Barbara Nelson had a problem. Her husband was supplying furniture to a resort in Snowmass, CO, and commented on how much time the resort spent piecing together the hundreds of smaller items that go inside the cabinets, drawers, closets, and bathrooms was overwhelming. Together, they discovered that while resorts had a centralized provider for furniture, a consolidated housewares supplier did not exist.
In 1968, Barbara became a pioneer. Ski Country Shopper was born and became the singular source for supplying all housewares and operating supplies to resorts and vacation properties in the Rocky Mountain region. Demand grew quickly, and Barbara and her team were soon supplying housewares across the United States, from the mountains to the coast. That's when we became known as Ski and Sea.
In 1977, Barbara’s daughter, Jennifer Miner, joined the business. Jennifer, also quite dedicated to listening and problem solving, witnessed the financial and physical impact of product discontinuations had on their clients. When a resort’s dinnerware and silverware lines are discontinued, they must select a new pattern and replace every piece in inventory.
Jennifer saw an opportunity. Ski and Sea made a commitment to manufacture an exclusive line of high-quality dinnerware and silverware that would last “forever”. With a classic, timeless look and design, and a reliable, durable, and transitional pattern for over 40 years, Jennifer has kept her promise and saved resorts even more time and money.
To this day, our proprietary Eterna, Journa, and Perpetua lines are still in production.
In 2005, Lindsey Miner, Jennifer’s daughter, joined what was now considered a family business. At this point, Ski and Sea was known as the leading housewares provider in the US and overseas. Lindsey found herself amongst many happy clients. So instead of stopping at “how can we better serve you?” she expanded the questioning, “what is the biggest bottleneck in your operation?” The answer was unanimous: on-site supply management.
Ski and Sea created a web-based, easy-to-use item management system called Inventory Smart in 2011. Inventory Smart was designed with customized unit inspection lists, automated replenishment notifications, consolidated item information, and par levels that prompt reorders from any vendor. The system ensures each property avoids stockouts and overstocking for all supplies on-site. Inventory Smart has revolutionized resort operations, and is proving to be impactful for other industries such as aviation and environmental services.
In 2021, with the vision to offer more selection to a greater range of clients, Ski and Sea joined forces with Dahlgren Duck.
These two well-established and successful brands have combined operations to provide a state-of-the art and vast range of services for the travel industry including OS&E, FF&E, bespoke product, installation, and Inventory Smart.
