Brighten your space. That’s the tagline for Rowan College at Burlington County alum and NJ STARS scholarship recipient Nicholas Klahn’s laser engraving business Etchistry. During quarantine, Klahn has been hard at work designing and developing new products combining pop culture, astrology, chemistry and iconic locations with LED light technology. His engraved acrylic and glass pieces bring customers’ favorite imagery into a new light.
Klahn, of Palmyra, earned his associate degree from RCBC in 2019. Although he initially started as a biology major in the hopes of eventually earning a medical degree, he was drawn to organic chemistry while taking esteemed professor Terry Sherlock’s class. He switched his major to biochemistry during his final semester at RCBC.
“Most of the memorable experiences at RCBC were through my classes,” Klahn shared. “I found that it was really easy to form a relationship with my teachers since the classes weren’t that big. They really do try to help you both inside of their class and outside. I also liked how diverse the school was. Unlike a four-year school, quite a few people in my classes were coming back to school and trying to get a higher education for the first time after already being out in the workforce. It brought many broad and differing experiences that you can’t really find anywhere else.”
A current biochemistry student at Rowan University, Klahn hopes to someday conduct research that combines his love for chemistry and biology, specifically to create bio-derived materials or fuels. So, how did he arrive at producing engraved lights? To put it simply, his curiosity got the best of him. When a friend suggested that he buy the lights, he decided to find out how they were made instead.
“It didn’t seem like it was too daunting of a task, and I enjoy challenging myself,” Klahn said. “I was already proficient in image editing software from previous personal projects, so transferring those skills to this new project was a piece of cake. The machine I use is a carbon dioxide 40watt laser. It’s basically like a printer, except more complicated and dangerous. So, all I need to do is draw out the image, convert it to a laser file, then place my material into the engraver and let the computer take it from there. There’s been a lot of refinements and lessons learned to get to the quality I’m comfortable with, but I would say that it was all worth it to be able to hold something that I created.”
Throughout the process, he’s also increased his marketing savvy by interfacing with business owners regarding branded merchandise and polling Rowan University students to assess their product preferences and interest level.
“I have no issues at any step in the process; I’m able to source, design, manufacture and ship,” Klahn shared. “The only issue would be that I can only do one light at a time, so it can be a little slow. Since I’m pretty small at the moment, this hasn’t been an issue, but I am willing to buy more lasers to meet demand if it comes down to that.”
In addition to his ready-to-ship offerings, Klahn provides custom design options to fit a variety of customer preferences. View his full array of retail products at etchistry.square.site.