Pengi Wynn customizes almost anything
By Nick Ng
Scripps Ranch resident Eric Morgan can craft customized messages and designs with a laser onto almost anything.
Co-founded with his wife, Jacqueline, in early 2019, Pengi Wynn started after Eric helped local Girl Scouts with different crafts, such as making SWAPS. After he engraved, cut out and distributed them during the Scouts’ bridging ceremony, he realized there was much potential to do more.
“It started basically as a hobby doing fun stuff for the Scouts,” Eric said. “And then we went all the way. We can do this, and we can engrave bottles. It just kind of moved on from there.”
When Eric first got the CO2 laser machine, he tinkered with different types of materials and designs. He enjoyed doing it so much that he started the business and tried to make a living out of it.
People began to notice his handiwork on social media and asked him if he could create customized engravings onto various household objects, like water bottles, coffee mugs, wine glasses and even magnets for wedding invitations.
The CO2 laser machine can engrave designs and text onto a variety of surfaces, including stainless steel, glass, wood, stone and plastic.
Eric said that there is no formula or “special technique” to do the engraving because he receives random assignments.
He learned to use the laser and engraving techniques from YouTube and he refined his skills by trial and error. Jacqueline helps with the designs, especially with the woodworking.
“For every material, you basically have to find the ‘magic settings,’” Eric said. “There’s no easy way like this [method] works for everything. It’s very hard.”
The cost of the engraving depends on how detailed the design and artwork are, and the size of the final product.
Magnets with customized engravings cost a little more than $1 per unit while one engraved water bottle is about $30 – bottle included. Eric also has made customized Nespresso holders, stencils for concrete work, wooden signs, graduation picture frames and desktop LED lights.
“I’ve done weird projects like making an escape room,” Eric said. “They wanted thick pieces of wood that were cut into shapes of different objects, like a lemon or peppermint candy. That ended up being a couple of hundred dollars because of all the details they wanted and the time it took [to make].”
The name Pengi Wynn is a combination of Eric and Jacqueline’s gamer tags. After they got married, they had a joint username on their Xbox account. Jacqueline put “pengi” and Morgan followed with “wynn,” which is his middle name.
They thought it was cute because their username sounds like “penguin,” and later they decided to use it for their business.
Eric wants to help local schools and communities with their fundraising and similar events by using his engraving skills. One project he would like to do is to engrave trophies for sports teams in different local colleges and schools.
“I helped a ton with my daughter’s elementary school. I was there every day. I ran the school garden for five to six years,” he said. “I always enjoy helping people in the community.”
Pengi Wynn Inc. can be reached by phone at (858) 746-6253. Email support@pengiwynn.com or visit pengiwynn.com.
