Editing The Pen Addict 235/transcript (section)

== Nakaya Pens ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, so this is this, I mean, this really not to be unfair to these other companies, but there is to me no other choice than Nakaya. Um, it's, I've held all these, I've owned all these. Um, I'd actually don't own a Carolina pen or Urushi, but I've, I've seen them at, um, at shows. I haven't, even the Danitrio I have, there's something about the Nakaya that is different. Um, and I don't know, maybe it's the story. Maybe it's the, the, the romance of it that makes it different. Um, but it's different. It just is. Um, a lot of it is that nib too. The nibs are the best in the world. And the Urushi colors are unlike any other companies. The artists that make these pens are, I'll just, I mean, it's an unfair statement, but they're more talented. Like the, I see the finish of the pens and the artwork. It's, they're unparalleled. So you pay for that, right? So it's extraordinarily expensive. It's a pen company that goes up. I don't know, 20% in their prices and people don't blink, you know, it's that good. They're legitimately good. Um, I would start there. And if you can't afford one, wait and get it. Like, don't try to placate yourself by going lower. Do the Nakaya first and then figure out if you want to try something else. My opinion, take it or leave it. But I'm, uh, I, I'm definitely on board there.

'''Myke Dudek:''' So as someone who's not bought one yet, um, but has been, obviously it's been on the radar for a long time. You know, it's just a matter of, um, you know, I'm probably in the same, uh, same boat as Myke, you know, he's had, he's had, uh, or Hurley, right. He's had the, he's had the opportunity for how many years to buy his first Urushi pen, you know, and he hasn't yet. And so, but I would definitely say like, when I decide to take the plunge on it, my first would be, uh, kind of with that Nakaya brand. Yeah. And then potentially if it's, if it becomes something that I'm really fascinated and I want to look into other brands or makers, um, you know, and then obviously you have the funds to go buy, right. Right. You know, these other, these other makers and pens, like, you know, it would be sort of start, yeah. Start with where the precedent is set. Yeah. And then you can kind of move, uh, from there. Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. Right. Like it. Yeah. I couldn't have said it better. So yeah, I think that's perfect. All right. So let's talk business. But, uh, first I want to talk about one more wonderful sponsor of this show. And this is an extremely interesting business to me and one I've supported since they started. Uh, I became aware of them because they sponsored this. So they cost me money. This episode is brought to you by foot cardigan. So I have a few questions for you. Do you want to be known as the best gift giver in the whole wide world? Have you ever wished that the sock fairy would pay you a visit? Do you want your feet to be the envy of everyone? You know, do you want awesome socks delivered to your mailbox? If the answer to any of these is yes, then foot cardigan is here to make it happen. And I mean, I think the answer to all of those questions is yes, Myke. I mean, foot cardigan delivers fun socks every month, right to your doorstep. They ensure your feet never have to be seen out in public in plain white socks ever again. The best part? You don't have to choose what pair you get. Every month you get a surprise pair in the mail and surprises are the greatest. Starting at just $9 a month, foot cardigan socks are a fantastic holiday, birthday, or any day gift. Or you could just treat your own feet to a subscription. That's what I did. There's no shame in treating yourself. Foot cardigan has socks for men, women, and kids in a bunch of different styles. So if someone you know is more of a no-show kind of sock wearer, like me, maybe want a little luxury sock in your life, then foot cardigan's got your feet covered, quite literally. Go to footcardigan.com.now and get 10% off your order with the coupon code PIN. Once again, it's footcardigan.com. Promo code PIN at checkout for 10% off any subscription. Thanks so much to Foot Cardigan for their support of this show and Relive FM. Big fan of this type of service. I wouldn't say I'm a subscription junkie. I think there's probably too much now, but when someone does it right, it kind of fits your style and needs all in one, and it's a great price. My foot cardigan subscription was $9 a month for the no-show subscription. I'm like, that's pretty cool. I'll try this out for six months and see what we got. And I got 10% off by using the coupon code PIN. So there's that. So we didn't think of the business foot cardigan, but we thought of our own businesses, Myke. And we got a bunch of questions on that. So I'm going to kind of roll this up kind of in two parts. One, let's just talk about businessy business stuff. And then we'll talk about the more fun, how things get done stuff. So I don't want to short anyone who sent in questions. So I'm going to kind of say all of y'all's names now. So Paperlate, Jason, Claire, Written and Rice, Bellrill, The Lou, Theo Lou. All y'all sent in kind of related to work stuff questions. And so I'm going to kind of combine all of these questions and see what information we can pull out on Myke here. So both you and I, this is a question from Paperlate. It says, you and I make our living from PIN stuff. Do you think the resurgence in fountain pen popularity is a fad or the market is here to stay? Both Dudek's businesses and Nock have products outside of PIN stuff. So is this diversification intentional on your part? And does it safeguard you from ups and downs on the PIN market? So take that first part first. Do you think this is a resurgence or do you think it's here to stay?

