Bringing a little Indonesia to the Eastern Shore
Finding items from an Indonesian island in Ocean City, Md. is not something most people would expect, but that’s exactly what Taber Hunt Bartoshesky and Jon Rhem Lane of Hunt and Lane furniture have brought to the Eastern Shore.
Both Bartoshesky and Lane grew up on the Eastern Shore, Bartoshesky in Salisbury and Lane in Ocean City.
Together they started Hunt and Lane three years ago, after both had been amazed with the culture and furniture of Indonesia while they were visiting for surfing trips.
“Just fell in love with the country, fell in love with the people and everything about it basically,” Bartoshesky said.
Both men grew up surfing here on the Eastern Shore , which is what drew them to Java, an island on Indonesia and a surf destination.
Their love of the furniture there, paired with the similarities between the Eastern shore and Java’s reliance on tourism and water life made them believe people would appreciate what they brought back.
“People are very outdoorsy here and they also appreciate the solid wood aspect of it, the re-purposed reclaimed wood,” Bartoshesky said.
Their pieces are often relics from Java’s island culture they say.
“This coffee table here was a primitive tool that was very common in every Javanese household, so it was used to actually grind the rice into a flour for baking,” Bartoshesky said as showing off one of their pieces, a table with glass top.
Both Bartoshesky and Lane poured all their savings to go all in three years ago. but they still work full time in the restaurant business to keep them afloat.
Lane admits, it was a big decision to start their small business.
“That was definitely a little bit scary cause we were both throwing in all our savings just not knowing what was going to happen,” Lane said.
The two say they rely on Ocean City’s tourist season to make sales and in the off-season online orders through online shopping sites Etsy and Charish.
They are currently located in a warehouse in Ocean City, but they say they dream of opening a store front on the Eastern Shore soon.
