Havner’s Frame Shop and Successful Passion for Decades

“I feel like you can always determine the success of something by the passion that’s put into it. And we’ve got it down here, not just us, but the people surrounding us,” said Trista Havner, co-owner of Havner’s Frame Shop. “I feel like telling stories is what builds community, especially visual stories.”

Successful passion has run in Charlie Havner’s family for 45 years, since 1977 when his grandfather opened the frame shop. For years the shop was located on Campbell street, until recently when Charlie and Trista relocated to North Church Street, surrounded by artists and small business owners who have given them the community they crave. They had their eye on downtown for several years, but when their old building was put up for sale, they had to find a building quickly, and they wanted something with a story to tell. Trista saw that the door was left open to their current shop one day, so they walked in to look at it, only to see it leaking water and falling apart from the inside out. But she saw potential and passion in this place, and so began their construction process. 

“We just really wanted to be able to push our roots a little deeper by coming downtown,” said Charlie. 

“It feels like literally overnight, this place was dead and now it is alive again,” continued Trista.

“It’s gone nuclear overnight. And it’s only going to get bigger and better,” replied Charlie.

Now, their new building on North Church Street has an art gallery and a workshop where Charlie hand-crafts every frame, complete with viewing windows so customers can see the all the details that go into making their products. The gallery will rotate between installments every 90 days, giving all artists of any age the opportunity to display their work. Their passion is to provide quality products to their customers that will last for years to come. Trista and Charlie do everything that is required to run this business, Charlie handling the orders and making of the frames, and Trista working on the marketing and gallery space. At first, it was nerve wracking to move locations after so many years in the same place, but on the first day they opened, people flooded in from every part of Jackson, both old customers and new. 

Not only are the Havners passionate about the work they do, but they are surrounded by other small business owners who feel the same about their business. Their block has businesses like Turntable Coffee, ComeUnity Cafe, Light Trap Books, Third Eye Curiosity, Floral Cakes, and so many more to come. This new downtown location has allowed them to feel a part of the community of small business owners downtown. Unless you are a fellow small business owner, you don’t understand the struggles and day to day challenges that are involved, making the importance for like minded people even greater. 

“You have this unbelievably high quality, thoroughbred pedigree concentrated in this intersection and expanded at large,” said Charlie. “These people know what they’re doing and they do it at extremely high pitch.” 

People have always wanted to be downtown, but it just wasn’t the right time, until right now. And it’s people who have the most to lose who are investing downtown, explained Trista. It’s the young people who are startups and who have invested all the money they have into their craft. 

“There’s this excitement and this vibrant attitude here because people are seeing what it could be and what it is now,” said Trista. “Every single day we find out about someone else who’s going to be putting a business downtown because they see the quality here.”