Hi, my name is Andrea and I don’t know how to blog. Seriously though, I don’t. I do, however, know a thing or two about taking chances and learning as I go soI’ll give this a shot for the sake of personal growth, professional development and connecting to you, my loyal friends and customers who have made my journey possible.

I’ll kick this off with some simple facts to break the ice. My name is Andrea Stordahl and I own and operate a fun antique, decor and design shop I named, Minnesota Rust. Our brick-and-mortar is located in my husband, Bryce’s hometown of McIntosh, MN. Population 625 (give or take a few). We packed our bags and moved after a series of unfortunate events caused us to slow down, live our lives with intention and raise our children in a small community.( I will post a separate blog about our entire story later because it’s actually pretty interesting.) We have two kids, a girl, 6 (going on 16) and 7 year old boy (if you can’t find him, just look up-he’s probably in a tree) and we love everything about living here. We actually love it so much that we spend most of our time working to revitalize our downtown and create a place our kids will be proud to come home to.

I have a passion for everything old, used, discarded and passed over. I love everything about it...the history, the patina and all of the possibilities. I also love mixing the old and new and feel that when you combine ages, styles, textures,etc. they breathe new life into each other and create something completely original. The most asked question in my shop is, “where do you find all of your stuff.” The simple answer to that question is EVERYWHERE. Honestly, I travel every week seeking out new items for our shop. Traveling is such an integral part of my creative process because I draw inspiration from everything I see, experience and sense- I take everything in, process it and then use it to inspire my designs.

My store is my creative space, my happy place and the place where all of my crazy ideas become reality. I know that sounds pretty intense, but design is extremely personal for me. Every item in my shop has been hand selected with a specific purpose in mind. Everything contributes to the bigger picture. And I guess that’s pretty much how I feel about life. When we appreciate what everyone has to offer and work together, we can create something beautiful.

So that’s it for my first blog. Short, sweet and hopefully making you want a little more. Thank you again for always supporting me, my dreams and my shop. It means the world to me that I am able to share my love of design with you. I hope when you read this or visit our shop, you feel inspired, see new possibilities and feel like you have a few more friends.

Best, Andrea