OUr Story…
Hello! My name is Tara Dial and I am the owner and creator behind lost little things, the Idaho Mercantile Company and Merry Makers Market. I was born and raised in Idaho and went to school at the University of Idaho where I received degrees in Architecture and Interior Design. My husband and I met at the university while going to school and we currently reside in Garden City, Idaho with our two boys.
Lost little things first started while living in Austin, Texas in 2010 but really took off after moving back to Idaho in 2013 where soon after I bought my first laser and started wholesaling our items throughout the PNW.
In 2017 two magical things happened. First, I decided to start a month-long holiday market, Merry Makers Market, to help support and give back to our local maker community. Second, I had the privilege to start a another business, Compass Goods, with a dear friend and amazing business owner, Lana Roth (owner/creator of Banana Ink).
As Merry Makers Market grew over the next five years, so did my passion for having a permanent retail space where we could support local artists year round. So in 2020, to celebrate a decade of being a maker + small business owner, I started Idaho Mercantile Company and in the spring of 2021 we officially opened downtown Caldwell in Oaks Brothers Marketplace!
In 2022, I had the amazing opportunity to take over another small business, The Dapper Jackalope, from a dear friend of mine as they were moving to Portugal to start a new adventure. Kate and I have been friends and collaborators for years so it was a natural transition for both of us. I have since found inspiration in Kate’s original works and have added some new pieces of my own to The Dapper Jackalope family. You can continue to find new works from Kate Peterson Art HERE.
After taking on The Dapper Jackalope in spring 2022 I decided we needed not only a new studio space but a way to collectively manage and represent all the brands, and potentially future brands to our retailers and clients. This is where Little Studio Collective was born.
Jenny, owner and creator behind The Lost & Found, was one of our founding members of Merry Makers Market. We've grown close, collaborating and sharing business resources these last few years while both opening storefronts. After sharing my idea for opening a studio space where we could continue to share resources and have a common platform for not only in-house production for our shops but wholesale as well we decided it would be a great opportunity.
Here at Little Studio Collective we house and produce all products associated with our brands lost little things and The Dapper Jackalope in addition to all the travel games for Compass Goods, custom work for clients, artists and other small businesses. We also house production and wholesale distribution for our friends at The Lost & Found and Apis.
JULY 2023 Update: One year since opening our studio doors and we are excited to announce we relocated to the beautiful Art Block building on 31st Street in Garden City, Idaho. We also happy to welcome Jessica from Apis and Mahlory from Klei Ceramics to our LSC studio crew! Sadly we have also made the hard decision to close our doors at Idaho Mercantile Co. to focus on the studio and the future of Merry Makers Market. Idaho Mercantile Co will remain our platform to shop online not only our in house products but other local maker goods in one convenient location.
Not a retailer? Click on the links below to find out where to shop our brands online and/or local!
Find out more about me and all our little studio makers…
