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.
