The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The Purple Wagon

The+Purple+Wagon
Vladimir Kulikov

Two University of Iowa students launched their own business last year and took it to a major Farmer’s Market this summer where they saw even more success.

These girls are students, waitress’s part time and run their own business: The Purple Wagon.

The 20-year olds, Karlee Frein and Bre Degelau, stumbled upon forming their own business after creating unique works of art and posting them on Facebook. They received lots of compliments and requests for custom pieces.

This summer, they grew their business by hosting a booth at the Cedar Rapids Farmer’s Market.

The store sells a wide variety of unique art, from reclaimed wood signs, hand made headbands, decorated coffee mugs, mason jars and tea cups, baby blankets, pained canvases and more.

“All of our items are actually restored or reclaimed,” Degelau said. “We go to the ReStore [and] Habitat for Humanity all the time, every week.”

Frein said the business has started to get crazy with all of the custom orders and markets they are now taking part in.

Degelau said the business is basically just a big project for them.

“I just feel like we didn’t really know what we were getting into, but it’s great,” she said.

Frein and Degelau, who have been friends since childhood, said their business’s name came from an old purple wagon they used to play with.

“It comes with us to every single market, we figured that it would be a good name because we keep it and it kind of made everything possible for us when we were kids,” Degelau said. “Even just taking our little Polly Pockets from one house to the other house, stuff like that, so we carry it along with us.”

Daily Iowan TV’s Katie Sextro has the full story.

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