Broken Arrow, OK- Jon and Missy Strong
- Kyle Rogers
- Jan 15, 2020
- 4 min read
Visiting Little Rock was a blast and I had a great time seeing some of my old stomping grounds as well as catching up with some old friends. I was back on the road and headed to Broken Arrow, OK, to visit the second family of Makers, Jon and Missy Strong.
Jon and Missy live in Broken Arrow, but I was actually staying in Tulsa for the 2 nights I was there. I got into Tulsa late afternoon and was able to check out the city a little bit. I checked into my AirBnB, which was in a small area right outside of downtown. The lady who owned it got the dates mixed up and hadn’t cleaned the apartment yet, so she had to come clean when I arrived. She was super nice though and I felt bad because it was her birthday and she had to leave her dinner plans to come clean the house. I ubered downtown to get some food and drinks. I walked around the blue dome area a bit and then ate at some Snitchel place. I was really exhausted, so I didn’t stay out long and headed back to the AirBnB to get some sleep so I could get up early to meet the Strong’s for the very first time.
I woke up and stopped at a coffee shop near my AirBnB which was Cirque Coffee. Cool shop and the two dudes working were super friendly and served up some great coffee. Next stop was the Strong’s house.
I got to the Strong’s that morning and they welcomed me with open arms. We chatted for a bit and quickly connected and I felt comfortable (as did they…I think) as if I had known them for a long time. They showed me around their house, their shop and gave me the run down of their process. They worked out of their garage and even dinning room/living room. There were random projects at different stages spread around, but not in a messy way. They had a very clean and inviting home. If you are a maker of things, you can relate to random projects spread around your workspace/house. After they showed me around we quickly jumped into some on camera interviews and started the documenting. I remember Missy saying she was a little nervous, but both quickly warmed up and had no problem talking into a camera while this random dude was asking some questions.
Jon and Missy are a maker duet, if you will, who put together some amazing custom rustic furniture, as well as some unique home décor items. If you don’t believe me, you can check out their work at @colormehappy21 & @bearded.rebel or take it from them… “We’re Jon and Missy Strong, husband and wife team out of Broken Arrow, OK. I started Color Me Happy in the summer of 2013 strictly refinishing antique furniture. A few years later after asking hubby to build us a farm table I was able to persuade him to join forces and add custom furniture into the mix. We were very blessed early on that it took off really well with local clientele. Jon balanced a full-time day job and built furniture on his off time. Long story short our business grew to the point that it was getting too much to balance. It was a scary idea for him to leave his job of 15 years with a consistent paycheck. After lots of prayer we decided to trust God with this gift He gave us both. Currently we are 2.5 years into both of us doing this adventure full-time and every day we are just so grateful to do what we love. Our next adventure awaits us in 2020 as we build our forever home on 5 acres in the country with a nice shop upgrade. This is so much more than just our livelihood. Our future goal is not to necessarily grow our business. Biggest joy for us is being able to serve our community and being able to focus more with family and fellowship more with those being putting into our path through this adventure."
Lunch was approaching and I remember Jon asking me if I wanted to stay and have lunch with them and even dinner. It was pretty funny because I think they waited a while before asking me to join them for lunch and dinner because they wanted to feel me out, which I 100% agree with. I guess I passed the lunch and dinner test. I’m sure glad I did though, because the food was amazing, so thank you Jon and Missy for the amazing hospitality.
I finally headed back to the apartment I was staying at sometime after 8. This was my last night, but we still had some filming to do so I came back the next day for half a day of filming before hitting the road.
September 10th.
My last day at the Strong’s we mainly filmed some action shots of them in their element. Missy was cutting some smaller intricate pieces for some custom home décor items and Jon was doing his lumber jack thing with his chainsaw. He was cutting this large table pedestal with achainsaw. It was pretty sweet to watch.
I spent roughly a day and half with Jon and Missy, but it felt like so much longer. We had fun filming, making and just conversing about everyday life. It’s awesome that you can meet someone virtually and become friends with them, but there is something about connecting with people in person and getting to know them. The fact that I met this family through social media and then was able to hang out with them in their house and work with them was insane and awesome all at the same time.
My time in Broken Arrow was amazing, but it was time to get moving. I had a lot of road to cover before the last family I was visiting, so I hit the road and headed west.
If you have enjoyed this so far and would like to help in anyway, I would love your help in sharing my story and this project. Also, feel free to leave me any comments or feedback. Thanks and stay tuned.
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