The Story of Shop of the Heart
A living unfolding of how a sanctuary is born.
As we built Shop of the Heart, something unexpected began to happen—
the space started telling its own story.
Every beam. Every light. Every piece of torn floor covering.
Every moment of doubt, renewal, laughter, exhaustion, and grace.
This page follows the journey.
Not the polished version.
The real one.
A store becoming a sanctuary.
A sanctuary becoming a life.
And a life becoming a place of return.
Welcome to the unfolding.
EPISODE ONE — Meeting the Empty Bones
Before anything else, there was silence.
A small, empty room with bare floors, torn coverings, forgotten vents, crooked lines, and scattered bones of possibility.
Nothing fancy. Nothing arranged. Nothing pretending.
When we first stepped inside, it was strangely tender. A little battered. A little abandoned.
But it had the feeling of waiting— as if the room knew we were coming.
We stood in that emptiness for a long time. Breathing. Listening. Letting the space speak before touching anything.
There was no rush. No branding. No “vision boards.” Just the truth of a room asking to be seen.
And in that quiet meeting, something aligned. This would not be a store built by force.
It would be a store built by presence, patience, and devotion—
one day, one beam, one small awakening at a time.
The empty room recognized us—and we recognized it.