Today we’d like to introduce you to Coleen Caraway.
Hi Coleen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We’ve had quite the journey! I started Danu’s Wardrobe in 2023, when I asked myself, “What is something I have always wanted to do, but haven’t tried?” A bookstore! I grew up with a love of reading and books, and my grandmother was a librarian and historian who indulged my growing obsession with reading. From fantasy to history, to thrillers, to horror, if you gave me a book, I would read it. I didn’t want to create a regular bookstore; I wanted to create a place people could come together and connect. In 2023, we had an amazing opportunity to have our shop in the basement of a coffee shop. It was an amazing space, a great neighborhood, and we could host our immersive events! It was like a dream come true. Some dreams have a nefarious underside, as we found out quickly. We discovered that the owners of the coffee shop were involved in criminal activity, so within 3 months, we put in our notice to leave, as our contract was void. The owners of the coffee shop changed the locks and refused to provide us back our inventory, over 5 thousand used and rare books. We tried to get our inventory back for a month, but we finally had to go to social media to share our story. Within 72 hours, and with the help of our community, we were able to coordinate, access our property, and retrieve all of our inventory. We decided after that ordeal, that we would pivot to being a pop-up shop and continue to create our events. For the next year, we hosted original and immersive murder mystery dinner events out of our home and participated in pop-ups all over Colorado. By the end of 2025, we created our inaugural Night of the Nine Realms Community Fantasy Ball, where fantasy lovers of all kinds can come together. In 2026, we expanded our Nine Realms series and created what we call Realm events. We visited Muspelheim, the realm of fire and molten magic, and Niflheim, the realm of frost, fog, and darkness. We also created the inaugural WildeRealm, an immersive, 3-day camping and music festival, where fantasy is what you make of it. We had the pleasure of having Celtic Legacy headlining on our final night and creating a community under some wild weather. Now, as the year is coming to a close, our Night of the Nine Realms is going for its second year, and our WildeRealm is being created for late 2027. We are excited to see where the next few years take us.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Owning Danu’s Wardrobe has not been easy. From discovering that we prefer to go against the traditional bookstore route and stay a pop-up to dealing with the economic difficulties that event planning brings. We are switching our focus back to what inspired us in the first place: the books. We have over 5,000 used books in inventory, and we are excited to dial back our events to only 2 a year. WildeRealm & Nine Realms Community Ball. Most of our books are over 100 years old and need extensive research to price and list on our site. We want to get back to the basics of “The Wardrobe”.
We’ve been impressed with Danu’s Wardrobe, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Danu’s Wardrobe is a fantasy-style, independent bookstore pop-up and event production company where everyone can find adventure. We specialize in used books, rare books, and immersive events. We like to say fantasy is what you make of it, and that can look different to everyone. We love to give back to the community, and most additional revenue goes to our event performers and the South Broadway Historical Museum. We would love for people to check out our site at www.danuc.net for all the different kinds of magic we create.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along this adventure is that sometimes you have to take breaks. Owning a business is emotionally draining, financially difficult, and time-consuming, and if you don’t take care of yourself, it will cost you more in the long run.
Pricing:
- WildeRealm Tickets start at $110
- Night of the Nine Realms Tickets start at $25
- We have $1 kids books
- $10-20 Blind Date Books
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.danuc.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danuwardrobe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089982183456
- Other: https://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm780180
