Business forges metal and wood into artful creations

The motto of Creative Combinations is “Where art meets function.”  

The steel, metal, and woodworking company based in Whitefish creates one-of-a-kind practical artwork and furniture. Inspired by elements in nature, Nate Stoltzfus and Kelsey Holmes are the husband and wife team behind the company.  

At a young age, Stoltzfus was introduced to tools, and explored a blend of construction and creation, with his dad in roofing and welding, and his personal interests in art and street luging. Stoltzfus described street luge as a cross between longboarding and winter luge, with the fastest lugers in the world reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour.  

“My first welding project was a street luge board that I made with my dad,” said Stoltzfus. “I would get up to 40 miles per hour, so I never got too crazy."  

After receiving his welding certification, Stoltzfus began working on stairs, railing, fireplace claddings, and other typical residential projects. But Stoltzfus and Holmes, who is also proficient in welding, woodworking, and other fabrication skills, wanted to pursue their own creative endeavors, and in 2020, started Creative Combinations.  

“When we started, I figured we would do handrails, fireplace trim, window trim and some of those more popular items. But when we joined the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, we were talked into doing an art show at Huckleberry Days,” said Holmes. “That was the first opportunity where we were able to create what we wanted, and see what people thought.”  

Besides artwork, Stoltzfus and Holmes have made coat racks, privacy screens, desks, chairs, sinks, kitchen islands, and shelving. One of their favorite projects is a custom headboard depicting snow ghosts, a winter phenomenon unique to Montana. 

“The snow ghosts are so magical and it's something that growing up here we kind of take for granted,” said Holmes. “Most people have never seen snow ghosts or experienced them so we thought it would be really fun to bring them to life in steel.”  

Another favorite recent project that the pair has worked on includes a desk created from a 16-foot blue pine slab with an epoxy resin top and mountains carved into the legs.  

“I've always liked working on desks for some reason, so it was really fun,” Holmes said. “We focused on creating a functional and beautiful piece for them.” 

Since Creative Combinations does in-house design, clients can see what the final project will look like before it is fabricated thanks to the help of 3D drawings of furniture and 2D signs and art designs. 

After a couple years of creating in their 300-square-foot shop, Stoltzfus and Holmes expanded to a larger two-car garage, giving them the opportunity to take on more projects. 

“We were also able to invest in a big piece of machinery called the CNC Plasma cutter which is something that we use to cut steel out of, so that's where a lot of our artwork that we're creating is from now,” said Holmes. 

The work is a unique addition to clients’ homes, and Stoltzfus and Holmes said it is a way to spark joy throughout day-to-day life. The duo takes on custom projects to bring a client’s vision to life, but their preference is to create pieces that speak to them. While some designers simply buy computer-aided designs, also known as CADs, Stoltzfus said he enjoys taking photos of places around Montana and creating his own designs.  

“When people look at these designs, they go ‘Oh, that's a cool mountain.’ But then they look at it and can see that it’s Big Mountain, and they can actually see the runs.” 

“We're very inspired by the mountains and the scenery around so in our artwork, we've been doing a lot of creations of the different mountain caps and ranges here in the valley,” Holmes added.  

To find out more about Creative Combinations, visit creativecombinationsmt.com  

    A design by Creative Combinations. (Courtesy photo)

    A design by Creative Combinations. (Courtesy photo)