By Grace Pateras
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A light pink background is filled with a Yin Yang, Pi symbol, arrows, hearts, pound signs, and other oddities around a central phrase: “Rad as Hell and Broke as $h*t.”
“[That] is kind of a description of my life and my customers,” said Dubuque artist Becca Kacanda.
With the help of Iowa City art and apparel store White Rabbit, 112 S. Linn St., Kancada sells her artwork in the forms of stickers and pins – some emblazon with “Ultra terrestrial” and “Hippy witch” – to customers.
“My [art] has been doing a lot better recently,” Kacanda said. “Starting at White Rabbit was major, I don’t think I would still be around if White Rabbit wasn’t around. They really helped me get a lot of encouragement for what I’m doing and to get instant feedback on what’s popular and connecting with other artists at White Rabbit has been huge.”
Her style ideas come from a book of old trademarks from companies in the American 1920s that no longer exist. She describes this style as an appropriated, vintage, American trademark.
Hundreds of artists in jewelry, drawing, painting, and clothes designing add to the general vibe at White Rabbit.
White Rabbit also sells new clothes and items with a vintage style, stemming from a ’90s trend, demand from college students, and owner Cortnie Widen’s own style.
The store, which started in 2006 and has moved to different locations in Iowa City since, is popular in this town because of the artsy feel, Widen said.
“I think independent shops are a little more interesting than your average big-box store because it’s less predictable,” she said. “I think that helps fill out the community in that way.”
Store manager Molly Freeman agreed. After managing Ragstock, 207 E. Washington St., for many years, transitioning to White Rabbit was a good move for her, she said.
“A store like that is really high volume in a way where it’s hard to focus on little details,” she said. “I’m kind of a perfectionist, and I like to be able to fine-tune things. Everything’s smaller-scaled, and there’s less hierarchy to go through to get approval to make decisions, whether it be product or day-to-day operations.”
Additionally, Kacanda said the environment is friendly for her and other partners.
“I can sense that White Rabbit is like a family to the girls that work there,” Kacanda said. “Cortnie is super enthusiastic and is great to talk to about life and art. They’ve been more than just a shop I sell at, I feel like it’s a network of supportive artists that I can talk to about anything.”
Sometimes to find new talent for their shop, Widen and Freeman will search online and through Instagram accounts to find local artists who will be fitting to their “welcoming and hip” store, Freeman said.
Then, they negotiate prices comparable to online or stores at the mall.
“We’re definitely not trying to rip people off,” Freeman said. “We want people to experience what we’ve selected, so we want to price it reasonably. Especially in a college town.”