Small Business Summer Series: DENN in Door County

You can see it from the highway as you head up the peninsula north of Green Bay towards Door County. Because I am who I am, I first noticed the rusty yard art before the bright blue shipping containers proudly announcing their name. At first I think I just assumed it was someone’s fun filled yard, full with their collections. I know such people, the creative type. On this particular day, however, I was the passenger in our truck and decided to check google as we were driving past. The client I was meeting in Sturgeon Bay had just pushed their consultation back an hour so I had a little time on my hands.

“Looks like it opens in 2 minutes,” I said as we took the next road to the left.

From there you can’t miss the old trucks that greet you as you approach their gravel driveway, especially if you are an old truck enthusiast. It’s hard not to want to share photos of every one I encountered. They are my kind of sculptural artwork- positioned into the landscape with varying degrees of patina and accompanying metal relics.

Some just have old barrels full of similarly weather worn artifacts to add to their allure.

This may not appeal to everyone but it definitely appeals to me.

Now, I would have been happy with just the old rusty trucks in the yard, but wait- there’s more!

Indeed, this is a whole experience and a great illustration of the versatile nature of the shipping container trend.

Their buildings, with artwork and other local goods for sale, are assembled from shipping containers that create hallways where photography hangs as if in a gallery. Door county themed candles mingle with fanciful root coffee tables.

You don’t immediate recognize what you are walking through since the space is bright and full of natural light.

As you meander you come to find that the shipping containers are lining a center courtyard that provides a type of art studio space for workshops, special events or when you just feel like creating something on a whim.

Because the owners of DENN are who they are, they have chosen another funky vehicle as a focal point inside the atrium.

The orange beetle appears as if it was plucked from a scrap yard and recently set here for some project to unfold. The whole place feels like that- in the best possible way. Like you can make anything, transform anything, if you simply choose to see beyond it’s current state.

Besides retail and craft space they also host a series of events. Their fall schedule promotes corn mazes and other outdoor activities that benefit from the industrial backdrop and what I can imagine are very autumnal “pumpkins in pick-up trucks” photo ops.