Our Stick Of The Week! is Candice Jenness. Candice is in the NOW as co-owner and designer of Looney Bin Trading Company, specializing in custom furniture and decor from reclaimed lumber and materials.
Our products are made from Recycled Shipping Pallet Wood. This reclaimed wood has beautiful character while being Eco Friendly!
Candice Jenness
Candice Jenness is a wife, a mother, a friend, a business owner and an artist. With Looney Bin Trading Company, Candice and her husband Mike, offer the general public an option to mass produced furniture and home décor with up-cycled echo friendly material and heirloom quality construction.
Tell us about your NOW (Noodle On the Wall)
My NOW is Looney Bin Trading Company, Handcrafted Furniture & Home Decor from reclaimed wood. The name of the company comes from a sign hanging over our front door, it says, “The Looney Bin... We're a bit looney here!...Odd things tend to occur here! Abnormality is the normality at this locality." This describes our life and home perfectly...WE LOVE IT!
We are a blended family with five kids, four dogs, one cat and one gerbil. People always ask us, "How do you keep your sanity?" Our answer is we don't. We are a little looney! It can get a little crazy and chaos is something that feels normal to us.
NOW we are starting this new venture, Looney Bin Trading Co! My husband and I work together to create unique items for your home from reclaimed lumber, vintage hardware and upcycled items from our salvage expeditions.
My NOW is Looney Bin Trading Company, Handcrafted Furniture & Home Decor from reclaimed wood. The name of the company comes from a sign hanging over our front door, it says, “The Looney Bin... We're a bit looney here!...Odd things tend to occur here! Abnormality is the normality at this locality." This describes our life and home perfectly...WE LOVE IT!
We are a blended family with five kids, four dogs, one cat and one gerbil. People always ask us, "How do you keep your sanity?" Our answer is we don't. We are a little looney! It can get a little crazy and chaos is something that feels normal to us.
NOW we are starting this new venture, Looney Bin Trading Co! My husband and I work together to create unique items for your home from reclaimed lumber, vintage hardware and upcycled items from our salvage expeditions.
Is your NOW simmering, al dente or fully cooked and why?
I would have to say we are in all three stages simultaneously most days. My creative juices never seem to turn off. What could we build? Where could we take this? How can we get there?
Simmering is a 24/7 thing for me. Then bringing one of our new items to life with a doddle on a napkin and a yucky old shipping pallet from the trash would be my al dente. And sometimes as an artist, you get attached to what you are creating, but they need a home before they are fully cooked.
Fully cooked is when I get that email from a customer who tells me just how much they LOVE it and sends me photos of what we have created in their homes…Home Sweet Home!
I would have to say we are in all three stages simultaneously most days. My creative juices never seem to turn off. What could we build? Where could we take this? How can we get there?
Simmering is a 24/7 thing for me. Then bringing one of our new items to life with a doddle on a napkin and a yucky old shipping pallet from the trash would be my al dente. And sometimes as an artist, you get attached to what you are creating, but they need a home before they are fully cooked.
Fully cooked is when I get that email from a customer who tells me just how much they LOVE it and sends me photos of what we have created in their homes…Home Sweet Home!
What recipes can you give other Creative Moms Taking OnThe Creative?
I am no expert by any means, but what I’ve learned is that I need to listen to that little voice inside my head. There is a reason that idea keeps coming up. There’s a reason why I can’t sleep and my mind wanders to that same old thing continuously. I need to trust myself and take the leap knowing that my family will be there to catch me if I fall.
It’s like I tell our kids, “If you don’t try, you will never know.....You will always wonder…If you don’t like it try something else!” Something will stick!
Once you get started it is like giving birth to a child and seeing their face for the first time. It is exciting to think of the possibilities ahead!
I am no expert by any means, but what I’ve learned is that I need to listen to that little voice inside my head. There is a reason that idea keeps coming up. There’s a reason why I can’t sleep and my mind wanders to that same old thing continuously. I need to trust myself and take the leap knowing that my family will be there to catch me if I fall.
It’s like I tell our kids, “If you don’t try, you will never know.....You will always wonder…If you don’t like it try something else!” Something will stick!
Once you get started it is like giving birth to a child and seeing their face for the first time. It is exciting to think of the possibilities ahead!
