In the heart of Downtown Harrisonburg is Deviant Kreations, a neurodivergent, queer and trans-owned art shop. Started January of 2020 by Dandy Knopf, it aims to inspire people through their art. Their colorful designs draw people in and capture both peoples’ eyes and minds.
In college, Knopf studied sociology at James Madison University. They hope to use their art to make the world a better place.
Knopf’s business recently opened a new brick and mortar building that is open Thursday through Sunday. With the new building, they received challenges accompanying the business.
“One of the biggest challenges was moving into our own location,” Knopf said. “Trying to figure out how to get more customers into that space has been a challenge that we are still working on overcoming, but taking steps to do. Other than that, I would say marketing as our other biggest one.”
For Knopf, art is about connecting. They grew up inspired by their family and the people around them.
“I was drawing anyway. And so it was nice to be able to do something that I already do and market it and use it to help connect people,” Knopf said.
As a child, Knopf had a continuous art interest. However, during school Knopf didn’t consider creating as a job.
“[I’ve] created my whole life. I pretty much drew since I could hold a pencil. I didn’t think about doing it professionally until after I graduated college, but my whole family is creative. It kind of ended up working out that I did go into a creative field,” Knopf said.
Customers in the Downtown area enjoy Knopf’s work. “I really like pins, and I really like bold colors,” Angie Evans said. Evans and her partner recently got a cat which made the cat themed designs another point of interest.
Grace Daniels, another customer, said, “If I could, I would buy everything in the store.” Deviant Kreations offers a variety of art prints, stickers, and more art collections.
Knopf’s business is a safe space for people of all types. The company strives to make a difference in the community that it is a part of.
“We partner with the Friendly City Safe Space a lot to further help other marginalized communities,” Knopf said.
Knopf hopes to construct a place for people who appreciate or want to create art. Knopf aspires to be an artist that inspires other people to follow their dreams and change the world.
