TURNER – Kellie Fortin knew her priorities were out of whack when she insisted her husband wait on customers while she – suffering from chest pains – waited in the back of her store, Murdock Country Creations, for an ambulance.

But it wasn’t until she saw the worried faces of her two stepchildren as she was being carried away that she had an epiphany.

“It was a very difficult decision for us, but, yes, we are closing the business,” said the award-winning entrepreneur. Customers were notified via e-mail last week.

Fortin thought she was having a heart attack that Friday, June 1, but a doctor diagnosed atypical chest pain.

“I was under too much stress,” Fortin said. “The doctor told me I was fine, but if I didn’t change my lifestyle, I’d be back.”

Self-employed since 1991, Fortin never dodged hard work. But the relentless pressure of keeping her high-end, specialty craft and gift store afloat was taking its toll.

“It was the 12 to 15 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Fortin, who said she cried a bucketful of tears before deciding to close. “And the economy is not doing well … we are the 10th scrapbooking store to close since November.”

For three years, the business has monopolized the lives of Fortin and her husband, Tony, who makes custom furniture. Aside from the long hours, the couple have been living without health insurance and trying to juggle the demands of running a business, nurturing a family and giving their creative juices free rein.

“I knew it wasn’t going to get easier,” said Fortin, who’d been a buyer for Laura Ashley before coming to Maine and opening her own business. She said as prices for staples like milk and gas continue to rise, the discretionary spending that fuels a business such as hers will continue to shrink.

But she also knows she has a passion for beautiful crafts that she’ll have to find an outlet for. She’s already planning to teach at Scrapbook & Beyond in the Topsham Fair Mall and hopes some of the Murdock Country Creations specialty lines, such as its unique paper and hand-painted ornaments, will be carried there. She also will launch a blog to stay connected with customers and advise them in the latest craft trends and techniques.

“Everyone will hear from us again, I promise,” Fortin said. “We’re not going away, we’re regrouping into a different format.” But first, she and Tony will liquidate the Route 4 store. Everything in the craft store is 50 percent off and in the gift store, 75 percent off. They are selling all the classroom furniture, tables and chairs on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fortin said she expects to shut the doors permanently in about three weeks, although the Web site, wwww.murdockcountrycreations.com, will remain active.

Then, there’s some well-earned R&R with her husband and the kids, who visit for the summer before returning to Arizona. And a search for a job – preferably one with health insurance.

Fortin said she realizes that family is most important and understands her husband’s reaction to her insistence that customers come before her own health that fateful day.

“He said, ‘What exactly were you thinking? When are you going to take your retail hat off?’ ” she said, pausing at the memory.

Her answer: “Now.”