A scouting expedition

Find the perfect gifts for your party at Scout Northwest Trading Co.

Story & photos by Gretchen Ammerman

Oregon Coast TODAY

When Gitl and Jerome Black decided to build on their rapidly growing graphic design and printing business by opening a retail space and adding original brand products, their goal was to express the unique style of Oregon. Let’s just say they nailed it.

From being one of the first businesses to anticipate the massive popularity of axe throwing to creating many unique brands like the “Mad Jax” line of personal care products, the Pioneer Joe Coffee Company and the Green State Wearables line of cannabis-inspired clothing, Scout Northwest Trading Co. captures the vibe of the Pacific Northwest in a way like few others have.

“One of the most consistent reviews we get is that we’re the Oregon store for people who live here.” Gitl said. “We get asked to go start things in other states, but this is home.”

At the flagship store located in the Lincoln City Outlets, you can find attractively packaged products like those in the Mad Jax’s Apothecary and Mad Jax Essentials lines including beard balm, candles, wax melts and incense, that can help make gift giving easy.

“Right now we have a few gift packages available,” Gitl said. “We have a few coffee packs and we just started making salts and spices, soaps and candles, so we have lots of small-batch, hand-made items.”

Does someone in your life love to cook? Check out the kitchenware like cast iron pans and products to give those pans extra life, or from the Black Salt Co., the Himalayan Salt Slab or black truffle, sriracha, lemon zest and roasted garlic salts. There is even the option of a “flight” of salts to help people explore the options and find their favorites.

For higher-end gifts, check out the artisan jewelry options or leather belts.

“All of our leather goods are made in-house,” Jerome said. “Actually, about 90 percent of what we carry, we create ourselves.”

Scout even carries treats for the pet parent on your list, like biscuits, collars, leashes and travel bowls.

The two axe throwing cages inside the store let you say goodbye to stress with options to toss not just axes, but hatchets and knives, too.  Give a gift certificate to a friend and make a date to throw together and enjoy an adult beverage at the new Timber Tavern. Tucked into the shop right next to the axe throwing cages, the tavern offers beer, cider, wine and coffee.

“We get lots of people that come in to get a drink and throw,” Jerome said. “We added one more axe throwing station because it’s so popular, and we could still use more.”

Gitl and Jerome met in Austin, Texas, in 1997. They married roughly a year after their first date, then added two daughters and a son to the family. Their kids are involved in various ways in the business.

“We are all about family,” Gitl said. “We have family units like mother and daughter teams that work for us — if we can hire people that are related to people already working for us, we usually do.”

Prior to making their way to the Oregon Coast, the Blacks had started several different successful ventures like a Harley shop and graphic design business. Shortly after arriving in Lincoln City, they met and then partnered with local Donald Olson to start the sign and screen-printing shop, Lincoln City Graphics. The partnership continues to this day, and Pacific Northwest-inspired stickers, great stocking stuffers, are just one of the things that come out of the busy screen-printing shop located behind the scenes at Scout.

And, the business continues to expand, with a new Green State Wearables shop and a partnership with Point Break Fitness in the outlets and a second Scout Northwest location in Seaside.

“It’s amazing how things have taken off,” Gitl said. “We’re incredibly grateful to the community to have made it through COVID, fires and everything but it's a huge team effort — it takes all of us. We’re incredibly grateful to the people who come in and brainstorm with us every day. It’s definitely teamwork that makes the dreamwork.”

So what’s coming next for the busy entrepreneurs?

“We are always thinking of new ideas,” Gitl said. “But I like to leave people guessing. What’s next? We’ll see very soon.”

Scout Northwest Trading Co. is located in the Lincoln City Outlets at 1500 SE East Devils Lake Road and is open from 10 am to 7 pm, Monday through Saturday and 10 am to 6 pm on Sunday. For more information, go to scoutnorthwest.com.