Falls Creek Cabin more than just sewing supplies

Those looking for sewing supplies and vintage items have a new place to shop in Columbia Falls after the Falls Creek Cabin opened for business in November.

Owned by Columbia Falls residents Diane Lalum and Tanna Friske, Falls Creek Cabin offers a variety of unique items, from thread, fabric and yarn to furniture, jewelry and handcrafted wooden toys.

The duo, both graduates of Columbia Falls High School, said the idea for the shop came from wanting to help out the local sewing community.

“We both took home economics from the greatest teacher in the world, Mrs. Agnes Cada, who has now gone on to the great sewing machine in the sky, and she really inspired us. Back then, there was a fabric store in this town where you could get anything you wanted,” Lalum said.

“When the sewers in town would get together, someone was always having to go to Kalispell to pick up one thing or another. That gave us the idea to open a sewing shop in Columbia Falls. We wanted to bring something different to this town,” Friske added.

According to Lalum, the idea for the store came about when Friske asked her to have coffee out of the blue one afternoon.

“I was thinking, what have I done? What could she possibly want from me? She pitched the idea and I was scared to death, but said ‘let’s do it!’ I’m so glad I did,” Lalum said.

Located at 420 9th Street West, next to the Back Room and Nite Owl restaurants, Falls Creek Cabin has been open since Nov. 1 and features items from a number of local vendors – many of whom are friends and family of Lalum and Friske.

“We have 22 vendors right now, but we are always looking for new ones,” Friske said. “We want items that are high quality and different, anything that is vintage or repurposed. We want to cater to both locals and tourists.”

The shop boasts a number of unique and interesting items, including a vintage table from the 1920s, hand-painted porcelain and what Lalum refers to as “steam punk lamps.” Made from a hodgepodge of items, the lamps were built by Lalum’s husband, Allen, but the idea came from their children. After returning from their annual trip to the Atlanta Comic Convention, the children proposed the idea.

“They said ‘dad, if you used your welder to make steam punk lamps, you could come sell them at these comic conventions and never have to work again for the rest of the year.’ He made three of them from things lying around the garage and we already sold one on Christmas Eve,” Lalum said.

While the lamps have been popular, the vintage items from the 1950s and 60s have also been a big hit.

“I had one customer come in and tell me our place reminded her of her grandmother’s kitchen,” Lalum said.

The Falls Creek Cabin is currently open from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but the pair say there may be extended hours in the summer.

For more information, visit them on Facebook by searching for Falls Creek Cabin.