Editing The Pen Addict 310/transcript (section)

== Small Batch Makers ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' So the next group is the one that I fall into with Nock, it's the small batch and custom makers. Like, this is what we've seen, boom, right alongside the online retail is small batch and custom goods, Nock, Field Notes, you know, write story supply, Jonathan Brooks, write notepads, everything, people just start, yeah, yeah. This is a big growth area over the past 10 years. It's probably going to continue to be that way. 100%. Small niche, dedicated products. This is where you get around opening that online retail store or traditional retail store by making one thing and making it well, right? I mean, Nock makes pen cases, you know, we have other products, but we essentially, we're known for doing one thing. Yeah. Yeah, we're known for doing one thing and doing it well and that's been successful for us. You know, Field Notes does one thing and they do it well. Write notepads, Jonathan Brooks does one thing and he does it really well. And you just end up building this base of customers.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' The larger retails now want to carry your stuff and that's where I think the real inroads is, you know, there's a lot more pen makers coming out.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Right,

'''Brad Dowdy:''' and Kickstarter. Kickstarter. Yeah, Kickstarter's helped lower the cost of it. Kickstarter took away

'''Myke Hurley:''' all of the risk, right? Like, that's what that did. I think, I think that, that for me, honestly, like, we have seen an insurgence and just a, just like, an explosion in this area, I think, over the time that we have been doing the show for the last six years or whatever, that there has been just a huge, huge growth in this small batch in the, like, I make this one thing, look how great it is, I have some cool idea type thing. And I genuinely believe that that has happened because of Kickstarter. Like, that has been the thing that has either enabled people to do it or changed the mindset of people in such a way that you can pull it off. Right, so, like, even if you don't use Kickstarter, I think it's changed some of the attitudes about the types of things that people make and buy and, like, the story behind a product and all that kind of stuff. I think Kickstarter has been, like, one of the big reasons why we're in this situation that we're in now. yeah, so I think that that is just a huge element of it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right, right. So, yeah, and I see no end in that, right? There's continual need for, you know, these types of small things to solve problems, to fit people's tastes and desires, and they'll continue to be filled. And, yeah, I just see it, you know, continuing to grow. I mentioned in refill that, you know, think about the percentage of your spending and how much it has gone to this category over the last couple years and I'd have a feeling it's probably a lot, right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Oh, 100%.