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POWELL — Zen Hen is the name of Tara Schnetzler’s downtown Powell business, but it’s also a mindset she adopted to survive the most turbulent time of her life.
The whimsical boutique sells apparel, accessories and gifts from local makers and/or purpose-driven brands and has done so since May 2022, when it started as an online-only business.
Zen Hen moved to its brick-and-mortar home at 37 S Liberty St. in May 2023, where it’s open Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 12-6 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 12-4 p.m.
Schnetzler’s store’s name was inspired by her daughter, Willie Schnetzler, who died in October 2021 at 10 years older after battling pediatric glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer.
“When she couldn’t go to school— she’d stay home a lot— we had bought some baby chicks, and they needed to move to a bigger coop. And so she and my husband built a bigger coop together,” Schnetzler said.
“She’d sit out there with her little chair and books and read to the hens. And I looked at her one day and I was like, ‘Willie, these hens have brought us some zen.'”
Schnetzler worked in fashion retail for years but quit after her daughter’s diagnosis in 2020 to help her at home; meanwhile, her husband tended to pandemic patients as an emergency room doctor.
When Willie passed, Zen Hen was merely a logo on a couple T-shirts and sweatshirts. Now, it’s a place where people go to shop and find their own zen.
“I had prayed a lot about it and I felt like God was just nudging me,” Schnetzler said. “So we opened it and I decided I wanted it to be a space where people walk in and they just relax and feel zen and peaceful.”
Willie’s spirit lives on throughout the store too, in the store’s childlike whimsy. Hanging behind the register is a picture of a rainbow that appeared at her funeral.
“People come in here and have no idea of the background, which I love, but then sometimes they feel compelled to share their story, and I just want that open space. And I know that that’s what Willie would want, too,” Schnetzler said.
A flock of supporters
To this day, the Powell Area Chamber of Commerce maintains that Zen Hen’s opening is the highest-attended ribbon cutting, Schnetzler said.
“It was packed, and it made me feel like I made the right decision,” she said. “A lot of people knew what we had all been through, and I think they wanted to support our next chapter. It felt very affirming.”
In turn, Zen Hen supports local central Ohio creators, including MEQ Jewelry, JolyPoly by Tori Jewelry, Red Giraffe Designs, Home Team and more.
“Most everything you purchase in here is helping someone else,” she said.
When Painted Tree Boutiques in Lewis Center closed its doors earlier this year, Schnetzler welcomed vendors to sell their goods in her store.
Not only do sales support the creators, they also support the Wonder Willie Foundation, which Schnetzler created in her daughter’s honor to fund research for pediatric brain tumors.
Schnetzler said Zen Hen sales and other fundraising efforts have raised over $100,000 to say “cluck cancer.”
She also sells sunshine pillows that support the Strong Like Katelyn Joy Fund, another local child who battled with cancer.
Of course, just like any other small business, Zen Hen has its challenges.
“I get so many people in each week saying even though I’ve been here for almost three years, it’s their first time in,” she said.
She also worries about what will happen to business as Powell continues to grow, with the city planning to potentially bring in more businesses through the future Village Green development.
But just as she did with Willie, when times get tough, Schnetzler maintains her zen.
