Spokane Artist Creates Old World Christmas Ornaments

SPOKANE - You can tell right away that Beth Merck isn't a white-haired 70-year-old man.

But when devoted fans of the "E.M. Merck Collection" of glass Christmas tree ornaments and whimsical wood nutcracker figures line up to get the designer's autograph at big giftware trade shows, many are surprised.

"I'm not who they were expecting," said Merck, smiling.

Maybe people figure the creative force behind a business called Old World Christmas should resemble, say, the guy who created Pinocchio.

Merck doesn't mind. The 37-year-old artist says she's just happy that people like her work.

Do they ever. The Old World Christmas line can be found in thousands of retail outlets from Connecticut to California. And the exponentially growing Spokane company's ornaments have graced seemingly everything from the White House Christmas tree to the cover of the current Neiman-Marcus holiday catalog.

"But for me, the biggest measure of success is just knowing that they are in homes all across the country and that people are making them a part of their own Christmas traditions," said Merck, who has a fine arts degree from Eastern Washington University.

In her own words, it's a dream job. She's turned her love of Christmas into a lucrative career.

It started with a simple idea.

When Beth married Tim Merck in 1977, he owned a Spokane antiques store. Business was good, except during the Christmas shopping season, when people seemed more interested in toasters and sweaters.

What to do?

Recalling her Spokane childhood, Merck remembered the heirloom imported ornaments her grandmother had put on Christmas trees. "I always loved them," she said.

Perhaps, she thought at the time, others would, too.

Click. The light bulb was on and burning bright.

So the Mercks, who both speak the language, went to Germany to search for a source of collectible-quality tree adornments. And through a combination of persistence and luck, they hooked up with a family-operated glass-making concern with access to stacks of old ornament molds.

The Mercks placed a big order.

Back in Spokane months later, the ornaments sold well.

With Beth coming up with the color schemes and, eventually, creating altogether original designs, the ornaments continued to sell.

In the early '80s, the couple decided to make it their full-time business. It was a big gamble.

"Our first year, we could have qualified for food stamps," said Tim Merck during an interview at Old World's success-exuding modern warehouse on East Main.

But something was happening, something that would lift Old World's sales on a demographics-fueled rocket.

Raised on "Jetsons" era silver trees and Technicolor Yule decorations, legions of baby boomers were hankering for a more old-timey look and feel.

And as Beth Merck designed $5 and $10 ornaments that pleased her eye, she was working on a wavelength shared by millions.

"We didn't see it because we were in the thick of it," said Tim Merck. "But baby boomers were looking for ties to a more traditional Christmas."

Working all year and far in advance of the season, Beth Merck has now designed approximately 1,000 different glass ornaments, which are still produced in Germany. Then there are the nutcrackers, light covers and other Old World offerings.

She's a one-woman Christmas machine.

"I love Christmas," she said, her lively face locking into a gentle you-better-believe-me expression. "I love the whole idea of Christmas. I'm designing from the heart."

Getting burned out on the holiday isn't her worry. Finding enough hours is.

"When I'm not worried about deadlines for suppliers overseas or making it to carpool on time, this is really great," she said. "I can float any idea I want. And I've got a desk full of fun things that I'm just dying to have produced."

Merck doesn't mind talking about her approach to designing ornaments. "It's originality based on tradition," she said.

She tries to visualize decorations that would appeal to children and families.

But what she really enjoys talking about is the German craftsmen who carry out her plans.

And she likes to describe how her husband, sometimes using a phony visa to enter East Germany before the Berlin Wall crumbled, worked and worked to set up the relationships that have helped make Old World a success.

"A lot of people have great ideas," she said. "But I'm married to the guy who's getting it out there for people to see."

Merck has a spacious, well-lighted work area in the company's warehouse complex. And though she prides herself on being highly organized - "I live and die by my lists" - the Lewis and Clark High School graduate can sound like a little girl who can't believe her luck. "I have all the colors I want," she exclaimed, gesturing toward an array of markers on her drawing table.

Except it's not really luck.

Whether she's selecting tones for a St. Nicholas ornament or dreaming up a new nutcracker figure, Merck's please herself-please the marketplace approach has made her a national star in the quirky, serious-money world of holiday giftware.

"People want something that's not gaudy, not trying too hard, not artificial," she said.

Her husband doesn't have any trouble summing up her batting average: "She's always right."