CULLMAN, Ala. – Cullman native Taylor LeShea Allen started her business Crew Collective Co. in October 2021 after the loss of her baby boy Crew, who was born with chromosomal disease Trisomy 18.
Allen began her woodworking business as an outlet for her grief. The first message on her website is, “On May 3, 2021, we had the most beautiful baby boy, Crew, who stayed with us for two hours before he entered the gates of Heaven. Our heartbeat behind Crew Collective Co. is not only to love and serve the people of our community, but to share with others the hope we have in Jesus.”
Crew was with the Allen’s for only two hours after his birth. They had genetic testing done when Taylor was 12 weeks pregnant, and the results came back negative. At 20 weeks, an anatomy scan showed Crew had an enlarged heart. The Allen’s went to UAB hospital for further genetic testing four weeks before Taylor gave birth, which revealed Crew had Trisomy 18.
Allen has been interested in woodworking for about two years but did not get started until October when she felt it would be better for her to take a break from her job as a nurse. After the loss of Crew, she was working in the NICU. She said, “It felt like a good time to step away from the hospital, especially being around all the babies.”
Woodworking has been therapeutic for Allen. She said, “I have a stamp with my logo on it. That is my favorite part of my job is putting his name on everything.”
She continued, “For me it’s been my outlet, especially since I stopped doing bedside nursing full-time. It’s given me a lot of joy, even in the midst of horrible grief, it has given me so much joy and it’s something that I feel like I can do in his memory, and we can get his story out. I would definitely recommend to anyone who is going through something like that to find a hobby that they love to do.”
Allen said she may expand by the end of 2022, and is hoping to buy more equipment and start doing personal laser engravings on her work.
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