Cottage Industries - Montana Style: Momma Lou's Fine Furniture

Not unlike others, Sandie Metcalf came into herself as an artist late in life, after she retired. It was then, painting on furniture in her Montana Cowgirl Ranchy style, that she attracted clients to her unique furniture pieces. After 40 years of not painting she discovered that she did have talent – quite a bit of it.

Though she grew up thinking she'd like to be an artist, growing up on a ranch between two small towns in central Montana and attending a tiny school, left her unprepared for Montana State University. But just before moving to Whitehall with husband Gary, aka Cowboy, she picked up a paintbrush, found her niche, and, trite but true, the rest is history.

"I'm self-taught. I heard about furniture paint, and chalk paint. I picked up a can, did a couple of things, and said this is really fun," Sandie said. "It started out as a hobby but as I evolved and learned, people liked it."

Sandie wanted to do out-of-the-ordinary art on furniture, to be recognized for her own niche. Her Montana Cowgirl Ranchy vibe quickly became her favorite design to create and she decided to try to sell her furniture. Along with her artwork, she specializes in working on antiques. "If you're going to work on something you should work on something that has, not only character but will hold up for a generation or two," she said.

She, along with a fine artist friend who painted canvases, rented a small space in a well-known antique store in Bozeman, setting everything up one afternoon. That night the building burned down.

But that wasn't going to stop Sandie from fulfilling her goal; in fact, her desire to move forward grew.

"All those early pieces taught me the most and I haven't looked back since. I just started again and started my Mama Lou's Fine Furniture page," Sandie said. "I started getting more and more clients and now I'm normally booked out three or four months. Momma Lou's Fine Furniture & Livestock Co. has grown to the point where I am sometimes overwhelmed, but always thankful and humbled."

Present clients can expect to see steers, buffalo skulls, hair-on-hide with upholstery bullets or conchos; all details that tend toward Sandie's very cowgirl, somewhat wild style. She describes the biggest influence on her life being a "cowgirl to the core," having grown up riding and training horses.

She usually works on three to four pieces at a time, often wanting time to observe a piece as it progresses, and describing her behavior much like a pinball machine. Normally booked out several months at a time, some clients have waited even longer, something she finds difficult.

"I get a little nervous about starting the actual art of a painting, for fear I won't be able to create what I see in my head, but once I dive in, all that fear melts away," she said.

Satisfying clients is important, so before taking on a new client, Sandie interviews them, asking questions about their lifestyle and what art style they prefer. She also lets clients know she retains artistic liberties as to the finished piece.

In the beginning, people would bring her their pieces, but that caused stress and pressure. Now, admitting to being a furniture-crazed person, Sandie has 2 ½ storage units full of furniture treasures, "diamonds in the rough."

Often friends and family tell Sandie her pieces are underpriced, but she doesn't want people not to be able to afford her work. She doesn't get rich at any stretch but thinks maybe the good lord will open the floodgates for her sometime.

"I talk about the Lord a lot, He's a huge part of my life, and I pray through things. As I work on a piece for someone I pray for them," she said. "I feel the Lord gave me this as a gift and in order to bless others, so that's what brings me the most joy. When the Lord closes one door, He opens another and that's how Momma Lou's came to be."

Sandie gives credit to her husband Gary as a huge support and very much a part of Momma Lou's, as well as giving her the pet name Momma Lou when their three children were little. At this stage, her main goal in life is to make a difference in other peoples' lives, to make them happy through her art. She has gifted pieces of her furniture and her art, once taking an entire trailer of furniture to a family in Billings with seven children whose house had burned down, and plans to continue doing gifting.

Sandie's Momma Lou's Facebook page is the best way to contact her and see photos of her work. She has a good number of followers who spread the word to families and friends.

At this stage of life, Sandie is happy to share her thoughts.

"The wonderful thing about aging and getting gray hair is getting to know yourself and discover things you didn't know about yourself; figure out what is true to you and who you are, and it's coming out in my art. I feel so fortunate, so blessed," she said. "I get choked up sometimes, knowing what I know now, after a lifetime of beating my head against a brick wall and trying to survive in this thing called life. You find your niche and let the stress go. So I'm a little bit of a cowgirl philosopher and now I can call myself an artist."