2024 Western Design Conference Exhibit + Sale in Jackson Hole hosts curated selection of the nation’s finest craftsmanship for 32nd year
WDC’s open showroom features about 100 distinctive artists and their home and fashion-forward functional art curated in a four-day shopping extravaganza.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming – April 24, 2024 – There’s nothing like meeting and talking one-on-one with the artist who designed and handcrafted your furniture, jewelry or handbag. The ability to link the person behind the creation and the final product is the ultimate in luxury shopping, made possible to all attendees at the 32nd annual Western Design Conference Exhibit + Sale (WDC) September 5-8, 2024, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Those top-notch artisans attracted from across the country is the reason the new HOME issue of Big Sky Journal just dubbed WDC the “premier exhibition and sale that brings together artisans, artists, collectors, interior designers and architects” during the town’s annual Fall Arts Festival. The magazine also profiles several WDC artisans—like Ashley Delonas from Idaho, who combines antler sheds, stained glass, gemstones, crystals and fossils into custom chandeliers and lighting pendants (including the one shown hanging above the WDC’s showroom floor in the photo above).
The WDC kicks off with the always highly anticipated Preview Party + Fashion Show on Thursday, September 5, with a live runway show and an early-bird chance to walk the showroom floor and meet with the artists behind the latest one-of-a-kind Western fashions, jewelry, art, furniture, home accessories and apparel.
L to R (top to bottom) Horseshoe nail bracelets from Pat Flynn; C. Martini rings; Tess & Tomy necklace; Anna Irion capelet; J. Augur Design handbags; Bela Monde craft coat.
The 2024 WDC features a treasure trove of women artisans who craft bespoke jewelry, handbags and apparel, such as Karen Daniels of Tess & Tomy, whose earthy, boho-inspired freshwater pearl and suede necklaces can be wrapped and knotted into lavish strands and chokers. Incorporating bits of turquoise, wooden beads, bone or quartz makes each one unique to the wearer. Fourth-generation Montana maker Chelsea Martini of C. Martini looks to nature for inspiration to create one-of-a-kind earrings, necklaces and rings slow-crafted from shed antlers and precious metal and stones.
The female entrepreneurs behind Rhode Island-based Bela Monde, Johnnie Chace and Lisa Limer, meticulously craft coats and accessories such as silk scarves and umbrellas in their encore career. Color, pattern and luxurious fabrics make up their custom products in classic silhouettes. Michelle Wrubel of Anna Irion brings her sophisticated line of luxury wraps, tunics and ponchos made entirely of a natural palette of cashmere, fur, leather, suede, horn, bone and crystals from her Texas company to this year’s WDC lineup. The Anna Irion collection is a heritage clothing line–ready to be worn and enjoyed now and later passed down to the next generation of discerning patrons who wish to pay homage to the slow-clothing movement. The WDC wouldn’t be complete without the vintage look of Judy Augur’s custom handbags, crafted from her J. Augur Design studio in California. Her past career as a vintage dealer, her love of old-school Americana, and vintage materials sourced from the American Southwest inform her one-off designs.
The “Greater Yellowstone Watershed” in steel by Sloane Hartwell (left), and an original acrylic painting by Deneena Hughes (right).
Idaho-based metal artist Sloane Hartwell provides her unique take on the Greater Yellowstone Watershed and the Teton River, recreated in River Series metal panels. Deneena Hughes of Gallery Equus hails from Minnesota where she paints equine and bison subjects extensively. She brings some of her special paintings, or what she calls “poems without words,” to WDC this year.
A Molesworth reproduction club chair from How Kola Furniture (left) and a media console from Wood and Weld Furniture.
There also are plenty of talented male artists presenting at WDC this year. Furniture maker Tim Lozier of How Kola Furniture produces cowboy style Molesworth-era furniture from the design base of the late Thomas Molesworth himself – Cody, Wyoming. His inventive creations include chairs, sofas, beds and tables to which he adds his own spin to create “Modern Molesworth” furniture updated for today’s interiors – and his inspired pieces also received a special write-up in the new Big Sky Journal HOME.
The fusion of wood and iron with the addition of special patinaed finishes epitomizes the work of artisan Chris Perry and his finish specialist, Teagan Perry, of Utah’s Wood and Weld Furniture. In addition to custom furniture, the company crafts customized architectural components such as steel doors, steel and glass walls, and fireplace surrounds.
Clockwise from left: wares from Northern Lights Steel Sculptures, Jumping Jackalope Studios, and Goodstrike Buffalo Art.
North Dakota-based Northern Lights Steel Sculptures turns new and reclaimed steel, such as junked farm equipment, into one-of-a-kind steel sculptures of nature. Tenley Thompson of Jumping Jackalope Studios doesn’t have to travel far from her home base of Jackson, Wyoming, to bring her ceramic artistry and award-winning wildlife photography to WDC. All of her art is driven by her passion as a wildlife biologist in the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. For decades, Chandler Goodstrike of Goodstrike Buffalo Art has been a fixture at WDC. This year, he again offers a chance for participants to enjoy and shop his 1800s-reminiscent art that includes painted buffalo, deer and elk hides, with the WDC being his only annual market stop.
Secure tickets in advance to the Western Design Conference Exhibit + Sale online, including the Preview Party + Fashion Show on Thursday, September 5, from 6 – 10 p.m. General admission tickets for the opening event are $100 per person, which includes meet-and-greets with the exhibitors, a runway show, a live auction and local culinary creations paired with signature cocktails from an open bar; VIP tickets with reserved seating are available for $175. The event continues through Sunday, September 8, with day-passes available for $30.
About the Western Design Conference Exhibit + Sale:
Celebrating 32 years in 2024, the annual Western Design Conference Exhibit + Sale is a four-day, multimillion-dollar event that brings together craftspeople, collectors, interior designers, architects, and fashion designers with a love of the West. The Western Design Conference was founded in Cody, Wyoming, to promote contemporary artists working in historical American craft methods. The Western Design Conference Exhibit + Sale moved to Jackson Hole in 2007, where Executive Director Allison Merritt continues the strong commitment to Western arts in Wyoming while expanding the reach of the show. Additional information, including schedules and tickets, is available at westerndesignconference.com and on Facebook and Instagram.
Media Contacts: Allison Merritt, [email protected], 307.690.9719; Amy Stark, Word PR + Marketing, [email protected].
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