Nestled in the back, northwestern corner of the Parrish Project at 14th and O streets, sits a shop filled with trinkets, skulls, insects and plants.
To the uninformed, it might seem to be a personalized museum, catering to the whims of an enigmatic soul eager to hunt and gather items outside of a typical collector’s repertoire. The more informed know it’s exactly that.
Enter Toby Burnham, the storekeeper in charge of inventory at a shop appropriately monikered Hunter Gatherer. During the week, Burnham passes his time studying environmental studies and energy science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. When noon rolls around each Friday (current store hours are Friday and Saturday noon-6 p.m.), he unlocks the doors to his small studio and welcomes the world into his passions for collecting.
“Originally the name for the shop was going to be Hobb’s End, which is used in several works of fiction, usually in reference to a place that has a dark, uneasy feel to it,” Burnham said. “When I ran it by friends however, everyone thought it sounded like something from ‘Lord of the Rings.’ In hindsight, Hunter Gatherer is a much more fitting name. Beside the obvious implication of ‘hunter’ and the taxidermy pieces I have, ‘hunter’ is also in reference to my love of hunting for unusual objects either in natural settings, antique stores, old barns, etc.”
“Gatherer I guess has the same implications. I hunt and gather wherever I go, keeping an open eye for anything that might fit with the shops aesthetic. Also, we were all originally hunter-gatherers before the advent of agriculture, so it brings a sense of a simpler life.”
“I find my inventory wherever I come across it; a skunk skull from my grandmas farm, moss growing from a friends tree, or an armadillo from Craigslist,” Burnham said. “I hit up a lot of estate sales and garage sales, and I have friends from other states that send me things. I am always on the lookout for new inventory and would like it if people from the around the area would bring in items for me to buy or trade with them. I’ve had three or four customers that have brought in items and traded with me for something in the shop, so I hope that continues.”
Since opening Hunter Gatherer in July, Burnham has perpetually evolved the feel of the space based on new items he’s gathered, but also expects some staple items, like the skeletons, skulls, air plants and pinned insects to always be around.
Burnham said he didn’t really have an idea of how the consumerist public would receive his shop but has been pleasantly surprised with how quickly his customer base is expanding. First Friday activities are an obvious staple in getting foot traffic into the store and February’s edition was no exception with “oh wow’s” and “whoa look at that’s” being spoken at a steady pace.
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Downtown Gift Cards Available!
Downtown Gift Cards can be purchased in $5 increments between $10-$500, and are available online at downtowngift.org, or at DLA’s office at 206 S. 13th Street, Suite 101 in the Sharp building. Recipients of the gift card will have the luxury of spending their funds at more than 200 restaurants, boutiques, movie theatres, parking garages, bars, hair salons and other establishments downtown!
For questions about the Downtown Lincoln Gift Card program, contact DLA Marketing Director, Todd Ogden, at 402.434.6906 or togden@downtownlincoln.org.
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