Meet Tanya and Karyn Mielke of Dandelions & Rust || A Colorado Mercantile in Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanya and Karyn Mielke.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
We have been friends who craft (and drink wine) since way back in 2002, but it wasn’t until 2009 that we decided to get organized enough to try to sell our wares. Our first experience as vendors was at a small consignment shop in Longmont, Co with crocheted hats, scarves, bottle koozies and some sewn travel bags. We then moved into a small hutch space at Walnut Creek in Fort Collins. Karyn was about to have a baby any second and Tanya was newly pregnant. Seems like a silly time to start a business, but we both were determined for quite a while to turn our hobby into something more. While at Walnut Creek we went from having a combined two children to five and decided it might be a good idea to take a break to raise our kids.

Two years later we were ready to jump back in. We moved into Fox & Clover in September of 2018 and then in November to Vintage Marketplace in Fort Collins. After four months at Vintage Marketplace, the opportunity to take over a small retail space in the center of town fell in our laps. We realized that opportunities such as this don’t come along every day, and knew with the help of all the amazing people we had met along the way, we could create a unique space that not only would be successful, but that would build a community of artists, makers, and collectors. It’s been more work than either of us imagined, but also more rewarding because of our amazing vendors. We feel so lucky to be able to provide a welcoming space for people to come together, create, and learn from each other. We are so excited to see what, and who, the future brings at D&R.

Has it been a smooth road?
Well… it’s been a winding road. We didn’t have a road map or even a destination. What we had was an amazing friendship that we wanted to build on and a love of making. Owning and running D&R has been more business and less making than either of us anticipated, but we are both committed to growing our concept and are open to what the future holds. The initial struggle was just getting our name out there. We started with a budget of $0, a handful of committed artists, and nobody knew who we were.

We needed to figure out how we were going to pay the rent. Quickly. All of our marketing has been pretty grassroots. We’ve used tools such as social media, word of mouth, flyering around town, and face to face conversations with our neighboring businesses. It took some time, but we slowly realized how many artists are floating around in our town looking for a creative space such as ours as well as how much our unique vibe appealed to the community. What we have learned makes the biggest difference is how we interact with the people who walk through our door. The fact that it turned out to be so much more about building relationships within our community surprised both of us.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Dandelions & Rust || A Colorado Mercantile story. Tell us more about the business.
We have carefully curated the shop to fit our own unique Colorado style. You will find original works by local artists in nearly every medium as well as vintage and unique collectibles, antiques, up-cycled and custom furniture, clothing, jewelry, home decor and more. Apart from what type of products we carry in the store, it is important to us that we are running a retail space that we can personally afford to shop. In addition to keeping the price points low, we want to create a learning environment where people of all skill levels can learn something new.

We invite all of our vendors to utilize our classroom space to share their skills with the community. To date, we have held classes in wire wrapped jewelry, up-cycled leather jewelry, origami peace crane folding, chakra mala beaded bracelets, various painting for children and adults, and more to come! Most importantly what we specialize in, what we are known for, what we are most proud of and what sets us apart is how we have fostered an environment where our vendors and our customers alike feel comfortable and appreciated as soon as they walk in the door. We very literally could not do what we do without every single person that we have come across in this journey.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
What we hear from our customers is that they appreciate being able to find one-of-a-kind and affordable goods in their own town. That’s part of the Fort Collins vibe. We like local, up-cycled, personal. If we know the story behind the item it makes it more unique. We are definitely not retail experts and are still pretty new to the retail game. Wherever it is going, we just hope to be able to adapt and learn along the way while holding on to our values.

Pricing:

• Classes range from $20-$35 per person per 2 hour class
• First Friday Wine Night is FREE wine
• Meeting space available up to 10 people $35/hr

Contact Info:

• Address: 1220 S College Ave Fort Collins CO 80524
• Phone: 970.308.1464 or 970.222.9100
• Email: dandelionsandrust@gmail.com
• Instagram: @dandelionsrust
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DandelionsRust/
• Yelp: Dandelions & Rust

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