Meet Brent Rodgers and Derek Cadena of Two Little Fruits in North Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brent Rodgers and Derek Cadena.

Brent and Derek, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Derek and I began dating in 2001. We both are creative people, and Derek, at the time, worked at an art supply store. So it was very natural for us to start making art and other pretty things together immediately. The creative process is one of the main things that has bound us for the last 18 years. We explored lots of styles mediums and techniques for 11 years and, in 2012, started doing markets as Two Little Fruits.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all! Running your own business, especially with your spouse, is not for the faint of heart. We have literally weathered hail, snow, and hellish wind, all while trying to sell our art and products to the masses at outdoor festivals. However, one of the hardest moments was in 2016, the 1st year we were self-employed. We decided to invest heavily in a tradeshow in Dallas, naively. We spent most of the 1st half of the year preparing for the trip that we thought was going to change the direction of our company altogether. After sitting in our 10×10 booth for five days at the Dallas Market Center, we had successfully written only one 300.00 order. We felt like such failures; we lost months of work and thousands of dollars. Once we got home, we took some time to reaccess where we wanted to take Two Little Fruits. We then realized that if we wanted our goods to be sold in galleries and boutiques across the country, we would need to pivot a bit. That is when Two Little Fruits started making things like coffee mugs, greeting cards, and tea towels.

Two Little Fruits – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Two Little Fruits is an art and design company that specializes in home goods and gifts. Our hand-drawn animal designs tend to lean into the whimsical side of life. The thing we are most proud of is also what we think sets us apart. Our artfully designed products make people happy. People always tell us thank you for bringing a smile to their face each morning because they use one of our colorful coffee mugs. We try not to take things too seriously, and we think that shows in our work.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There are so many moments, like in 2018, when we opened our 1st showroom in the Las Vegas Market Center and building the Two Little Fruits studio in our backyard in 2014. However, the moment I think we are most proud of was in 2016. We were about to remodel our kitchen, and at the time, Brent was not exactly feeling fulfilled at his accounting job. So we decided that Brent needed to quit his job and took a leap of faith in ourselves and Two Little Fruits. That was over four years ago, and we have not looked back.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.twolittlefruits.com
• Phone: 303-832-0752
• Email: Ohhey@twolittlefruits.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twolittlefruits
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twolittlefruits

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