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Featured Stores

By Meet the MN Makers|Published On: January 12, 2023|Comments Off on Featured Stores|
Featured StoresMeet the MN Makers2023-05-01T09:27:00+00:00
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Meet the Minnesota Makers

@meettheminnesotamakers

The team at Good Grocer wants to know: Can a groce The team at Good Grocer wants to know: Can a grocery store can change the world? From their corner on Nicollet Avenue near Eat Street, this volunteer-powered grocery store is on a mission. Good Grocer empowers community members to provide affordable food access to many. Good Grocer volunteers are involved in every facet of the operation, from stocking shelves and cashiering, to posting prices and prepping food in the kitchen. Volunteer support allows the socially-responsible business to reduce operational costs and pass those savings on to all shoppers, including the volunteers who receive a 20% discount. This full service grocery store offers premium produce, fresh meat and local favorites including @eatbabas, @soulgrain_llc and @sevensundayscereal Good Grocer is not a co-op. It’s not a food shelf. It’s a unique model that builds community through improved food accessibility and individual empowerment. Good Grocer is the next installment of the MTMM change maker series for their work in bringing everyone to a bountiful and nutritious table. Kurt Vickman, the founder of Good Grocer, shared why providing accessible food is just one driving force behind the store, “Food and the ability to work alongside one another has the ability to bridge divides—economically, socially, and racially. It can help people beyond just feeding them.” Mark Daum, Kurt’s junior high hockey coach and current director of marketing, shared, “We consider ourselves your neighborhood grocer. We want to be an essential part of living in this area.” Kurt developed this model after the experience of running a food shelf through the church where he formerly served as pastor. He felt uneasy about the experience, especially for their clients. “We had this line of people out the door, but I wasn’t convinced that we were empowering people.” shared Kurt. “I started to ask myself the question—were we really helping them?” Full feature at meettheminnesotamakers.com! Visit Good Grocer at 2650 Nicollet Ave in Minneapolis. Explore goodgrocer.org Follow @goodgrocer for in-store specials. Follow @meettheminnesotamakers to discover more change makers making Minnesota amazing!
Eating well can be hard. Simpls makes it, well, Eating well can be hard. Simpls makes it, well, simpler. I have hardly done any cooking the past few months. Thanks to my broken ankle, standing and moving around my kitchen the way I’m used to has not been an option. Not being the primary menu planner and creator has been really weird for me. Ordering from Simpls allows our family to still eat locally while offering the convenience foods we need right now. With my kiddos’ help we can easily heat up soup or pop a pizza in the oven. The results are delicious. It’s a meal I can feel good about. I’m grateful that among the @eatsimpls has been an option for our family. Their menu features soups, pizzas, and breads from @bakersfieldflourandbread. A delectable range of hot dish bakes are the newest addition to their menu. This innovative Twin Cities business disrupts the notion that convenience foods always  depend on fillers and second rate ingredients. Everything is made from scratch here in the Twin Cities. Simpls relies heavily on regional farms to provide their grains, meat and produce. They guarantee a market for farms with organic and regenerative agricultural practices. This makes it easier for local producers to thrive. Order at simpls.com. Filters for dairy, gluten, soy, vegan, vegetarian, and heat level make it easy to get the right items for you. Our favorites include the Thai Lemongrass Chicken Soup, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili, and the Tamari Mushroom Ginger Pizza. Next time I order I need to try some of the hot dish and bake options. Your order will be delivered frozen to your door. Reheating directions are right on the package. Use code MTMM for 15% off your order. Good for both first time and returning customers. Have you tried Simpls? Drop a 🥣🍕🍝below!
