Owner and founder of Marquess Studios Tara Cadenhead clearly has a flair for creativity—and the passion to share it. Started in 2014, Marquess has a unique mission statement: “Our collection of kits and keepsakes include jewelry, accessories and mementoes that inspire creativity, tell your story, and remind you of special people, places and moments,” and everything that this studio does is tailored to accomplish just that. This includes private events, for which clients bring in anything from buttons to heirloom pieces to refashion into new treasures; Cadenhead describes this as “a pretty emotional process” for participants. Though Marquess features an open studio the second weekend of every month as a way to experience the creative projects, it’s a new focus on do-it-yourself kits that captures our eye this month. “The kits are a way to experience creativity without needing to figure out how to make it,” Cadenhead says.
These D.I.Y. kits, which can be personalized or customized feature anything from fairy house kits, which her daughter Ella helps design and inspire, to team spirit accessories, which have helped local organizations in their fundraising efforts. There are also newer items like bucket-list tins, cabin chat or date-night conversation starters—and, the most popular, Minnesota memento blocks. These kits include the materials and instructions that are easy for anyone to use, but, as always, it’s the personal touch that matters the most, Cadenhead says: “That creative process is important.”
