Family First Inspires Entrepreneurial "Turn 2" Business
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Meet the artistic Guthrie Family; L to R are; dad: Jason, daughter: Maddie, mom: Jodie and son: Cameron! They’ve got it all going on, staying busy with careers while enjoying education, crafts,
baking, teaching, and woodworking. A close-knit hands on approach from
grandparents and parents guiding the kids, always giving Maddie and Cameron opportunities
along the path towards a successful future, no matter what they decide to
venture into.
Maddie, currently age 13, in the 7th grade, and
is multi-talented with several handcrafted abilities. Thanks to her family, Maddie’s
flair for creativity is leading into enterprising experiences.
It all began with a lemonade stand in the front yard with
brother, Cam. An entrepreneurial class followed at the Blennerhassett Middle School
leading Maddie to take it to the next level, adding Craft shows to the mix with
mom, Jodie and Grandma Debbie, yielding baked goods, paintings, yard décor
items, self-taught crochet projects, and lathe turned projects. We will get to
the turning part of the story in a moment!
Multi-gifted
Maddie; from Science Fair to a backyard tree house build was on deck, learning
beside her dad, using a Kreg
deck jig from Woodcraft for the
assist.
Speaking
of the assist, Maddie began playing softball, earning the short stop position,
and of course, dad was right by her side, helping to coach the team. Maddie and
Cam had previously been involved with Woodcraft
for the November 2017 Holiday
Gift Guide, building
a bird house (below).
And
now as they say, here is “the rest of the story”! At the age of 12, Maddie
decided to start her own business, making and selling handcrafted turned pens.
Dad invested in a Laguna
REVO 12|16 lathe, after introducing Maddie to Ben Bice; wood and turning
product manager for Woodcraft Supply, LLC. Ben took some time and taught Maddie
to turn. Ben commented, “Maddie was a quick learn, and it was a great
experience teaching someone who already had the inspiration to not only learn
to turn, but wanted to take the chance in building a business”.
In looking for a unique name for her business, Maddie ironically blended her love for softball and woodworking, referencing her softball short stop position with a “double-play” on words into the brand, “Turn 2 Artistry”!
We love Maddie’s enthusiasm and quality turnings, as she is
also testing our new product kits
and blanks, which we are featuring in our sales flyers and online marketing.
It’s a WIN-WIN!
Today,
you will find Maddie
selling her artisan-ware at Parkersburg WV’s Grand Central Mall
at the Cardinal Market.
Pens are her main attraction, however, she recently started
to add wine bottle stoppers to her line of products. Maddie creates simple to
advanced pens from Woodcraft kits, taking local special orders while
maintaining inventory and sales records. She has a special flair for combining
the blanks to each kit for a unique design. She told us, “It’s kind of like
going to Claires’ for finding matching accessories for my clothes.” She pays
close attention to what sells, to make more of those items to maximize her
profit.
Jason’s background in retail and purchasing, passes along that education to help Maddie learn the ropes. Jason stated, “I want to see the demand locally before selling in outside markets or online in conjunction with her involvement in school and sports activities and interests. Right now it’s all about having fun, learning with creativity while growing up.”
Maddie is very bright, aware and organized as to product
names, technology, requirements, building, and being a maker. I asked her, “Why
pens?” She responded, “Why not? It’s not necessarily a seasonal product, it’s
not a perishable item, has its spike sales times, but can be sold anytime.”
I’d say it is pretty remarkable at 13 years old to
understand a business concept, while having a personable customer sales
disposition with a mature character, while her dad teaches business, respect
and abilities with mom grounding it all with support and craft show skills. Maddie
is well on her way to a bright future and having fun, and creating at the
lathe. To sum it all up, it’s family team first ~ with love!
Enjoy this short video on Maddie's marketing advertising created by Maddie's uncle, Brian Guthrie.
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