Native present and jewellery store Son of a Sailor in Dignowity Hill on the East Aspect has grown and expanded far past its San Francisco and Austin roots.
Owned and operated by Billy and Jessica Knopp, Son of a Sailor is made distinctive by its components of leather-based equipment, hand-crafted jewellery, artwork prints, residence items and extra.
The shop’s title stems from Billy’s time serving within the Navy. “We used to have extra summary nautical affect in our stuff, and it nonetheless comes out in our area so far as colour blocking, which is paying homage to sign flags,” Billy mentioned.
“Individuals at all times ask if he’s the son of a sailor and I’m like nope, he’s the sailor and I assume this retailer has grow to be our son,” Jessica jokes.
Jessica recollects her first time assembly Billy, “My roommate was (Billy’s) faculty buddy and he got here to San Francisco to go to her. He confirmed up and introduced items for everyone, which proved to be a standard thread of who he was. We met, dated lengthy distance for 10 months after which he roped me again into transferring to Texas.”
Shortly earlier than Jessica’s transfer to San Marcos, “Billy acquired injured at his job, so after I got here again, we had all this time on our arms and we began making jewellery,” Jessica mentioned. “In Might of 2011, it went from us doing inventive tasks on the ground in San Francisco and advanced into my buddy telling us to place our stuff on Etsy. By August, we have been doing nicely sufficient that we thought we should always give the store a go.”
Billy additional elaborated on the shop’s beginnings, “We examined it out for 3 months, and it simply stored rising. The mixture of Etsy and promoting our jewellery in shops was sufficient for us to stop our part-time jobs.”
In February 2014, Son of a Sailor moved into its first official area at Cover in downtown Austin. “We outgrew our first area fairly shortly and moved into the subsequent area within the Austin space, which we might have for eight or 9 years.”
The Knopps moved from Austin to San Marcos in 2016 and opened a second store in San Marcos that was open for 2 years earlier than closing in February 2020. After six years in San Marcos, the Knopps determined they needed a quicker tempo, which prompted their transfer to San Antonio in 2023.
“Once we lastly acquired our San Antonio retailer up and working, we have been prepared and in a position to shut our Austin store in April, which implies we at the moment are absolutely situated in San Antonio,” Jessica mentioned.
The San Antonio location celebrated its 1-year anniversary in April.
Son of a Sailor sources the leather-based used for his or her merchandise from an American tannery, Wickett & Craig. Hides are minimize, painted and stitched to create distinctive items akin to key chains, customized canine collars, bracelets, wallets, sheaths and extra.
To create their jewellery, Son of a Sailor has 14k gold-filled chains, together with bronze and sterling, in addition to an assortment of vibrant gems, glass beads and Greek ceramic beads.
“I feel artwork and design and having enjoyable in these realms is absolutely necessary. We do one thing that’s meant so as to add high quality, enjoyable, taste and persona to life,” Jessica mentioned. “There’s a nice appreciation for handmade gadgets right here at Son of a Sailor. It’s enjoyable to interact individuals with our stuff, and we provide customized colour picks and the selection of a customized beading part in your everlasting jewellery.”
Prospects at this store will “hopefully stroll away with a smile, a present for whoever they’re getting it for, completely satisfied and possibly they stroll away with a buddy from Son of a Sailor,” Billy mentioned.
Son of a Sailor
904 Nolan, sonofasailor.co