FREE LOCAL RESOURCE FOR ARTISTS AND MAKERS! Read o FREE LOCAL RESOURCE FOR ARTISTS AND MAKERS! Read on for more info. Lara Cornell is a Minneapolis author, artist, and business strategist who supports creative individuals to build and maintain sustainable business models. Meet Lara in person this weekend at Art A Whirl. She will be with her botanicals and her books at the Thorp building as a guest of Mercury Mosaics. From her own botanical paintings to the coaching she provides artists and artisans, Lara challenges her community to consider the long-term impact of their work. Impact includes eco-impact, social justice, equality, biodiversity, and economic questions. Lara disrupts the myth of the starving artist in order to empower creatives to found sustainable, economically-sound businesses that make the world a little more fair. “I feel super fortunate to say that I love everything about what I’m doing now. I get to have a community of creatives that I love and respect that do amazing work. I get to be a part of that journey,” shared Lara. “I feel really fortunate to be a part of what they’re doing, especially because the structure I use and the coaching I do is heavily based on impact—the impact they have on the world.” Lara has written two #1 international best selling books, “The Maker’s Mark: Make a Living and an Impact with Your Artisan Business” and “The Sustainable Maker: Better Strategies for Streamlined Success within a Creative World”.  A long-time bibliophile, Lara felt humbled and invigorated by the process of writing her own books. “Artists go through this all the time. I had to fight against imposter syndrome. Why am I writing this? Somebody must already know this and have said it better. There were a lot of life lessons that I learned in writing the books that I just had to get over.” Visit www.laracornell.com to download a free digital copy of Lara’s books, discover her art, and learn more about her coaching in the Artisan Academie or become part of the Sustainable Artisan Guild. Follow @laracornellart for Lara’s latest inspiration and projects. Follow @meettheminnesotamakers for more change makers who make Minnesota amazing! Read the full feature at meettheminnesotamakers.com
I never knew that walking into my bathroom could m I never knew that walking into my bathroom could make me smile this much. Swipe through for before and after photos. Long-time MTMM followers met @rachelekrivichiart last year. Rachele promotes outdoor advocacy through her collages, painting, digital drawing, writing, photography, and now interior decorating services. Rachele brings her artistic vision to home decor as an interior artist. “As an interior artist I work with what’s already in your home to spruce it up and give it new life. It’s a little different than the work of an interior designer,” explained Rachele. Expanding her artistic vision into an intentional shaping of interior spaces proved to be an intuitive offshoot of Rachele’s established artistic mission. “Interior decorating might seem like the antithesis of my other work, which focuses on outdoor exploration,” explained Rachele. “I always stick to my gold standard of using recycled objects or materials whenever I can.” Rachele took on our very boring first-floor bathroom as a design challenge, “I think of all my interiors projects as big, blank, empty canvases.”  Rachele created the stunning sunburst collage that fills the open wall. It echoes a signature design element on our home’s exterior. The piece is an upcycled labor of artistic creativity with scores of diamonds cut from magazines pieced together to bring the vivid sunburst to life. Rachele incorporated ceramic leaf reliefs that we bought at the @eaganarthouse, a soap dish from a local art fair, and a beloved mallard decoy from a Chincoteague trip with my parents years ago. With her eye for color and artistic storytelling, these items now feel intentional. Our only regret was that our project lacked one of Rachele’s major design goals. "I'd like to create a custom wallpaper or fabric someday,” said Rachele. “I would love to design a truly one-of-a-kind design element for someone’s home.” Will that someone be you? Visit https://rachelekrivichiart.com or @rachelekrivichiart for more of Rachele’s designs. Follow @meettheminnesotamakers to meet the people making Minnesota amazing! Visit meettheminnesotamakers.com for more about our design adventure.
IT’S HERE! The new Meet the Minnesota Makers we IT’S HERE! The new Meet the Minnesota Makers website is ready! Visit www.meettheminnesotamakers.com (http://www.meettheminnesotamakers.com) to explore Local Food, Local Farms, Artists, Artisans, and Authors, and Local Change makers. Maker Features and Recipes only shared previously on social media are now published and searchable at www.meettheminnesotamakers.com. Join the website mailing list so you never miss a feature. Submit suggestions for future features or leave a comment to support your favorite maker. Discover the copywriting and coaching services that I provide for local makers to strengthen Minnesota’s small businesses. Working with the web design team of @inboundstudio has been a dream come true for my small business. They took my vision of creating an on-line magazine where visitors can learn about local makers, search for makers they’ve seen on my social media, and easily access recipes that I’ve published and made it a reality. I am so grateful for their knowledge and commitment to sorting out all the details.   I am so excited to use this platform to share more maker stories! The first link in my bio takes you directly to the new website. Which section are you most excited to explore? Share in the comments. Spread the word about this new resource for discovering the best of Minnesota’s talented makers. Follow @meettheminnesotamakers to discover the people who make Minnesota an amazing place to be!
