Hammer & Hand was founded in 2009 by husband and wife team, Chris and Amy Plaisted, over a bottle of wine and a dream of traveling and creating together.

Here's the long and the short of Our (dreams do come true) Story...

In October of 2010, our second born was 9 months old and we needed to come up with a plan. We are both dreamers and we wanted to become doers.

It was decided that we would open an import furniture store. Chris had been managing his friends business for over 8 years in Orlando, FL so he had the experience, knowledge and connections to get us started. We also have a passion for interior design, travel and East Asian culture. We obviously couldn't open next to our friend so we decided to move to St. Louis, MO where we had family and friends.

We gave ourselves exactly one year to find funding, a space for the shop and housing for our family of four. We immediately began writing our business plan and in that plan we wrote many things one being that "Hammer & Hand will be on the A-List and voted the Best Furniture Store in St. Louis by St Louis Magazine." 

We were eager to bring the most unique and authentic pieces to St Louis, MO to sell in our brick and mortar store. 

About 10 weeks before we were set to move, we still hadn't secured small business funding and didn't have any luck on our visits to St. Louis to find a space for our shop or to live! This is still happening. We have no choice. It's going to happen. 

About a week later, we got a call from Chris' father saying he was going to gift us his vintage Mercedes to see what we could get for it. Well, what a gift it was! This was just what we needed to help with the move and deposits. About a week after that, we found a great (and affordable) space to live/work. 

We moved to St. Louis exactly one year from the date we had that bottle of wine. We arrived in St. Louis with one container of furniture and a $5,000 credit card. We were off and running! We both took part-time jobs to support our family of four.

Working hard to make it, we quickly realized that we were going to need to put all of our energy into building the business. We quit our jobs and decided to open a shop on Etsy and spend our time working on gaining attention online. Within about 60 days, ninety percent of our sales came from Etsy. Shortly after, we decided we should shut down the brick and mortar and go full speed online. We found a great warehouse space in a killer building downtown and lived in a condo on the 11th floor of that building! It was amazing. And a ton of fun for our girls, Kaley and Kyndall. City life! 

Fast forward 4 years...

Etsy was still our biggest sales channel and most of our sales were coming out of the east coast. In particular, Brooklyn. We received a really cool email telling us that were named one of the top 10 eclectic furniture stores on Etsy by the New York’s Lifestyle Mirror.

By the end of October 2015, Hammer & Hand has 640 positive reviews and is a 5 star Etsy storefront. We have s strong following and an incredible reputation as an online retailer. We have shipped large and small in the coast to coast in the US, Alaska, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Israel and even India!

What they are saying...

"Chris and Amy are quick, efficient, and personable. On the day I ordered they immediately e-mailed me regarding shipping and answered my questions regarding the origin of this piece. They sent me photos of the trunk in India and then sent photos of it all packaged up and ready to go. It only took 4 days to send this 105lb trunk! In regards to the trunk.. it's the most beautiful table I've ever seen and I'm soooo happy with my purchase. It's the type of furniture that makes you decorate around it. Thank you Hammer and Hand! I will DEFINITELY order something from you guys in the near future!" - Julie Jo

Next Steps...

In late 2014, we outgrew our warehouse and decided to give it another go at a brick and mortar store. We found an incredible space! Then, we left for Bali to get more goods! 

To help our new location gain attention, we decided to start an underground dinner series called The Silk Rodeo. Talk about gaining attention! Our dinners have been listed in top STL foodie blogs including Sauce and Feast magazine and we have a spread in the Hot Eats section of in Alive Magazine's December issue. 

(Spencer Pernikoff, top St Louis travel and food blogger of Whiskey and Soba captures an image)

The Silk Rodeo dinners have given the Hammer & Hand showroom the ammunition needed to be a must see in St Louis.  

Dreams do come true...

So, remember when we wrote in our business plan in 2010 that we were going to be on the A-List and voted Best Furniture Store in St. Louis? Well, we came close! In 2015, we were on the A-List and named Most Eclectic furniture store in St. Louis by St. Louis Magazine. 

What we're up to now...

We sell and ship our products all over the world to dwellers, restaurants/bars, retail, offices and creative spaces. When curating our collection, we focus on the authentic, unique and rare pieces. We have plans to travel, not only India and Bali, but all of East Asia hand selecting and curating our collection. We focus on singular, sturdy and very old pieces that invite conversation.

Our authentic, unique and rare pieces will really “make your space”. You’re one of a kind and your space should be too. Hammer & Hand collection includes both functional and unique conversation pieces to set your space apart from the crowd.

We hope you visit us often!

Chris & Amy