Dakota Stained Glass is opened on Main Avenue in Garretson

Dakota Stained Glass co-owner Nico Rogers poses with an art piece created by founder Ken Bird, who passed away in 2018. Nico and her husband Matt recently acquired the business and moved its location to Garretson, where they plan to hold classes as well as offer stained glass supplies, repair, and a ready-made art sales gallery.

Garretson has a new business in town, and it’s one that had a long-established history in Sioux Falls. Founder Ken Bird’s work can be seen at both Sanford and Avera, as well as several area churches. Under new ownership by Matt and Nico Rogers, Dakota Stained Glass has moved operations to Garretson, and is now located at 332 Main Ave.

When Nico Rogers received a stained-glass class as a Christmas present in 2018 from her mother-in-law, she was grateful. Always drawn to art, Nico couldn’t wait to try it out.

“I hadn’t quite found my medium yet,” she said. When she did the class, it clicked. She said to herself, “This is my medium. I finally found it.”

Once hooked, she started taking more classes, and in March of 2019, she asked if she could start working there part-time. A stay-at-home mom to four children ages 1-9 at the time, Nico was ready to get back into the workforce, but had to keep it limited in order to work around husband Matt’s schedule.

It didn’t take long before Matt, a floor-installer by trade, was bitten by the stained-glass bug too. He also started taking a few classes, and not long later the two of them started helping Dakota Stained Glass owner Janet Smith with cleaning out the warehouse that had originally been set up by founder Ken Bird.

Bird passed away from lung cancer on January 6, 2018, and after a nearly 30-year career in stained glass, his legacy is everywhere around Sioux Falls and the state of South Dakota. However, that long career also meant that he’d built quite a collection, and Smith was attempting to go through it, with the hopes of downsizing slightly.

After seeing Matt and Nico’s industriousness and enthusiasm for the art, she offered them the chance of a lifetime this past February.

“She was ready to retire,” said Nico.

When the offer to buy Dakota Stained Glass was given, Matt and Nico knew they had to jump on it. “Owning a shop was always something we wanted to do, we were just waiting for the kids to get older before trying to find something,” she said.

The children, now ages 2, 4, 7, and 10, have been as helpful as they can be, considering. Oldest son, Lane, has multiple plans for how he’d like to help his parents out. He too is an artist, and is developing his ideas. The younger children have been spending their time with Matt, and when he’s at the new business, with grandparents who live nearby.

Besides downsizing from the warehouse, moving the business to Garretson was first on the Rogers’ wish list.

They’ve lived on an acreage a few miles south of town for seven years now, and knew Garretson would make a perfect location for their business. Being introduced to the old Lil’ Dreamers Daycare location by Kris Frerk was the topping on the cake.

A small sampling of some of the artwork sprinkled throughout the upper floor at Dakota Stained Glass.

As a former church, it has plenty of windows, two floors, and space for both work and classes. They knew such a niche business would be able to do well anywhere, as people are willing to travel for both the experience and the supplies. The nearest locations for similar businesses are in Omaha and Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.

Like transitioning to any new business location, it took some work, but Dakota Stained Glass was able to re-open for business officially on May 13. They’ve already seen customers from Sioux City, Watertown, and Sioux Falls, but they’re the most grateful for the Garretson people who’ve come in to explore their offerings. They’ve got plans in the works for classes, but Nico wants everyone to know they don’t have to wait.

A group of friends, birthday parties, or any small groups of two or more can call and set up a time to come in, learn, and create a project. Anyone with experience can come at any time while the shop is open. Everyone is also welcome to come view their gallery of ready-made items, which range from spoon rests to lamps and picture frames.

Anyone with projects that require repair can also bring it by, and they can work on it, restoring it to its former glory.

“The lead [in old pieces] starts to go after around 100 years,” said Nico. This means the piece can become brittle, risking the chances of glass coming out.

She pointed out that she loves hearing about the history of old pieces. Some are heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation. Some are history embodied. And some are memories of friends or family past.

They also take commissions for new projects. While Bird had specialized in church windows, and Smith specialized in fused glass, the Rogers are willing to take on any project, whether big or small. Using Nico’s artistic skills and Matt’s construction skills, they know they’ll be able to find a way to make any project grand.

Currently, the shop hours are Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with plans to add more hours in the future. They can be found on Facebook at Dakota Stained Glass & Supplies and will have a website soon at DakotaStainedGlass.com.