Editing The Pen Addict 304/transcript (section)

== Estabrook Acquisition ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, they had a press release and an announcement where they bought Estabrook. So, the iconic American brand that was actually bought, I'm going to guess like four years ago, three, four years ago, by a gentleman named Robert Rosenberg, who pretty much like completely destroyed any goodwill that the Estabrook name had at the time. So, when I talked to Kenro, I actually had a conference call with him about the announcement. I was like excited on hearing what they had to say and finding out what they were doing about it and how they were going to, like now they own a pen brand and they can make their own designs and things like that. And I was like, you know, it's a super positive phone call. Then we hung up from a phone call and I went and read the actual press release online. It said that Robert Rosenberg was now an employee of Kenro and I was like, wait a minute. So, I got back on the phone pretty quickly to suss this out and, you know, I think that's unfortunate. And, you know, Robert Rosenberg has not been a good steward of the pen community. He has done some very unscrupulous things and, you know, all it takes is a Google search to realize these things. So, I cannot deal with a company that employs Robert Rosenberg. So, it sucks. Like my friends work for Kenro. Carrie works for Kenro. You know, I'm good friends with Brian and Ryan and Kenro. But now Robert Rosenberg is an employee of Kenro. And, you know, it's just not something I can deal with. In my year of positivity, Myke, I have to cut out the negativity, right? So, you know, I've had to cut out someone who, you know, has always been like really good to the pen addict and good to the blog. And, you know, you get lots of promos and first looks at things. But, you know, when you associate yourself with people who, you know, I just don't want to be associated with. I got to cut that from the cue, Myke. And so, in order to keep it positive, I'm just, you know, not going to be able to do business with Kenro as long as Robert Rosenberg is an employee of there. And, you know, I'm in a position to do that. You know, I understand not every retailer can do that. You know, I'm not a retailer of their products. I'm just a blogger. Yep. But, you know, it's easy for me. I know. But it's easy for me to make those decisions. Sure. Like to keep the positivity in my life. I don't need that. And for other people, it's not as easy. I understand that. No ill will to anyone else. But, yeah, that's just one of those decisions I have to make along the lines. And it was worth mentioning for us since we've talked about him so much and the revitalization he attempted with the brand back a few years ago. So I thought it was only fair to bring this back up and go on record with where I stand on this current news. So that's that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I've put a selection of episodes linked into our show notes, which I hope would maybe try and fill the gaps in for people if you don't understand what's going on here. Like the basic timeline was everyone was excited as the brick came back. Turns out the products were bad. Turns out the guy behind it was a not nice person. So I think I've selected some episodes that should highlight that. And there's probably some running through it as well, which kind of gives some of the background. But that's the reason. It's like, you know, the product was panned and Robert Rosenberg was not happy about that. And then situations ensued between. I mean, and it wasn't just you, right? This was a problem that existed across the pen critique industry for a while. So I agree with you. It is a shame because I was excited when I heard this in the same way that I was excited the first time. Right. Like finally, someone's going to do something great with the Estabrook brand. And then it's a shame to see that maybe we'll be more of the same. It's not really... We don't know right now. We don't know. But...

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Hey, I wish them all the best. I hope they make a great pen and revitalize that brand.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yep.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Like I have no ill will towards Kenro or anything like that. It's just, you know, I only have so much mental overhead that I can pack in my brain. And having to deal with them knowing that Robert Rosenberg's an employee of Kenro, that just can't even enter my brain these days. Like it's just out.

'''Myke Hurley:''' But anyway, that's that. We don't want to, you know, we don't want to harp on about it for much longer because we don't like talking about bad stuff. So that's it. Year of positivity. Exactly. Exactly. And let me tell you about something very positive. Very positive. Oh yeah, please. This episode is brought to you by Blue Apron, the number one fresh ingredient and recipe delivery service in the country. Blue Apron delivers fresh, pre-portioned ingredients with step-by-step recipes right to your door. When you cook with Blue Apron, you're not just having burgers for dinner every day. You're making seared steaks and thyme pan sauce with mashed potatoes, green beans, and crispy shallots, all in under 45 minutes. Blue Apron delivers fresh ingredients all straight to your door with 12 new recipes every week. And you can pick two, three, or four recipes based on what fits your schedule. You can count on them for ingredients with no added hormones. You're going to get good stuff. And from April 16th to May 21st, Blue Apron is teaming up with Airbnb to bring you the best home cooking from around the world. Each week, the menu will feature a recipe delivered in collaboration with an Airbnb Experiences host. You can cook meals like steak frites with roasted broccoli and lemon aioli from Paris, roast pork and salsa verde with sautéed vegetables from Florence, beef empanadas with roasted sweet potatoes and creamy zucchini from Buenos Aires, or how about Kung Pao chicken with stir-fried snow peas and sweet peppers from Shanghai? My word, Blue Apron. You're killing me here. Doesn't that sound good, Brad?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So I don't think I talked about the specific thing last time that I got from them that was a standout. All of their meals are really good. But we had these sliders that we made, just ground beef and different things we mix in and the way you season the meat and cook all this stuff. My kids were off the chain on how good these things were and the fancy cheese that you put on there. I feel so fancy just making hamburger sliders, but they were so freaking good. My kids, we ate them all. Then the next day, it's like, you got any more of them sliders from Blue Apron?

'''Myke Hurley:''' You don't know how this works. This is not how we do this.

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