Meet Shana Schottenstein | Artist & Toy designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shana Schottenstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shana, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My family are all entrepreneurs and from a young age I loved selling my own wares. I always knew I wanted to be an artist but I felt most fulfilled when I had the freedom to work for myself and choose my own path.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I began working at an early age with heavy machinery, and moved into the light industrial area pretty easily. I ended up with a small company in 2017, and started as a weekend forklift driver. By the end of my seventh month, I was running the entire 130,000 sq ft facility, and turned it into the most profitable location the company had. Unfortunately they lost the contract with the only client, and the warehouse was closed. I then moved into another company where I was sent all over the country as a project manager for a retail merchandising company.

I learned to work alongside people of all backgrounds, and for the two companies listed above, I had a ZERO turnover rate. I learned early on what management styles work for me, and I apply them to the best of my ability.

Now on to my role in Shottsy Arts. My girlfriend (now wife) came to me in 2012 and said she wanted to make a business with her art. My reply was that I’ve done every job in retail from the guy that cleans the toilets, to the supervisor of the supervisor that gives the orders to clean the toilets. Shortly after, Shottsy Arts LLC was born.

We began as a small startup, and leaned from our myriad of mistakes. We had several instances of expanding too much too soon. We sometimes found ourselves dipping into our own personal accounts to finance merchandise. We have spent the last two years downsizing, and making our lives easier. We used to have a full size high top conversion van, and would rent a trailer for each show. This lead us to having a 14+ hour set up. There were several shows in which I would require a cane afterwards because I would push too hard and injure my back. Being the labor and logistics end is just as exhausting as the creative end. I am in no way negating what she does. Without her amazing and unique art, I wouldn’t have anything to sell, and without me, she wouldn’t have anyone to get her to the shows and set it all up!

Lessons learned along the way:

NEVER hire friends and family. I know everyone says this, and unfortunately this is a lesson we have had to learn the hard way.

Don’t expand until you have enough financially to save you from failing. It’s ok to fail, its how I learn, but if I can save others from this hardship I’ll gladly do so.

Go at your own pace. Don’t let anyone on the outside try to push you into selling something or making something that you don’t want.

What I would want others to know, is that when it comes down to it, it’s ALL about customer service. I once ended up on the phone with an unhappy mother whose son purchased something from us. After hearing her out and calming her down, I was able to get to the REAL issue at hand. It was his first time going to a show out of the state on his own, and wasn’t going to be able to fly back with his purchase. The sale was for one of our higher ticket items, so I was even more inclined to assist in any way I could. I told her that I’ll put my faith in her if she would do the same in kind. I offered to box up ALL of his purchases for the weekend, pack them nicely, and ship them out, if she would reimburse me the shipping cost. I could feel her sigh of relief on my end of the phone line. She said now all she has to worry about was making sure he got to the airport on time. I asked her what airline, and what time his flight was leaving, and I’d make sure he arrived in plenty of time.

Now I’m not saying I would do this for every client, but there are times when we need to rise to the occasion, realize that we are all in this together, and help each other out!

I could go on for many more pages if you would like any additional stories in any capacity.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I first offer to take them out on my bike if they want to get out of the city. If not, we take them on our usual routine, so we don’t deviate too far from our schedule. We take breaks to converse and spend quality time with our guests. There is a fun arcade bar in town that has some great pinball machines. From there, we have well maintained parks all over the city if the weather cooperates. We also love to go antique shopping, and make up funny alternate uses for some of the items. I would then end the evening with laughter and games in the garage on a cool evening.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would say my biggest mentor for starting my own business was actually Joe Murray creator of Rockos modern life. He taught me a lot about having an art business and after a couple classes and his mentoring I felt inspired to start my own.

Getting it going I have my mother, stepfather, dad, stepmom and husband do thank. They’ve all played their past in supporting me to get here. My husband more than anyone actually breaking his back lifting all our products and driving me and my art all over the country.

Website: Shopshottsyarts.com

Instagram: Shottsyarts

Linkedin: Shottsyarts

Twitter: Shottsyarts

Facebook: Shottsyarts

Image Credits
Shottsy Arts (Toy Repair)