We recently connected with Jeff Schneider and Kaelea Ann Sim Sand of Hej Howdy and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jeff Schneider and Kaelea Ann Sim Sand thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
A very simple method to meld our two worlds together! If you’re Danish you know that “hej” sounds like “hi” and means “hi”! If you’re Texan you know that “howdy” sounds like “how-dee” and also means “hi”!
Jeff Schneider and Kaelea Ann Sim Sand, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hej Howdy is a Scandinavian/Texan design brand with a simple purpose: to make the world more beautiful, less complicated, and more fun to wake up to. Since 2020, we have combined our skills from visual design in Denmark to locally handmade in Texas to create cool contemporary products that bring new ideas to people and spaces. This collaborative serves as a foundation for us as we find new ways to unite our heritage with a fresh vision for modern living. We see glass as an essential part of your home and another element for self-expression, as we know your chosen objects will be with you for years to come.
Our first product, the Oyster (Østers) lamp is not only a modern handmade art piece but a fully functioning made-to-order lamp. The bulb/pearl is mouth-blown in iridescent glass then combined with the handblown shell/lampshade’s specifically chosen colors to emit light-calming hues. Because of the glass’s unpredictability, control and patience to make it, each object has its own unique shape and personality. We are proud to be 100% handmade in Texas and to reduce our impact on the environment, everything has been constructed in-house, using up-cycled glass and brass when we can and shutting off the glass furnace when not in use to lessen its effects.
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
We are both kindred spirits from West Texas and met while attending Texas Tech University but lost touch over the years. After touring Jeff’s glass studio in Spicewood in February of 2020, I (Kaelea) decided I wanted to create something to keep my connection to Texas strong while living abroad. I had an idea on the airplane back to my home in Denmark, so we joined creative forces, and Hej Howdy was born! We are lucky to be able to split the creativity down the middle too. The handblown glass, electrical and metalwork are designed by Jeff in his studio in Texas, and I lead color and graphic design as well as brand communication and marketing functions.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
When creating something new, it’s always a challenge determining how to reach your desired audience, especially when you are working from 2 different continents, with a 7-hour time difference, 2 full-time jobs, family, and life in general. We have taken action online, on social media – all the regular outlets, and were very focused on launching our first lamp into the interior world, but Jeff had the great idea to also take on the fine arts world. So we have been showing our Østers Lamp in local galleries in Texas and Denmark and were just recently invited to have our lamp in the Pilchuck Glass School Annual Auction and Gala. Jeff had the opportunity to study at Pilchuck alongside the greats in glass, so to be a part of this is close to the heart. We are beyond proud to share our work with this growing glass and art community.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hejhowdy.com
- Instagram: @hejhowdy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hejhowdy/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hej-howdy
Image Credits
Jeff Schneider – by Karl Poss
Kaelea Ann Sim Sand – by Cory Smith