Birds on a Wire offers new option for local crafters

Nov. 16—The old grocery warehouse at 2345 11th St. in Baker City has received a crafty makeover for a grand opening Friday, Nov. 18.

Birds on a Wire Mercantile is a place where crafters can sell their wares during this holiday season and year round.

Tracy Williams, who started the craft mall with her husband, Chad, has been a crafter for years. She has attended flea markets, bazaars and similar events.

Those experiences motivated Tracy to find a place where her fellow local crafters could sell their wares without worrying about pricey set up fees and travel expenses.

"I drove by this building and it wasn't even for sale and I knew I wanted it," she said.

She contacted the owners and asked if they would sell it to her, a vision in her mind, and an adventure awaiting she and her husband.

"We started on the adventure, and boy was it an adventure," Tracy said.

The former grocery warehouse is west of 10th Street on a gravel road near the railroad tracks. The Williamses had to negotiate red tape with the city and county to make the building, constructed in 1910, usable.

The warehouse was originally used for food that arrived by train and then distributed throughout Oregon and Washington.

The couple renovated the flooring, Tracy hand-stained the front area, and they installed a security system. The couple also lives in the building.

"We just worry about people breaking in," Tracy said. "With us living here, we are comfortable."

Tracy began with a few vendors but one Facebook post later, they were full with 48 vendors.

"The outpouring of people who were interested, and I still have other people that are interested coming up if we have booths that open up," she said.

Chad said possibly down the road, they may look into expanding to the upstairs area where they have another 5,000 square feet of space.

They still have a few spots for smaller displays for those who are interested.

Tracy said a goal was to make sure there was enough open space for shoppers to move around without feeling cramped.

She had felt claustrophobic during bazaars and other events, so she asked her vendors to set up to ensure people could get around easily, especially those in wheelchairs or who use walkers.

"I think it makes for a more pleasurable shopping experience," she said.

Chad noted they have installed an ADA-compliant wheelchair ramp, which someone moving out of town sold to them for just $100.

"We've had a lot of people that have actually donated stuff to our adventure here," Chad said.

They also have the dock that allows people to bring in larger items, such as furniture and antiques.

"It's nice to be able to have that option for people to be able to bring it there and not have to come up the stairs," Tracy said.

They bought the building around seven years ago. At that time, they had an Airbnb and sold it to pursue this new adventure.

"We wanted to get it opened up before the holidays," Chad said.

Birds on a Wire will be open year round. Starting Friday, Nov. 18 through Christmas, they will be open daily from noon to 6 p.m.

The Birds on a Wire Mercantile's insignia depicts Tracy and Chad as birds on one part of the wire and their son is on the other side saying, "We have to go get something else again? Don't you think you have enough?"

"And as a crafter, I'm like no, we're going to go pick something else up," Tracy said.

She said she wants to give back to the community as the community has given to them.

The Williamses did not take any grants out for this project, paying for all the work themselves.

"We love places like this. We've been to barns, we've been out in the middle of nowhere. We went out and searched places out like this just because they are different and unique and you never know what you can find," Tracy said.

They have received an outpouring of support from locals who have their own businesses.

"We're doing the best we can, but we can always be improving and we're open to ideas and suggestions," Tracy said.

The pandemic, of course, had put a huge damper on everything, leading the couple to postpone work on Birds on a Wire.

When the restrictions were lifted, they jumped right back into it.

Tracy grew up in Baker City and Chad moved here from Wyoming 25 years ago.

They plan on having a space outside their building to display yard sale signs. Inside, Tracy plans to have a board for a cat adoption every week.