BRENTWOOD, TN (WSMV) -
He played 17 seasons in the NFL, most of that time spent suiting up for the Tennessee Titans, but retirement has taken Brentwood's Craig Hentrich in a very different direction.
"So, I have no clue how old these things are, but at some point they're gonna be legs for tables," Hentrich said.
Hentrich spent most of his young life putting his foot on a football as a kicker at Notre Dame and punter for the Green Bay Packers and Titans. But retirement from football three years ago allowed him to punt that past and try something different with a little imagination and a new set of skills.
His work is now mostly contained to his garage, where he is full of creative ideas, like what to do after his child outgrew his crib.
"Instead of this being a crib, I made it pull out and now it's a bench you can sit in," he said. "The top is now a chalkboard kids can write chalk on."
Nine months ago he wondered if he could create things from old wood, and he never looked back. Furniture now drives his life
"I enjoy doing this. You know you're having fun when you can go out in the morning and forget to eat lunch, and it's dinner time and you don't even notice," he said. "It keeps me busy and lets my imagination fly."
It's a huge change from a past life where the only thing flying was a football.
"Those days are over. I enjoyed every second I had the opportunity to kick balls, and now on to new and less stressful things," Hentrich said.
Much of his work from his Hen House Co-Op label is now on sale at Nashville's Gas Lamp Antique Mall on Powell Avenue.
"Really anything that, to me, looks old is really cool looking for some reason," Hentrich said. "The fun thing about this type of furniture is if you make a mistake it's OK, because it's already got character to it, so now it's just more character."
For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/HenHouseCoop.
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