Lord Von Schmitt Before Shark Tank
Lord Von Schmitt is a brand that manufactures and sells high-quality crocheted fashion staples. These crocheted pieces were inspired by Afghan blankets from around the 1970’s era. Each piece consists of a multitude of bright, lively colors, as well as crafty, unique designs. Additionally, Lord Von Schmitt makes a variety of different pieces, from umbrellas to jeans, and even socks. Plus, so much more! Given the fun, bright features of each of these pieces of clothing and accessories, Lord Von Schmitt is a well-known, and loved company of the LGBTQIA+ community. While these crotched pieces may not appear to be functional for daily wear, they are certainly the perfect match for some fun photography or even to wear to festivals.
Lord Von Schmitt was founded by Schuyler Ellers in 2010; he is also the designer of the products. Schuyler attended Columbia University before becoming an entrepreneur. During his time at the university, he got into costume design, which became a passion of his for quite some time. After graduating, Schuyler went on to become an English teacher, which he moved to Barcelona, Spain to pursue. In Spain, the founder took on knitting and learned how to make costumes from scratch for the actors performing in low-budget films. This eventually led Schuyler to search through secondhand thrift stores in order to find pieces that he could repurpose to create said costumes. Instead, he found old Afghan blankets being sold for just $2 per blanket. 
The Afghans Schuyler found, had already been crafted with the lively, bright colors and intricate designs, which he really liked. He believed that the blankets were pieces of folk art from some time ago, and that they should be repurposed with their original features still intact. With that, he put his knitting skills to work and began creating crocheted, wearable clothing pieces. Schuyler first introduced his designs in Los Angeles at a fashion event later that year in 2010. Although he didn’t end up making a sale at the fashion event, that didn’t dull his determination to create a success of the Lord Von Schmitt business. Instead, he opened an Etsy shop with his creations. Now, some of these pieces are quite pricey compared to others, but it depends on which item is being purchased. For instance, Schuyler sells some pieces for between $100 to up to $300; however, he also sells unique coats for $2,499.00.
Later, in 2015, Schuyler got his crocheted shorts featured on the E! Television network. This did give him a decent boost in his sales, however. In fact, it results in Lord Von Schmitt gaining 60 new orders in just a span of days. Nonetheless, given that this is a smaller business, the founder ended up selling out of his inventory shortly after. The good news is this sell-out indicates that he had sold around 2,000 clothing items. Now, Schuyler has relocated to Nevada City. He continues to sell his unique creations on Etsy and on Amazon. Though, he would like to take his chances on the stage of Shark Tank to see if a shark is willing to invest ad help his shop expand. 
Lord Von Schmitt on Shark Tank
Schuyler Ellers appears on Shark Tank with an array of his unique Lord Von Schmitt crocheted creations. He is asking the sharks for a deal of $100,000 in exchange for a 10% equity in his small business. This leads the sharks to believe that the business has a valuation of $1 million. The founder begins his pitch to the sharks, while showcasing his designs to them. He tells them a bit about himself and how the business had started before giving the sharks the opportunity to come on stage and try some of the pieces on for themselves. Overall, the sharks seemed to like the mini fashion show that came along with Schuyler’s pitch, as well as they appeared to like the creations.
The sharks begin asking questions about the clothing items. The founder explains how he makes the pieces and how much they are sold for on Amazon and Etsy. He reveals that they cost him $30 to craft and they sell from anywhere from $100 to up to $300. Unless consumers want the tailcoat, which runs at more than $2,000. Next, Robert Herjavec asks Schuyler about the shorts set. He mentions that the shorts cost $58, but the whole unique outfit costs around $300. Robert then asks about Schuyler’s sales numbers. The founder responds by telling the sharks that he did $198,000 in sales in the span of four years, with an additional $37,000 in sales in 2020. Ultimately, the sharks are pleased about the sales, as well as the overall business plan that the founder has established. 
Lori Greiner chimes in to ask the founder if Lord Von Schmitt is his only form of employment, which he responds to by saying yes. He runs this business full-time now. She then goes on to ask Schuyler how many units he has sold thus far, which is ten units. By this time, despite liking the crocheted clothing pieces, the sharks begin to drop out of the deal one by one. The first shark to leave is Mark Cuban, who claims that the founder is asking for too low of prices for the items. He believes the pieces are more-so pieces of art, rather than fashion staples; therefore, he advises Schuyler to increase his prices. Following him, Robert goes out as well after stating that the founder should focus more on the fashion aspect of the pieces rather than the artistry.
The next shark to leave from the deal is Lori, who doesn’t think Lord Von Schmitt is the right business for her to invest in. This leaves Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary still in the deal. Nonetheless, Daymond goes out shortly after due to the business being too new. Now that Kevin is the last shark, this may have been leaving Schuyler with a bad feeling; however, Kevin chimes back in as if he is interested in investing. While this may have given the founder some hope back, the shark didn’t end up offering him a deal. Instead, Kevin claimed that Lord Von Schmitt wasn’t a business that could be invested in, so he is out as well. Thus, leaving Schuyler Ellers to leave the tank without a deal. 
Lord Von Schmitt Now in 2025 – The After Shark Tank Update
Despite leaving Shark Tank without a deal from a shark, Schuyler Ellers appears to have managed to keep the Lord Von Schmitt business up and running as of 2025. The business still appears to be a small business; however, it seems like it’s been doing quite well. In fact, it has been said that Schuyler has done nearly $3,000 in sales. The crocheted clothing items are continuing to be sold on Amazon and on Etsy; although Schuyler did end up listening to Mark Cuban’s advice; he has increased the prices to better reflect his designs.
