Our Story

We grew up in a small town where cows and football reigned. Our grandparents owned a ranch and tree farm in east Texas where we spent holidays and summers jumping rows of hay, making chocolate pies, and playing golf. Literally. There was a Par 3 hole carved out of a pasture.

We have an affinity for small towns and tomatoes off the vine. In the spring our Papa would carry fresh picked tomatoes in his truck just in case he happened upon someone at the grocery store, about to make a huge mistake in purchasing a tasteless store bought variety.

These experiences lent to a way of life…we found ourselves shying away from cookie-cutter and leaning towards the interesting. Whether it was in the house we lived in or the bowl on our counter we wanted there to be something intrinsically special about it. That’s where Folkway Design & Wares Co. was dreamt up.

Meet Kimber and Sommer

Sisters and founders of Folkway Design & Wares Co.

Kimber Ratcliff

Kimber has a passion for all things local. She would love to own a mercantile…or a Christmas tree farm depending on the day, and is always up for a trip to any town that claims to be the antique capital of that particular state. She believes that design and the wares in your home should tell a story, and has a knack for combining design styles and making spaces look great effortlessly.
 
Hailing from Texas originally, she now calls south Louisiana home with her husband, two girls, and ornery bulldog. She can make a mean beef and potato stew, will stock your favorite cocktail in case you come by for a chat, and will send you home with cut flowers from her garden.
 
Kimber is a Master Gardener and the co-founder of the nonprofit St. Francis Vegetable Garden Inc., an organization which provides living classrooms for children to learn where food comes from, and has grown and donated over 6 tons of produce to local food banks.
 
Determined to find the hidden secrets of any town visited, she actually has a butcher, baker, and cobbler that she employs regularly, and is the director of her town’s farmer’s market. In design and lifestyle, she believes in combining the simplicity and quality that were standards in the past with today’s modern lifestyle. 
Sommer Tate

Sommer spent her college years immersed in communication classes, ROTC activities, and river water while floating the Guadalupe. Following that was six years in the Air Force as a Logistics Readiness Officer where she got to travel, grow, and learn. They were priceless years, but she knew she wanted to be truly passionate about her work, and counting beans & bullets wasn’t it.
 
A typical start to Sommer’s day consists of her trying to keep her dogs from herding the chickens, trying to keep the chickens out of the vegetable garden, and trying to keep her kids from feeding their breakfast to the dogs. Loving all things with a storied past it is only fitting she lives in one of the oldest towns in Dallas-Ft Worth, where she has carved out her little piece of country in the city with her husband, two girls, dogs, and chickens. 
 
Since leaving the military Sommer has developed a successful design business helping clients turn their ideas into reality. Her design style was born from the places she has lived and been inspired by including Texas, New Orleans, and Charleston. No matter the style of home, she loves combining styles to create a fresh, collected, and timeless space. She believes your home should be artful representation of where you came from, what you love, and how you live.
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