Meet Scott and Minter Richter of Minter and Richter Designs in Dorchester

Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott and Minter Richter.

Scott and Minter, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Scott and I were lucky because we entered into our marriage with professional backgrounds that complemented each other’s and that fell very easily into line so that we could comfortably start a business together. Scott had, by that time, already received some notoriety in the artisan world of sword and knife-making (And even more today! Keep an eye out for the Minter & Richter Switchblade hitting the big screen in the new Blade Runner movie coming out in October 2017 with Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford!) And I had been spending my time working in business and learning about sales start-ups both here and in Europe. And so it really was a match made in heaven.

We noticed a void we could fill right after Scott proposed. Scott had already made me many rings while we dated just for fun and though the world was filled with loads of creative cocktail and dress-up rings, we did not see any wedding bands that reflected our love story, which to us was very unique. The year was 1999, so an online window into the global artist population was not available to us as it is today. We did not want the same gold wedding bands that we saw on everyone else’s fingers. We also did not want anything to do with the Gold trade for ethical reasons. We wanted a way to represent our love story that was unique and did not damage the earth in the same way that the mining of precious metals and gems does. We also felt certain that we couldn’t possibly be the only couple out there who had those feelings.

We spent the next few years having babies and refurbishing our two Victorian homes that are next door to each other in Dorchester. The plan was to live in one and rent out the other, which we did for some time. While the seed had already been planted, we spent these years formulating a plan for what became Minter & Richter Designs. Like many creative businesses, we started on Etsy and it just took off from there. It has been quite a roller coaster ride since then, both exhilarating and joyous as well as sometimes scary. But it is perfect for us and we are so grateful we now get to ship our wedding rings daily all over the world to couples who, like us, desire a ring that is completely unique and custom to represent their love and commitment to one another.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I suppose life in general is not a smooth road, but we are lucky because everyone who comes to us is giddy with love and excitement. It is easy to be a good salesperson when your customers are so happy to work with you. The challenges on the business end are easily met. As long as you constantly remind yourself to think like a customer, your customers will always be happy.

Please tell us about Minter & Richter Designs.
What sets us apart is the high level of customization you can have with each ring and the vast array of materials we have to choose from. From woods to meteorite to dinosaur bone to stones, concrete and resins. There is no other company that can reach the heights of customization that we reach in the wedding band market today. Scott and I almost never make the same ring twice, which makes sense because no two couples are alike.

Not only do we have a whole globe’s worth of materials for you to select from, but we can even use your own personal material in your wedding ring set. People have sent us personal material such as:

– Sand from the beach they first kissed on
– A rock they found on a walk together
– Bits of Nascar Racetrack asphalt
– Pieces of the Berlin Wall
– Flooring from your house you are refurbishing together
– Ashes
– guitar strings

And the list goes on and on. There is almost nothing we can’t inlay into your wedding ring.

We also offer so many different ways you can customize your wedding ring. If you are a designer type yourself and want to forge ahead alone, you can simply go to our website, download the Custom Ring Order Form (https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1170/8476/files/MRD_Design_Your_Own_Ring_Custom_Order_Form_-bw.pdf?1610725516129846384 ) and let your imagination fly.

Alternatively, if you just want to slightly tweak a ring you already see on our site, you can do that with our Design Wizard as you go through the checkout process.

But you just may be the type of couple that feel better running your fingers through the materials and designing your ring in person. If that is the case, you can set up an in-person Ring Consultation Appointment with us in our Ring Room in Dorchester. Simply email us sales@minterandrichterdesigns.com or calling us at 617-326-6671In fact, if you are coming from out of town, we have you covered! Simply book one of our Airbnb Rooms! We supply the champagne, you supply the love!

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7222349

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18368646

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7239024

If you live too far away from Boston to come for an in person Ring Consultation, not to worry at all. Just pick up the phone and either I, Scott or our fabulous assistant Elisavet will answer, ready to help you design away.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Scott: “All my favorite memories from childhood are centered around making things, so that is probably why I am a maker today. I was about 7 when I set out to make my very first creation – a box to hold my comic books. I scrounged my mom’s basement and storage shed until I came up with enough wood. Not a beautiful box and it weighs a ton, but now, 45 years later, it is still holding those same comic books in my attic today, just as sturdy as ever. I’m pretty proud of that box actually, now that I think about it.

After that box, I was a creating fiend. Every moment I wasn’t in school, I was sawing, hacking, breaking apart and re-building just about everything I could get my hands on. I made go carts, an axle, skateboards, stilts, kites, bows and arrows, rockets, a couple of custom bikes . . . In sixth grade I restored a mini bike and made a reverse chopper bike with a huge fat wheel on the front and a tiny wheel on the back.

As Minter may have mentioned, I just recently finished a switchblade knife for the upcoming Movie “Blade Runner” which is coming out in October 2017. We are pretty excited about that as well. And I am sure I would not have had that opportunity had I not started making stuff in my mom’s basement all those years ago.

I’m lucky I found something I love to do so early in life and can continue to do it, albeit on a much more precise level, as a job for life.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.minterandrichterdesigns.com
• Phone: 617-326-6671
• Email: sales@minterandrichterdesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minter_richterdesigns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MinterandRichter/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/minterrichter
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/minter-and-richter-designs-boston

Image Credit:
Minter & Richter Designs, LLC.

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