Digs Studio Settles Into New Kingfield Digs

Imagine if you could physically walk into Etsy: handmade pillows and jewelry in one corner, jars of vintage buttons in another, supplies for knitting your own scarves and sweaters along the back wall. 

That's a bit of the feeling you get walking into Digs Studio, a new addition to Kingfield.

When Linda Schneewind packed up her shop in Northfield after a decade-long tenure and reopened at the corner of 38th and Grand, she took the opportunity to tweak the gift and craft shop’s collection. 

“With the move up here I wanted to do more vintage and more small handmade (items) and kind of shift my focus a little bit,” Schneewind said.   

Her new—and surprisingly large—shop caters to the eco-conscious, the craft-inclined and the Etsy addict.  

“My idea was you can either buy the things here to make something yourself, buy something that somebody else has made, or buy something that’s recycled so that you really feel good about your purchase,” Schneewind said. 

Schneewind, who grew up in Hopkins and now lives in Longfellow, said she spent a year and a half looking for the right space for Digs in Minneapolis, knowing she wanted a 'neighborhood feel' like she had enjoyed in Northfield. The corner of 38th and Grand, next to and across from , proved to be the perfect fit, and in August it became a reality. Now with a similarly intimate feel but a less conservative clientele, Schneewind said she can now experiment and branch out more with her product offerings. 

In another change, Digs swapped some of its manufactured goods for a larger selection of handcrafted items from local and regional artists and craftspeople, some from just around the corner. 

One of those local notables is , who used to frequent the Northfield Digs. And while she’s sure Northfield is mourning its loss, Polacek is thrilled to now have the shop in her neighborhood. 

“I think Linda has the formula for success and I know where I'm shopping from here on out,” Polacek said. 

Joni Wheeler of Sugar Sugar was also a Digs customer in Northfield. She said she is delighted to have Schneewind as a neighbor now and sees the shop as another step in a positive direction for 38th and Grand. 

“The shop has a perfectly eclectic mix of merchandise and I am super excited about the class offerings; maybe I will finally learn to knit! Now we just have to get Rincon 38th up and running as well as the new karate studio and the corner will be full up. It's been a long time coming, but I think with all the new businesses as well as the stalwarts like the, , , and of course Sugar Sugar, it will be one of the finest business hubs in the city,” Wheeler said.

As for those classes, Digs has in fact started offering classes in knitting and crocheting and will add sewing and up-cycling classes soon as well. Keep an eye on the shop’s website and Facebook page. 

“It always empowers people to learn skills and give a handmade gift,” Schneewind said. “And if that’s not your bag, then you can buy something that someone else has handmade.”

That ‘someone else’ could be Schneewind herself. Also a furniture maker and designer, she has her own handmade t-shirts and onesies for sale in the shop.