Heart of the Home Celebrates First Anniversary
Published 2:58 pm Monday, September 19, 2022
Owner, Jenna Jones
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Heart of the Home Antiques, located in Fort Deposit, celebrated its first anniversary on Sept. 1.
“We opened last September and it was open Friday and Saturday,” said store owner Jenna Jones. “We opened full time in October.”
The 2022 Christmas open house will be on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Jones said she’s looking forward to the event.
“We’ll have door prizes and concessions, food, and snacks,” Jones said.
She reflected on the successes of the store’s first open house in 2021.
“A lot of the vendors offered sales that day,” she added. “It was a great day last year for all of us.”
Jones, along with her four employees – Joanne Thomlinson, Janet Heartsill, Linda Adams, and Annsley Wallace, who is a senior at Hooper Academy this year – are all helpful and knowledgeable when it comes to the vendors and the merchandise at Heart of the Home.
The quartet answers questions and helps customers find just the right gifts for their family members, friends, and all the special people in their lives.
One special person to Jones was her father, Charles Heartsill. He lived in Fort Deposit his whole life, and recently passed away in April.
“My dad built this place,” Jones said. “He put in the physical walls.”
Jones grew up working at the frame shop her family owns in Fort Deposit, right alongside her father.
“He worked at the frame shop for 12 hours a day,” she said. “Then, he’d come over here and work. On the weekends, he’d be here working.”
But her strong work ethic isn’t the only thing Jones got from her father. Kindness, an open heart, and a wacky sense of humor all stem directly from her DNA.
“We always joked with dad,” Jones said. “ Anywhere he went, people he passed on the street, even people on an elevator, he’d always speak to everyone that he passed.”
Like father, like daughter.
“I talk to everybody,” Jones said. “It’s nice getting to know everyone. Some people might be having a bad day and you just say ‘Hi’ to them, and it just makes a difference to them. Just be nice.”
Through the hard work of Jones and her staff, Heart of the Home Antiques has grown exponentially in the past year.
When away from the shop, Jones can be found on the farm she shares with her husband, Justin, and 2 ½ year old daughter Lynleigh.
“I love living on a farm,” Jones said. “We have lots of animals and I’ve always loved animals.”
They own the regular animals most farms have; like cows, horses, chickens, goats, and of course,, cats and dogs.
But Jones got a special surprise from her family for Christmas last year; a miniature female donkey. Jones named her Dinky, an example of her share of wacky humor.
Jones summed up her idea of success in one word, family.
“Family is everything,” she said. “Everybody in our family has always been so close and helpful.”
But her idea of family extends beyond blood and DNA.
“I want all my vendors to be successful,” Jones said. “Honestly, I love seeing all the cool things that come in this door.”
She even has a 1903 Ferris wheel seat that belonged to her father displayed in the shop.
Heart of the Home Antiques is located at 940 Old Fort Road East in Fort Deposit. It’s just off the Fort Deposit exit of I-65 north. It’s just past the Prester’s sign on the left.
The store’s days and hours of operation are Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 1-5 p.m.
For more information, call (334) 404-6614, follow the store on Facebook, or send an email to heartofthehomeframing@gmail.com.
