passion was handcrafted pens. Each of our pens carries its own frequency, hand grip and signature. Each are one of a kind art style. We try and record many of our lathe turnings in the form of photos,and videos to share. Final pictures are shared so that each pen may have its own story to tell. Each pen is individual in Wood choice and style. There are no two pens in our library that are the same. We would love to do more of the art that comes in pen making in our community or share in other art exhibits throughout the state. There is such a passion for pen collection that we know many of our followers are looking for the next new thing that comes out of Pops woodshop. We want to continually share the creative experience with them as new items are added weekly.
But with that comes other woodworking items that people just adore that we keep as a staple in our business. The fascination of backyard farming has become more and more evident over these recent years. So we carry ranch signs for small animals. We carry 18 count countertop wooden egg holders. And of course, where would we be without the thousands of coasters we design for businesses, gifts and house items.
These coasters have been quite an influence on what we are known for in the vending events. Many of our local community vendors enjoy having their logo and design put on a coaster and they probably display them at their tables and with family and friends. These coasters have become trophies at many different events instead of ribbons and pieces of paper. Large sums of these coasters have been sold in a bulk discounted rate for large business events as gifts at each place setting. In the past several years The coasters have been an ideal gift to share because they can quickly be used with a picture of a beloved dog, grandchildren, ranch brands and business logos. Because our laser is used exclusively at our events people come waiting in line to get things made for a fraction of the cost of what it would be to order something online and have it shipped to them. Children come with specific ideas of a coaster to put by their bedside. And people come to buy sets of coasters for gifts for retired friends and people that have it all. What better gift than custom lasered coasters with something very specific and meaningful and personalized. We wrap up each and every single piece that we sell with a little bit of tissue paper and put it in a gift bag. That makes each and every customer no matter how great or small feel like they have the perfect gift from the Woodshop!
Another thing we’ve recently added is our art from Black Walnut. We’ve been using repurposed black walnut pieces from small things like bird door stoppers to small pieces of art to large pieces of expressionable grained art. Every person wants to have something that’s one of a kind and affordable. Something they can look at for hours on end and each time they look at it it expresses itself in its own natural beauty. We’re developing quite a variety of black walnut pieces that also include coat racks for the hallway with expressions of endearment, a family name and even pictures of their own home or savored scenery from off their front porch.
We definitely would like to expand into the art world so that these one-of-a-kind pieces are available to more people with an eye to nature.
We try and run specials throughout the year so that no item is ever beyond affordability for our community of regular folks. There’s nothing worse than feeling that customized work is beyond the common person. We would gladly share our joy of creating with the joy of someone purchasing our products because they’re absolutely in love with it!
Can each person say, this was a Pops Pens Original. Our brand name should say it all in that it is created for each and every individual person. Many people that buy gifts say that they are now keeping it for themselves. Repeat customers come back bringing new family members and friends back with them. And of course we hope to encourage the young people that come and that design with us to think of all the opportunities ahead in the art world that they can do.
We are always excited to share our art and products with the community. They’re recycled, repurposed so others can rejoice over getting a fine piece of woodworking!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Our first bit of knowledge that we needed more help with was found on youtube, tick tock and video reels. Because we wanted to do other features to our pencraft. We watched other Craftsman in how they put their special spin on their products. Although most Craftsmen don’t divulge their secrets, it gave us the knowledge of how we wanted to proceed with designs and finishes to make our pen stand out in the industry.

Another bit of knowledge we had was that we couldn’t make everything just because it’s made out of wood. Often times clients would ask us to make certain items. It wasn’t time or cost-effective for us to spend that much time in design and fabrication. Many times we were comfortable on some of those types of projects to say, I’m sorry but we’re not making these at this time.. by doing some research we could find out how much an item would cost on other retailer outlets. Many retailers already sell these things in mass quantities from factories all over the world. We aren’t the type of wood shop that does mass quantity. Having a few templates for our favorite items has always been a good idea but because we are a smaller shop we aren’t distributing to places like Amazon throughout the world at this point.
And third, we look around at our other vendors we see that there’s plenty of people that enjoy woodworking. Some of them are absolutely marvels at these expensive butcher block type cutting boards. Some do a phenomenal job at photo frames or finished furniture. By setting limits as to what we want our Woodshop to do we allow the other vendors to use their craftsmanship in a non-compete community. Many of us get to enjoy the same vendors events without competing against each other. By using our laser method at the events it sets us apart from other companies. We want to bring the hands on design ability right to the show. We see the smile on our clients faces as they get immediate customer service from our events. That instant gratification gives us encouragement to move forward in designing and fabricating other products or making sure that we have products in our events for the clients to personalize.
These knowledges add to our skill in advancing our journey in a bold way on a weekly basis.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

One of the things we have always meant for our business to be was to have reoccurring orders from other businesses or partners. We’re in several local shops supporting their logos or our items for their business benefit. We can afford to give them a discounted rate to encourage other business into their business goals.
Community partnership for small businesses is very important. Being a team player in your community is a win for everyone!
We definitely would like to reach out into the art world and have a specific home for our pieces of the black walnut. These are beyond beautiful when it comes to style, fabrication and original art. There are no other pieces such as these on the market.
Pops pens are a feature all by themselves also. The quality and art form are one of a kind. In a world that’s no longer writing in cursive these pens are becoming more and more a piece of emotional art the professionals are holding on to with pride.
Could we partner more, absolutely! Are we always reaching out trying to connect with people? We would like more opportunities to do so. Sometimes we are an awesome fit with other clients. And sometimes we would like to try our hand at something out of our comfort zone that we know would be a good fit for another custom businesses.
Could we use some guidance from someone in the art world? We would love to find somebody who would direct us in our next step. Believing in our product is a great thing. Others believing in our product helps get us noticed and in the door for new opportunities for a bold journey.
Even though we’re older, we are open for new opportunities. What started out as a hobby now it’s become a focus for the family. From our granddaughter who is 9 years old we all work in the business together. The youthful energy of our daughter and her skills in marketing and social media make it easier for us to navigate the technology needed to reach out with our products. And the wisdom and skill level of achieved over these past several years proves that we can do this business on a fuller scale than what was started out nearly 4 years ago.
So thank you for being one of our many shops that carry our products! Thank you for believing in US that we carry items that fit your business goals. Thank you for letting us put your logo on many of our items to share the journey together.
If you would like to partner with us for future goals and business opportunities we would love to hear from you! Everyone deserves to have an original Pops Pens Woodshop piece.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: Pops_Pens
• Facebook: Pops Pens Woodshop
• Linkedin: popspenswoodshop.com
• Yelp: popspenswoodshop.com
• Other: TicToc
  Pops_pens

Image Credits

Stephanie Vassar
Nancy Montgomery