Georgann Yara

Special for The ABG

The phone call came not long after Greg Hankerson launched his custom furniture company Vintage Industrial with his wife, Sim, in 2009. A man in New York City wanted to order a shelving unit for his new apartment. He asked Hankerson to email him a quote.

“He starts spelling his email address: ‘A,’ ‘L,’ ‘E,’ ‘C,’ ‘B,’ ‘A,’ ‘L,’ ‘D…’ Hankerson recalled of his first conversation with actor Alec Baldwin. “I was in a state of shock. And starstruck, too.”

An internet search led Baldwin to Hankerson’s Phoenix company. Hankerson described the A-list actor, whose glowing testimonial can be read on Vintage Industrial’s website, as “the nicest guy.” It was among the first of many projects that have connected the Hankersons’ small business to big-time Hollywood.

Hankerson is responsible for the train table in the comic book shop in the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory." In "Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Hankerson and his team crafted a conference table in the war room that eventually got destroyed in an episode last season. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri commissioned Vintage Industrial to build a large shelving unit for the back bar in his Times Square restaurant, Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar.

During Vintage Industrial’s first year, Hankerson sold four pieces a month, he said. Today, he sells an average of 15-20 a month. A self-taught welder, metal artist and woodworker, Hankerson launched the company in a 200-square-foot shed behind his house. A 65,000-square-foot repurposed cotton mill is his current headquarters.

Vintage Industrial has clients across the country plus others in Dubai, England, France, New Zealand and Australia.

While he’s gotten used to it, the native Phoenix resident still is amazed by what his company has done but remains grounded.

“When I started this business, it had nothing to do with money. Who would’ve known that I could do something I love and earn a pretty good paycheck? I would never have guessed that,” Hankerson said.

Finding his way to a hand-crafted career

Not taking anything for granted was a lesson Hankerson learned at an age when most feel invincible.

At 19, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor during a hospital stay resulting from a grand mal seizure. The tumor was growing between the two lobes and caused pressure that affected his leg control.

Hankerson was 22 when he underwent the first of two surgeries. The first was to remove the tumor but left both legs paralyzed. The second was successful in relieving the pressure. He talked about first gaining the feeling back in one of his toes.

“I knew at that point … I’m not going to let this stop me. I’ll push forward,” Hankerson said.

He underwent physical therapy and rehab. After a week he was walking. Two weeks later he was mountain biking.

Hankerson had fully recovered, working for the family’s investment banking business and was in line to take the helm from his father. But, Hankerson yearned for a different destiny.

“After my brush with mortality, I realized that while (the family business) was very lucrative, it wasn’t fulfilling for me,” Hankerson said.

He quit and started his own business building websites, which he found more interesting. It did well until the dot-com bubble burst and business slowed. While contemplating his professional future, Hankerson made his wife a patio table. Images of the table and drawings of his other works made it onto his blog. Viewers took notice. Clients soon followed. Vintage Industrial was born.

A fusion of industrial chic, classic Americana

Hankerson credits much of the success to Sim, whose direction, guidance and sense of design has been crucial to each piece. She’s also the people person while he’s the hands-on artist.

“Sim and I make a really good couple and really good business partners,” he said.

Social media has given Vintage Industrial more visibility in recent years. Hankerson is surprised when he meets someone and they say they’ve heard of his company, usually via Facebook or Pinterest. He’s also gotten more local business.

Among them is the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North. Three train tables, the same ones in "The Big Bang Theory," have become iconic fixtures at the restaurant Proof Canteen, said Kim Cole, public relations director for the resort.

The restaurant celebrates America and highlights Route 66 with a real train track that runs through it. Used as community dining tables, Cole explained they are key to maintaining the spirit of the venue.

“It’s such a big part of the story. It gives a sense of play and community throughout the restaurant. It’s meant to be fun and whimsical,” she said.

When people ask about the train tables and where the resort purchased them, Cole said it’s reassuring to be able to tell them they are made locally, by a Phoenix company just down the hill.

“We wanted to work with local vendors. Supporting our neighbors and buying local as much as possible is a direction we wanted to go,” she said.

Hankerson’s pieces boast a fusion of industrial chic and classic Americana and immediately drew upscale clientele. For the first two years, Hankerson said 99 percent of what he sold was to Manhattan clients, seeking unique, quality furniture that maximized limited space. Even today, his voice exudes surprise when talking about how he was selling $1,000 consoles to clients living in multimillion-dollar Park Avenue apartments.

Coffee and conference tables are the biggest sellers, ranging from $2,000 to $50,000, Hankerson said. One he made for World Wrestling Entertainment was 27 feet long and weighed 3,300 pounds.

Hankerson offers employees full benefits, including life insurance and medical, along with profit sharing.

“It’s only fair. We can’t keep it all. We must share it,” he said of the company’s success.

Still, finding fulfillment in doing what he loves overrides dollar figures.

“It’s very surreal that it exploded like this. It’s amazing to have someone order something, see it come to fruition and have (a client) love the piece,” Hankerson said. “I found my purpose.”

Vintage Industrial

Where: 1301 E. Jackson St., Phoenix

Employees: 25

Interesting stat: Since 2014, there has been a steady annual increase of about 4 percent in new furniture sales among U.S furniture manufacturers, according to industry publication Furniture Today.

Details: 602-322-1111, retro.net.