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The Hands combine the reclaimed wood and soda tabs with cardboard from repurposed boxes to make rustic frames they sell wholesale across the nation.

“We work with fence companies that are going to put them in the landfill, and we go pick them up instead,” Jan Hand said, adding that getting soda tabs is a little trickier.

“We can’t buy those, and that’s what we use for hooks, so we hold contests on social media and whoever gives us the most for the month, they win a free frame,” she said.

Now the company is a prizewinner, too, recognized by Keep Texas Beautiful.

The Rowlett company placed first in the local businesses category for an Ebby Halliday and Maurice Acers Business/Industry Leadership Award. The award recognizes “businesses with sound environmental principles supporting the Keep Texas Beautiful mission,” according to ktb.org.

Martha Brown, executive director of Keep Rowlett Beautiful, had encouraged the Hands to apply for the award.

“The judges at the state level thought it was a program worth recognizing with a first place award, and believe me, they get lots of submissions for those types of awards,” Brown said.

“I love that frame line they do,” she said. “I just bought my first one two weeks ago. They are beautiful, and it’s kind of neat how they are doing it and involving the community, and it keeps all of that out of the landfill.”

The Hands started Recherché Inc. about five years ago, specializing in custom-made furniture. They introduced the frames a year ago and the product line has taken off.

The frames come in 15 different colors, and some now include embellishments of cowhide and silver medallions.

“The rustic look is very popular,” Jan Hand said. “We do well obviously in the western states, but then we get a ton of orders out of New York.”

The Hands didn’t start the frames with winning prizes in mind, but they were hoping to do some good.

Working with their congregation, Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, they donate 10 percent from each frame sold to help fund the drilling of water wells in African communities that need water, she said. “We call it the ‘turning wood into water campaign.’”

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By NANCY BALDWIN

Special Contributor

Published: 15 May 2015 09:15 PM

Updated: 15 May 2015 09:15 PM

Cliff and Jan May Hand have made careers out of woodworking.

Owners of Recherché Furnishings, a custom furniture manufacturer in Rowlett, the two see unlimited possibilities in the natural material, much of it reclaimed.

Their creativity earned them the Ebby Halliday & Maurice Acers Business/Industry Leadership Award from Keep Texas Beautiful.

The annual distinction is presented by the statewide nonprofit to a Texas business that works to protect the environment.

“We live and breathe this,” Jan says. “Every six months we launch something new.”

It wasn’t always that way. Until 2010, the couple had careers in other professions: Jan as a health care executive and Cliff as an advertising and design professional.

A chance event turned them in another direction.

“I thought I’d make a concrete table for our dining room,” Cliff says. “I made the table from Sakrete from Home Depot. Folks would want to feel it and look at it. I started making prototypes, and we did our own marketing.”

What evolved was Recherché Furnishings and its Cliffstone tables with handcrafted aggregate tops and bases of new and reclaimed oak, alder, red cedar and juniper.

The tables were followed quickly by an assortment of home decor. A load of cast-off fence material led to the couple’s largest project. On a whim, Cliff fabricated a photo frame from the wood, adding recycled cardboard as the backing and a soda can tab for the hanger.

The frame was an instant hit, and the company’s Naturals Recycled Frames now are sold nationwide.

Also made of reclaimed materials are flags crafted of recycled solid wood, can tabs, eyelets and jute string for hanging.

“We have 52,000 pounds of fence at the front of our shop and in our yard that’ll be kept out of landfills,” Cliff says.

The couple’s eco-conscious efforts extend to a campaign to provide water for communities in Africa by building wells. Through the Turning Wood into Water effort, 10 percent of frame sales are donated toward construction through a program sponsored by Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall.

“To make a product people like, and recycle, and help people in Africa, it’s a win, win, win,” Jan says.

Recherché Furnishings can be purchased locally at Treasured Blossoms Flower Market, Rowlett; wayfair.com, amazon.com and overstock .com.

Nancy Baldwin is a Plano freelance writer.

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ROWLETT, TX – Recherché Furnishings™, Inc., is a Dallas Fort Worth based furniture manufacturer of fine home furnishings.All pieces are hand-crafted and one-of-a-kind and can be seen at The Suites at Market Square, 200 West Commerce, High Point, North Carolina, Booth M-4039 from April 17 – 23, 2015. This is Recherché Furnishings’ 5^th High Point Market and the most exciting to boot!As part of the Recherché Furnishings mission, we want to give back to those who need a little extra help.Come by the booth to find out, or contact us directly, on how you can help bring much-needed water-wells to the poorest communities on Earth by supporting our turning wood into water campaign through care and conservation.

