We recently connected with Jared Lees and have shared our conversation below.

Jared, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I honestly started this business half by accident. I’ve had a pocket knife with me pretty much every day since I was around seven years old… In college I worked in kitchens doing line prep work, and none of the knives were ever sharp. So one day I thought it could be cool to try and make one… Maybe two just for fun. I had no idea what was involved, but I did a ton of research and made my first knife with a hacksaw, half round file, some sand paper, and a mapp gas torch… It was a pain, but I was hooked. And apparently other people thought it was pretty cool, because I’ve had orders ever since. So at that time my second son was just a baby and he was born with some unexpected health issues. He’s healthy now, but it was pretty scary and, and I ended up leaving my job as an occupational therapy assistant in a mental health facility to be a full time stay at home Dad, and got a part time job teaching music at night. But the knife thing kept growing and growing, and eventually I quit teaching, and made it my goal to be a full time bladesmith by the time he started kindergarten. I ended up being full time a year before that and have been on my toes ever since. I built the business up slowly, and bought more and more tools as I went.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m a bladesmith and blacksmith. I mostly make custom order and high end kitchen knives, but also make carry knives, hammers, axes, bottle openers or whatever other forged good comes time mind. Customers frequently tell me they not only love the aesthetics of my work, but also the ergonomic feel, and incredibly sharp blades.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Being a craftsman or artisan, I think it’s very important to communicate clearly with your customers, and honestly manage their expectations as up front as possible. Try to be as accurate as you can with your time frames, tell them how to care for the product, answer all of their questions, and ask for feedback… I try to keep communication lines as open as possible, and I’d even go as far as to say some of my customers have even become friends. I have quite a few repeat customers and I can mostly attribute that to the fact that I do my best to consistently put out high quality work. Another factor would be that each piece is its own unique thing.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Every month, I’m in the shop balancing getting custom orders out in my designated time frame, and trying to make inventory that is not only satisfying for me as a maker, but also something I think is likely to sell quickly so I can meet my financial goals. I have a lot of freedom to make what I want, but at the end of the day, I’m trying to keep up and make sure I’m hitting my financial goals. As a creative business owner, that’s a big challenge for me. What I want to make doesn’t always line up with what’s selling at the moment. Currently, the economy seems to be in a bit of a tail spin and as much as I want to make super complex, fancy, and expensive pieces… Those aren’t what’s paying the bills, so I only do that every so often when I know my own bills are paid. But I’ll never complain about any of this because at the end of the day I’m extremely lucky to get to do something I love, that allows me to be creative, and have a flexible schedule so I can spend time with my family.

Contact Info:

• Website: JLeesKnives.com
• Instagram: @jleesknives
• Facebook: Facebook.com/jleesknives

Image Credits
Tony McAfee Jared Lees