Women seek justice after small business theft
The intrusion is forcing the small business owner to rebuild her livelihood. Police are still searching for suspects.
Fox-7 Austin
The enthusiast became Ren Cultman, a small businessman who manufactures custom pens for businesses, but received an unexpected order this spring.
Kaltman, who started the business Buckeye Pens & Gifts nearly 20 years ago after becoming obsessed with “pen spinning”, sold his products to many vice presidents of companies.
“I thought it was a joke at first,” said a cultman, who lives outside of Cincinnati. “I thought someone was holding me down.”
However, two emails from the Office of the Director of Protocols at the State Department confirmed the order. Officials wanted a pen for Vance’s office to hand out as a gift to senior officials. The order included adding a Vice President’s sticker to a wooden box that fits the pen.
Unique Trees from the Official Trees of Ohio
Cultman credits his exclusive work with the Buckeye Bar, a knotty wood that frequently grows within the state’s official tree roots. Carving can be a little more difficult, but swirling grains produce unique patterns and can include black, blue, brown, gold, and gray. It’s clean and expensive. Cultman sells pens for between $60 and $100.
The Cultman showed Enquirer’s communication, a bill and payment confirmation that showed the federal government had purchased 20 pens from him for $1,936.
State Department officials did not respond to messages seeking comment and did not have Vance’s office.
The cultmen attempt to maintain a tidy workshop in the corner of the town of freedom, which smells like sawdust. The 72-year-old cultman, a semi-retired professional photographer, said his pen-making efforts began as a hobby. But after he made 50, his wife said he should sell them at the craft show. He later added a website.
“I’m addicted,” recalled Cultman. “She asked me: “How much do these cost us and how many pens do we need?”
