“I would rather be sitting here 5 years from now saying, ‘we tried and it didn't work,' than sitting here saying, ‘you know we should have.’”
Meet Lisa
It’s hard to believe that five (nearly six) years have passed since Steve said those words to me as we sat around the bonfire in our backyard. The funny thing is, I loved my job back then. I was never one of those nine-to-¬fivers stuck at work daydreaming about what might be.
I was a store manager at Ann Taylor Loft for eight years, learning the ins-and-outs of retail and loving the people I worked with. But I would come home, the house would be empty because Steve was still on duty as a police officer, and I just had a restless desire to decorate (and re-decorate) constantly. I knew that as happy as I was, there was something more waiting for me.
It all started coming together about two years before we officially opened our doors at the Rustic Barn. I was finding home improvement projects to take on every day, my mother-in-law, Luba, was my go-to for a creative eye around the house, and Steve had started taking custom furniture orders on the side. Ideas were swirling, but the timing never seemed right to open a retail store.
Eventually, Steve convinced me to take the leap. I quit my job, learned the art of candle making, put my retail skills to the test, and the rest is history. The Rustic Barn as our loyal customers know it today is everything and more to me. I get to work alongside my family, create meaningful relationships with my clients, pour amazingly fragrant candles, and - my personal favorite - decorate to my heart’s every desire.
There aren’t enough words to express the gratitude I feel or the blessings that I enjoy every day. I get to wake up every morning doing what I love, and every day I meet someone new as they welcome me, and my curated collection of unique finds, into their home. I’m no longer wondering if there’s more for me in the future - I know that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
“And now here we are, five years later, working like crazy and loving every minute of it.”
Meet Steve
When we first opened the Rustic Barn, I was still working on the police force and building furniture on the side. The days were long, but I loved every minute I spent in the workshop.
I’ve lived a lot of lives: from trade school to my carpentry business, working as a canine handler, and eventually as an officer before retiring to build furniture full time. It’s all been fantastic, but nothing has felt quite as right as my time running the Rustic Barn. This is more than a business to me; my team is my family, and my craft allows me to create beautiful pieces for my clients every day. I mean, I get to walk out of my house into my workshop fifteen feet away every morning and get to work. My mother and my wife work together in the store, and make a fantastic team. My clients wait months to have furniture built, and are excited to join me in the process. How cool is that?
While I’m a contractor by trade, I’m an artist at heart. One day I’ll scale back some of the custom work, and walk into my workshop in the morning thinking, “What do I feel like creating today?”
They say if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. I don’t think I believe that. I think if you love what you do, you’ll spend every day working to improve your craft and every night working on new ideas you want to put into action. And most of all, you’ll work to make the people who matter - clients, wives, mothers, and team members - really proud.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do work that doesn’t really feel like work, and do it to every day.
