Son of a Sailor’s Jessica Knopp talks community building on San Antonio’s Eastside and the art of gift-giving

Jessica and Billy Knopp own San Antonio retailer Son of a Sailor. Credit: Carily Osborn

Self-described “serial entrepreneur” Jessica Knopp started her first jewelry line when she was in the 8th grade. She used supplies that she toted around in a Caboodles organizer.

“My mom recently showed me she still has a pair of those earrings,” Knopp told the Current from her studio in Dignowity Hill. “So I’m recreating them in sterling silver for her this holiday.”

A lifelong maker and traveler with roots in Austin, she met her husband Billy Knopp while living in San Francisco.

“He came to visit my roommate and it was just kismet,” Knopp explained. “The first day we hung out, we did a creative project on the floor of my apartment. From the get, we were making things. He showed up with gifts for everybody. He’s literally the best gift-giver I’ve ever met.He keeps sentimental tchotchkes in the top drawer of his dresser and every time we go somewhere, he spends a minute up there trying to see if he has the perfect thing for the person we’re going to see. He gifts beautifully. And to make a long story short: we parlayed that into a business.”

Launched in 2011 in the East Austin creative complex Canopy, the couple’s business is Son of a Sailor — a concept that’s been energizing San Antonio’s Dignowity Hill since 2023. An organic hybrid of retail and makerspace, the store builds on the strengths of its founders, who work collaboratively to design and produce leather goods, jewelry, gifts and home accessories.

With a name that nods to Billy Knopp’s Navy years, Son of a Sailor is a key component of a historic strip center that’s also home to the breakfast mainstay Panchos & Gringos, the veteran-owned Blue Falcon bar, a satellite location of Traveler Barbershop and the local food trucks EastSide Provisions and Del Otro Lado.

“My partner [Michael Castaneda] and I wanted a place that directly connects and supports the people in our neighborhood,” building co-owner and Dignowity Hill resident Alexander Perez said. “Jessica and Billy embody that philosophy. … In this world where everything is cheap and disposable, Son of a Sailor is exactly the opposite. It’s a return to a need to know and appreciate where the products and items [come from that] you interact with daily and give as gifts to loved ones.”

We recently sat down with Son of a Sailor co-founder Jessica Knopp to quiz her about what brought the duo to San Antonio, the workflow in their hybrid space and the art of giving a truly thoughtful gift.

Son of a Sailor is a key component of a historic strip center that’s also home to the breakfast mainstay Panchos & Gringos, the veteran-owned Blue Falcon bar, a satellite location of Traveler Barbershop and the local food trucks EastSide Provisions and Del Otro Lado. Credit: Jessica Knopp

From Austin to San Antonio

“I moved back to Texas in 2010 and we officially began our business in 2011,” Knopp recalled. “We were the third tenants at Canopy in Austin when they opened — and we basically grew out of our space immediately. … We’ve always made everything from our line in studio, but the moment we opened, people wanted to shop with us. [So we decided to make it] a little more retail-esque.

“And the moment we started doing that, it just kept growing and growing. So the retail would start creeping into the production space, and we would always play push-and-pull with what space was devoted to making things and what space was devoted to selling things.”

She added: “We started visiting San Antonio a lot more … and we fell in love with the city. We found a house that we loved and [decided that] we need to just be here. Six or eight months after moving into our home, [the retail space at the corner of Nolan and Pine streets] became available. And I was like, ‘We’re getting the spot.’ The building owners live a couple blocks away and they’re really interested in developing this into a community hub. … And we jumped on that because we’re really community oriented.”

Knopp noted that the business’ current space finally affords enough space so they can do all they need to do without being cramped.

“And we’re five or six blocks away from our home,” she said. My husband Billy is a graphic designer as well and he did the design for the signage and [helped] brand the building as Nolan and Pine. So we have this sense of identity for the little community of businesses here.”

The business’ current space offers enough space so the owners aren’t cramped as they create. Credit: Jessica Knopp

Creative collaboration

“When we started, we both did everything regularly,” Knopp said of Son of a Sailor’s in-house lines. “But as we’ve grown, I would say — not to snap to gender roles — that I do the jewelry and Billy does the leather goods. [But] if he has a design for jewelry, we explore that. And if I have a design for leather, we explore that. There are no limitations.”

The couple also does permanent jewelry in the shop.

