FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Whidden's Woodshop is launching a Kickstarter campaign for crowdfunding
and presales of its reclaimed whiskey barrel pens.
May 20, 2015
Brookhaven, PA — Whidden's Woodshop understands the appeal, not only of
alternative sales, but of its pens. As
Etsy entrepreneurs, their reclaimed wood projects have had elastic appeal, with
a nod to both artisan crafts and recycling.
The use of a crowdfunding tool like Kickstarter is both a way to measure
public interest through pre-sales and to generate funds for supplies and tools
that might otherwise go without purchase.
Whidden's “woodman”, John Shatney is hoping that the campaign will
enable his small, family business to take flight. The transition from a part-time hobby
business on Etsy to a mortar and brick store is never an easy one. A company or product must have appeal and
products that are one-of-a-kind.
Whidden's Woodshop believes they have such a product with their Whiskey
Barrel Pens.
Whiskey Barrel Pens are unique handmade items, reborn from salvaged
whiskey barrels that were once used by the Jack Daniel's Distillery and turned
into wood turned pens. Jack Daniel's
Tennessee Whiskey is the top selling American whiskey in the world, distilled
in Lynchburg, Tennessee and aged in oak barrels. Every year, millions of
barrels of this refined whiskey are produced for consumption, while the empty
barrels are then sold off for other use.
Whidden's Woodshop uses the staves from these barrels for handcrafted
pens, key rings, and other hardwood projects.
Shatney is a proponent of using salvaged, reclaimed, and other
sustainable sources for his woodworking, handpicking from local salvage
companies or collecting items along the way that he believes still has some
soul left in them for re-purpose.
Shatney finds a connectivity with woodworking that helps him to suspend
time and embrace qualities of care and refinement so often lost in modern
life. To Shatney woodworking and
reclamation go hand in hand.
“My grandfather was a woodworker and I think it's in the soul,” Shatney
says. “I look at a piece of wood and I see possibility. Wood is like people, it has a story to
tell. I'm as much a storyteller as I am
a woodworker. When I find a piece of
wood that has been used before it comes with a story. What I am doing is taking that story and
passing it along like a folk tale; putting my spin on it.”
This is the second Whiskey Barrel Pen campaign, the first being a huge
success for the Shatney family. With
this latest Kickstarter campaign their goals are to raise enough funds to be
able to fulfill the “rewards” for contributions, purchase a new lathe, a drill
press for their shop, and to provide monthly expenses for their family as they
transition from part-time to full time crafting. Rewards with this campaign include: tote
bags, key chains, ballpoint, roller ball, bolt action, and fountain pens, as
well as, any combination thereof depending upon the contribution.
“Kickstarter allows us to do more than supply ourselves,” he
explains. “It allows us to reach out and
connect with people. We build
relationships and create interest.
There is a community spirit in Kickstarter that you just cannot explain
until you participate. Our family owes a
lot to it.”
The newest campaign starts on May 18th. For more information
on the Kickstarter campaign visit: http://kck.st/1HdHXZB
Contact:
John Shatney
whiddenswoodshop@gmail.com
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