Krista & Jack Sampson
Hometown: Grove, Okla.
Family: Children, Mack, 9; Coy, 6; and Cy, 4.
In Town: “I own and operate The Rancher’s Wife retail gift shop.” Krista Sampson explained. “The shop is a pop-up shop, similar to what can be found in Tulsa (Okla.) or other large cities. I contacted a friend of mine who had one in Tulsa that had great success on how to set one up and then I just went around town looking for available buildings. The shop is a holiday shop and is only open a couple months a year for holiday shopping. This year I opened in October and will stay open through Christmas. I focus mostly on locally-made items, such as handmade soaps, jewelry, locally-grown honey, quilts, paper crafts and some of Jack’s hardwood tables on display.
“It is a great opportunity for the building owner because it showcases their building and I pay the insurance, utilities, rent and taxes for the months that I am in the store. It is also a plus for the community because it brings in shoppers and fills up a storefront during the holiday season.”
In the Country: The Sampson’s moved to Grove, Okla., four years ago from Tulsa, Okla., to raise their three young boys. Jack grew up on a dairy farm outside of Tulsa and Krista, a city girl, grew up in Stillwater, Okla. The couple owns a 300-acre spread east of Grove near the Elk River and currently run about 80 head of commercial cows and calves.
Jack owns Elk River Furnishings and uses trees from their property to make his creations. His work can be found in homes near Grand Lake to the Tulsa area and beyond. He specializes in concrete countertops, hardwood tables, mantles and stainless steel cabling for decks and porches. Some of the wood from their land consists of Black Walnut, Sycamore, Cherry and Oak.
Krista describes his work as modern farm. Now Jack uses an Amish made sawmill and constructed his own kiln for drying the wood.
The couple enjoys rural life and owning their own businesses, it means they can spend time raising their boys in the country. The boys have sheep and Jack hopes to train their new herd dog, Rose, to work both sheep and cattle in the future.
