Big Omaha furniture partner Hutch moving into bigger space to do more

As Nick Huff likes to tell it, he’s most comfortable in motion. It’s a good thing, too. The co-founder of Hutch has had to move a lot of furniture as of late. From a two-car garage, to the nethermost depths of the Old Market, to a small storefront in Midtown Crossing, Huff and his business…

Hutch and Nick Huff have partnered with SPN to provide furniture for Big Omaha. From time to time we’ll be sharing stories about some of the great people and companies who make our events a reality.

Nick Huff lounges on a 1950s-era couch at Hutch. The mid-century modern furniture store is expanding soon.

As Nick Huff likes to tell it, he’s most comfortable in motion. It’s a good thing, too. The co-founder of Hutch has had to move a lot of furniture as of late.

From a two-car garage, to the nethermost depths of the Old Market, to a small storefront in Midtown Crossing, Huff and his business partner, Brandon Beed, have gone from hobbyists to full-blown furniture retailers in less than a year. 

“We started with an idea and watered it to see how it would grow,” Huff said, admitting to nurturing their ethos on the fly. “We really listened to our brand, our customers and the needs of Omaha.”

Come November, the purveyors of mid-century modern furniture will be relocating yet again. Only, this time they’ll be peddling their product to early next-century postmodernity in a larger spot in the heart of Midtown Crossing.

The move might only be two blocks west, but Hutch’s new location at 3220 Farnam St., according to a release, will provide ample space to infuse new and local furniture into the vintage collection that has brought Huff, 27, and Beed, 30, their early success.

“To build an entire business model on everything found, when you have to find every piece, it’s difficult,” Huff said. “We’ve realized how people use mid-century and it’s as an accent piece. You don’t decorate your whole house with it.”

The clean lines, bright colors and minimalism that have motivated Apple-wielding Millennials to buy out Hutch eight times over, Huff said, will remain their principle design qualities. But instead of solely investing in the ghosts of Charles Eames and Mies van der Rohe, Hutch will showcase local makers who are reimagining the modern look.

“People who are tuned in to design or aesthetically pleasing things get the artistry behind the furniture,” Huff said.

It was this same motif that adorned the KANEKO building during Big Omaha in May. In a partnership with SPN, Hutch hauled in their entire stock of vintage furniture to give the event its Mad Men-era flair.

Huff said the event helped to reacquaint he and Beed with their core business values. 

“It was the best sharpening tool for our business that we have experienced to date,” he said. “Just being in that type of environment where you know everyone else has the same emotions and feels just crazy as you was an empowering feeling.”

That same sense of community has prompted Hutch to team up with local businesses such as Birdhouse Interior Design and Bench. The furniture retailer has even partnered with Hear Nebraska to present an outdoor concert series this summer at Turner Park.

“I want people to connect with what’s going on rather than wanting to make a dollar off them,” Huff said. “That’s how I approach entrepreneurship.”

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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