Interest in Lewis and Clark Brings Increased Opportunities for Craft Sales in North Dakota

orth Dakota tourism officials reported a 25 percent increase in heritage travelers along the Lewis and Clark Trail in 2003, and are expecting a 40 to 50 percent increase in 2004 through 2006. That’s good news for
people like Ann Andre, owner of Junk Yard Chic on Main Avenue in downtown Bismarck. “[The Bicentennial celebration] is definitely going to bring more people in,” Andre says, “so I’m really stocking up on more products made in North Dakota.”

A sampling of handcrafted work available at Wildhorse Western Furnishings, in Bismarck, N.D.

Although Andre seeks products made by North Dakota artisans for the tourist market, about 70 percent of the sales at Junk Yard Chic are gift items for the local market. In that line, Andre welcomes submissions from anyone, anywhere. “I’m always interested in whimsical items that touch the heart of my customers,” she says.

Currently Andre has handcrafted products from about 25 artisans around the country and Canada. The items she says that “blow out of my store like a tornado” are those in the $20 to $40 range. The store carries greeting cards, soaps, candles, and home décor and Andre is looking for someone who works in soft products, such as funky hats and scarves — items that are functional, but on the edge of whimsical.

Although the big travel months are June, July and August, the late spring and early autumn remain pleasant weather-wise in North Dakota and Leia Shalhoob, at Wildhorse Western Furnishings, benefits from being a year-round business. “We have a lot of hunters and outdoor sportspeople who keep us going in the winter months,” Shalhoob says. “I try to keep the store fully stocked all of the time, but we are certainly looking forward to [business] the Lewis and Clark travelers may bring to us.”

Wildhorse Western Furnishings currently represents about 200 artisans from 10 states, but Shalhoob and her partner are glad to take a look at anything and everything an artisan may create that would fit in with the western, rustic and wildlife theme of the 3,000-square-foot store. The store carries handcrafted furniture, clothing, and smaller gift and home décor pieces.

“ We’re looking for the unusual,” she says. “We don’t set the price. We want to know what the artist wants, then we
work with that.”

If the estimated number of travelers during the Lewis and Clark bicentennial materializes, Shalhoob doesn’t want to put too much pressure on her current artists to keep up with demand for fear of minimizing the creative process. For artisans interested in placing their work in Shalhoob’s store, sending pictures, price guides and contact information is the best way to initiate business.

The recreated Fort Mandan, site of Lewis and Clark’s winter stay in 1804-1805, in present-day Washburn, N.D. The gift shop at the Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center in Washburn is increasing the stock it carries by 45 percent.

The small town of Washburn, about 45 miles north of Bismarck, is the site of a re-created fort where the Corps of Discovery spent the winter of 1804-05. Wendy Spencer, director of retail services at the Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center in Washburn, is increasing the stock in her gift shop by 45 percent. “I’m looking for greater variety in items than we have carried in the past,” says Spencer. “Anything related to the experience of fur traders or the wildlife of the region sells well.”

Although a lengthy process is involved in obtaining rights to make and sell an official Lewis and Clark licensed product, Spencer says she is also purchasing other items such as candles, soaps, tatting, and wood handcrafts that are not an official Bicentennial product. Products in the range of $20-$50 sell well in her gift shop, but she also carries some high-end items that incorporate the theme of the river and wildlife of the region.

Communities not located specifically on the Lewis and Clark Trail also expect to benefit from the influx of travelers to the state. Tama Smith, a potter on the far western side of the state near the border with Montana has already seen an increase in travelers to the small town of Beach. “Our sales were up in the summer of 2003, and we are looking forward to continued growth in 2004,” she says.

Smith also carries the work of about 10 other potters in her studio and is “always looking for more.” In anticipation of an increased interest in Lewis and Clark related merchandise, Smith created a canoe-shaped piece that may be used as an appetizer dish, as well as a conversation piece.

On the other side of the state in Fargo, the works of 50 regional artists and crafters are on display and for sale in all of the public areas of Hotel Donaldson, a renovated 100-year-old “working man’s hotel.” One of the hotel’s 17 suites is reserved for an art student on scholarship with the hotel.

The hotel rotates its temporary exhibits every two months, and seeks only artisans from North Dakota or Minnesota. However, the permanent collection is open to submissions from any artist or artisan. The hotel also schedules outings to gallery openings and artists’ studios.

Diana Lambdin Meyer is a free-lance writer in Parkville, Mo.