Faith in Action: From Kicker to Picker (Part 2 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 2 of 2]
New Horizons “In Store”
Raising our kids while running our booth (along with my growing essential oils business) kept my husband and me quite busy. Craig was building more and more furniture, and I was doing the booth styling and seasonal decor. Friends kept telling Craig that he needed to meet another furniture builder named Rick Dohler. We had a lot of mutual friends between our families, and when our circles finally did cross, a partnership was born between two guys who like to build furniture: one named Craig and one named Rick, both born in 1971. Our Hen House Co-Op booth became our CR-71 partnership store, opening in Franklin, TN in 2014 and expanding to include a workshop and warehouse that houses other businesses.
Some of our CR-71 customers have included:
- Sheryl Crow
- Mike Wolfe of AMERICAN PICKERS
- Brad Paisley
- Stephen Curtis Chapman
- Scott Hamilton
- Numerous Nashville-area restaurants and churches
- City Farmhouse Franklin
Our store has also been used as a set for shooting music videos, conducting television interviews, and renting furniture for celebrity photo shoots and music events. We've been told there’s even a custom sign from our store (made by HOUSE OF BELONGING and framed in reclaimed trim by Craig and Rick) now in the home of Chip and Joanna Gaines (pictured below).
HOW COOL is THAT ?!
WHEN to “Say When”
Looking back on our five-year journey of new ideas becoming new interests, then new interests becoming new ventures, I’m reminded of a favorite quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
WHEN Craig and I both took action on our new interests, that’s WHEN we put faith in motion.
WHEN God brought Melissa into our life, that’s WHEN He brought a light of encouragement, shining on a pathway of new potential we didn’t know we had.
WHEN Melissa encouraged us to start a booth, that’s WHEN we put more faith-in-action...and more faith-in-action created more traction!
Our faith-in-action (with accelerated traction) took us to fun and flourishing places we never imagined we’d go. First with our booth, and then with our store. But after 5 years of stretching ourselves toward these new horizons, there came a time WHEN our gut was telling us WHEN to “Say When” this 'leg' of our "Kicker-Picker" journey was at its end.
While our business had grown quickly and substantially, so had the quantity and frequency of custom furniture orders…and the physical toll it was taking on Craig’s already worn and football-damaged body. This time, taking action meant putting our faith in the action of stopping, rather than beginning. In early 2018, we made the decision to continue in partnership with Rick as warehouse and workshop co-owners, while phasing out of the custom building and store-side of our business. We’re happy the store is still thriving with Rick as sole proprietor, and continues as a unique place to buy found and reclaimed custom treasures. Stop into the Factory in Franklin, TN and visit CR-71 if you’re in the area!
reSOURCEs:
Steve Azar Podcast: In A Mississippi Minute with Craig Hentrich
CR-71 store: https://www.facebook.com/CR71store/
City Farmhouse Franklin: https://cityfarmhousefranklin.com/
Our store was featured as a go-to vendor in the resource section of author Kim Leggett's book CITY FARMHOUSE STYLE