An oversized rooster, a towering sasquatch, or a massive metal eagle might seem like unconventional marketing investments, but Mike Ferguson, owner of Spokane-based Way Out West, has spent over two decades supplying Inland Northwest businesses with statues and large outdoor pieces that are helping turn companies into recognizable landmarks. 

Located on the West Plains, at 11610 W. White Road, the statue and decorative goods supplier has worked with many commercial customers whose businesses range from restaurants and retailers to regional attractions, including Silverwood Theme Park in North Idaho. Businesses also seek out Ferguson for help acquiring fencing, gates, planters, and other pieces, to create recognizable entrances, patios, and displays at their properties, he says.

Silverwood has been a longtime customer of Way Out West, purchasing numerous decorative pieces over the last 25 years, Ferguson says. A prominent eagle statue is installed at the entrance to one of the theme park's newer attractions, the Eagle Hunt waterslide in the Emerald Forest section of Silverwood's Boulder Beach water park. 

A Silverwood employee happened to see the eagle statue while driving on Interstate 90, near the Four Lakes-Cheney exit, and stopped to ask Ferguson about it. 

"At the time, they were going to make an eagle," Ferguson says. "I looked at him and told him the eagle I had on hand was cooler, and would do the trick."

The statue made it's way from the Way Out West property, located on the northwest side of Interstate 90 less than a mile west of the Geiger Boulevard interchange and now rests as the "guardian" of the Eagle Hunt waterslide in North Idaho. The size of the piece required a flatbed semitruck and a permit to transport the statue as an oversized load. 

Ferguson contends the logistical challenges of relocating or installing a statue are worth the effort.

"It's up and it's in their park, and it looks beautiful," Ferguson says.

Restaurants make up a significant portion of Way Out West's commercial business. The Rusty Moose, operating at 9105 W. Highway 2 on the West Plains, features two moose statues purchased from Way Out West, which have become recognizable fixtures at the eatery, Ferguson contends.

The moose installations illustrate the primary commercial use he envisions for his statues: to create something memorable enough that customers associate it with a particular business. 

Other customers include the now defunct Luigi's Italian Restaurant, and Zola in downtown Spokane. Restaurants and smaller commercial properties have also purchased iron fencing, gates, and statuary for patios, courtyards, and sidewalk areas, he adds.

"A lot of our pieces are used as part of the interior design as well," Ferguson says. "That's why we have works of all sizes in our lot."

Many customers discover items they hadn't intended to buy. For instance, one restaurateur who was relocating from Virginia to Vancouver Island, Canada, stopped by Way Out West and purchased an 8-foot tall, 3,000-pound wood carved sasquatch.

"He never thought about buying a sasquatch for his restaurant until he saw that one," Ferguson says.

This "roadside discovery" is central to Way Out West's business model.

The company's freeway-facing property functions as its primary advertising strategy. Way Out West has operated largely without traditional advertising or prominent signage at the property, but the visibility of the collection of oversized statues draws people in.

For Ferguson, inviting people to wander through the property remains an important part of the business.

"Until you put your hands on something and see it in real life and touch it, it's hard to envision it in a house or a restaurant," Ferguson says.

That experience extends to families, who regularly visit to explore the on-site inventory. 

Ferguson established Way Out West as a hobby and it quickly grew into something larger. He opened his first shop on Division Street before relocating to a property near Ruby Street and Mission Avenue in 2001, he says. Way Out West moved to its current West Plains property in 2005, where it has operated as a side business for Ferguson for over 20 years. Ferguson also works as a nurse in Spokane.

He partners with a foundry in Mexico to create custom cast iron pieces and also acquires and resells other statues. Some aluminum statues are hand-painted or airbrushed, and include a few recognizable characters, such as Betty Boop and the mascot for Bob's Big Boy burger chain.

Today, Way Out West carries pieces ranging from smaller statues, that can sell for $400 to $500, to larger aluminum pieces, which can cost between $3,000 and $5,000. A 7-foot aluminum rooster, for example, is priced at $3,000. 

Ferguson says his most popular displays include spaceship replicas and alien statues, the largest of which costs $700, he says. 

While business is steady, rising costs are creating headwinds. Aluminum prices have increased, directly impacting the costs of casting and higher fuel costs are impacting deliveries. Way Out West regularly delivers to the Seattle area and has transported pieces to Los Angeles and Arizona, but the current cost of fuel has required Ferguson to turn down some business, including a request for delivery to a remote area of South Dakota, because transportation costs made the trip impractical.