Dakota Tinworks | #CDM2022 Vendor

Tell us about your business

Now in its seventh year, Dakota Tinworks is a family-owned business, specializing in traditional, handmade tinware and tin decorative items. Karl, the tinsmith in the family, uses mostly 19th century tinsmith’s tools in the creation of his tin goods. He trained as a historical tinsmith with Loren Miller at the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island, Nebraska, and with master tinsmith William McMillen at Historic Eastfield Village in New York. He’s also taken an advanced tinsmithing workshop co-taught by Steve Delisle, head tinsmith at Colonial Williamsburg.

The work he produces is split between decorative tin items, like Christmas ornaments and tree tinsel/icicles, and authentic reproduction tinware, like pierced tin lanterns and other museum-quality tinware.

While he works mostly in tinplate, he’s also been doing some decorative work in copper.

What inspired you to get involved as a vendor at Christkindlmarket Des Moines 2022?

We were invited to participate in CDM 2017, 2018, 2019, CDM Curbside in 2020, and again for CDM 2021, so we’ve been a part of CDM almost since the beginning. We’ve enjoyed being part of the Christkindlmarket Des Moines family of vendors and look forward to being at the event every year.  People seem to really like the tin goods we produce and sell. We enjoy meeting everyone who stops by our pop-up tents. We’re looking forward to this year’s Christkindlmarket Des Moines!

What products will you be selling at Christkindlmarket Des Moines 2022 and why did you choose them?

Our tin ornaments and tree tinsel remain very popular, so we will, of course, have plenty of those on hand. We also plan to offer pierced tin candle shades, with traditional designs, cookie cutters, and pierced tin lanterns. We’ll have a full range of other tin items for sale, but we’re also planning on adding a variety of similar items made in copper, too, including ornaments and tinsel/icicles. The colored tinsel we introduced at CDM 2021 was extremely popular (we sold out!), so we’ll be sure to bring plenty more of that for CDM 2022.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Every year, we introduce some new products, so be sure to follow Dakota Tinworks on Facebook, so you’ll be informed of the latest things we’re creating in the workshop. We’re excited to be a part of this wonderful event once again. I hope people look for our red and white striped twin pop-up tents and come by to see a demonstration and check out our range of products!