Johnston Youth's Pens Make a Mark at Johnston Farmers' Market

Bullets, corn cobs and spare pieces of wood.

Those are just a few of the materials Jesse Balmer uses to craft his one-of-a-kind pens.

The beauty of his product isn't surprising to people, it's the fact he's only 12 year old and running his own business.

So far this summer, Pens by Jesse has been a hit at the this year.

"We've sold about 15 pens so far," he said while working the market earlier this week. "I've sold about 45 of them all together outside the market."

Jesse's entrepreneurial endeavor began this past February.

"My dad taught me how to do it," he said. "I've made about 90 since then."

To make the pens, Jesse takes a block of wood, acrylic or other material and cuts it for both lengths of the pen.

Then he turns the material on a lathe to make the rounded finish.

Next he adds the pen hardware.

Jesse receives the majority of his materials from The WoodSmith Store and online.

The entire process takes about an hour to an hour and a half per pen, he said.

He sells the pens for $40 each.

Each pen is unique.

"Some have bullet casings, one's supposed to be from the Civil War," he said. "One pen clicks like a gun mechanism."

The idea to sell the pens came when Jesse had decided to give a pen to his brother for his birthday.

"I showed people and they wanted to buy them, so why not?" he said.

To expand from selling to friends and the family dentist, Jesse contacted Judy Anderson, the Johnston Farmers' Market coordinator, about hosting a booth this summer.

"He did it all himself," Vicki, Jesse's mom said. "He did all the research. He's a good little salesman."

Customers stopping by Jesse's booth are usually surprised to find out where the pens come from.

"Yeah, a lot of them are surprised," he said. "They ask who made them and I say 'I did'."

This year's success has Jesse looking to next summer, already.

"I'd like to continue making things," he said. "I'll probably come again next year."

The Johnston Farmers' Market is open from 3 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays in the parking lot.