A gift store that gives back

King’s Home opens King’s Home Collections to support mission, provide jobs

By CANDICE N. HALE

Lew Burdette, the president of King’s Home, recently opened a new gift shop in the Chelsea Corners Shopping Center.

King’s Home Collections features refurbished furniture crafted by the ladies of King’s Home along with upscale gifts, with the sales supporting women, children and youth from Shelby County who come to the King’s Home campus to escape domestic violence and homelessness.

“Home’s Collections is not a thrift store, but an upscale and unique gift shop with price points ranging from $10 to $900,” Burdette said.

Located in an 1,100-square-foot space next to the Chelsea Winn-Dixie, King’s Home Collections showcases different, refurbished furniture like desks, dressers, bed sets and living room pieces.

There is a garden area that highlights the horticulture program from King’s Home, along with birdhouses, fresh eggs, vases, decorative stakes for potted soil and laser engraving for plant pots and planters.

The store also features products from Prodigal Pottery, which are handmade and created by 12 women at King’s Home, and a naturals program that includes candles (in mugs) and handmade jewelry from Wellhouse, a safe haven for victims of human trafficking, and Thistle Farms merchandise including body products, lotions and candles.

Money made from each purchase at King’s Home Collections is put right back into the campus’s residents, including through its jobs and retail programs.

“My wife, Suzie, had the great idea for the storefront and refurbishing idea,” Burdette said. “She has restored and painted furniture throughout the years. She designed the store, worked countless hours showing the mothers how to refurbish and restore and provided leadership to get it off the ground.”

Suzie Burdette instituted a jobs program at King’s Home Collections where three mothers work in the woodshop restoring and refinishing furniture donated at the King’s Home thrift store locations in Eastwood, Pinson and Hanceville.

In the youth retail program, there are three teenagers working in the store learning the basic retail services and skills.

“Our garden program director teaches our youth how to handle workplace safety on one major item once a month like pallet crosses, furniture refurbishing, fresh eggs or other life lessons,” Lew Burdette said.

The furniture at King’s Home Collections will be updated and restocked every day. As soon as a piece is sold, another piece is brought in. The store has pieces staged daily, and the employees are always ready to work on another project.

Since their grand opening in April, the business has done well, and the community has shown a great response.

“As we develop more pieces, I know our moms will learn more and more,” Burdette said.

King’s Home Collections hopes to reach a yearly goal of $150,000 in sales or even exceed that to keep the jobs program going. They want people to support King’s Home and to provide customers with great products.

“They need to come and see the store for an in-person tour — a great, upscale and trendy gift shop for everybody. All kinds of things — a large variety of gifts — people aren’t expecting to see. Remember, every purchase helps others,” Burdette said.

The King’s Collections is now open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 110 Chelsea Corners Way. For more information, visit their Facebook page: “King’s Home Collections.”