How to be a change maker. Step One: Heal yourself How to be a change maker. Step One: Heal yourself so you can heal others. Chaz Sandifer, Founder & CEO of theNEWmpls, founder of Let Go Let Flow, co-founder of Stories Behind the Menu and the owner and operator of the Lakeview Terrace Farmers Market, has lived this mantra for the past ten years. In this fourth installment of the MTMM change maker series, meet someone who brings wellness to her community. Chaz is a coach and grassroots community activist who fosters racial health and equity through fitness, wellness, and nutrition. She guides clients to healthier ways of life through fitness coaching, cooking demonstrations, and exercise classes. She offers space for dialogue on race at Wellness Wednesdays. The Farmers Market brings fresh produce and nutrition education to an underserved audience in the Twin Cities. Chaz’s current roles wouldn’t have been possible without her personal healing journey. “I learned that I needed to put on my oxygen mask before I could help others.” Let Go Let Flow became Chaz’s reminder to herself to move forward. It became her way of organizing her days. Founder of Let Go Let Flow, Chaz co-created with @uncommoncollaborative to photograph Black innovators and their White allies. “Bre McGee was perfect for this project. She showed the depth of these relationships in the pictures she captured. I love her vision for the design and how she brought our ideas to life.” For Chaz, fostering healing is the greatest ongoing challenge of her work in racial equity. “How do I teach people to start looking at others with humanity? We have different melanin and different cultures, yet our bodies do the same thing. That’s what’s hard for me—to see the same things repeated.” Visit www.letgoletflow.co to purchase the Let Go Let Flow “A Black and White Affair” calendar. Attend a Wellness Wednesday at ModernWell or schedule a Courageous Conversation with your work team. Visit www.thenewmpls.com to learn more about Chaz’s community health mission. Follow @thenewmpls for event updates. Follow @meettheminnesotamakers to discover more local change makers who make Minnesota an amazing place! Full feature at meettheminnesotamakers.com
IT’S HERE! The new Meet the Minnesota Makers we IT’S HERE! The new Meet the Minnesota Makers website is ready! Visit www.meettheminnesotamakers.com to explore Local Food, Local Farms, Artists, Artisans, and Authors, and Local Change makers. Be sure your sound is on for brief site descriptions in the post videos. Maker Features and Recipes only shared previously on social media are now published and searchable at www.meettheminnesotamakers.com. Join the website mailing list so you never miss a feature. Submit suggestions for future features or leave a comment to support your favorite maker. Discover the copywriting and coaching services that I provide for local makers to strengthen Minnesota’s small businesses. Working with the web design team of @inboundstudio has been a dream come true for my small business. They took my vision of creating an on-line magazine where visitors can learn about local makers, search for makers they’ve seen on my social media, and easily access recipes that I’ve published and made it a reality. I am so grateful for their knowledge and commitment to sorting out all the details.   I am so excited to use this platform to share more maker stories! The first link in my bio takes you directly to the new website. Which section are you most excited to explore? Share in the comments. Spread the word about this new resource for discovering the best of Minnesota’s talented makers. Follow @meettheminnesotamakers to discover the people who make Minnesota an amazing place to be!
