Artist awarded $15K from Amazon
A Boyertown ar tist was awarded $15,000 by Amazon after his handmade copper and glasswork business finished among the top-five vote-getters in a nationwide contest.
Ron’s Roses was recognized by Amazon in September in conjunction with the e-commerce giant celebrating the fifth-year anniversary of its Handmade store.
“I’d never won anything before, so this was a real blessing,” said Ron Stauffer, a former elementary school teacher.
“I can hardly explain the feeling. I just started jumping up and down and was screaming. I was so excited.”
Amazon invited its Handmade vendors, or “Makers,” to fill out questionnaires about their respective businesses, including background story, inspiration and how they would use the prize money to expand their business if they won.
Stauffer was among 15 finalists selected by judges, with people from around the world then choosing the five winners over a period of about two weeks.
“I’m just so grateful to Amazon because this was the chance of a lifetime,” said Stauffer, also thanking friends, family and customers who voted for him. “I never, ever would’ve been able to spend that much on my business, especially at one time.”
How an artist is made
Stauffer began working with copper around six years ago as a means of therapy to help cope with depression.
What started with a single four-hour class turned into a hobby, with Stauffer gifting the first of his creations, and eventually led to his setting up a booth annually at the Kutztown Folk Festival to sell and display his work.
“There was just something about copperwork that really appealed to me,” said Stauffer, who noting he was raised on a farm and was employed as a machinist at one point. “I like hands-on stuff, so this was perfect.”
After receiving one of his signature copper roses, somebody tipped Stauffer off to Amazon Handmade. Up to that point, Ron’s Roses had been largely a word-of-mouth business.
Since winning the contest, sales have only continued to increase.
The irony, Stauffer says, is he never felt very artistic growing up — though he’s since come to discover it’s not necessarily just drawing pictures.
“I had six siblings and they were all pretty good at art except me,” said Stauffer. “The funny thing is now I’m doing this pretty much full-time and none of my siblings do anything with art.”
What he did with the winnings
Stauffer has already been able to put some of the $15,000 to good use. With the winnings, he was able to buy a 12-by-16-foot shed to store his copperwork.
“I live in a Cape Cod in Boyertown,” said Stauffer. “I don’t really have any extra room.”
“I do my work usually at the kitchen table or in the basement, but all my finished products were in the garden shed. There was nothing else in there.”
He’s also looking into an item that would help him grow the business, possibly taking it in new directions.
“The second thing I’m checking into into is a laser cutter,” said Stauffer. “I’d really like to do some intricate designs for earrings and things that you cant really do with all hand tools.
“Not sure this will cover it, but it’s a great start.”
In the meantime, he’s continuing to craft and sell his work online at amazon.com/handmade/RonsRoses and elsewhere. Though some items are listed as sold out — a sign of his rising popularity — Stauffer stresses he will fill all orders placed for anything currently out of stock.