What motivated you to throw your noodle?
In short, our five year old daughter Susan did! She was born with a congenital heart defect called, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) which is a serious lifelong medical condition that is life threatening. Her struggles and survival over the last five years have taught me to believe in what cannot be seen and to trust myself and that little voice. She has fought back from what seem to be impossible odds and when doctors didn’t think she would survive the night. She is my hero! If she CAN do everything that doctors said she couldn’t possibly do, then maybe I can do this!
Susan’s life changed our lives in many unexpected ways and gave me the faith and trust I needed to do almost anything, including throwing My Noodle and starting Looney Bin Trading Company.
In short, our five year old daughter Susan did! She was born with a congenital heart defect called, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) which is a serious lifelong medical condition that is life threatening. Her struggles and survival over the last five years have taught me to believe in what cannot be seen and to trust myself and that little voice. She has fought back from what seem to be impossible odds and when doctors didn’t think she would survive the night. She is my hero! If she CAN do everything that doctors said she couldn’t possibly do, then maybe I can do this!
Susan’s life changed our lives in many unexpected ways and gave me the faith and trust I needed to do almost anything, including throwing My Noodle and starting Looney Bin Trading Company.
What inspires you as a Mom and as a creative person?
I think what inspires me most as a Mom is making things that will hold up to the test of time. To build something that the kids can really play with now, but will grow with them like our Looney Bin Crates.
Creating something timeless! A Hope Chest that now stores their stuffed animals may someday store the love letters from the man of their dreams. You just never know. Maybe my children’s grandkids will someday play with a piece of furniture we lovingly built.
I think what inspires me most as a Mom is making things that will hold up to the test of time. To build something that the kids can really play with now, but will grow with them like our Looney Bin Crates.
Creating something timeless! A Hope Chest that now stores their stuffed animals may someday store the love letters from the man of their dreams. You just never know. Maybe my children’s grandkids will someday play with a piece of furniture we lovingly built.
That is what inspires me and keeps me wanting to bring people’s ideas to life for them as well with a beautiful custom piece of furniture.
How do you juggle Mamahood and your NOW?
This is the thing I struggle most with especially as we are in the infancy of our business with lofty goals of waking up and doing JUST this everyday! Finding the balance between our Now and all our Looney Birds, is a consistent evolution. I really don’t want to miss anything, as you could consider this my “Second Act” in parenting as my oldest girls are now 22 & 21, so I have experienced how fast the kids grow and change.
I think including the kids as much as I can helps me feel less torn. Our son John loves to cut corks, gather wood or pull nails for us. The little girls like to paint while Mommy works on something inside or outside. The older girls are great about watching the little ones so we can work.
How do you juggle Mamahood and your NOW?
This is the thing I struggle most with especially as we are in the infancy of our business with lofty goals of waking up and doing JUST this everyday! Finding the balance between our Now and all our Looney Birds, is a consistent evolution. I really don’t want to miss anything, as you could consider this my “Second Act” in parenting as my oldest girls are now 22 & 21, so I have experienced how fast the kids grow and change.
I think including the kids as much as I can helps me feel less torn. Our son John loves to cut corks, gather wood or pull nails for us. The little girls like to paint while Mommy works on something inside or outside. The older girls are great about watching the little ones so we can work.
But there are those times Mommy has to work and they hear, “just a minute” when in fact it is probably more like an hour of answering emails, listing items, printing shipping labels, writing thank you notes or boxing up items!
My newest solution to this has been to dedicate Mommy Time to each of them. Something they can count on me doing with them, whether it’s that trip to the park or just reading that book all snuggled up with no interruptions. No cell phone!
My newest solution to this has been to dedicate Mommy Time to each of them. Something they can count on me doing with them, whether it’s that trip to the park or just reading that book all snuggled up with no interruptions. No cell phone!
What is your ultimate pasta dish?
I LOVE Pasta! To choose would be like asking me, “What child I love more?” I Love them all unconditionally and equally. Each one is unique in their own right, offering a vast array of characters and tastes. They are all yummy to Mamma!
I LOVE Pasta! To choose would be like asking me, “What child I love more?” I Love them all unconditionally and equally. Each one is unique in their own right, offering a vast array of characters and tastes. They are all yummy to Mamma!
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