'''Myke Dudek:''' Well, I think the I guess there's a specific. The question was about a resurgence in fountain pen popularity, which I feel is a bit on the specific side. I don't know. I think my thoughts around the idea of like fountain pens and analog and pencils, you know, stuff like that.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I think it's fair to take this question as analog.

'''Myke Dudek:''' Yeah, I would agree. Yeah. I would say like fountain maybe isn't isn't isn't the only the only side of it. But like people actually kind of give a darn about what they're writing with or what they're writing on, you know, and why is that in today's market? And I feel that there's like we've been so overloaded by like digital screens and phones and, you know, always having to be connected from stuff like that. Like you kind of lose the idea of touch, you know, with things. And I mean, even though we have like touch screens and, you know, keyboards and stuff like that, it's like it's not the same. Like you over time, you start to not see your own hand. And I mean that by like writing, you know, like sort of if you're writing a check, which whoever does that anymore. Right. Like it's right. So, you know, it's like there's there's a there's a personal element of the analog side of it. That's like you being very connected to your thoughts, to I don't know. There's it's just like the tactile feel of it is something that's very, very personal. And I think that there's been a there's been a lack of that in the last, you know, say, 15, 15 to 20 years as computers, the Internet, you know, all that stuff. So I don't know to say it's a fad.

'''Myke Dudek:''' I don't know. Like I think it's like people are reaching for this because they're not finding it in the things that they're currently doing or the things that they're currently experiencing in their day to day. And so, I mean, is everybody on board with it? No, there's probably people that are like diehard, you know, pencils and pens should go away forever, you know. But like I don't know, like I don't foresee it really dying out. It might it might slow. But yeah, I see it. I see it analog probably being here to stay for sure. Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And I agree with that. And obviously we have, you know, bias towards that. You know, we obviously want it to stay. We're going to do what we can to make it stay. But the facts are that businesses in this analog market continue to grow. They keep opening. They keep expanding.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' You know, there's just more talk in general. There's more, you know, just content being created around analog things with analog tools. So I don't think it's a fad. It's also not a fast growth market. You know, it's but when the signs that you see, like I read an article a couple weeks ago where the Japanese stationary market like added on like a billion dollars in revenue over the past year from a already huge market. Like they're seeing growth in the market. You know, it's obviously not as big here in the States. But when you have businesses that were traditionally online opening brick and mortar stores, there's something to that. Like I think that's when you've gone beyond the fad stage and you're into the sustainability stage. Right. So I think it's always going to be a thing. I think it's going to continue to grow. It's never going to be, you know, the computer or the iPhone type of stuff. But it's great. People are very interested in the stuff more and more every day. And I don't think it's going anywhere. Not anytime soon. Probably not in our lifetimes. You know, until we're doing like full like holographic and completely like, you know, transporting like, you know, from the holodeck to somewhere else, then maybe it's gone. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. Yeah. So the second part of that question was our businesses, you and I, have products outside of pen stuff. So is this diversification intentional on your part? And does it safeguard you from ups and downs in the pen market? No, it's not diversification. It's not intentional. It's fun doing something we like. And it's so small. It doesn't safeguard us from anything. Our market's the pen market. And I don't know. How about you?

