NL-041218

6 | April 12, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot News
newlenoxpatriot.com
New Frankfort woodshop’s name inspired by New Lenox resident
Amanda Stoll, Assistant Editor
Like a scene from HGTV’s
“Fixer Upper,” Mike Moyzis
and Stacey Burke are constantly
creating something
new from something old.
Vintage and repurposed
home goods are their specialty,
which will soon be showcased
in downtown Frankfort
at Morgan’s Place. Moyzis
and Burke, who run the store,
have been creating for countless
years, and teach woodworking
and crafting classes
at their warehouse near Center
and Laraway roads.
During the store’s grand
opening celebration on Sunday,
April 15, visitors will get
a chance to meet the shop’s
namesake Morgan Schiller,
a Lincoln-Way Central senior
who is the daughter of
Burke’s longtime friend Michelle
Schiller.
The two have been friends
since attending the College
of St. Francis together, and
Burke said Morgan has had
a significant impact on the
lives of her and her friends.
Of the four friends, Burke
said they have “been through
hell and back,” but have remained
friends and leaned on
one another through it all.
All of life’s “junk,” as
Burke calls it, can start to
wear you down, but she said
Morgan, an outgoing and
friendly teen, has been inspirational
for them because of
her beautiful personality.
“It’s been a journey for us
throughout her life, she’s been
though a lot, but because of
who she is she’s just such a
good person,” Burke said of
Morgan, who was diagnosed
with Williams syndrome as a
young child. “Being that good
of a person, I think that’s what
I believe, and what Mike believes,
is who most people are
at their core.”
The goodness, kindness,
friendship, loyalty and love
that Burke said they have
learned from Morgan is what
Morgan’s Place Co.
9 W. Nebraska St. in
Frankfort
Phone: (815) 534-5832
Online: www.
morgansplace.net
Facebook: @
morgansplacenet
Instagram: @
morgansplace4u
Grand Opening
10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday,
April 15
fuels the pair’s business model,
and she and Moyzis want
to bring that to everyone who
comes into their new shop.
Besides being able to pick
up just about anything on
the side of the road and turn
it into something useful or
decorative, Burke, who has
a master’s degree in social
work, said she believes that
“there isn’t anybody that
you can’t work with, and
you can’t help, and you can’t
shape and mold.”
“Everybody just wants
to be loved, everybody just
wants love in their life and
friendship, so we like to be
the home base for people in
general,” she said.
Moyzis said the business
is an opportunity for them to
give back to the community
through their customized approach
and attention to detail
in each project they work on.
“Our society is so ‘me,
me, me’ orientated right
now,” Moyzis said, “so this
is an opportunity for us to
give back, so to speak ... We
want this to be a place where
you can come and enjoy the
love and enjoy the opportunity
to have things made
for yourself and hopefully a
place where we can make a
difference in kind of a different
way in people’s lives.”
Burke said people are often
surprised that they are able to
recreate or customize something
a customer has seen on
Morgan’s Place Co., located at 9 W. Nebraska St. in Frankfort, will open Sunday, April 15. Photos Submitted
Pinterest or taken a photo of
at another store.
“That’s the cool thing
about this store: everybody
is wired differently,” Moyzis
said. “They can walk in and
get what they want.”
In addition to creating
unique pieces for people,
they also teach classes at their
warehouse for people to learn
to do it themselves and will
sell a variety of paints and
stains and other do-it-yourself
supplies at their shop.
Their talents are put to
work in setting up in-home
parties for locals as well, and
Burke’s friend Tara Triefenbach
is known for her inhome
cooking that accompanies
many of those events.
Triefenbach will be making
the food for the grand
opening, and Moyzis said he
hopes people will come and
hang out for a while during
the event to soak up the love
— and maybe some sun, if
the weather cooperates.
The Frankfort woodshop’s name was inspired by Lincoln-Way Central student Morgan
Schiller.