This month's featured shop is jenspens.etsy.com. Shop owner Jenni creates hand-turned pens and other woodworking gifts. After watching an episode of New Yankee Workshop during which Norm was performing wood turning, Jenni wondered if she could do it, too. Practice makes perfect for Jenni, who is a self-taught wood turner. She bought her first lathe at an estate auction for a dollar. Acrylic pens take a bout a half hour to do the actual turning; wood pieces are done a little faster because wood turns easier than acrylic. Jenni typically draws inspiration for her finished project as she is turning it. Woodworking magazines offer some inspiration, but most of her pieces are trial and error and a little bit of luck. She has been turning regularly for approximately two years. 
Jenni discovered Etsy about a year and a half ago. Although she has a shop on Artfire.com, she focuses primarily on her Etsy shop, where she enjoys all the people she has met and continues to meet. The biggest challenge she faces is advertising as well as the actual business management aspect of having an Etsy shop. Admittedly, she hasn't found a way to completely overcome those challenges, but keeps working on improving her business skills and conquering that obstacle. Giving up doing what she loves is not an option. Most of Jenni's creations are born while her daughter naps during the day and after she goes to bed at night. Finding balance between creating and family is also a challenge at times. Jenni is a full time medical biller which sometimes limits her time to craft.
Jenni has a beautiful 2 1/2 year old daughter named Payton that she loves spending as much time with as possible. She has been married to her husband Matt for 7 years. Together, the family lives in Northwest Ohio where they have lived all their lives. Matt loves to farm and hung in his spare time. Jenni also enjoys a little hunting but finds spending "hunting time" with her daughter instead to be much more preferable to standing in the cold water hunting. Currently, she is looking forward to the possibility of going back to school to learn more about computers and technology which she loves. "I am very excited to see what the future holds for me and my family and am enjoying the ride there!"