MISSION | FTC Embraces Community to offer connection and belonging that inspires creativity and purpose through genuine service and hospitality.   

In a welcoming space where people come alive to their authentic self and their unique value in community, beautiful and brilliant works, projects, and ideas are born daily at FTC.  Our team is honored to serve every person because they believe each person is highly important to a flourishing community.

ABOUT THE OWNERS | The Smalley Family

They say opposites attract and Justin and Christine Smalley exemplify that sentiment.  Rugged-elegance could describe the pair. Justin, a skilled craftsman, and hunter, found his way to Christine, a fashion stylist and business owner. Justin was a drummer in the Boone County marching band. Christine was a Highlands High School cheerleader. Justin was an Air Force electrician on the F15’s. Christine was a business grad and sorority girl at Florida State.  But there is one thing the couple has always had in common, their heart for community.

Their children, Kaelan and Cadence, were born into this common love and have grown up embracing community alongside their parents. A favorite family tradition awarded the Smalley’s the name “The Hot Chocolate House” in 2012 by serving hot chocolate instead of candy to their neighbors on Halloween. To this day, Trick-or-Treaters will make plans weeks ahead to visit the house and it delights the family to no end. The Smalley children are now thrilled to serve, love, and embrace their community year-round through a tradition the Valentine Family began in 2012, the Fort Thomas Coffee house.

Justin and Christine Smalley are marriage and business partners each leaning into their uniquely different and equally important roles. While Justin is a Military Veteran of Native American Heritage and Christine a Woman Business Owner, by choosing to be 50/50 equal partners they’ve chosen to forgo leveraging these titles for business benefit, but they value their meaning greatly. You’ll often see Christine as the communicator for the business and Justin as the quiet strength. Christine’s ability to communicate the vision for FTC, their perseverance in pursuing the vision, and how the two led on mission to “emrace community” in a socially distant time, earned her the title “Kentucky Woman Business Owner of the Year 2022” by the National Association of Women Business Owners. It’s an honor Christine and Justin celebrate in humility and gratitude after a challenging season that so many endured.