Sara and Jonathan Martin never set out to become entrepreneurs and business owners. Flash forward to today and their Waco retail store, Gather, is a Best of Waco Winner and the go-to store for many in our community who are seeking beautiful, carefully curated items for their home.
A place where traditional southern hospitality meets a modern aesthetic, Gather has everything needed to entertain. From mixers and bar supplies to pottery, linens, dish towels, cookbooks, and more, many of the products Gather features are made by local artisans. Selling items that serve the purpose of both form and function, Gather, and the artisans they work with, bring beauty to everyday life.
Today, Gather is a special part of the Waco community. However, the path to get here and the store itself isn’t something that owners, Sara and Jonathan Martin ever anticipated.
Jonathan and Sara graduated from Baylor in the early 2000s, and neither of them expected to stay in Waco long-term. Feeling at home in their church community, both Jonathan and Sara decided to stay in Waco after graduating. It wasn’t long before the two met in a life group through their church and started their journey together.
Sara grew up in Houston and came to Baylor in 1997 to major in speech pathology. After changing her major, she graduated with a degree in special education and was eager to explore vocational calls in education and ministry.
In college, neither of us did business or entrepreneurship in any way. We both thought we would go into ministry,” Sara said.
For a brief stint, that’s exactly what Sara did. After graduating from Baylor, Sara taught for one year, completed a missionary training school through her church, and moved overseas to Beiruit where she did mission work for two years. Meanwhile, Jonathan continued practicing the art of pottery. Jonathan began throwing pottery in high school, studied Studio Art at Baylor, and after teaching and working for a short time at a start-up in Silicon Valley, decided to pursue pottery full-time.
When Sara returned home from Beiruit, the two married and moved to Los Angeles to work for a church there. While she always enjoyed stationery, decorations and entertaining, Sara never realized she could make a career out of it until she was living in LA, doing full-time ministry and working part-time at Paper Source: a stationary and unique gift retailer. It was during that time that Sara first discovered she could make a career out of creativity, events and ultimately, hospitality. After a brief time living and working in Southern California, Sara and Jonathan realized that Waco was where they wanted to call home.
Upon returning to Waco, Jonathan and Sara spent six years growing their family with three beautiful children. With a longtime love for pottery, Jonathan got a job teaching and started doing pottery in their garage.
What began as a small garage operation is now an established pottery studio: Black Oak Art. Shortly after creating his first mug, Jonathan was approached by the owner of Common Grounds, who asked if he could create a custom logo design to sell in their shop. Now Black Oak Art is a custom wholesale company, offering handmade custom logo designed mugs, signature lines for retail, and custom home pieces. Jonathan loved creating pieces for local businesses and began throwing mugs for other local companies such as Magnolia Market, Harp Design Co., Fabled and more.
Meanwhile, Sara and a like-minded friend launched and operated Kindred Events Studios for five years where they did high-end, full-scale event planning, coordinating and design. A car-ride conversation in 2015 led Jonathan and Sara to the realization that Black Oak’s functional art and Kindred’s passion for entertaining fit together perfectly. Gather is a collaboration between their two passions: the Art of Hospitality.
I always loved small boutiques, and while I liked the idea of it, I never thought opening a store was something I’d do,” Sara said.
When the store was first conceptualized, it began as an avenue to sell Black Oak goods directly to the community. However, as the idea evolved, the two realized it was a perfect way for Sara to incorporate her own interests of entertainment and hospitality in a unique way that the Waco community hadn’t seen before.
To Sara and Jonathan, Gather is more than just a store.
“Our space is a place to celebrate community and share life with others,” Sara said. “We hope to inspire people to host and create their own space for memories to be made and for special people to be celebrated,” she continued.
While their entrepreneurial journey wasn’t always easy, and risks were involved, Sara and Jonathan are thankful for all the people and resources that empowered them to get to where they are now. Family and friends with business insights, books like Why They Buy by David Fuess and educational websites like Skillshare all had their hand in equipping Sara and Jonathan to be the entrepreneurs they never planned on becoming.
Jonathan and Sara love being a part of the entrepreneurial community here in Waco. The town that has long been home to the Martin family is the place they intentionally chose to put down roots for their businesses as well. Just as Gather, the Waco community is all about hospitality.
Though they may not be sure exactly what lies ahead for Gather, Sara and Jonathan are excited for all that’s to come for their store and for the Waco community at large. Moreover, with the holiday season upon us, Sara shared a word of encouragement for Wacoans, “We’re celebrating this season by reminding ourselves to enjoy the calm of resting and the joy of celebrating that makes this time of year so special,” Sara said. “Shop local, shop our city and support our community!”
If you’re looking for a place to shop this holiday season, Gather has ceramic, wood, and linen pieces that are handcrafted in a way that is unique to each artisan that designs and makes them.
Come and take part in the art of hospitality.
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