From Big Tech to keepsakes: Meet the 'elderpreneur' making heirlooms in Smithfield
SMITHFIELD, N.C. (WTVD) -- Down a dirt road, hidden away in the woods of Johnston County, sits a workshop that feels like the opposite of the tech industry Jud Patterson spent his first career in.
There are no server racks or conference calls here -- just mugs, Tshirts, soaps, ornaments and the quiet hum of a man doing exactly what he wants to do.
"Come on in and visit my workshop," Patterson says with a wave, the kind of easy hospitality that makes you forget you're talking to a 71yearold who once helped connect the world at IBM and Nortel Networks.
The Elderpreneur
It's a term Patterson actually coined himself.
"I call myself an 'elderpreneur,'" he says with a grin. "Someone who used to be in corporate life but took a turn toward entrepreneurship - but later in life. So following a dream."
That turn came the hard way. After long stints at IBM -- including four years posted in Japan -- and later at Nortel Networks, Patterson got laid off in 2001. The telecom industry was cratering after 9/11, and the small tech company he'd jumped to shortly before was on its way to shutting down entirely.
He considers himself lucky.
"Getting laid off helps," he says with a laugh.
The beer that started it all
Free from the corporate world, Patterson did what most creative people do when given time and space: he started tinkering.
One day, driving home and halflistening to a Sam Adams radio commercial, he wondered what a hop actually looked like. That simple question set off a chain of events that would shape the next 20 years of his life.
His first idea was a hopshaped container called the Bar Hopper, designed for local bars. But a patent attorney pushed him to think bigger.
"He said, 'You know, you can do a bar hopper and put it in every bar. But if you do a beer hopper, you can put it in every hand,'" Patterson recalls. "So I got a patent on it."
The result was the Beer Hopper -- a heartshaped beer glass with a smooth panel for custom etching. Patterson taught himself glass etching to personalize each piece, a skill that became the foundation of his business.
"That was the beginning of this endeavor," he says.
Today, Patterson's workshop is filled with items that defy easy labels: mugs, coasters, throw blankets, soaps with custom wrappers, bleachdyed Tshirts, engraved glassware and porcelain ornaments. What connects them isn't the product -- it's the intention behind them.
"I like to say that I create heirlooms," Patterson says.
In contrast to fast fashion and disposable goods, his work is meant to last. His "Memories of Smithfield" and "Memories of Hartsville" collections turn iconic local imagery into mugs and coasters, striking a chord with people who want to hold onto places that shaped them.
"I took some of the iconic pictures of businesses that I remember growing up and made mugs out of them -- a collage of businesses," he says of his Hartsville collection. "When I got those online, a lot of people that remember those things wanted those coasters because they're a great memory."
The state of North Carolina runs through nearly everything he makes.
Patterson's Tshirts are made using a bleaching solution instead of ink or dye, creating designs that won't crack or peel. Each shirt features a state silhouette filled with words -- like "Carolina in My Mind" for North Carolina or "Georgia on My Mind" for Georgia.
A minor in music at Ole Miss in the 1970s, Patterson says the musical themes come naturally.
That same local focus runs throughout his work. He collaborates with North Carolina artists like Alan Montague, translating their paintings onto mugs and magnets. His soaps are made in Raleigh. His throw blankets come from Lynn, North Carolina.
"I put my creative design powers to work with base products that are made in North Carolina," he says. "I've been in North Carolina more than I've been anywhere else. I can't even imagine not living here."
Patterson's biggest focus right now is the nation's upcoming 250th birthday.
To mark the milestone, he's producing a limited run of porcelain ornaments shaped like the United States, with the American flag superimposed across each one.
"I'm going to do up to 5,000 of them and that's it," he says. "And then I have a little certificate that identifies the number. There won't be more than 5,000."
He likes the math behind it. With about 360 million Americans, that means roughly one in 70,000 people will ever own one. That kind of scarcity is intentional - and, to Patterson, it's what turns a product into a keepsake.
Something for us, too
When Patterson heard an ABC11 crew was coming by, he didn't waste any time.
"So here we go -- this is your mug going in right now," he says, firing up his engraving equipment before we'd even set down our gear.
The result: a custom mug etched with the NC Made logo and the ABC11 name -- the kind of piece you don't hide in the back of a cabinet.
As for what's next, Patterson says slowing down isn't really an option. But he is thinking about legacy. He hopes someone will eventually come along to learn the craft and help carry the load as he gets older.
"I can't imagine just sitting around," he says. "I'm always going to be doing something like this."
For now, from his workshop down a dirt road in Smithfield, the elderpreneur keeps making things worth keeping.
Jud Patterson's work can be found at judsdesigns.com
