There are seismic shifts afoot in the pen community. A new generation of ambitious artisans with industry-defying business models is challenging the preconceptions of what pens are, what they do, and who makes them. Michael Kahwajy-Hyland, founder and lead designer of Richmond, Virginia's Turning Point Pen Company, is part of that tectonic movement.
“I'm somebody who started with very average beginnings, but I feel called to do big things in this life,” the 29-year-old says. “I don't know what they are yet—the picture is still forming—but that gut feeling is a big driver for me.
Kahwajy-Hyland brings a unique perspective to pen making. Ethnically, his roots are German and Irish from his father's side, Lebanese from his mother's side. At James Madison University, he studied communication and Arabic language and culture while playing Division 1 soccer. He is a professional Lebanese Dabke folk dancer. He has built marketing programs for businesses like the Virginia Lottery and has a burgeoning consulting/speaking business on his concept of building a dream life and attraction messaging in business, which involves curating the words one uses in business activities to show understanding and create a genuine connection with customers and collaborators.
Kahwajy-Hyland is outspoken and proud, self-assured and message-driven, but he describes himself as a cripplingly shy child until one day, a switch just flipped.
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