Curious Wren - Henderson, TX

123 S. Main Street, Henderson, TX 75654

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Curious-Wren-110264649035628/timeline/

Henderson, Texas has four Main Streets: North, South, East and West.  At 123 E. Main Street, you can find Rayford Florist and Gifts. Owner James Nicholson says that sometimes his mail ends up at The Curious Wren, a gift shop at 123 S. Main Street.

Owners Bill and Billie Brookshire opened their business in 2010. The store name came about because, Billie says, “We have a number of bird feeders and enjoy watching the birds. We like the wren because it’s always looking for something, always exploring.”

Exploring is what customers can do in their gift shop to find a variety of items. While the store specializes in baby gifts and bath and body items such as Jack Black and Michael Design Works, one can also find jewelry, WoodWick Candles, Baggallini bags, J.R. Watkins spices, Gerry Ballantyne bells and numerous other collectibles.

In fact, it’s exploring that got the couple into this business. For more than 30 years, Bill has worked as a landman. Billie joined in about 25 years ago. The couple traveled through East and South Texas as well as Arkansas as independent contractors working for brokers. They do research, find out about minerals and interact with landowners to acquire oil drilling leases on the behalf of oil companies. From time to time during their travels, Billie would find antiques. It was a hobby she and her siblings picked up from her mother, “all of us, we love to hunt,” she says.

Fifteen years ago, she opened an antique shop across town in Henderson. When the building sold, she looked to do something different. However, she still has many antique dolls, glassware and dishes in The Curious Wren. Billie says the antique trays are a much-requested item that she searches for at other locations in order to provide for her customers.

While she ran the antique business on her own, she says it’s nice to work with her husband in this shop because they do well as a team. From time to time, they still go out in the field on landman work together, so they have one full-time employee who helps out with the gift shop. The couple balance each other out. Billie finds merchandise and Bill takes a lot of photos and markets the business, often populating the store’s Facebook page with new finds.

When the couple was searching for a store location, the former Singer Sewing Machine shop was available at 123 S. Main Street. It was Bill who then called the phone company to request a special telephone number for the business. It ends in “1234,” making it easier to remember.