Business Alumna Realizes Dream of Creating Future Heirlooms
December 19, 2022
In today’s world of Internet-based businesses, it easier than ever to be an entrepreneur and set up a business providing services or making just about anything that can be sold online. Heather Jones BA’01 tapped into the rapidly growing world of online “makers” who include craftsmen, artists, woodworkers and others who make any number of hand-crafted items like furniture, pottery and fine art that can be sold directly to customers on the Internet.
Jones, who graduated from South Garland High School in Garland, Texas, took high school business classes and was a member of her school’s DECA chapter, formerly known as the Distributive Education Clubs of America. She applied to The University of Texas at Dallas to study business, knowing that a degree in business administration was valuable in many career areas and would come in handy if she ever started her own business.
“I really enjoyed my business classes, and the ideas we learned came natural to me,” Jones said.
After graduating from UT Dallas in 2001, Jones went to work for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department doing title work for boat registrations and assisting Texas game wardens with legal work. It was while working here that she and her husband, Tim, launched THH Creations, a custom furniture business based in Rockwall, Texas.
The business started as a part-time venture after Jones went shopping at a craft show and saw a custom-made, high-end decorative trash can that she wanted to buy as a gift for her mother. She showed it to her husband who responded that he could make it in his shop in the garage. He did and Jones loved his take on it so much that she decided they could make them to sell.
“It turned out awesome. Tim turned it into a piece of fine furniture that he can make with pine or oak or whatever the customer wants,” she said. “We put them on Etsy.com, and they just took off.”
The couple began expanding their line of furniture offerings with Tim, a skilled woodworker, coming up with ever more impressive ideas for tables, cabinets, chairs, signs and other items. A key to their business is working with clients to customize furniture by offering a variety of woods, trims, decorative add-ons and just about anything a customer can think of, including reproducing existing furniture.
Jones helps by cutting out a project’s pieces from lumber and painting and applying finishes to completed furniture while handling the business side including sales, marketing and customer relations. She said her business administration education at UT Dallas’ Naveen Jindal School of Management is invaluable.
“Everything from my business classes at UTD helps us as a small two-person business – marketing, logistics, dealing with people, understanding costs so we can charge a price that includes all our costs from materials to shipping,” Jones said.
THH Creations quickly outgrew using Etsy, triggering the launch of a new website that saves the business considerable costs. In 2016, Jones secured a deal to produce 50 wooden Christmas tree displays for a beer and wine distributor to use in area Tom Thumb grocery stores. The couple also welcomed a new baby that year, growing their family to four. Jones decided it was time to quit her state job to manage the growing business full time.
“At first the risk of not having those job benefits were kind of hard to adjust to,” Jones said. “But the benefits of starting the business were worth it – like more time with my kids. I’m there for every softball game, every school function.”
The couple continues to expand their offerings and finally had to move the business out of the garage to an off-site shop. Jones said they have no plans to open a retail location when their online presence keeps them more than busy. She hopes their continued growth will soon allow them to hire a couple of employees to help speed up production and prepare furniture for shipping.
Though customers may not meet Jones face-to-face, she said they still appreciate a personal touch and the customer service she provides.
“Tim and I have put our hearts into this,” Jones said. “We’re making furniture that’s going to last a lifetime and whenever the customer gets it and they tell us they’re amazed by it, that makes it worth it.”