By June Mathews
When King’s Home Collections opened in April 2023, it was an instant hit, with people coming from surrounding areas and beyond to purchase home items and gifts.
A charming boutique in Chelsea’s U.S. 280 business district, King’s Home Collections is stocked with an amazing array of handmade pottery, refinished furniture, garden-based products and other items produced by women and youth who work in King’s Home programs.
Far more than being a typical store, King’s Home Collections has a purpose. All its profits go back into King’s Home’s nonprofit program for abused youth, women and children.
It’s not only a place to shop; it’s a place that tells the stories of women who reached the lowest of lows and how they redirected their lives with the help and hope offered by King’s Home.
One of those stories is that of Jenna Collins, who went to King’s Home in 2018, straight out of treatment for heroin addiction. She was also facing homelessness and dealing with domestic violence issues, not to mention felony convictions for acts committed during her addiction.
Though she had already taken steps to pull away from her past and get her life back on track, she desperately needed a job to continue what she had started. But nobody wanted to hire her.
“I couldn’t even get a job at Pizza Hut,” she said.
At King’s Home, Collins found people who believed in her potential enough to give her a chance. Her first job there was painting pottery pieces for the King’s Home Prodigal Pottery program. Within a year, she became a studio manager. Three years later, she achieved co-director status of the program, a position she still holds today.
In addition to her Prodigal Pottery job, Collins serves as director of retail for King’s Home Collections.
“I always tell people they’re getting a part of someone’s healing process when they shop with us,” she said. “Each item represents a moment when a person was able to let God work in their life.”
Developing Life Skills
King’s Home Collections features products created by the women and youth employed by three King’s Home programs. Each program is designed to equip and empower women in need and help them break unhealthy cycles and regain what they lost because of life’s challenges.
Prodigal Pottery produces tens of thousands of handmade pottery pieces each year, including ornaments, mugs, a line of dinnerware, soap dishes and ring holders. The studio also serves wholesale and online customers.
King’s Home Thrift and Restorations is a furniture repair and refinishing shop that restores furniture donated to the organization.
King’s Home Garden provides plants, herbs, homemade jellies, fresh farm eggs, flowers in season and woodwork items made by King’s Home youth.
Items from each program are sold through Kings Home Collections.
“As the name implies, the store is a collection of items produced in all our work programs in one place,” said Collins. “So not only is it a great place to shop for unique home items and gifts, but every purchase matters. We call it ‘purposeful shopping’ because it makes a difference in lives.”
King’s Home Collections also sells gifts from other Christian-based ministries and companies, including Starfish Project, Ten Thousand Villages and Thistle Farms. The WellHouse – a local shelter offering safety and care for women and their children fleeing homelessness, domestic abuse and sex trafficking – brings to the mix an assortment of jewelry, candles and other gift items.
“This allows us to shine a light on these other ministries as well,” Collins said.
Like the programs that provide much of its merchandise, King’s Home Collections offers on-the-job training and skills development. So not only does the ability to work there provide women with a financial boost for the present, it also prepares them for the future.
“Kings Home Collections and the programs associated with it offer second chances, and they allow God to work through those of us responsible for guiding them to better equip women for moving into the next phase of their lives,” said Collins. “Those of us who have dealt with the same kinds of challenges they’re dealing with are uniquely qualified to work alongside these women. We’ve walked where they are walking and can serve as a beacon of hope and an example of ‘you can do it, and this is how you do it.’”
King’s Home Collections, said King’s Home President Lew Burdette, is much more than a boutique. It plays an important role in rebuilding lives.
“It serves as a meaningful employment opportunity for women and teenagers residing at King’s Home, empowering them through hands-on retail experience and customer interaction,” he said. “This initiative not only supports their financial independence but also fosters personal growth and skill development in a safe, nurturing environment as women and youth heal from horrible abuse.
“By showcasing a variety of curated gifts, furniture and King’s Home Prodigal Pottery, the store enriches the community and provides a platform for our residents to thrive and contribute positively to their futures.”
Visit King’s Home Collections in person at 110 Chelsea Corners Way, in the Winn-Dixie Plaza off U.S. 280, or online at kingshome.com/collections.
