Editing The Pen Addict 174/transcript (section)

== Silver Hand Studio ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right. So Chris, let's get into some silver hand studio stuff. I want to know, how did this happen? Like, how did, how did this get started? This isn't like something you just like, you know, you wake up one day and say, I'm going to start making jeweled fountain pen. So give us, give us the backstory of how, how silver hand studio started and, um, what all you're doing.

'''Chris Manning:''' Yeah. Silver hand studios was a ways away from when I first started getting into making things, uh, started making jewelry, I guess around 2000. Friend of mine was teaching me how to, how to make jewelry in my spare time. I was an IT geek and I was bored of just working on virtual computers on the other side of the planet. So started making some things like this in my, in my spare time. And, uh, you know, early on, I, I focused on learning a lot of, um, a lot of weird, um, old techniques for jewelry making. And, uh, eventually I realized I could start making the pens that I couldn't afford to buy. And, uh, and so that's how the silver hand studio started. And, uh, 2007, I, I started it as a business.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So were you into pens at all before or? Oh yeah. Did you just kind of, yeah. So you, you were into pens and you took this jewelry making and you kind of applied it to, you know, something that you wanted to use for yourself, right?

'''Chris Manning:''' Absolutely. Yeah. I've been making, I've been using a fountain pen since I was a kid. Uh, I, I had bad hand cramps writing in high school with, uh, with sticks. So I ended up, um, getting my mom's fountain pen and, uh, that, you know, that sort of solidified me using them. I, I've never gone back since then. And, uh, yeah, this, this allowed me to start making, uh, start making the ones that I wanted.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So I'm fascinated with like the very beginning, like, so you were, you were making jewelry kind of, you know, learning your way through that, right? You were working with someone and then what, I can't imagine what like the trial and error to get like your first product out there. What, what, what was that process like? It just seems like, it seems daunting to me to be perfectly honest with you looking at your work now. It's so impressive. And I've been able to honestly, the first couple of years.

'''Chris Manning:''' Yeah. The first couple of years were miserable and some of those early pens were absolutely hideous. I wouldn't, I wouldn't fob those off on anyone now. Um, they were, they were pretty bad. Um, so yeah, it took, uh, I'd say it probably took about two, two and a half years before I had something that I was happy enough with that I'd, I'd actually sell it to somebody.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Wow. That, that's, that's amazing to me that just putting in that time and effort to, to get through that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Why were you doing it at that point? Like, were you doing it as a hobby or were you doing it to learn to be a business?

'''Chris Manning:''' No, it was entirely, it was entirely hobby at that point. And, uh, fortunately I was laid off from my IT job in the middle of 2009. And so I sat down and said, well, somebody's paying me to sit around and do nothing for a while. Let's, uh, let's see if I can do something with a business. And, uh, I haven't looked back since.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Wow. That's awesome.

'''Chris Manning:''' Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's really awesome. So let's, let's talk about the process of making one of your pens. Okay. So you make, you make the barrels, you know, I make absolutely everything on the pen, except

'''Chris Manning:''' for the nibs, the feeds and the cartridge converter, everything else I make. Gotcha.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Gotcha. Gotcha. So full barrel, full, full outside. So, you know, looking at just like the silver overlay pins, for example, um, walk me through the process, like from the design hat, cause your designs are very intricate. I like, I love that pattern style of work. Is there, is there a name for that? Is that something that you're, you know, constantly looking to, you know, create something new along those lines? Is this kind of a set thing? How, how does, how does your design process work as far as, um, creating one of these pens?