“So instead of having a clasp [on a bracelet], you put it on with a jump ring [and we] weld the jump ring closed while it’s on someone,” she explained. “I would say bracelets and anklets are the most popular. We also have all these different chains and charms and things. So we’re building out a charm bar right now.”

She continued: “We do a lot of custom work and we’re trying to organize that in a way where we can offer custom jewelry experiences — like come in and design your own [piece] and we’ll make it with you. And with the leather we do custom monogramming. We have a vintage Kingsley machine that does hot-foil stamping for leather. That’s one of the things we’re working on getting organized and set up right now. The front half of the store is our shop and the other side is our production area — so we’re working on stuff while you’re here.”

“We do a lot of custom work and we’re trying to organize that in a way where we can offer custom jewelry experiences — like come in and design your own [piece] and we’ll make it with you,” Jessica Knopp said. Credit: Jessica Knopp

Problem solving

“Billy and I both have a love for objects, tchotchkes, trinkets, memorabilia and collectibles,” Knopp confessed. “We really have to fend off being hoarders. So that top drawer of my husband’s dresser is like the starting point. I feel like a lot of the things that we have in our space [are] special little treasures — whether it’s a little gnome figurine or a gemstones or a pocket knife. But once we started looking around at all the people that we knew, and were like, ‘Gosh, these people make cool things too. We should carry them in the shop.’

Knopp also points out that Son of a Sailor has a residency with the hand-poked tattoo artist Anika Case of Pin & Pencil through the end of the year.

“We [work with] lots of makers, partner with lots of different businesses and also do aura photography in our space,” she added. “So our community and the people that we surround ourselves with informs what we carry. If you watch Shark Tank, people always ask, ‘What problem are you solving?’ And I’ve always struggled with that. Because I’m like, ‘I make jewelry — I’m not solving a problem.’”

However, she eventually came to realize what problem the business addresses.

“I think when interesting, artistic, creative, unique people are looking for gifts for their friends they want to give them something that reflects themselves and their style and their personality,” she said. “You want to give somebody something that they’re going to like — but that will also remind them of you. And I think that’s a problem that we solve. [Instead of], ‘Here’s a gift card to Target.’ It’s something that I think will pique your interest — and it reflects me and my values. And that can be challenging. If you come in here, you’ll probably find something that’s quirky and creative and unique that you can’t easily find somewhere else. That’s my hope. That’s the problem I’m trying to solve.”

Items available in the shop include stained glass flowers made by Samara Design Studio. Credit: Jessica Knopp

Son of a Sailor giftables

“My favorite gift item that we make right now is a bottle opener in the shape of a lucky horseshoe,” Knopp said. “I just love it. We have a whole line of the Southwest-inspired bottle openers — we have a roadrunner, a cactus, a thunderbird. We actually get the raw metal water-jet cut outside of our space because it’s a huge industrial machine. Our Año Cuff in sterling silver is another favorite. I’ve been wearing it almost every day. It’s part of a collection that I worked on for so long that was inspired by jewelry my mother bought in the 1980s in Mexico.”

Beyond jewelry, Son of a Sailor also offers glasswork.

“We also just brought in these stained glass stemmed flowers made by Samara Design Studio, she’s an artist out of Greenville, North Carolina,” Knopp said. “I just took a stained glass workshop so now I have an even broader appreciation for how delicate they are. We want to set up a whole stem bar — as if you walked into a florist. I can’t get enough of our Neuve Leones candle, which comes in a beautiful hand-painted jar that can be reused as a cocktail tumbler.”

When it comes to leather goods, the shop’s slimline Quebec wallet is Knopp’s favorite.

“It’s a very simple two-compartment wallet that Billy designed,” she said. “We use American leather from a tannery called Wickett & Craig. It gets so buttery and soft and [develops] a beautiful patina with wear. We’ve had it in our collection for a while, but it just remains a constant. We also do an embossed one with a diamondback snake hand-painted in aqua and orange.”

"We have this sense of identity for the little community of businesses here," Jessica Knopp said of Son of a Sailor's East Side digs. “We have this sense of identity for the little community of businesses here,” Jessica Knopp said of Son of a Sailor’s East Side digs. Credit: Jessica Knopp

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Son of a Sailor’s Jessica Knopp talks community building on San Antonio’s Eastside and the art of gift-giving

Tags: