moving forward in 2022 dancing goat will be open thursday-saturday beginning may 28th for the summer season. follow us on facebook and instagam for any changes to the schedule and for sneak peeks of what's new in store.  NOW in store are cropped flannels, ruffle sleeved flannels, artisan clay jewelry and a ridiculous amount of new (old) vintage clothing. LEVI denim jeans and cutoffs, denim skirts, leather jackets, blazers, plaid wool skirts, pendelton and woolrich wool shirts and jackets, eclectic t-shirts, cowboy boots, key overalls, jean jackets plus we will be pulling out wool sweaters throughout the summer months as well as early fall.  we also have a new stock of beautiful vintage plaid wool blankets and repurposed decor for your cabin, airstream or home. looking forward to some summer weather and seeing all your smiling faces again.  SOON!!! 

 

2020 has been an odd year for everyone. here at dancing goat studio, we had temporarily closed our doors due to the corona virus pandemic. DANCING goat is happy to announce that we will re-open for the 2020 holiday season with a hybrid plan moving into 2021. 

what had originally opened as an occasional shop' in 2010, with upcycled furniture, vintage finds and book purses has morphed into somewhat of a different shop in 2020.  we still make our amazing ALTERED BOOK PURSES but have added vintage clothing, handmade jewelry, repurposed clothing and upcycled book journals. 

dancing goat has always been about creating earth friendly recycled goods. we make a line of restyled "Minnesota NICE" flannels (for adults and kids), Minnesota trucker and winter hats, leather earrings and cuff bracelets AND new this fall, cropped hoodies and flannels. OUR specialty is still the OOAK altered book purses and boxes. along that line we make unique book page greeting cards, upcycled book journals and fun book image necklace charms.  

as a OOAK shop we do our best to create fun and useful goods for our customers. please FOLLOW us on Facebook and Instagram to get the most current information.  

and AFTER 10 years, THANK YOU to all of my customers and followers.  i really couldn't continue doing this without YOU. 

keep dancing all!!

 

projecting LOVE 2020

HELLO i am kim wendlandt and owner/creative at dancing goat studio in new london, minnesota. project LOVE 2020 is an attempt to create beautiful things together while dancing through this strange and TEMPORARY normal. (covid-19)

i am working on projects and tutorials for young and old to create with me or save for another day. stay tuned while i unravel the best way to share these ideas in the most simple format and without too much talky talky from me. my hope is to have free project bags available for local folk to pick up  from my riverside patio at dancing goat studio in new london.

find dancing goat studio on facebook and instagram as well as here on my blog.

keep dancing all,
the goat

dancing goat studio began in a room above my garage in 1998. "making something out of nothing" (edward hopper), has been a long time favorite quote of mine.  a quote, originally learned as an art/design college student at the university of minnesota, twin cities. fabulous professors taught me the value of art; while wonderful role models; such as my mother, older sister and grandmother, taught me the joy of making. i have been creating using a variety of mediums from a very young age.  

i was a book artists as a pre-schooler when i would draw extra characters in my sisters picture books, as an elementary school student i would sell handmade stuffed critters with googly eyes to kids on the school bus and in high school i was often caught crocheting teddy bears during journalism class.  

i was a born maker.  it was only natural that i found myself in college learning about fine art and visual design.  later, as a young mother, i realized the importance of mother earth and understood my responsibility to  my children and future generations.  i began creating earth friendly art and teaching paper-making in the community and area schools.  my commitment to creating all things recycled continues at dancing goat studio.        kim wendlandt

up-cycled wool sweater flowers

original altered book purse

velvet curtain tie backs become cuff bracelets

re-purposed book pages become wallet/envelopes

altered scrabble board purse

clutch altered book purse

altered book purse with re-styled belt handle

happy holidays!!! dancing goat has been jingle and jangling it's way through the season and we are getting ready for an exiting new year in 2017!!!

open again during select weekends, we will  be working hard to breathe new life into humble and often neglected objects from yesteryear, as well as create one of a kind altered book purses for gifting and keeping. 

new to our shop is vintage wedding rental! stay tuned for a catalog of items available for rent for your special day along with design services if needed. see us at upcoming wedding fairs or drop us an email if you would like to arrange a meeting.

dancing goat studio can also be found on facebook, insta-gram and etsy!!

our upcoming/written in stone schedule is as follows; but remember we often are open many  weekends and days  by chance.

january 12, 13, 14

february 9, 10, 11

march 9, 10, 11

april 13, 14, 15

may 11, 12, 13

summer
every monday and
june 15 - 17
june 29 - 30 july 1

july 13 - 15
july 20 - 22

august 10 - 12
august 17 - 19

september 6, 7, 8

october 12, 13, 14

november 9, 10, 11

december 14, 15, 16

dancing goat (dwell and design) studio

open the second thursday-saturday of every month and many days by chance

dancing goat studio is a 2nd weekend occasional store and a working art studio! our upcoming schedule for the new year 2015 is as follows:

january 8,9,10
february 12,13,14
march 12,13,14
april 9,10,11
may 14,15,16

summer hours are yet to be posted but will be expanded due to heavy summer tourist traffic and special city celebrations.
we have been playing with being open for business every tuesday as a scheduled work day.  any changes to this schedule will be posted on dancing goat studio on facebook.

summer 2014 schedule

open for business
june 12-14
june 19-21
july 1-3 and july 5
july 10-13
july 17-19
august 14-16
august 21-23
dancing goat is also open many days by chance
check posts on dancing goat studio on facebook page

june 2013 summer fun!!

dancing goat studio has expanded its retail floor space and revamped displays to prime up for a busy summer decorating season.  we've expanded summer hours to include the 2nd and 4th thursday-saturday weekend AND has added every wednesday to it's open door schedule.

 

mid-century retro takes center stage for june with kitschy linen calendar pillows and a funky daisy tea service. earth toned cups remind us coffee at grandpa's morning table and colored glassware take us back to supper in aunties parlor. 

 

arful jewelry adorn our in-house dressform beside an assprtment of our signature altered book purses.  as always our book purse design center is available for you to select the perfect book to be up-cycled into a book purse you design yourself. 

 

 

dancing goat has quirky up-north décor to freshen up a summer cabin and update the three season porch.  perhaps a woolrich wool pillow will fit the bill or an old school lunch pail for a creative tv remote catch-all. with a now larger floor space it is hard to name everything for sale at dancing goat, so pick a day, and stop in to say hello.  perhaps a summer treasure will find it's way home with you. 

studio re-design

dancing goat studio has been going through a re-model over these past few months.  we've expanded our space by some 90 square feet and re-designed the altered book purse design center.  here are some photo's of the finished space, complete with a re-cycled door and shutter wall.

 

 

january 2013 occasional sale is a winter white collection of all of our favorites.  cozy pillows created from thrift store sweaters and wool suit coats take center stage in the studio this month along with white, taupe and espresso painted furniture and accessories.  vintage ice skates, ski's and snow boots make unique seasonal decor.  after a month of too many decorations it feels good to simplify  your surroundings with something repurposed and fresh from the dancing goat studio!!!

 

wishing all a blessed and happy new year!  stay tuned in the coming year for tutorials on everything from making soap to painting furniture.  and thank you for following along with us at the dancing goat studio!!!

jingle all the way

 

santa claus is coming to dancing goat studio! we are shining up the sleigh bells and prepping for a holly jolly christmas season.  the dancing goat has artful giftables under the tree and decorating ideas galore.  for example:

 

-fill a vintage ruffled bowl with shiny brite ornaments for use as a festive tablescape. 

 

-re-purpose utilitarian canning jars with hot chocolate and marshmallows for a quick party hot chocolate bar.  add a couple of clear glass holly coffee mugs and candy cane stir sticks.

 

-add a red accent table or chair to a corner of your home for instant holiday cheer. or invite your guests to cuddle up with a recycled sweater pillow found at the dancing goat.

most importantly remember that the holidays should be infused with tradition.  honor the old and begin some new traditions to make the season all that it is meant to be.

 

 

home for the holidays 2012

 

vintage decorating carries an air of nostalgia that can't be found at a big box store.  mix-up what you already own with quirky retro decor found at the dancing goat studio.  this season find an assortment of  brightly colored "shiny brite" ornaments, strands of vintage christmas lights and fresh cut greens for an old school spin on the season.

 

create an "up-north santa look" with red/black plaid found here in pillows constructed from  american made woolrich wool and repurposed sweaters/flannel shirts.   metal lunch boxes from yester-year make functional table-top accents or work well as unique christmas cookie gift boxes.

 

snow-white reindeer can be found in all corners of dancing goat and make for great season round woodsy accents for your home or porch. add old crates and servicable glass jars filled with ornaments or cookie cutters to add a touch of shabby chic.

 

simplify your holiday season with decorations that carry your home into the long days or january/february. stop into the dancing goat for great decorating ideas and artful giftables. 

 

check out our expanded holiday open dates for bonus shopping opportunities!  enjoy a blessed holiday season and thank you for another great year at the dancing goat studio!!  

autumn 2012



we apologize at dancing goat for being behind on our blog posts.  fall is a busy time of year as we scramble to paint furniture for the upcoming winter, before the cold minnesota weather settles in.  many d.g.s. photo's from september - november can be found on the "dancing goat studio" facebook page.  just "like" us online and recieve updates and photo's on a more frequent basis. and as always, thank you for visiting the dancing goat studio blog!!!!

one week to september event

september theme at dancing goat studio is a riot of subdued color. working on grays, blues, espresso, cream and khaki colors. the theme is feeling nutty with acorns, blue skies and squirrels in mind.

here's a sneak peek to what is coming up:

retro revival and art fair fun

dancing goat studio is stepping back in time to mid-century decorating. bright orange, robins egg blue, avacado and berry pink paired with cool black make this fall inspired fabric the perfect backdrop to our groovy theme. fun fall leaf ceramic decor finds it's way into the dancing goat and hanging swag lamps make a bright comeback. rustic retreat plaids in red , blue and orange also create a cabin kitsch nook.

the weekend of august 17 and 18 will bring in an artsy fartsy crowd with new london's fine arts fair and music festival. so stop in to say hello and see what's new. there is always so much to see at dancing goat studio!!

 

book purse special orders are starting to come in at dancing goat. consider a funky altered book purse for the gifting season and pick out a perfect one of a kind present for someone special in your life. special orders are easily made via e-mail and photo coorespondence. contact kim at kwendlandt@tds.net for more information.

summer bounty

typically this is the time of the month that i pre-view fabulous re-design photo's from dancing goat studio, just prior to the second weekend occasional sale. but instead, i am showing pictures of 'what i did instead'.

the motto of dancing goat is to recycle, repurpose and
re-design. at dancing goat the phrase 'earth friendly' is thrown around a lot. often times the term is used to describe the buying of a repurposed book purse or a repainted wood table, instead of buying box store wanna-be's (pleather and pressed wood). the main concept at dancing goat, is the idea that it is better to recycle what we have instead of filling, the already overflowing, landfills with our castoffs. in short the recreating of and finding beauty in the seemingly ordinary and less than perfect.

many of you already know the story behind the name 'dancing goat' but here is a refresher for you and a reminder to myself: i have been teaching papermaking to children through 'artist in residency' programs for 18 years. the kids make paper out of recycled shredded paper from the school offices and together we discuss recycling and how important it is to our environment. during these some 18 years of teaching, my husband, children and i moved to a hobby farm and our first farm animals were goats. we also began an enormous vegetable garden that produced far more bounty than we would ever be able to consume in a summer. often times, tomatoes and zuchinni in the garden would grow too large for consumption and would become 'goat food' for our two crazy goats: butterscotch and baxter. every fall, my husband would clean out the straw (aka goat poop) in the goat pen and cover the garden with it's nourishing goodness. at some point through the years, i realized that being 'earth friendly' was not a new concept. following the first earth day in the 1970's the term 'green' was coined and escalated in status in the 1990's. the idea of being earth friendly was not a term used by farmers through the years, but it has always been a way of life. so the dancing goat studio name, is a nod to what farmers have been practicing for years. so when you drive down a country road and get a wiff of a farmers 'manure pile', understand that he is and always has been the ultimate 'green living' model.

with all this in mind, please forgive me for canning the vegetables in the garden, instead of working diligently on the dancing goat august redesign. we have been open several weekends in a row for special summer events and have worked hard to keep the store restocked at all times. there are many new items, but the new august theme 'retro couture' will be done for next weekend instead, august 16, 17 and 18. of course, unless we have a bumper crop...

rustic retreat with a kick

tangerine, fire engine, sunset, cinnamon, rust. any form of orange is hot for the upcoming seasons. not just for fall anymore orange is popping up in unexpected places. at dancing goat this month our theme is rustic retreat, so of course we built our theme around an orange ten point deer skull. paired with gray, black, cream, pinecones and birchbark, orange is making a statement in july.

campy decorating accents fill the nooks at dancing goat. we have vintage coolers, metal minnow buckets, thermos's and wire fishing baskets in orange, blue, red and gold. stacks of metal tackle boxes are ready for use on the lake or on a coffee table for convenient storage.

vintage fabrics cover benches, chairs and pillows, while old footlocker style chests have been re-purposed into cheeky sofa tables. overall, we are spilling over with saturated color and snarky re-do's at dancing goat.

the artful farm

june is dairy month and in honor of the farmers of kandiyohi county and the cows that give us cream for our morning coffee, the dancing goat is kicking off the summer season with farm fresh decor! the theme is the "artful farm" because here at dancing goat we enjoy elevating everyday humble and useful objects to that of "art".  we have chicken salt and pepper shakers, cow creamers, gingham checks, milk cans and tractor seats, to farm-up your country kitchen!

for the lakeside dwellers we have an "up-north" corner at the dancing goat that is stuffed to the gills with glavanized minnow buckets, plaid metal coolers, rustic thermos, willow and wicker accessories, wooden bowls, and piles of plaid wool blankets, all in the colors of the big woods.

retro colors are still hip in aqua blue and avacado green, paired beautifully with wooden compotes and vintage crochet.

we are wild for colored metal catch-all boxes arranged in a row beside a jar of antique bingo balls.  great as t.v. remote caddies, recipe boxes or for whatever creative use you would like to emply it.

and of corse, in honor of july 4th and the service men and women of our united states of america, a display of red, white and blue to set the mood for your summer family gatherings.