'''Myke Dudek:''' Yeah. Well, and I guess it's also how we look at what our products are. Like, while our products complement a pen, you know, a pen or stationary type of interest. Like, I don't know. From my side with the dudex stuff, it's like I look at it as almost more of like a lifestyle or a design type product. And I know that sounds kind of interesting because it's very functional on purpose. But it's like the idea that, you know, you could always have a, like, it's like I'm looking at it as more of an experience on the desk versus like what it serves sometimes at the same time. You know, I don't know. Like, so I don't think I've like, yeah, there's no intentional diversification there. For one, from the practicality of pen manufacturing, you know, that would be like, I guess I'm like not trying to read into that question at all. But like, right. If we're either we're making pen accessories or things that complement pens or we're making pens and like making pens is definitely definitely a bit more involved than say like making pen related stuff.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, but yeah, so Jason kind of takes this further, you know, the fad here to stay the popularity stuff.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Do you look at it or think about it differently? Like, I guess this is probably more for me. Do I look at this differently as someone who is all in on this market for their livelihood?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' You know, when you put it that way, it's like kind of scary. But the funny thing is the person I am today is the person I've been my whole life. Like I've always been the stationary nerd and I've always been passionate about those things. And I've always been passionate about pens and paper. And now, you know, over the past many years, I found an outlet to talk about those things. Like, so the next progression was for me to do that for my job. Like, you know, it sounds silly that, you know, I had to go apply for my passport the other day. And the lady asked me, what do you do? I said, I'm self-employed. She said, can you be more specific?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And that's a super hard question for me to answer, right? I can say, well, I'm a writer, a blogger, a podcaster, a manufacturer. It's like, but there's no one thing. But, you know, we talk about, you know, all these, you know, analog making a comeback. The fact is I wouldn't be fortunate enough to do what I do every day if I didn't have this digital world that allowed me to spread that word that I've always had in me. Like, so I don't fear being all in because I feel I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, like what I've always supposed to been doing with my life. So if for some reason that that craps out 10 years down the line, well, so be it. But I never I certainly don't have any fear of it because I feel like I'm getting to express me and just do it. And it feels right. So whether I am at the whims of a market, I don't really think of it that way, even though that's probably a super valid question. And I like I like that question a lot. Like that makes me really, really think that's a really good question. Like, are you all in on a fad? Like I, you know, I didn't set up a Beanie Baby marketplace. Right. So it's a little bit different. You know, I get to I get to put I get to put me into more things that I sell. You know, the pen addict is me. Knock is a piece of me. You know, I'm not reselling someone's L someone else's stuff, if that makes sense. And that's kind of like you are. I mean, you make the stuff you sell.

'''Myke Dudek:''' Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So I thought that was a super, super interesting question. I appreciate that, Jason. And hopefully I will see you in L.A. in a couple of months.

'''Myke Dudek:''' Yeah, that was awesome. That was awesome.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So Claire wants to know. And see, I said I wasn't going to say everyone's name in case I forgot them. And I've said it every single question so far. Claire wants to know what difficulties and snags have you both faced as makers? Why don't you talk about that first?

'''Myke Dudek:''' Yeah. Well, definitely like, well, for one, Dudek Modern Goods, it kind of happened. I almost say it almost happened by accident. And I've always been kind of a tinkerer, somebody that makes things or likes to try and make things. And Dudek Modern Goods really spawned as just like from a need that I had for myself. You know, and like I decided to create my own solution and, you know, like on a whim, like as something I did on a weekend, you know, like let's create something for myself to use. And then, you know, now three and a half years later, it's turned into something much, much greater than I would have anticipated. You know, I, whilst Dudek Modern Goods and the Clicky Post are a big part of my, I would call it, you know, my career, my professional life.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh, you know, you want to say brand.

'''Myke Dudek:''' My brand, you know, but I have a day job, you know, I work, you know, I have a sort of a normal job that I work as my job. In small business, sales and marketing software. And, you know, so it's like Dudek Modern Goods and the Clicky Post is something that I do as like I would consider my second job, you know, and it definitely has turned into that. And I don't say that as a like a negative thing, you know, it's a it's is it challenging? Oh, yeah, you bet it is, you know. And when I when I first started the blog in the business, you know, again, sort of by accident, I you know, my wife and I, we only had one kid. And now you're going to think we're crazy. But like, you know, three and a half years into it now we have three. So we have, you know, three little ones under the age of five that demand a lot of attention. And, you know, how do you balance all those things out, you know, and so as far as the challenges or the difficulties or the snags, my biggest ones have just been space and time. And, you know, trying to figure out how to how to how to manage all of those different hats that I have to wear, you know, as husband and dad and, you know, breadwinner and like also blogger and business owner, you know, and marketer and social media marketer and email writer, you know, like there's all those different things that sort of you wear. And so that's been the biggest thing, you know, is it's just being able to I don't know, it's it feels like I'm running pretty efficiently now, you know, but yeah, it's definitely just I would say for me, the hardest part has just been the production side of it and mixing that with kind of my day to day life and my responsibilities.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's a massive challenge. Like it's it's for real. And like when you start listing off all the extra things besides making the stuff, that's when I started giggling. It's like that that list was like five percent of it. It's so much stuff other than making of the stuff. That's that's like the biggest difficulty for me is just to not letting the small things slip. Right. And because you let too many of those slip and they just they catch up to you and they just bite you. And then then you have a bigger problem on your hands. That's kind of been the challenge for me.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' You know, aside from the whole the whole scaling thing, which is probably an entire podcast. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, that's that's a challenge. I know you and I have talked about that for sure. But, yeah, it's not it's letting that the small things not forgetting those small things because they're important. They need to be done, too. And you can get yourself in a bind if you're not paying attention to like everything, which is a really, really hard thing to do when you're in your case, a one person operation. In our case, a two person operation, these are not large operations and there's lots of little things that, you know, can fall through the cracks and you just can't let that happen. So that's a tough, tough thing.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So.