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Hart Navarro opened Hart's Thrift Store in July, which has everything from stuffed animals to home electronics for sale at discounted prices.
Star Photo By DARRELL L. BREESE
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The great Chinese philosopher Confucius said, “Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life.”
A handful of local women are putting this ancient wisdom to the test, as they've launched new businesses in fields they love.
Deanna Cresap and her daughters have each started a trigger point massage therapy business, while Hart Navarro has opened a thrift store in Eagle River.
Hart Navarro's husband is in the Army and he was transferred to Alaska in April. That meant she had a tough choice to make, pack up everything in the small thrift shop she operated in Georgia and move it north with her family, or give up the business she's operated for years.
She chose to pack a few extra boxes and see if she could make the business work in Alaska. Once the family arrived, Hart went to work looking for the perfect location for her thrift store. She believes she found one at 12240 Old Glenn Highway, next to the New China Restaurant.
“I just love helping people find something at a bargain price,” Navarro said. “So we moved everything north and I opened the store in July.”
With the help of her family, she's been slowly unpacking boxes of stuffed animals, clothes and household items.
“It's taking a lot longer that I thought it would to unpack everything,” she said. “But we're getting there.”
While she's been busy unpacking boxes, she's also been occupied with helping customers.
“It's a lot busier than I thought it'd be,” she said. “But that's what I want. The more people who come to the store, the better.”
Navarro operates the store with one goal in mind.
“It's my way of helping people,” she said. “I want to offer quality items at a discounted price.”
The items available in her store Friday included an X-Box video game counsel, a television and perhaps the largest collection of stuffed animals in Eagle River.
Chugiak resident Deanna Cresap and her two daughters opened massage therapy businesses March 3.
Cresap was looking for a cure for her chronic pain when she visited a myofascial trigger point therapist at a health clinic in Anchorage in 2006. By her third appointment, the relief was so remarkable that she determined she wanted to be one herself.
She began investigating where she could learn the techniques that brought her relief and decided to attend the Pittsburgh School of Pain Management.
After sharing her plans with her daughters, Julie and Debbie decided to join her in learning the therapy.
They began the yearlong school Jan. 4, 2007, and completed their studies Dec. 21. They then set out to establish businesses.
Deanna began Deanna's Health Touch, out of her home in Chugiak. She can be reached at 688-1090.
Julie, started Julie's Muscle Pain Therapy Pain to Wellness, a practice where she will come to a home or business for treatment. She can be reached at 229-4183.
Debbie found work at Chugach Chiropractic Clinic and also has a practice out of her home in Eagle River. She can be reached at 229-3517.
