depth and contrast in color, the more stunning a first impression.
“Sometimes you walk into a person’s home and you’re afraid to set your glass down on the furniture,” KAREN KREEK, owner of KAREN KREEK CAMP DESIGN FURNITURE, previously of Ennis, now in Bozeman says. “My work isn’t that.” Brightly colored and fashioned after the rustic camp look of the ‘40s, Kreek’s furniture—from daybeds, to armoires, to blanket chests—may be worn around the edges, but it is no worse for the wear. One of her claims to fame: She adorns the artwork of her late father-in-law, famous wildlife artist Fred Sweeney, to certain pieces. “He painted for Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, National Geographic—so we had a huge collection of his art,” Kreek says. “And we had people asking us, ‘Could you put a bear on this or a fish?’ When I started applying Fred’s art to
it, it had that old lodge look. That’s how we got into the camp
design.”
Kreek’s hoarding habit came in handy with the assortment of conchos she accrued, too. “I’ve been collecting old pawn Indian jewelry for years, and I love the crude look of the stuff—it has
such incredible character,” Kreek says. “One day I thought, ‘That would make a great hand pull.’ So I gave it to a guy and he cast it for me.”
When pressed about the rusting compound used to make the hardware look antique, Kreek says it is her secret formula. And having made the rounds at trade shows na- tionwide (Kreek’s furniture is featured in Crow’s Nest Trad- ing Company, Black Forest Decór, and Pendleton Home catalogs), she’s not apt to reveal her secret any time soon.
CHRIS PEMBERTON, owner of ECHO BASIN WOOD-
WORKS in Bigfork, generally doesn’t call a supplier when he needs materials for a piece. Instead, he drives a few
www.distinctlymontana.com
77
