The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Western-themed home décor is pretty common in downtown Sisters; at Open Range Western Lodge and Decor, it's what takes place behind the scenes that promises a different sort of retail experience.

Owner Denelle Martin moseyed into town this winter, opening shop next door to Martolli's Pizza, thrilled to be able to personally showcase the items she has been wholesaling to other local retailers for years.

When Martin is not helping customers, she's often soldering or burnishing metal - creating items that are useful, beautiful, or both. She is equally at home hand-twisting barbed wire, making candles and hand-fleecing blankets.

"My goal is (that) at least 90 percent of the items we sell will be hand-made by us," says Martin, for whom crafting is a family affair.

Martin's creative team includes twin teenaged sons Kyle and Cody.

"When they're not at a sporting event, they're helping out in the garage and shop. They're both so talented," she says.

Displayed prominently on the sales counter are KM Survival Kits, an item Kyle conceived: emergency items for an impromptu camping trip or wilderness survival situation, neatly packed into a sardine-sized tin can.

Cody's specialty is wood-burning.

Martin can't remember a time when building and crafting haven't been a part of her life. Growing up, her dad and brother were into woodworking; her sister throws pottery.

"I was always the one running out to the garage after cheerleading practice saying 'What are we building?'"

Before she had babies, Martin partnered with her mom in a Western boutique in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.

Top-selling items at Open Range include her signature rodeo posters mounted on corrugated metal with burnished edges; Western hitch plugs; paper towel holders and double-twisted barbed wire fashioned into signs that state "Howdy" and "Cowboy Up."

Horseshoes feature prominently in many of Martin's creations, including custom furniture pieces.

She collaborates with Sisters furniture artisan Rad Jimenez to create one-of-a-kind lodge furniture pieces, such as the sofa table/wine rack currently occupying a spot in her store.

Three criteria drive Martin's selection process: "I'm particular about craftsmanship, keeping with the Western theme, and it has to be unique."

Until recently, she spent her free time creating items in her garage in Canby, Oregon, as a side business, while working full-time for Goodwill Industries.

"I liked working for Goodwill because they are interested in supporting people in the community," she says. "But this is where I've always wanted to live, and having the store is so much more gratifying - to see someone appreciating what you've built."

Open Range is located at 220 W. Cascade Ave. For more information call 541-588-0202.