Art lovers in the greater Twin Ports have plenty of places from which to buy painting and fine photography. But not many also teach you makeup skills or can creatively repurpose your grandmother’s beloved-but-tattered tablecloth — all while helping women start and grow their own businesses.
That’s the concept behind Nice Girls of the North, a women’s collective hosting a monthly marketplace of eclectic creative wares, whose members help each other by sharing business tips and resources.
“If we spot things we know would help somebody else’s art, we’ll pick it up for them,” said Theresa Hornstein of Duluth, a collective member who works with natural dyes and was recently brought a mushroom as a dye source by a member who makes jewelry.
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Hornstein and Lanae Rhoads, who attributes the success of her Mix Cosmetiques brick-and-mortar store on Superior’s Tower Avenue “100 percent” to the group, spoke with WPR’s Robin Washington on “Morning Edition” ahead of their January marketplace on Saturday.
The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Robin Washington: How did you decide on “Nice Girls of the North” — and is that to distinguish it from Bad Boys?
Theresa Hornstein: “Nice Girls of the North” was picked by our founders, Judy Gordon and Anita Stech, when we started 14-plus years ago. We’ve hung on to it all this time.
RW: Mix Cosmetiques is now full-time, with a store in Superior. Tell us how you started.
Lanae Rhoads: I started really small, about a dozen years ago, mostly offering soaps and lotions. One of my first shows was Nice Girls of the North as their monthly guest artist. I loved being a part of such an encouraging group. I’m not sure that I would have actually continued my business or kept growing it without their support.
This is a side hustle for most of the women. One of them, Anita Stech, was a marketing professional, and she gave me all kinds of helpful advice. They propelled me to the point where I thought I could start my own business.
RW: Another member is Maria Combs, who your website says repurposes “clothing and other cast-off goods that she turns into new and beautiful items.” She describes “upcycling” broken china and glass into one-of-a-kind jewelry.
TH: Maria is one of the most incredibly creative people I know. She works with a lot of things from thrift stores, like old vintage linens, that she gives new life to.
Robin Washington: You also offer art for art’s sake, including the photography of Superior’s Deb Carroll. Who are some others?
LR: There is a really fine art to jewelry making. Pamela M. Clifton does really wonderful silversmith work.
RW: Why not open a regular store for the collective?
TH: We hold the marketplace the second Saturday of each month. It is just once a month because, as Lanae said, for many of us it’s a side hustle. So we have regular jobs during the week and simply do not have the time to be running a store.
RW: Unless your business grows into one. Without Nice Girls, Mix Cosmetiques wouldn’t have been possible, correct?
LR: Absolutely.
If you have an idea about something in northern Wisconsin you think we should talk about on Morning Edition — including an opposing view on this subject — send it to us at northern@wpr.org.
