Faith in Action: From Kicker to Picker (Part 1 of 2)
This blog tells the story of how my husband and I built a new business together...completely outside of our wheelhouse, simply by putting our faith in action. [Part 1 of 2]
A Handyman Handycap
During the first 6 years of our marriage, my husband Craig was in the last 6 years of his career as a professional athlete. During that time, we had a running joke when it came to household tasks. I would affectionately tease him with comments like, “Honey, you’re a man of many talents….but handyman is not one of them!”
My own D.I.Y. toolbox was mostly… M.I.A. My home decorating skills also registered zero on the talents scale. I thought it was like musical aptitude — meaning, you’re either born with the decorating gene or you’re not. In the years since Craig's NFL retirement, we've both learned new life lessons about old mindsets.
New Attitude – New Aptitude
When it comes to what we’re capable of, both as individuals and together, our perspective has become more PROspective. The unknown has become achievable as we’ve learned firsthand what a little elbow grease and F.I.A. (faith in action) can do do! Together, we turned clueless into a business. It’s one of my Accidental Entrepreneur stories that begins with, "Once upon a time, we had a new home under construction..."
Thinking outside the Budget Box
Anyone who has built a new home from scratch knows the budget sheet bartering. By the time you’re nearing the end of the project, you’re asking questions like, “Which is more important…pouring a sidewalk outside to walk on, or having furniture inside to sit on?”
While Craig and I were in the process of building our new home, furniture and decorating became just a few of our budget busters that required out-of-the-box thinking. I decided the most economical way to keep costs low would be to repurpose as many old pieces as possible. That’s when a new designer, Melissa Lewis (Found Designs)* entered our world. In Melissa, we also found a new friend and a new purpose…or rather, a new repurpose.
Pinterest Pupil & Pawn Shop Pioneer
Melissa and I began frequenting flea markets and antique malls for thrifty finds. We got ideas from Pinterest and brainstormed together about how to make them “next level”. For a total cost of $400, a set of old gym lockers got a powerwash and a fresh coat of paint to become a desk for our son’s room. We attached a tabletop to its side, with rope suspensions to complete the look . For under $200, a set of garage sale chairs were dressed with new fabric covers for a sitting nook. A set of old shutters, hung on a wall with framed photos hanging from decorative drawer knobs, made a unique wall gallery display for under $100. Below are photos of some of our unique and budget-friendly decor creations.
While our designer friend Melissa showed me the ropes of repurposing with the hired help of handymen she knew, Craig decided one day he wanted to learn the art of repurposing, too. After returning home from a pawn shop visit one day with a box of miscellaneous tools, he began tinkering in the garage with old and new wood scraps. With some help from watching YouTube videos, he began by trial and error teaching himself how to build furniture and “up-cycled” pieces. I began learning how to add rustic metal touches to some of the pieces and got lots of ideas for things to create from scouring Pinterest.
Mr. and Mrs. Kicker Picker
As we pioneered this new creative territory together, Melissa encouraged us both with helpful advice, design tips, and her “You can do this!” enthusiasm. Before long, she was buying our pieces for her clients, and at her suggestion we decided to put some of our pieces in a rented booth space at an antique mall. We called our booth Hen House Co-Op, and during our first two years of booth-ing, Craig and I added more new skills to our learn-as-we-go repertoire:
How to style (a/k/a “stage”) a booth to be welcoming and homey (Beginner Tip: Start by Googling “Styling ideas for décor”).
How to create eye-catching vignettes (Beginner Tip: Search that word on Pinterest).
The process of going “junking” (a/k/a pickin’) for old relics and materials at estate sales, flea markets, and properties of junk collectors.
The process of creating a vendor booth at a Pop Up Fair (Visit the website of our friends at CityFarmhouseFranklin.com to learn what a Pop Up Fair is).
Shown below are some photos of the early days of our new business coming to life...and a TV news piece featured about Craig's new pickin' habit!
In Part 2 of this blog, learn how our new "booth baby" grew up... into a store! :-)
