ABOUT | Salt Creek Mercantile

THE BACKSTORY

The story of how this lovely little shop came to be is a good tale...or so we're told.

First off, like many great narratives, this one too, starts with a love story. I won't go into too much detail, but basically....

Boy lives in an old dirty farmhouse, boy meets girl, girl likes boys charm, boy likes girls smile, boy and girl fall in love, boy buys girl a ring, girl says yes!, girl moves into dirty old farmhouse, girl makes boy promise that they will build their own farmhouse one day, boy says yes!, small town wedding, two pink lines, two pink lines again, girl reminds boy of promise of new farmhouse, girl finds small abandoned acreage for sale, boy and girl spend 3 years cleaning up small abandoned acreage, boy builds farmhouse, boy and girl and little girls move in, girl realizes they need furniture, boy says no money, girl makes grumpy face, girl decides to build her own coffee table, coffee table turns out great, boy and girl build a few more pieces, girl starts Etsy shop, 3 sales in first 3 days, girl starts building orders as quick as she can, girl can't keep up, boy helps, boy and girl can't keep up, girl hires local help, local help can't keep up, girl builds workshop next to Farmhouse, girls hires more help, Etsy shop keeps growing, shop gets crowded, new furniture designs need somewhere to be stored, girl decides to open store in small town, boy makes grumpy face, girl does it anyways, and the rest, as they say, is History.

Since that day in October 2014 when girl opened her Etsy shop, sales have continued to grow far past her wildest dreams. The furniture business through Etsy is still in full swing under the name Salt Creek Farmhouse, because all the furniture is in deed built on a farm. There are 5 carpenters that build build build, all day long, and year after year, they get busier and busier. Another little girl joined the family in Spring 2017 and then a huge newspaper article done on Salt Creek Farmhouse in Winter of 2017 gave an even bigger boost in sales. After that, the need for more space for all the new designs that girl had scribbled down in her "Big Book of Ideas" became a real conversation. Girl started looking at any and all open spaces in their small town. Some too small, others too much work, and some too far away from downtown. The store was a dream, but girl started to worry it may not happen. In April 2017, girl made a phone call not expecting an answer. To her surprise, the call was returned and by June, she held the keys to the perfect space in a beautiful, historic corner building to open her dream store. In August 2018, after many late nights, and even more drywall dust covered pizzas, the dream opened to the public. Opening day was a complete success, and more than girl and boy could have ever imagined. The buzz has grown a little bit more every day since, and our hearts are full.

At Salt Creek Mercantile, you may come in the first time to simply check it out, but you'll come back again for so much more. It's like home. You may wander away, but you come back to the place that has a piece of your heart. It's comforting, it's friendly, it's pretty, and girl hand pours all the candles in store, so it smells pretty nice in there too. ;)

We can't wait to see you again.

, Girl

MEET THE TEAM

BLASE

Blase is the OG here at SCM. He started building tables for us from his garage a few years back and has grown with us every step of the way. Blase has two young children, and a super creative, talented wife, Traci, who has helped us with graphic design projects and making the t-shirts for our carpenters. Blase graduated with a Bachelors in Studio Art and he truly enjoys all mediums, from wood to leather, to granite and painting. In his free time, he enjoys going to horror and science fiction movies and when he's out to eat, he always orders the weirdest thing on the menu. He enjoys making his own rootbeer which he regularly brings to work, and he loves the outdoors. When asked what his dream vacation would be, he said "Tokyo, with Paul Rudd in a cowboy hat as my tour guide". That's Blase.

ANDREW

Andrew is an artist. When building in our shop, he moves slowly and methodically, and always tries to incorporate old style techniques and joinery methods whenever possible. He majored in art in college and is an extremely talented, classically trained piano player going on 30 years. He has two young daughters with his wife Annie who is a police officer in Omaha. Andrew loves working with hand tools and has said that he'd love to build a home entirely by hand without any power tools or electricity, but understandably, isn't sure his family would be that patient. Andrew says he has yet to discover a food he calls his favorite, but never turns down sushi, and The Great Escape is at the top of his all time movie list. His ultimate dream it to live a life where there is no need for a vacation.

JOE

Joe is definitely the class clown here at SCM. He is always ready with a gritty joke, a witty remark, or random facts that you never asked to hear, but now you know. He's a workhorse by nature and always has several projects going at a time so that no time is wasted. Joe is married to his lovely wife Heather, and they have two children and a dog named Lazlo. He grew up an only child raised by a single mother, who he has described as one of the smartest people he knows. He credits his mother for some of his best personal qualities, like his love of writing poetry, classical music and the importance of keeping your fingernails trimmed and neat. Joe loves the summer time, kayaking with his wife, and Bill Murray (as a comedy idol, not a kayak partner), and believes that experiencing an evening thunderstorm whenever possible is essential for the soul.

And sandwiches. He loves sandwiches.

KEVIN

Kevin is the clockmaker and head furniture finisher at SCM. He and his lovely wife, Jess, have a small acreage with a large garden of zinnias, a dog named Auggie, and a cat who's name is so ridiculous, no one can ever remember what it is. When Kevin isn't working hard alongside his fellow carpenters at SCF, he enjoys going fast. That's right, Kevin loves rallycross and all things cars, mainly the feeling right before he crashes one. You'd never guess after observing him peacefully hand painting on details to our custom clocks and meticulously applying finishes to our tables. It's also no secret around the shop that Kevin doesn't like eating. He finds it to be a waste of time, and says he'd be happiest feasting once a month like a snake and absorbing sunshine for energy the rest of the time. His wife, however, continues to pack his lunch every day to ensure his survival which we appreciate because he's a pretty great guy.

ASHLEY

Hi there! I'm Ashley, the owner and original builder (although I've never considered myself a carpenter) of Salt Creek Mercantile. You can learn a lot about the story behind SCM from the above BACKSTORY, and you can get a good feel for my odd sense of humor speckled amongst my Instagram posts. I am married to my wonderful husband Nolan, and we have 4 sweet, lovely, intelligent daughters. We live on a farm in the farmhouse that we built, and we have a whole menagerie of animals. When we were first married, my husband, much like many farmers in the area, wanted to get into the cattle business. We saved up a little and bought 5 cows. 5 turned into 10, and then a few years after we got married, I decided I wanted to live a vegan lifestyle to the best of my abilities (there's a little cheese here and there). Now the cows are our pets, and since then we have added a flock of chickens, several ducks, 4 dogs, and I'm thinking saving a couple pigs (update! we now have two pigs, Norman and Tulip!) and starting a wildflower pasture for bees is in my near future as well. I'm an only child, and grew up living with my mama. I have always been a terrible listener and can't take instruction without breaking away to do my own thing. My room was never clean growing up, and I often had special notes written on my report cards saying that I needed to get my daydreaming under control. I love spicy food, and have never met a potato dish I didn't like. I love red wine, and I love it even more when paired with a good movie and a big blanket. That's my perfect evening. Throw a huge plate of black bean nachos in there and I'm one happy girl. I do not like deep water, dolls, ticks, the color red (unless its hot sauce) or terribly written series finale endings. I believe that important conversations should be discussed slowly and thoroughly over a great meal, big decisions should always be slept on, and that hugging a dog is the best therapy in the world. Or a cow. Even a chicken will work, really. (update! Pigs give great hugs too!)

Thanks for reading about us, and we hope to build something beautiful for you soon.