Heavenly bean bags, now located in Maine, has its roots in Birmingham, Alabama.  I would like to tell you the story of how it came to be. 

Years ago, when I was a freshman at Samford University, I loved shopping in Birmingham's Galleria.  Every time I went to the mall I would tire myself out and eventually find myself in my favorite store, The Bean Bag store.  Although it is in Atlanta now, it was located in Alabama at that time.  Anyway,  being a poor college student and all, I knew I could not afford a bean, much less a bean bag chair.  However, the owner of the store was incredibly kind and he let me sit in a bean bag chair and chat with him for hours at a time.  One day he asked me why I had not bought a bean bag chair yet.  I responded that I was broke.  He went into deep thought and a few minutes later he asked me if I liked to baby-sit.    I said, "definitely!"  Well to make a long story short, I baby-sat his three precious children in exchange for a wonderful navy blue loveseat bean bag chair.  It quickly became a popular gathering spot for the girls in my dorm and I loved it so much that I eventually ended up working at the Bean Bag store.  I worked there on and off until I graduated from college.
    
Afer graduation I moved to Maine and worked at Chop Point, a wonderful Christian school and camp. I really loved it, but eventually had to move on.   I got involved with a local church and helped create a youth ministry, but I found myself with very little time to spend with the kids and with a huge stack of bills.  I began to seek a way to support myself without working 50 hours a week and all of the sudden I remembered The Bean Bag Store.  I gave the owner a call, and he said it would be ok with him if I started my own business here in Maine. So here we are.  I can't even begin to explain how excited I am about the whole thing.  I never stopped loving my navy blue bean bag chair, and now my love for the product makes it really easy to sell.  I can not end this story without giving all the credit to Jesus Christ, who knew he had a perfect plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11) though I had no idea what it was.
  

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

Valerie Curtis Lecher

P.S. On October 4, 2003,  I walked down the aisle with a wonderful man, Matthew Lecher.  He is now working with me to make Heavenly bean bags a success.  
       On April 15, 2008 the newest member of our team will be joining us...our first little one!  We're not sure what his name is yet, but we'll be sure to post when we do!