![Layers of Talent: River City Pen Company](https://cdn.magzter.com/1438206150/1718730465/articles/3aKgOovcQ1718775505851/LAYERS-OF-TALENT-RIVER-CITY-PEN-COMPANY.jpg)
As the manager of an educational program promoting home health and safety to families with children, Rich Paul needed to communicate that even the smallest irregularity can have unforeseen consequences. Then, of course, the pandemic intervened, and Rich suffered one of those unforeseen consequences due to the program's loss of funding. After the pandemic, he was reinstated as a food safety program manager that evaluates new restaurant plans. In a restaurant, a single source of bacteria can contaminate the entire kitchen, so Rich and his team anticipate lurking problems.
Rich has always enjoyed working with his hands. For years he exhibited at crafts shows, having made everything from six-pack beer carriers to bowls to trays. His work in wood sold well. A friend suggested he try making pens.
In Rich's own words, "I had zero interest in making a pen." It would mean buying more equipment and a significant change to his workflow.
One day that friend showed up at lunchtime, brought his small lathe, and set it up in Rich's workshop. When Rich made that first pen, he was immediately hooked. Several weeks later, Rich bought his first lathe and began producing kit pens, which he sold at regional art shows. Business looked promising, especially after he began making pens of his own design in varied materials. In December 2018, he established River City Pen Company, primarily offering custom pens. In April 2020, he planned to exhibit at the Atlanta Pen Show, his first, but the COVID lockdowns intervened. Always an optimist, Rich created a website and began selling online. Four years later, his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based River City Pen Company is thriving.
After settling on pen making, Rich felt his identity was liberated. His company's name seemed to reflect this new attitude: he was no longer a general woodworker, he was a pen maker.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av PEN WORLD.
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av PEN WORLD.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![Show Your Summer Style](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/10897/1737192/KAYSocCzc1718780434803/SHOW-YOUR-SUMMER-STYLE.jpg)
Show Your Summer Style
The newest Visconti Homo Sapiens, Iris Garden, is a tribute to the beautiful irises that bloom each spring in Florence, Italy's Iris Garden.
![Good Made Better Keeps Getting Better](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/10897/1737192/VOHAx0gRQ1718775791991/GOOD-MADE-BETTER-KEEPS-GETTING-BETTER.jpg)
Good Made Better Keeps Getting Better
SUZANNE C. LEE tests Dan Keller's wood and metal reading and writing accessories and finds her childhood dream desk come to fruition.
![Layers of Talent: River City Pen Company](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/10897/1737192/3aKgOovcQ1718775505851/LAYERS-OF-TALENT-RIVER-CITY-PEN-COMPANY.jpg)
Layers of Talent: River City Pen Company
With his skills in design and eye for details, Rich Paul crafts pens that are as beautiful as they are functional.
![Fathoming the Unfathomable](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/10897/1737192/YRJouJB_81718775174577/FATHOMING-THE-UNFATHOMABLE.jpg)
Fathoming the Unfathomable
The new Kanilea Pen Co. Blue Moana fountain pen and Mau Loa cap band are inspired by the ocean's depths and universal interconnectivity.
![Truphae: Flexibility Is Key](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/10897/1737192/3KUl0DWdB1718778043639/TRUPHAE-FLEXIBILITY-IS-KEY.jpg)
Truphae: Flexibility Is Key
This young pen shop is writing a new chapter in retail pen sales by finding unique ways to foster community.
!["Winter Counts:" Transforming Non-fiction into Fiction](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/10897/1737192/74BFREz001718779953791/WINTER-COUNTS-TRANSFORMING-NONFICTION-INTO-FICTION.jpg)
"Winter Counts:" Transforming Non-fiction into Fiction
Creative writing typically blends what we know and experience with what we invent and imagine.
![Swivodex, Sailors, and the Plastic Revolution: An Overview of Dip-less Desk Sets, Part V](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/10897/1737192/ePL_DEZBg1718778321343/SWIVODEX-SAILORS-AND-THE-PLASTIC-REVOLUTION-AN-OVERVIEW-OF-DIPLESS-DESK-SETS-PART-V.jpg)
Swivodex, Sailors, and the Plastic Revolution: An Overview of Dip-less Desk Sets, Part V
The end of World War II ushered in a new era, with plastics technology opening the way to better and less costly products of all sorts.
![The Mystery of the Purloined Parkers](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/10897/1737192/fo4C-TujL1718778867724/THE-MYSTERY-OF-THE-PURLOINED-PARKERS.jpg)
The Mystery of the Purloined Parkers
What do G-men, mobsters, and tampons have in common? The two most epic fountain pen heists in history.
![The Other Articles of Impeachment](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/10897/1737192/tlnfkvZqb1718779564311/THE-OTHER-ARTICLES-OF-IMPEACHMENT.jpg)
The Other Articles of Impeachment
\"Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! All persons are commanded to keep silent, on pain of imprisonment...\"
![The Road to Recovery](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/10897/1737192/L39SUw0h01718774764583/THE-ROAD-TO-RECOVERY.jpg)
The Road to Recovery
A recent trip to Wajima, Japan, by TACCIA's Shu-Jen Lin shows tragedy in the present but hope for the future.