ESTEVAN - An Estevan woman has moved onto the next round in the DIY Hero contest.
Marnie Murphy, who operates Phoenix Furniture, is now in what is described as the Round of 5. Voting began March 31 and ended April 7. The public vote will help reduce each group to the top five entrants.
She is currently ranked first in her group for this round.
You can visit https://diyhero.org/2022/marnie-murphy to support Murphy.
Several rounds of voting still remain. If she finishes first this time around, Murphy will advance to the group finalist round, which begins April 7 and ends April 14. Public voting will help reduce total entrants to one preliminary winner in each group, who will then advance to the quarter-finals.
The DIY Hero competition is organized by Make Magazine. The winner will receive a $25,000 prize and be featured in the publication.
Murphy’s friend Katherine St. Onge found out about the contest, and sent Murphy a link to encourage her to enter. She went through the entry process and received an email saying she had made it through the voting process a short time later.
“I had to fill out a form, just explaining what you would do with the money and what’s your favourite piece that you worked on and things like that,” said Murphy, who owns Phoenix Furniture.
At one point in the first round, Murphy was in eighth place, but then she started to rally and moved up to fourth and then to first.
She has advanced through multiple rounds already, and she has more to come if she is to win. The next round would be called the round of five.
You can visit the DIY Hero website to support her and even purchase a block of votes, with proceeds going to the American Lung Association.
Murphy said she is surprised with how well she has done.
“This is very big,” she said. “I never, ever, ever thought, no matter what group I’m in, if it’s all the same group or just one … that I would even make it, let alone be in first. So, it’s been pretty exciting. But I have an awful lot of supporters.”
In her profile for the competition, Murphy said most of her favourite projects came with hard work.
“I guess when I think about it my favourite projects are table and chairs refinishing or the custom headboard made from old barn wood,” she wrote.
If she were to win, she said she would showcase one of the nicest table and chair sets she has completed, custom headboards she has finished or maybe a large bedroom set she refinished.
Murphy said she would use the $25,000 to add onto her garage so she can work from home.
“I would love to take my operation back to the basics and work for the love of the art of refinishing instead of working to pay rent where I am. This could change my family’s life. What a blessing,” she said.
She is currently turning an old record cabinet into a TV stand and refurbishing some old bookshelves to make them look great.
Murphy opened her business in 2016. Named in honour of the challenges she has overcome in her life, Phoenix Furniture began in her father’s garage and she has been doing projects over the years.
“For the most part, up until this year, it’s what I used as my income. It makes it flexible to be home with my kids, to take them to school and to dance and dance and more dance,” she said.
Phoenix Furniture grew from a home-based business with a couple of dressers that she painted in ‘outrageous colours’ and people bought.
“My dad is the one who really taught me everything, because he has worked with me since day 1. He’s given me all of the tips and tricks and hints, and what he didn’t know, we went to YouTube. You might screw up the first time, learn what you did wrong and away you go. Now you know how to do it.”
She moved into a shop for about a year and a half, and it went well at first, but the past six to eight months have been slow. She’s returning to a home-based business, which is why she would use the money to expand her garage.
Murphy credits her family and the Floor Store for their support.
Be sure to check out saskatoday.com each week to see if Murphy has advanced to the next round.
