Greg and I have never had jobs in retail. He’s a Navy vet who’s always been mechanical and hands-on, from working on machines to leatherworking to sewing. I’m a thinker and puzzler who got into computer programming and graphic design which led me to nearly two decades in corporate marketing. We’re both creative in our own ways, and we both like figuring out how to make things work better. We’ve found that our differences in perspective make us a pretty awesome team.
Over the years, we’ve brainstormed many ideas together. We’ve helped each other, our family members, and our friends build, repair, remove, and create many different things. When we got interested in coffee together, we experimented with a mobile coffee shop setup at a couple of weekend events. When Greg got injured on the job and then ended up without said job, we came up with the idea of a leatherworking DVD that Greg produced with his father. When we wanted to find a way to start a business together, we put his mechanical skills together with my computer ones and started doing embroidery in our garage.
In all of our varied adventures, the best part has been the people we’ve been able to meet, work with, and serve along the way. Whether it was helping to clear land or remove storm-downed trees, serving up the perfect latte or iced chai, Greg crafting a personalized leather handbag or wallet, or me crocheting a baby blanket or hat in the perfect colors, it was the people we got to help and serve that filled our hearts with joy and the desire to keep finding more ways to help and serve.
It’s hard to call any of the people we help “customers” because they so quickly become friends. In our store, each person has a name and a story. They have a reason to visit us in our home away from home, and we want to know how we can address their needs and bring more joy into their hearts and lives, as they do ours.
Renegade Classics Chattanooga is a brand new adventure for the two of us, and so far, it’s one of the best things we’ve ever done together. Thank you to everyone who helped us to bring our dream into the world, and to everyone who continues to support this venture.
~Julie