RSS Feed
|  |
|
|
|||||||
|
Husband & wife team open gift shop in Brownsboro
And since opening in the late 1990s, their business has grown by leaps and bounds! Now located at 14631 SH 31 E, in The Statesman building, in Brownsboro, Triple D Candles & Crafts has on display a plethora of beautiful gift items for folks of all ages. Special items of interest are Rusty's hand made corrugated steel art - wooden framed pictures of Americana, animals, autos, Coca Cola, John Deere, Elvis, John Wayne, Lonesome Dove, motorcycles, NASCAR, scenery, sports, tractors and western. If you wish, Rusty will even brand names into the frame or decorate with rope or barbed wire. If you don't find what you're looking for, Rusty can make it for you, from wooden plaques, frames, shelves, gun racks, mirrors, to wood furniture. You name it. He can make it. "I've noticed that all age groups like this stuff," Terry said. It all started out as a part time job for Rusty while he held down a full time job working for Aramark Uniform Services in Tyler. By 2004, he was able to leave Aramark and set out on his own working full time creating his works of art.
The corrugated metal is purchased new and Rusty cuts it by hand, applies the pictures, and builds the frames. "People say, `why don't you get one of those machines to cut that,'" Terry said. "But he said, `uh-uh.' Rusty's pretty particular about everything. He's picky about how things look." Terry says the idea for the framed pictures came about when she and daughter Dawn attended a trade show with their candle collection in New Mexico. While there, they saw storage chests with the tops made of the corrugated metal pictures. "We thought that looked kind of cool," Terry said. "Dawn said, `Mama, we can talk Daddy into this.'" Rusty got to work, and the rest is history. By the way... Triple D stands for the couple's daughter Dusty Dawn Downey, who is also involved in the business. In addition to Rusty's "barn wood pictures," Terry has a large collection of candles, with 67 different fragrances. Triple D also offers home decor items, western gifts, solar lights, handmade bath sets, decorator hooks, wind chimes, and more. The outdoor solar lights are a popular item at Triple D. Charged by the sunlight by day, they light up at nightfall.. All made from weather-resistant materials, Rusty puts them together and Terry decorates them with a variety of themes. "I'm just so proud of him," she said. "He sees things, gets ideas, and goes with it. He does a real good job." All items at Triple D Candles & Gifts are reasonably priced. "A lot of people don't think we charge enough," Terry said. "But we want people to buy and enjoy our stuff." Hours of operation at the Brownsboro location are 9am- 5pm, Monday thru Saturday. Folks can also visit Triple D Candles & Gifts on First Monday weekend in Canton, and Downey's Mercantile that offers a variety of sundries. Terry says she enjoys working with her husband. "He's more relaxed and we get to travel and be together," she said. "It's fun and I enjoy being partners with him." Rusty and Terry will take their merchandise on the road to the National Chuck Wagon races in Clinton, Arkansas, in September, and the Covered Bridge Festival in Mansfield, Indiana, in October. They can also usually be found at most area shows in Edom, Van Zandt County Fair, and Athens rodeos. "People can find us in lots of places," Terry said. Triple D Candles & Gifts currently offers over 200 pictures, and are continually adding more. Log onto their website at: www.tripledcandlesandcrafts.com, for a sample of their inventory, or to order merchandise. Whether you're looking for a great gift or want to enhance your home decor, Triple D Candles & Gifts is a great place to shop. |
for larger version   |
||||||
)
)
