1879 Design Co. has a simple mission - to honor the quality of time honored building methods while elevating the design for modern day function.
Our company was named for the year the Town of Silver Cliff was founded, at the height of Colorado’s historic mining boom. Much like the explorers and settlers of the American West , we approach every project with optimism, purpose, and a commitment to an enduring and prosperous community in the Wet Mountain Valley.
Founder Kim Stone brings together a lifetime of design, fine furniture, residential construction, and business management experience to deliver projects that, she hopes, will become family treasures.
Kim grew up in the small agricultural town of Brownsville, Oregon in the Willamette Valley - a town quite similar to Custer County. Fun fact: the film ‘Stand by Me’ was filmed there. In the summers, she drove farm machinery for hay seed farmers, often working 12-hour days to harvest during peak season.
She learned woodworking in her father’s woodshop, gaining hands-on experience with tools and techniques from a very early age. Kim also worked alongside her Dad and four brothers to build a small family cabin in Summer Lake, Oregon - where she fell in love with the high desert climate.
As a teen, Kim played varsity sports, led student government, and participated in other school clubs. She also volunteered with Habit for Humanity to build homes, where she advanced her knowledge of home building with hands-on experience.
In college, Kim studied sustainable design and marketing at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts. She worked part-time throughout her undergraduate years, working for a small historic home remodeler, boutique architecture firm, and a large construction company. She also completed a year long apprenticeship with Ravenwood Studios, a fine furniture studio in Denver, where she specialized in high-end antique reproductions. From cabinets and chests to dining tables and beds, Kim honed her mastery of traditional joinery, hand tools, and finishing techniques—skills she now combines with modern machinery to create work that balances heritage craftsmanship and contemporary precision.
To complement her technical skills with business acumen, in 2005 she pursued a Master of Business Administration at Colorado State University.
After over twenty years in Denver, Kim moved to Silver Cliff in 2021 in search of a slower pace of life and opportunity to open a business focused on building beautiful furniture and home spaces.
Over the course of nearly three years - while working full-time for a global engineering contractor - Kim built a small, professional woodworking shop that now serves as the home base for 1879 Design Co.
Today, Kim designs and builds custom projects that reflect Colorado’s history and emphasize function, comfort, and quality.
When not working in her shop or spending time outdoors with her four dogs hiking the stunning Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountain ranges, Kim and her wife Sarah Scoles proudly volunteer as members of Custer County Search and Rescue. They also own and operate an Airbnb in Centennial Ranch.
Kim loves the Wet Mountain Valley’s storied history and tight knit community reminiscent of her own childhood. She considers Custer County home and is working hard to establish strong roots. She looks forward to working with her clients to build beautiful things for years to come.