Texas is known for wide-open spaces and fences. Lots of fences.Wooden fences. That’s where Recherché Furnishings, Inc. comes in. Our cause is greater than just selling a product or making a living. It’s about the two C’s:Care and Conservation.Taking care of others is in our DNA so we have chosen to donate 10% of our sales to water well efforts in Africa. Water means life to those who don’t have it. That’s care, real care with boots on.

Conservation. The environment is important to us. Part of our recycling efforts involve taking old fence destined for a landfill and give it new life. Repurposing it, turning trash to treasure. Our recycling effort goes well beyond any other frame on the market today. Even our hangers are comprised of soda tabs that we acquire through social media channels where we hold monthly contests for tabs. Each frame is made from one piece of wood. We call it continual grain.

Every frame we sell represents someone entrusting us with some of his or her most treasured memories. It is humbling that they would choose our frames to surround them. So what kind of impact are we making? Recherché picks up on average 2 fences a week. A fence will average between 200 and 400 feet. Every 200 feet of fence will weigh somewhere between 2800 and 3000 pounds. To put this in perspective, that is the equivalent of 21,000 empty milk jugs. We like to say, “making an impact one picket at a time.”

Recherché reclaimed frames come in 15 different colors. We are introducing in April at High Point our newest line of cowhide and embellished frames. These reclaimed frames are adorned with cowhide and your choice of over 50 embellishment designs. Collegiate colored suede and conchos will be introduced as well at the April Show.

Oh, Did I mention, 100% USA made by Texans?

This is just the beginning……..Thank you for your support!!!!

Built for Life. Your Life.

For photos and product descriptions, visit us at Recherché Furnishings, Inc., www.recherchefurnishings.com or visit us on Facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/RechercheFurnishings

ROWLETT, TX – Recherché Furnishings™, Inc., is a Dallas Fort Worth based furniture manufacturer of fine home furnishings.  All pieces are hand-crafted and one-of-a-kind and can be seen at The Suites at Market Square, 200 West Commerce, High Point, North Carolina, Booth M4039 from October 18 – October 23, 2014.This is Recherché Furnishings’ 4^th High Point Market and the most exciting to boot!As part of the Recherché Furnishings mission, we want to give back to those who need a little extra help.Come by the booth to find out, or contact us directly, on how you can help bring much-needed water-wells to the poorest communities on Earth.

Co-owner of Recherché Furnishings, Jan May Hand, traveled to Africa in 2004 and was awed by the people she met and the communities that she lived among.The poverty, disease, and squalor was not a surprise;  what was a surprise was how everyone she met was gracious, hospitable, and humble regardless of their circumstances. The more she tried to help them, the more they tried to serve her in return. Needlesstosay, this was a life-changing experience and she has wanted to do something in return ever since.Today, she has.With your help, you can support much-needed water-wells in African communities every time you purchase a frame from The Naturals Collection™.

Recherché Furnishings has teamed up with a local church and charitable organization to bring clean water to needy families not only for survival, but for agricultural purposes for healthier food sources. Unclean water is a greater threat than any violent conflict in the world.¹ On the African continent, 1 in 3 people (330 million) do not have access to clean water.² As a result each year an estimated 2.2 million children die from waterborne diseases that can be eliminated through clean, accessible water.¹

In many urban areas, drinking water comes from common waterways, like drains and ditches that may be combined with the sewage systems.In the rural areas the issue is much worse with 68% of the population spending more than 3 hours per day, typically women and children, collecting contaminated water for drinking, sanitation, and hygiene.³ By providing a clean water-well in the local communities, not only do the waterborne diseases decrease, children will be able to spend more time on education and less on carrying water each day, and most importantly, lives are saved.

In economic terms, for every dollar invested in water and sanitation, a $9 return is yielded.¹ You can help today! Purchase the Recherché Reclaimed Natural Frames and see your investment at work in changing people’s lives.The Naturals are all recycled/reclaimed wood, corrugate, hangers, and some are natural dyes/colors. No glass.Choose from 10 colors and 2 sizes.

This is just the beginning……..Thank you for your support!!!!

Built for Life. Your Life.

For photos and product descriptions, visit us at Recherché Furnishings, Inc., www.recherchefurnishings.com or visit us on Facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/RechercheFurnishings

1.United Nations Develop Program (UNDP), Human Development Report 2006; Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis

2.A Snapshot of Drinking-water and Sanitation in the MDG region sub-Saharan Africa – 2010 Update (August 2010)

3.(JMP) Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water: 2010 Update

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Recherche.  Furniture.  Built For Life.  Your Life.

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You may view an electronic copy of the catalog at http://www.crossbooks.com/uploadedFiles/CrossBooks/Bookstore/Catalogs/2014_WinterCrossbooksCatalog.pdf

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