310,000 books In the last four and a half years D 310,000 books In the last four and a half years Debbie Beck and her partners with The Free Book Buggie have placed 310,000 books in the hands of the children throughout the Twin Cities and the surrounding metro area. Why? “I love being able to have children come and take books. I love to see that I can solve the problem of children who don’t have any books at home or maybe just a few,” said Debbie. “We had one little boy who came to our table at an event and chose a book. He held it to his chest, hugged it, and told us that this was the fourth book he’d ever had. It broke my heart and yet, I knew that we helped. That day we knew that we helped someone.” Debbie and her Free Book Buggie are the fourth installment of the MTMM change makers series. Debbie has a passion for connecting people and for sharing stories. Providing children with the nourishment that reading offers propels her to lead her completely volunteer run organization. Nearly five years ago Debbie was on vacation in Brazil with her daughter relaxing in a park. As they enjoyed the park’s vibrant atmosphere, she noticed the energy buzzing around a brightly colored VW bus. The vehicle was surrounded by tables of books. More books were tucked into every nook and cranny of the vehicle. Debbie watched as both children and their caretakers lingered at the tables, talked with the man, and walked away smiling with new books in their arms. Ten days after her vacation ended, Debbie filed paperwork with the state of Minnesota to establish The Free Book Buggie. The Buggie itself is a treasure trove on wheels. “I wanted to have something that reminded children of an ice cream truck. I wanted to drive down the street and have people think, ‘Oh good! Here comes The Free Book Buggie!’” Debbie’s eyes shone as she described watching children’s faces when they enter the Buggie to explore the available books. Visit https://thefreebookbuggie.org/ to learn more about their mission of “Giving Books, Cultivating Minds”. Follow @freebookbuggie to learn about current events. Follow @meettheminnesotamakers to discover more local change makers making Minnesota an amazing place! Full feature at link in bio!
Food Gratitude Post! A thank you for some of the Food Gratitude Post! A thank you for some of the local food we’ve been enjoying during my recovery. I am grateful to the local makers, friends, neighbors and family who have kept our family well fed throughout this healing process. Today marks one month since my ankle repair surgery. I have one more month to go before my surgical boot becomes a walking cast. I’ve returned to work part time this week—starting with rescheduling postponed meetings and getting our taxes in order. Thank you for checking on us, feeding us, and being patient with slow replies. I look forward to sharing some non-ankle related MTMM news with you over the next couple of weeks. Locally made goodness in order… Red curry lentil soup with sweet potatoes from @ohsoup Tuscan Chickpea Soup from @ohsoup Lemongrass chicken soup from @eatsimpls Blooming Almond Cookies from @puffdapastry Mint Chocolate Cake from @cookiesandmorebylisa Lemon raspberry cupcake by @kate_actually90 Easter dinner from @kowalskis_markets Homemade Swedish meatballs from a neighbor Turkey meatloaf, rosemary potatoes and grilled veggies from @kowalskis_markets To order for yourself… Bridget O’Boyle of Oh Soup! is based in SW MPLS. Check @ohsoups for her weekly order form. Rotating menu of soups and breads available for pick up most Sundays. Simpls is a Twin Cities convenience food creation. Their soups, pizzas, and bakes are all prepared here with locally sourced ingredients. Their local partners include many of your favorite regenerative agriculture farms. Their extensive delivery area makes it simple for you to eat real food and support local sustainable practices. Grace Oey of @puffdapastry creates amazing baked goods in the St Cloud/Sartell area. She delivers her unique menu, including many Indonesian-inspired treats, to the Twin Cities most weekends. Her mochi donuts are amazing. Lisa Haggstrom of @cookiesandmorebylisa is a master cookie decorator, potica whisperer, and general creative of all manner of baked treats. Picks ups at her home in Apple Valley.
Unexpected plot twist…. I’ve been a little qu Unexpected plot twist…. I’ve been a little quiet over here in the Meet the Minnesota Makers corner of the internet. Rather than the big behind the scenes announcement I had planned for March, I’m out for a few weeks of medical leave. Last weekend I broke my right ankle while ice skating at an indoor arena with my kiddos. I was literally swept off my feet by a skater who was weaving through the slower skaters and hit me from behind. I will have surgery this week to repair the damage. It will be a couple of months before I can put weight on it and a few more weeks beyond that before I can drive again. The past week has been an adventure. I’m grateful for the support of our family, friends and neighbors who’ve fed us, driven the girls to school, picked up supplies and kept daily life moving forward. I’m grateful to the skilled team at @the_urgencyroom who stabilized my ankle. They were so compassionate and professional. I’m grateful to my kiddos who escort me on the stairs, make sure my crutches are within reach, and are now my wardrobe mistresses. I’m grateful for my husband’s new skill of wheelchair driving. I’m grateful to be able to lean hard on him. I’m grateful for the flexibility and grace of the makers awaiting features and the website content clients whose projects have been delayed. For now, I’ll be rooting for you all from the couch. Fingers crossed that I’ll be back to work before the end of the month. More soon(ish)!

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