Local gift and jewelry shop Son of a Sailor in Dignowity Hill on the East Side has grown and expanded far beyond its San Francisco and Austin roots.
Owned and operated by Billy and Jessica Knopp, Son of a Sailor is made unique by its elements of leather accessories, hand-crafted jewelry, art prints, home goods and more.
The store’s name stems from Billy’s time serving in the Navy. “We used to have more abstract nautical influence in our stuff, and it still comes out in our space as far as color blocking, which is reminiscent of signal flags,” Billy said.
“People always ask if he’s the son of a sailor and I’m like nope, he’s the sailor and I guess this store has become our son,” Jessica jokes.
Jessica recalls her first time meeting Billy, “My roommate was (Billy’s) college friend and he came to San Francisco to visit her. He showed up and brought gifts for everybody, which proved to be a common thread of who he was. We met, dated long distance for 10 months and then he roped me back into moving to Texas.”
Shortly before Jessica’s move to San Marcos, “Billy got injured at his job, so when I came back, we had all this time on our hands and we started making jewelry,” Jessica said. “In May of 2011, it went from us doing creative projects on the floor in San Francisco and evolved into my friend telling us to put our stuff on Etsy. By August, we were doing well enough that we thought we should give the shop a go.”
Billy further elaborated on the store’s beginnings, “We tested it out for three months, and it just kept increasing. The combination of Etsy and selling our jewelry in stores was enough for us to quit our part-time jobs.”
In February 2014, Son of a Sailor moved into its first official space at Canopy in downtown Austin. “We outgrew our first space pretty quickly and moved into the next space in the Austin area, which we would have for eight or nine years.”
The Knopps moved from Austin to San Marcos in 2016 and opened a second shop in San Marcos that was open for two years before closing in February 2020. After six years in San Marcos, the Knopps decided they wanted a faster pace, which prompted their move to San Antonio in 2023.
“When we finally got our San Antonio store up and running, we were ready and able to close our Austin shop in April, which means we are now fully located in San Antonio,” Jessica said.
The San Antonio location celebrated its 1-year anniversary in April.
Son of a Sailor sources the leather used for their products from an American tannery, Wickett & Craig. Hides are cut, painted and stitched to create unique pieces such as key chains, custom dog collars, bracelets, wallets, sheaths and more.
To create their jewelry, Son of a Sailor has 14k gold-filled chains, along with bronze and sterling, as well as an assortment of vibrant gemstones, glass beads and Greek ceramic beads.
“I think art and design and having fun in those realms is really important. We do something that is meant to add quality, fun, flavor and personality to life,” Jessica said. “There is a great appreciation for handmade items here at Son of a Sailor. It is fun to engage people with our stuff, and we offer custom color selections and the choice of a custom beading section for your permanent jewelry.”
Customers at this shop will “hopefully walk away with a smile, a gift for whoever they are getting it for, happy and maybe they walk away with a friend from Son of a Sailor,” Billy said.
Video by Jenna Taylor
Son of a Sailor
904 Nolan, sonofasailor.co
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