Reed and Donna Henschel, native Minnesotans living in Wyoming,
had a friend, a pro wrestler who admired Reed's skill in
woodworking. The wrestler trained using Navy step-test exercises
and wanted a custom-made stool that would be strong, light, and foldable, one
he could carry along on airline flights.
Multi-talented Reed Henschel - also a poet, short story writer, sculptor,
and plasterer - invented the requested stool and patented it in 1986. In
1989, he and Donna launched Tower Stool® Company around their Tower Stool®, then
created other products based on its lightweight and foldable design.
"That first stool was opened and closed and stepped on a thousand
times," says Donna, and it worked perfectly. Public demand and
healthy sales of the five-pound, 12-inch high (when opened) Tower Stool® opened
their eyes to other creative ideas.
"We were at a meeting, the speaker was coming on stage, and two guys
were carrying the lectern. It was heavy and not very
portable." The Tabletop Lectern was born. Like the stool and
their other products, it's made of veneer layered hardwood (oak, birch,
cherry, or hickory) with brass-plated steel hinges and fasteners. The
lectern weighs just eight pounds and is a mere three inches thick when folded.
Other products include a folding RV step, a tabletop that slides onto the
Tower Stool® to turn it into a table, a shooter's bench, a sportsman's stool,
and display cases. They also make a foldable wooden hideaway blind that
camouflages hunters or wildlife photograpers without the rustling of a canvas
blind. It works so well, Donna says, that during field testing, Reed and
a friend set one up in a field and then couldn't find it for quite some time.
The Henschels' newest venture, however, is pet caskets and urns.
Their daughter, a pet groomer, told them about the demand for such products
among bereaved pet lovers, who often have to purchase caskets and urns
intended for humans. Market research showed that few companies
manufacture pet caskets and urns - none of wood - or are located on the Great
Plains.
The Henschels have partnered with Monte Albertson of Monte's Woodshop, near
Brandon, to offer pet burial products with personalized metal labels,
inscribed pet names, and even photographs engraved into the wood by
Albertson's computerized laser engraver.
While living in Wyoming in 1989 and on their way to Minnesota, the
Henschels stopped over in Faith at a motel. The owner, a member of
Faith's economic development board, saw the stool and asked if they would
consider moving to South Dakota. At that time, the Henschels had no
employees and worked out of the basement of their home.
Things happened fast. "Two men flew in from Pierre,"
relates Donna, "and showed us a vacant building in Faith. They
said, 'We really like your product.' We applied for an economic
development loan and within five days the loan went through. It was
overwhelming!" The story gives a whole new spin to
"faith" as it applies to economic development, and Tower Stool®
Company became a South Dakota manufacturer.
The Henschels were chosen to participate in QVC's 1997 50/50 Tour, where
1,200 Tower Stool®s sold out in three minutes. Selected for QVC's Best of
the Best in 1998, they sold 1,500 stools in under eight minutes.
Reed does their company's design and building and Donna does the
marketing. It's a successful partnership. "It has been very
enjoyable to be married for 47 years to the same guy," says Donna,
"and to watch all these things transpire. It's never a dull
moment."
Tower Stool® Company participates in the South Dakota Made Program, the
South Dakota Inventors Congress, and the South Dakota and International
Exporters Directories. The Henschels can be reached at 605-967-2418,
800-568-4228, or towerstoolco@gwtc.net.
Their website is at http://www.towerstool.com. |