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For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Blake. I am an interior designer, a creator, a lover of all things design and I see beauty where others don’t. I tend to be too kind and too trusting... And sadly there are awful people in the world that take advantage of it. But never to the extent that was done in the story I’m about to tell you. I didn’t know people like this truly existed in the world, Which I guess makes me incredibly lucky because I have never had to worry about my friends taking so much is a dollar for me… Let alone my entire life savings.. It’s a lesson I’ll never forget.
My husband Matt and I opened our home, our business, and our lives to one of our close friends recently. We gave him half of our design showroom to run his construction/roofing business out of, rent free. We paid thousands in monthly bills for him, and did everything possible to keep him from losing everything after he lost his job.
That’s what friends do for each other. Or do I thought. He was grateful and we were humbled and happy that we could help. There’s been many times we were in his position on the opposite side of the looking glass, so we understood how it felt to be in need.
Within just a few days things began to not add up. Totals weren’t matching… Stories weren’t lining up… Lies were being exposed... Money was missing... That he always had the perfect answer for all of it. You never want to believe that one of your best friends is lying and robbing you blind… So you believe them when they tell you something.
Then before we even knew what happened, it was too late. He emptied our accounts, stole our life savings, and took every penny we had. Literally every dollar we had to our name. Gone in an instant. 13 YEARS of work. All of our plans for the future. Everything we’ve worked so hard for. Just gone.
Needless to say anger, resentment and rage don’t even begin to express my feelings. Matt and I have done everything humanly possible to get it back… And we are out of options.. So either i had to ask for help or just watch and wave goodbye as He disappeared into the distance with everything we own.
Then this corona with lime disease hit… And I watched every small chance we had to recover anything evaporate into thin air. It was surreal.
I was so lost and full of rage… So angry I wanted to absolutely inflict pain on that bastard any way humanly possible. Consumed by it. It was eating me alive. But I realized If I directed that anger at him and destroyed his life (like I wanted to do) then I would be no better than him… And what good would that do? I would never want to stoop to his level… Because then I would be no different than he is.
So after hours of endless thought, selling everything we could, exhausting every resource, and depleting every option, I decided to create this gofundme account. But I was too embarrassed and humiliated to actually make it go live… So it sat here for weeks. Gathering dust. Until we get to the point where this is our last resort and the one option we have left.
I couldn’t just ask The people I love most in the world for a handout. Especially with the world in the state it is right now. I wanted to use it as a platform to do good for someone else too. I thought maybe I could help a few sick children realize their dreams in the process of trying to rebuild what was stolen from me and Matty. I wanted to take this tragedy and use it to do a little good in the world, in spite of all this bad.
I wanted to show this thief… When we are at our lowest point and we have nowhere to turn… And it’s our darkest hour… Instead of being an awful person that takes advantage of others, steals, lies, cheats, and blames… We should do the exact opposite. When we lose the most…is when we should give the most. Because that’s when it is the most humbling. That’s when it’s the most life-changing. That’s when you really truly realize how unimportant all the material possessions are that we think define our lives: jobs, houses, cars, paychecks, electronics, nice clothes, designer bags… It’s all bullshit. It’s all fake, meaningless distractions and bullshit.
if I’ve learned one thing through all this bullshit… It is the only thing that matters in this life is the people... and how we impact their lives. That’s it! That’s all we are going to be remembered for. Nobody’s going to remember us for the car we drove or the bag we carried or the money we had… They’re going to remember us for the way we made them feel… The things we did for them… The help we gave them when they needed it most, even though we may have needed it more than they did. The laughter we brought to them… The smiles and the joy and the fun… The love and the camaraderie and the care… The times we were a shoulder to cry on or a rock to lean against… That’s what matters. I don’t wanna look back on this life and have any regrets about the person I was.
So I have to swallow my pride and ask for help… But please know, Matt and I have decided to give 25% of every donation we receive to the Make-A-Wish foundation. To give a sweet, precious child a chance at having their biggest wish come true. I can’t think of anything more rewarding.
We are also continuing with the grand opening Of our boutique design center and Showroom, White Fox Lane Furniture Co.. It’s been a year in the making… We put our souls into it… And I’ll be damned if we’re gonna let somebody take it without a fight. So this coming weekend is the Grand opening Furniture Bash blowout sale to end all others, ever! Yard sale style… In the street, in the driveways, in the parking lot… You name it, we’re selling it! We are either going to go out in a blaze of flames in glory… Or we’re going to use this last ditch effort to succeed. But either way... we aren’t giving up without a fight!
Friday March 27, Saturday the 28th, and Sunday the 29th! We are going to sell Everything that isn’t nailed down to the damn floor! So if you can come out, show your support, and help us in our hour of need we will be eternally grateful! You can Google White Fox Lane Furniture Co. Pottsboro for the details or visit our Facebook page or Instagram page. Or House Paige. Or Pinterest page. The address is 83493 North State Highway 289 next line Pottsboro, TX 75076.
I’m going to have it streaming on Facebook live and Instagram live and every other social media platform that I can think of the whole weekend! You can donate or purchase any furniture piece, art piece, accessory, or decor that you see in the showroom And you can do it all from the safety and security of your own home through Facebook or Instagram or our website.
Friday March 27, Saturday the 28th, and Sunday the 29th! We are going to sell Everything that isn’t nailed down to the damn floor! So if you can come out, show your support, and help us in our hour of need we will be eternally grateful! You can Google White Fox Lane Furniture Co. Pottsboro for the details or visit our Facebook page or Instagram page. Or House Paige. Or Pinterest page. The address is 83493 North State Highway 289 next line Pottsboro, TX 75076.
I’m going to have it streaming on Facebook live and Instagram live and every other social media platform that I can think of the whole weekend! You can donate or purchase any furniture piece, art piece, accessory, or decor that you see in the showroom And you can do it all from the safety and security of your own home through Facebook or Instagram or our website.
It is all going to a good cause! 25% of all the proceeds from our go fund me page +25% of every single item we sell at our grand opening bash this Friday Saturday and Sunday he’s going to the Make-A-Wish foundation to give some very deserving children the chance at living out their life’s biggest wish… And the rest will go to salvaging mine and Matt’s dreams and everything we have worked so hard for the past 13 years. Harder than we’ve ever worked in our life! We also offer full-scale interior design services and would love to help create a tailor-made one-of-a-kind stunning designer space for you or anyone that you know! We will have business cards on hand, design questionnaires ready to go, and appointment logs ready to book!
Thank you from the bottom of mine and Matt‘s heart. We are so incredibly blessed to have such amazing friends and family! There are so many of you that have showered us with love and help and support and kindness and I’m so grateful for that! We would’ve never made it without y’all.
Help us have the most successful grand opening weekend we could’ve ever hoped for, come see the showroom space, browse some furniture, look through catalogs, see our designs and let us inspire you to see the world through a different set of eyes for a little bit.… And in the process, let’s help some children that need inspiration laughter and love more than anything else in the world right now.
please share.
Thank you all so much for your time
sincerely,
Blake and Matt Dodson-Franklin
White Fox Lane Furniture Co. | the Shops at Highport
Wish us luck!