We recently connected with Sean Urbanyi and have shared our conversation below.

Sean, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My hero is not one singular person, but a group of people that serve our country everyday. I grew up in a Military family, and have seen first hand the trials that Military families go through. This has led me to work very closely with many military organizations that support the families of active and retired Military members. From these organizations I have learned about hard work and dedication to serving those around you. I have learned about selflessness and sacrifice. The organizations that I have worked with have allowed me to be apart of raising money for families of military veterans, allowing me to support the people that have supported us all.

Sean, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was never that fond of academics in school, but one thing that clicked with me was my high school shop class. I remember the very first pen I made in that class, walnut with a treble clef clip. Looking back on it now, it probably wasn’t the most impressive pen, but at 16, I was amazed with what I could create with my own two hands.

Fast forward to 2018, and my wife and parents bought me my first lathe. I started making pens almost every day, learning the best way to turn them and the materials that worked the best for me. With that first lathe, PenAddictInk was born. Then I started thinking bigger, what if I could create more products that people loved.

In 2021 I branched out into making charcuterie boards, custom cutting boards, knives, bottle stoppers and so much more. My main goal was to make items that people loved and would want to pass down to their kids and grandchildren. We officially rebranded as PAI Woodworking, we kept our original initials, but wanted to encompass everything we made.

I think one thing that is important to note about me, is that everything that I do is made and done solely by me. Nothing is outsourced, nothing is done by an employee. PAI Woodworking is really just me and my two hands. Every item that comes out of my shop is my pride and joy.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first started PenAddictInk, my goal was to create custom pens for people to use and enjoy. However, when you make a quality product that lasts, your customer base starts to dwindle. I made the choice to branch out and try creating new items. I started small with custom wood and resin bottle stoppers, and then quickly moved into creating cutting boards and charcuterie boards. With every new item I made, there were customers that had even better ideas. That’s when we branched into our flight boards and knives. With all of those changes, I knew that I also had to change the imagine of my brand, and so PAI Woodworking came to be in 2021.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I started my business in 2018 while I was still working full time, but during 2020 I lost that full time job and realized that it was the time to start really focusing on my business. PAI Woodworking started out small, just doing local farmers markets and vendor fairs. Slowly word of mouth got around and we were getting more custom orders than ever. I knew at that point I needed to have an online presence, I tried all of the websites like Facebook and Etsy to sell my products, but the market was over saturated. I instead went ahead and created my own website, and from there business has been booming.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paiwoodworking.com
• Instagram: @paiwoodworking
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PAIWoodWorking

Image Credits
Sean Urbanyi – PAI Woodworking