Photos by Hillary Ehlen and M.Schleif Photography
Kayla Coté van Rensburg and her husband, Piet van Rensburg, make an eye-catching couple and even better business partners. When we met in their studio at APT, A Creative Incubator, they were both wearing their signature DAK & Co. designs. See how Coté and van Rensburg have transformed an eight-by-twelve-foot room into the creative headquarters for their brand.
Grain Designs helped Coté turn her design into wall art, which is what inspired DAK & Co.
Get to Know DAK & Co.
DAK & Co. is a lifestyle brand that encompasses apparel and home décor. While their products feature graphic designs by Coté, van Rensburg brings carpentry, marketing and accounting experience to the business. “We’ve always wanted to work together. It helps us deal with life,” Cote said.
Their relationship developed under unlikely circumstances. Van Rensburg is from South Africa, while Coté is from North Dakota. The two met during her last weekend in Minot before moving to Fargo. There was a live band, and van Rensburg asked Coté to dance. The next day, he asked if she would ever go to South Africa. Two months later, she was on an airplane. “I flew into Johannesburg thinking, ‘He better be at that airport,'” Coté laughed.
“We have a lot of faith in each other, and in God,” van Rensburg explained.
Creative Space
When we first visited DAK & Co, they were still in the process of designing the space. After two weekends of hard work, Coté and van Rensburg have completely transformed the eight-by-twelve-foot room. One of the most dramatic changes was replacing the bland wallpaper with a bold accent wall.
Van Rensburg made clothing racks out of wooden dowels and copper fittings to display DAK & Co apparel. Coté and van Rensburg also use them during their pop-up shops. “Wherever we go, we take them with us,” van Rensburg said.
I love that teal. It makes me feel good when I walk in every day.” – Kayla Coté
The couple found this chair for sale in The Black Building in Downtown Fargo. They then painted the arms and legs gold and reupholstered the seat using a velveteen, teal fabric that they had initially purchased with another project in mind. However, the fabric worked so well with the teal accent wall that Coté and van Rensburg just had to incorporate it into their creative space.
DAK & Co
225 4th Ave. N #8, Fargo
701-566-0055
[email protected]
shop.daklife.co
