Ryan’s Journey of Roots & Jones
Ryan Jones co-founded Roots & Jones with his grandfather, Jim Cantrell. Roots & Jones starts in an old barn woodshop outside Louisville, Kentucky. A hobby, passed down from one generation to the next, became something more after Ryan’s unimaginable trek to the other side of the planet taught him to stretch out.
It was 2017, I had just finished my sophomore semester at the University of KY and my parents were in the middle of a divorce. Rather than heading home for the summer I looked for a quick exit out of town. The opportunity to reconnect with my brother living in San Francisco presented itself and I was able to land an internship at an innovation software company.
That summer in San Francisco brought something out of me. For the first time in my young life I discovered I was cut out for something different, something more than just a comfortable day job. A desire took hold in me to pursue something larger than myself and help others along the way. By the end of that summer of 2017, some ideas emerged. I left the West Coast with an intense urge to start something, and inspire others to discover the best in themselves and others.
First, it was time for me to step away from my own fears. In the summer of 2018 “risk-taker Ryan” took a solo backpacking journey throughout Southeast Asia and a motorcycle trek from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Taking giant steps out of my comfort zone took the courage to say “yes” to new things. That energy has stayed with me and propels me forward.
What I learned is this: The best experiences in life often call you to move outside your comfort zone, to feed on the marrow of life, and pursue everything new.
My trip to Asia gave me the confidence to try things with which I have no experience. I learned how to ride a motorcycle in the alleyways of Vietnam and then successfully took off on a 13-day road trip throughout the heavy traffic and dangerous roadways of the Vietnam countryside. What next?
Back to the Roots
A few months after my incredible journey, back in Kentucky, I went to my grandfather one weekend. I asked him to show me how to make a pen – and for us to do it together. It was a classic Grandpa day. The patient craftsman guiding the eager learner. Little did we know what that pen would lead to.
My Grandfather is a master woodworker, pipefitter, and plumber, who can handle pretty much anything that requires tools. He used a lathe to turn pens as a hobby for many years. But he never sold a single pen for profit. He gave them away as gifts. After a couple of weekends as his apprentice, I started turning pens myself. I was hooked to the art of pen turning.
Flash forward two and a half years. It’s the spring of 2021 and I’ve made a tough decision. Roots & Jones is by no means a side hustle, and it’s not just about the writing instruments, It’s a pursuit to expand on storytelling. Pen-making along with storytelling has become my next journey – one that I’m growing into.
In May, I bucked my very comfortable corporate day job to take Roots & Jones to the next level. No regrets. Each morning I wake up feeling that this is what I am called to do. My mission is to craft the best pens the world has ever seen, worthy of the best stories anyone can write. More than that, I want to enable a new generation of writers to pick up their pens and begin. We all have a story to write – and the story of Roots & Jones has only begun.