{"id":68416,"date":"2025-11-28T13:04:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T13:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/68416\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T13:04:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T13:04:35","slug":"son-of-a-sailors-jessica-knopp-talks-community-building-on-san-antonios-eastside-and-the-art-of-gift-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/68416\/","title":{"rendered":"Son of a Sailor\u2019s Jessica Knopp talks community building on San Antonio\u2019s Eastside and the art of gift-giving\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JessicaJessica and Billy Knopp own San Antonio retailer Son of a Sailor. Credit: Carily Osborn<\/p>\n

Self-described \u201cserial entrepreneur\u201d Jessica Knopp started her first jewelry line when she was in the 8th grade. She\u00a0used supplies that she toted around in a Caboodles organizer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom recently showed me she still has a pair of those earrings,\u201d Knopp told the Current from her studio in Dignowity Hill. \u201cSo I\u2019m recreating them in sterling silver for her this holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lifelong maker and traveler with roots in Austin, she met her husband Billy Knopp while living in San Francisco.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came to visit my roommate and it was just kismet,\u201d Knopp explained. \u201cThe 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\u2019s literally the best gift-giver I\u2019ve 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\u2019re going to see. He gifts beautifully. And to make a long story short: we parlayed that into a business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Launched in 2011 in the East Austin creative complex Canopy, the couple\u2019s business is Son of a Sailor \u2014\u00a0a concept that\u2019s been energizing San Antonio\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With a name that nods to Billy Knopp\u2019s Navy years, Son of a Sailor is a key component of a historic strip center that\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy partner [Michael Castaneda] and I wanted a place that directly connects and supports the people in our neighborhood,\u201d building co-owner and Dignowity Hill resident Alexander Perez said. \u201cJessica and Billy embody that philosophy. \u2026 In this world where everything is cheap and disposable, Son of a Sailor is exactly the opposite. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"SonSon of a Sailor is a key component of a historic strip center that\u2019s 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.\u00a0 Credit: Jessica Knopp<\/p>\n

From Austin to San Antonio<\/p>\n

\u201cI moved back to Texas in 2010 and we officially began our business in 2011,\u201d Knopp recalled. \u201cWe were the third tenants at Canopy in Austin when they opened \u2014 and we basically grew out of our space immediately. \u2026 We\u2019ve 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cWe started visiting San Antonio a lot more \u2026 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, \u2018We\u2019re getting the spot.\u2019 The building owners live a couple blocks away and they\u2019re really interested in developing this into a community hub. \u2026 And we jumped on that because we\u2019re really community oriented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knopp noted that the business\u2019 current space finally affords enough space so they can do all they need to do without being cramped.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019re five or six blocks away from our home,\u201d 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe business\u2019 current space offers enough space so the owners aren\u2019t cramped as they create. Credit: Jessica Knopp<\/p>\n

Creative collaboration<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started, we both did everything regularly,\u201d Knopp said of Son of a Sailor\u2019s in-house lines. \u201cBut as we\u2019ve grown, I would say \u2014\u00a0not to snap to gender roles \u2014\u00a0 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple also does permanent jewelry in the shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo 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\u2019s on someone,\u201d she explained. \u201cI would say bracelets and anklets are the most popular. We also have all these different chains and charms and things. So we\u2019re building out a charm bar right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cWe do a lot of custom work and we\u2019re trying to organize that in a way where we can offer custom jewelry experiences \u2014\u00a0like come in and design your own [piece] and we\u2019ll 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\u2019s one of the things we\u2019re 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 \u2014\u00a0so we\u2019re working on stuff while you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cWe\u201cWe do a lot of custom work and we\u2019re trying to organize that in a way where we can offer custom jewelry experiences \u2014\u00a0like come in and design your own [piece] and we\u2019ll make it with you,\u201d Jessica Knopp said. Credit: Jessica Knopp<\/p>\n

Problem solving<\/p>\n

\u201cBilly and I both have a love for objects, tchotchkes, trinkets, memorabilia and collectibles,\u201d Knopp confessed. \u201cWe really have to fend off being hoarders. So that top drawer of my husband\u2019s dresser is like the starting point. I feel like a lot of the things that we have in our space [are] special little treasures \u2014\u00a0whether it\u2019s 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, \u2018Gosh, these people make cool things too. We should carry them in the shop.\u2019<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe [work with] lots of makers, partner with lots of different businesses and also do aura photography in our space,\u201d she added. \u201cSo our community and the people that we surround ourselves with informs what we carry. If you watch Shark Tank, people always ask, \u2018What problem are you solving?\u2019 And I\u2019ve always struggled with that. Because I\u2019m like, \u2018I make jewelry \u2014\u00a0I\u2019m not solving a problem.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, she eventually came to realize what problem the business addresses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d she said. \u201cYou want to give somebody something that they\u2019re going to like \u2014\u00a0but that will also remind them of you. And I think that\u2019s a problem that we solve. [Instead of], \u2018Here\u2019s a gift card to Target.\u2019 It\u2019s something that I think will pique your interest \u2014\u00a0and\u00a0 it reflects me and my values. And that can be challenging. If you come in here, you\u2019ll probably find something that\u2019s quirky and creative and unique that you can\u2019t easily find somewhere else. That\u2019s my hope. That\u2019s the problem I\u2019m trying to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ItemsItems available in the shop include stained glass flowers made by Samara Design Studio. Credit: Jessica Knopp<\/p>\n

Son of a Sailor giftables<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite gift item that we make right now is a bottle opener in the shape of a lucky horseshoe,\u201d Knopp said. \u201cI just love it. We have a whole line of the Southwest-inspired bottle openers \u2014\u00a0we have a roadrunner, a cactus, a thunderbird. We actually get the raw metal water-jet cut outside of our space because it\u2019s a huge industrial machine. Our A\u00f1o Cuff in sterling silver is another favorite. I\u2019ve been wearing it almost every day. It\u2019s part of a collection that I worked on for so long that was inspired by jewelry my mother bought in the 1980s in Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond jewelry, Son of a Sailor also offers glasswork.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also just brought in these stained glass stemmed flowers made by Samara Design Studio, she\u2019s an artist out of Greenville, North Carolina,\u201d Knopp said. \u201cI 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 \u2014\u00a0as if you walked into a florist. I can\u2019t get enough of our Neuve Leones candle, which comes in a beautiful hand-painted jar that can be reused as a cocktail tumbler.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to leather goods, the shop\u2019s slimline Quebec wallet is Knopp\u2019s favorite.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very simple two-compartment wallet that Billy designed,\u201d she said. \u201cWe use American leather from a tannery called Wickett & Craig. It gets so buttery and soft and [develops] a beautiful patina with wear. We\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""We\u201cWe have this sense of identity for the little community of businesses here,\u201d Jessica Knopp said of Son of a Sailor\u2019s East Side digs. Credit: Jessica Knopp<\/p>\n

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