We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kathryn Shoupe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kathryn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

It was the height of Covid and Christmas time and I was working on shipping a large bridal order to Sarah, a bride in Birmingham. She ordered her bridal earrings, 7 bridesmaids earrings, plus the mother’s of groom and bride earrings and I shipped them two weeks before the wedding. A few days went by and she reached out saying she still hadn’t received them yet. (Birmingham is only an hour from me, so should only take a day or two to arrive) I went to look at the tracking and it still wasn’t showing any movement. Fast forward to a week before her big day and the package still hadn’t moved or showed any information on tracking! Now I was really panicking… I reached back out to Sarah and told her I would remake her entire order (luckily I had the exact pieces in stock to remake them) and I told her I would drive them to her to ensure safe delivery. She was so amazing and so understanding! This story stands out to me because of how scary it was to watch failure of delivering my work to my customer without my control. I am just so incredibly thankful I was working with someone who was so understanding! Sarah’s mother in law still tells this story to this day and she told me she told EVERYONE at the wedding how amazing I was and it was truly just a rewarding feeling to make things happen no matter what!

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.

Hi! I’m Kathryn Shoupe, owner and designer of Bone and Arrow. I work full time as a Public Relations Manager and run by business on the side. I design and handmake all of my jewelry – mostly including earrings and necklaces. I love getting to use natural stone, pearl, and gold elements mostly and a majority of my work is weddings and everyday wear! I started my business back in 2016 when I was just making everyday necklaces and didn’t really think of making a business at the time. It was just a hobby of mine to pass the time after work. Luckily for me, friends and family pushed me to sell them and begin a business. In 2019, my husband Nick and I got married and I knew I wanted to gift my bridesmaids with special earrings so I decided to handmake them with moonstone, aquamarine, and pearl to match their blue gowns. This was the kicking off point to the wedding industry. It’s been a lot of fun!

I find my creativity mostly when I’m in the studio. It’s hard to explain how I work but I truly love playing around with unique materials and laying out the designs to see what works. I feel that earring pieces have to flow and work well together and that comes with trial and error.

I think my work is set apart from others because my earrings are different and designed for beauty. I have tried to find other jewelry designers out there that create pieces like I do and I just can’t seem to find similarities. I enjoy actually hand making my pieces, and not just selling to sell.

I’m most proud of the work I do makes others so happy. I love seeing people light up when I put together a special earring for them or even getting to meet them and know them through my business. I think it’s all about relationships and learning as you go!

My work is online through my website at Boneandarrowdesigns.com and social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There’s a podcast/radio show by Ken Coleman. He’s one of the Dave Ramsey personalities and he talks about taking control of your life and your career. Overall, his podcast is so inspiring and I enjoy listening to him and having those reminders to keep working towards your dream!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My side hustle has certainly become a full time job but I still work full time in PR. I always joke and say my full time job is 8 am – 5 pm and my business is 8 am – 10 pm because I’m constantly working with the business. Answering emails, posting on social media, creating graphics, and even maintaining my website! It hasn’t become my sole source of income, but my time spent on it certainly does!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://boneandarrowdesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boneandarrowdesigns/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/boneandarrowdesigns

Image Credits
Laura White Photography Brooke | Colorbox Photography