Welcome to the Circus!

 Hey there!

If you've made it this far, perhaps you've been in to see us and wanted to do more research to figure out who these people are--or maybe you came across us on the 'inter-webs' and got sucked into the rabbit hole. Either way, before you continue, you should know--we are Southern born and Southern bred and if you were looking for a formal, APA acceptable blog you're going to be disappointed. 

We decided to start this blog to tell our story. Southern folks are notorious about story-telling; from William Faulkner to Maya Angelo, we love a good tale. In the name of  authenticity, we're going to compose this blog the same way we would tell a tale--so prepare yourself for colorful descriptions and maybe a little rambling!

To fully understand the tale of Twin Oaks Crafts, we have to give you a little backstory. Paulette "Lolli" and James "Pop" Walley are our owners and masterminds. Pop is a retired Navy Senior Chief. During his time in the Navy, Pop was a SeaBee. He'd been using the skills he learned in the Navy to operate as a Maintenance Supervisor at the VA, and retired from the VA just last week. Pop has been wood working all of his life, and is a master at the craft.

Lolli is a retired math teacher. She spent twenty years teaching in Hinds and Rankin counties. When she wasn't teaching, Lolli was an active member of the American Legion Women's Auxiliary. Lolli and Pop met at the American Legion in 2014. Pop had to work really hard to court Lolli, but his efforts paid off in the end. In 2015, they married and between them had five daughters and one son with ages ranging from the mid-thirties to the tweens. Hence, the circus was born. Due to the need for quality education, Lolli and Pop moved the circus from Byram to Richland to get the three youngest girls into Richland High School.

In the Summer of 2018, one of the girls started having health issues that forced Lolli into early retirement. This gave her a prime opportunity; she hadn't sewed for almost 20 years.

    "I grew up sewing--it's kinda in my blood. My grandfather and great uncles were the Singer representatives for the State of Texas. After he died, my grandmother raised her kids by being a seamstress for the Houston elite. My mama made all of our clothes. I used to make my own clothes, and then my daughters were born and I was focused on them and my students--who were just as much my kids in a lot of ways. Then suddenly, for the first time in almost two decades, I found myself being a stay-home mom. I finally had time to pick it [sewing] up again," Lolli likes to chuckle.

She decided to start an in-home embroidery business, coining the name "Twin Oaks." Lolli had some local success, and she greatly enjoyed the work. Once her daughter's new medical condition was manageable, she went to work part-time at a local sewing shop. Lolli met lots of new friends and learned a great deal about the industry. When that shop was closed, an idea started forming in Lolli and Pop's minds. With his impeding retirement looming in the near future, they would both need something to do in their golden years. In the Spring of 2019, all of their kids were out of school and they began researching and planning.

    "It was my idea to open a shop," Pop declares, usually around his tobacco pipe, "I've got a lot of Navy buddies in Arkansas and we love it up there. We thought about striking out and kicking up our heels in the Ozarks, but we like this little city. We want to give back to the community."

Through the Winter of 2019, Lolli and Pop made preparations to open a local sewing and crafts store. Then, in early 2020, the Corona Virus came to the United States and put the country on hold. Lolli and Pop made over 2,000 homemade masks for the community.

    "She had me cuttin' and sewing the face pieces together, then I'd hand 'em over for her to sew on the straps. We had quite the assembly line goin'," Pop tells.

Their operation started outgrowing the house. They'd made the necessary investments and knew it was time to upscale. So in an unprecedented move of courage--or recklessness, depending on who you talk to--they rented a building and Twin Oaks Crafts was born in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. 

    "People have been cooped up, a lot of them scared. We adhere to all the safety practices the officials have outlined--sanitizing and social distancing--and we know that people need somewhere they can come and forget about the chaos that's going on," Lolli sips her Dr. Pepper.

So Twin Oaks Crafts officially opened at the end of June 2020. The Sewing Basket--Lolli's end of the operation, opened first. The Corona Virus has made fabric a hot commodity, and people have come trickling in to find the perfect design for masks and more. As we build, a solid group of ladies have been attending our classes regularly and are now part of the family. After retiring last week, Pop has been organizing and setting up to get the Wood Shed up and kicking. He's already gotten a few commissions! 

That's the overview of Twin Oaks Crafts. In our next posts, we'll be going into more detail about our family--we hope you'll stay tuned! As always, we love you and wish you Happy Crafting!