waterbeds, furniture, family
Nickie at work in front of the city’s best vinyl selection.
Nickie, Nora, Kelli & Mark around 1999, when Bedpost expanded.
Nora while working at Paul Schatz Furniture in Oregon.
The Lost Chord
Nickie Van Stelten (the mama) started her career as an accountant and clothing buyer for The Lost Chord record store in Mankato, Minnesota. The store was a popular hub for hippies in the seventies and sold record albums, clothing, incense, concert tickets, etc. As waterbeds became the craze, they sold those too. Peace!
THE BEDPOST
The waterbed scene was so popular that Nickie partnered with the record shop owner, Mark Weinstein, to open a new store. “The Bedpost” was one of MANY waterbed stores at that time, but they persevered while others faded away. They added spring mattresses, bedroom sets and introduced people to futons. As time went on, they decided to fill a niche for an upscale furniture store. Bedpost Furniture became a staple of the community and supplied people with home furnishings for almost 40 years before it was sold.
smithblack furniture
Smithblack Furniture is a mother-daughter partnership between Nickie and Nora Van Stelten. The word Smithblack is simply blacksmith reversed. “BLACKSMITH” was grandma’s secret code word.
Nora (the daughter) has worked in the furniture & design industry for over 20 years, starting at Bedpost when she was nineteen! After graduating college with an art degree, she moved to Montana and eventually to Portland, OR, continuing to work in design showrooms. While the city was inspiring, the plan was always to return to Montana and develop a unique home store for Missoula.