Meet Ryan and Linda Rumsey, owners of Wild West Designs. It isn’t every day you meet a couple who began their business with a mere $49 dollars in their pocket and morphed it into worldwide export business that boasts multiple showrooms in Idaho Falls and Jackson Hole and caters to celebrities like Sandra Bullock.
Located on the same lot since 1966 on the North Yellowstone Highway, the Rumseys first began selling antiques they found at garage sales in the ‘70s, moved into the antler exporting business in the late 1980s, and later expanded their reach to furniture and custom designs in the early ‘90s.
PIECE BY PIECE
Lining their business lot are truckloads and trailers full of antlers collected from various reservations waiting to either be turned into chandeliers or shipped off to Asia for medicinal uses. The Rumseys export over 150,000 lbs. of antlers per year. Owner Linda explains, “The animals only shed their antlers once a year in the spring. A lot of people have this misconception that we kill animals for their antlers.”
Jesse Saxton, who oversees the production and finishing work with the antler designs, has been working with Wild West Designs for over 20 years now. Building furniture and light fixtures requires a lot more work than just throwing things together with some Elmer’s glue and few pieces of leather string. “Our finish work is more detailed than others—not only do you have to select pieces based on their size and shape to see how they will fit into the big picture but you have to repair the holes, hand paint each antler, create individual castings for each light fixtures [the casts are sockets to hold the light bulb]…you have to do everything piece by piece.”
MAKING A NAME FOR IDAHO FALLS
Melaleuca isn’t the only business with a world-wide reach. Wild West Designs has a clientele base that spans from the Rio Casino in Las Vegas to Australia, and a recent shipment to the head offices of Hitachi in Japan, the Rumseys are making a global name for themselves and for Idaho Falls. With a 15,000 square-foot warehouse dedicated entirely to the crafting of antler chandeliers, lamps, and light fixtures, the Rumseys are well equipped to create just about any antler design you can think of. “We just shipped off 3,000 lbs of antlers that are to be used for dog chews. You can do anything you want with an antler. It’s almost like wood if you’ve got the imagination” says Ryan.
MORE THAN JUST ANTLERS
With two different business locations, the Wild West Designs showrooms offer a variety of western-style décor that includes handcrafted antler designs ranging from the small table lamps to the larger-than-life chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
In addition to antler decorations and designs, both locations are full of custom-made tables, chairs, wall décor, and furniture made by artisans from all over Idaho who specialties range from taxidermy to metal cutwork and furniture making. As the faint smell of wood, leather, and cinnamon surrounds you in the showroom, you’ll all but have to resist the urge to kick off your [imaginary] boots, put your feet up on the table and snuggle under their fur blankets.
Pointing to some wagon wheels imported from Brazil, Ryan and Linda explain how many of the wheels were used to decorate pieces throughout the showroom. As Ryan gestures to a cabinet, he tells the story of how the wood was taken from 100-year-old sugar mills located in South America, “People want that feeling of unique…one-of-a-kind. You don’t find duplicates here since almost everything is handcrafted.”
Wild West Designs is truly a case of finding one man’s junk and turning it into another man’s treasure.
For more information, visit www.wildwestdesignsinc.com.
Wild West Designs
2037 N. Yellowstone
www.wildwestdesignsinc.com
Hours: Mon.-Sat: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.