From Broker to Bird Houses, One Man Finds Joy Late in Life

By most peoples' definition of the word "lucky," J. Stanton King, also known as Stan, just may be one of the luckiest people alive. Stan is fortunate enough to now be in a position, after 40 years of laboring in the financial services industry, to enjoy his retirement on his own terms–yes, even in the midst of a recession.

Born in Atlanta, King relocated with his parents to Northern California in 1942 when he was only 10 years old. He says he recalls a time when he was solely responsible for the chores on their family’s farm, though he had two sisters and a much younger brother–none of whom were of any help.

“My dad would come out and lay down on the fence, I guess he thought I wasn’t working very hard either,” King said of those early years. But, he attributes the lessons learned on the farm and in the field for giving him skills in building different items.

Later, he would take a shop class in high school where he learned how to work with wood, manipulating it into creations of his liking. However, it would not be until years later when he would return to his enjoyment of wood working.

Around 1992, King occupied an eight-story building in downtown San Francisco as the sole tenant of the building owned by a dear friend. He decided to take advantage of the building by moving in his mortgage brokerage business and also his small wood shop, which had formerly been located at a warehouse on the outskirts of town.

After 40 years in the mortgage business, two kids and two wives, King and his second wife decided to move back to Atlanta in 1996 to get a piece of the Olympic Games action. They moved to Marietta where his wife owned a townhome, deciding to settle in for the long haul.

On a chance encounter, King visited the looking for a small company that made custom shutters. Upon visiting the facility, he thought it might be a good fit for continuing his hobby in wood working.

After meeting Rip Potter, one of the principal owners of the center, King says he had to meet Potter's wife to finalize the deal.

“I had to sell myself to Rip’s wife who must have been thinking who is this old fart and if I was going to be a good fit for their business,” King says with a chuckle.

Shortly thereafter, as luck would have it, King met a fellow tenant and artist Leslie Williams who persuaded him to participate in a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity at Phipps Plaza. Williams suggested he could fashion his woodwork into uniquely crafted bird houses. He took her advice, winning "Best in Design" for the event.

From there, King perfected his model for his bird houses all of which are made of oak, stained glass and copper roofs. He admits pricing for his work isn’t for the faint at heart but discloses his bird houses are more like art than merely bird houses that might be picked up at the local pet store.

For information on Stan King and his bird houses and lamps, he can be reached by e-mail at stanking1@bellsouth.net by phone at 770-403-3036 or by visiting him at the Artisan Resource Center at 585 Cobb Parkway, Studio A-2.