Today we’d like to introduce you to Miles and Amber Schoen.
Hi Miles and Amber, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Our journey to “jewelry makers” has been a bit unusual. Having grown up and remained in Minnesota, we’ve spent many of our days hiking, running, hanging out with loved ones, and simply appreciating all seasons outdoors. Although both of us enjoy the creative process and the art of working with our hands, neither had a particular draw to jewelry prior to launching our business.
Having seen many of our handmade gifts, an in-law invited us to be a vendor at a small craft show near our hometown. Excited to try it out, we quickly remade a few items previously given as gifts. A new addition to this inventory was a line of jewelry made exclusively from recycled silverware.
Spoiler alert…the jewelry was a huge success!
Shortly after the show, we launched our first sole proprietorship: GalleryWare…Flatware jewelry, fit for a gallery.
We had no idea there would be such a demand until the custom orders started coming in: “Earrings for my nieces”, “a necklace for my sister”, “rings for each of my grandkids”, etc. It turns out many people inherit fancy tableware and have no idea what to do with it.
Understanding that we were often making gifts from very old family heirlooms, we were determined to use only high-quality materials. As such, Sterling Silver was our go-to, and all product was displayed on hand printed cards from Press DuNord (a local letter press print shop). The outcome remains flattering…our business grew, and stores began carrying our product.
Three years after launching GalleryWare, we merged quality metalworking and elegant designs with a splash of color! The result…SCHÖN. A bold line of jewelry equally suited for our active lifestyle, and our lazy days!
From the German spelling of our last name, this company represents what we strive for in our jewelry:
SCHÖN…Simply Beautiful.
While the materials, coloring, cutting, soldering, polishing, sealing, and assembling process may be different for each design, the attention to detail is not.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Smooth is certainly a relative term! As the business grows, so to do the challenges. Below are just a few of the many things we continue to work through:
Time Management: Having full-time careers outside of our jewelry business (Engineer & Teacher), time management after work is interesting! As more stores onboard our product, more product is consumed, and more must be made. For a period of time, our days consisted of a few hours of production before work, a few more after work, and the remainder falling on whatever weekends were not booked with art shows. As creatives, this lack of time is often exacerbated by us wanting to add new products to our offerings.
Marketing: Having no experience creating a business, designing packaging/displays, building a website, taking product photos, or pitching a product to stores has made our learning curve quite steep. Our lack of involvement on social media has certainly not helped us either! We continue to chip away at this hurdle as time allows.
Space Constraints: Our studio could be best described as controlled chaos. Many makers work in one medium (say silver or wood), which limits the tools required to those that relate to silver or wood. Uniquely, we currently work with wood, leather, acrylic, stone, rubber, tin, silver, copper and brass. Additionally, we make many of our own metals, most of our displays, and a small amount of our packaging. Most of these materials and tasks require their own sets of tools, each of which must be stored somewhere.
Manufacturing Capacity: We’re blessed that this IS a struggle we’ve had to contend with. Having a background that includes engineering, we are often able to design equipment to aid in the manufacturing process. To control cost, we often make our own tools from previously discarded items (a rotary tumbler made from a KitchenAid, and a magnetic finisher from various treadmill parts, to name a few).
Making time for us! – It’s easy to let a looming deadline consume your day until you’ve only had a few minutes together at the end of it! It takes constant effort to minimize how often this happens. While additional sales is a good thing, they must always be weighed against the cost of lost time with loved ones.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Amber Schoen: For the past 20 years I’ve worked with youth and families teaching and supporting aspiring learners toward academic, social and personal goals. Having the opportunity to serve as a consistent and calming role model for children through seasons of change is a privilege.
Miles Schoen: Since 2009, I’ve used my Engineering degree to design heavy equipment for demolition and recycling industries. I remain thankful that the company I work for appreciates creativity and the people they employ.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
With much of our business growth being hinged on in-person sales (either selling direct at an art show, or from those shopping in a brick & mortar), we inherently experienced a slow-down in 2019 & 2020.
That said, the stores carrying our product did a wonderful job with marketing, and the rebound over the past two years has been incredible. The loyalty we saw at art shows has also been humbling. Our customers are appreciated!
Our takeaway from Covid-19: People are awesome! Although Amazon is often conveniently a click away, we’ve noticed people making a conscious effort to support local entrepreneurs and be responsible stewards by shopping locally.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.SCHONWorks.com
