Blain Mikkonen - Architect grad, farmer, or furniture builder: Building business to success

The Rural Entrepreneur’s Gold

Blain Mikkonen really liked design work, but he didn't want a desk job at an architecture firm. He loved to farm at his family's organic farm in South Dakota, but allergies made it frustrating. Unsure what to do after getting his Master's Degree in Architecture this lost college graduate decided to start a business. After he and his college roommates and fellow architecture classmates built some furniture for their apartment in college, Mikkonen decided to take a risk by staying away from getting a safe, traditional desk job, and build some furniture and see how it sells. He was quickly joined by one of those classmates. Well, sell it did! This is a cool story of how this creative rural entrepreneur and his business partners moved their business rural and how that move eventually inspired the creation of another successful rural business.
Blain Mikkonen is one of the founders and co-owner of a few businesses, two of which will be the primary topics of conversation in this episode of the Rural Entrepreneur's Gold. Grain Designs builds custom office furniture and home furniture, as well as decor, fixtures, signs, sliding barn doors, and more primarily out of reclaimed wood. The business was founded in September 2013 and has steadily grown in production, staff, and excellence.
The Pines Wedding and Events Venue is a 9600 square foot stunning rural barn wedding venue near Fargo, ND. The venue shares the property with Grain Designs, who also happened to make all the beautiful tables for the venue.
Mikkonen, who thought he would be a farmer, even though he was going to college
for Architecture at North Dakota State University, shares the story of how these two businesses came into existence. He shares how he and his college roommates made the furniture for their college apartment and that's where the furniture building for a business idea first brewed.
The Pines Wedding & Events Venue didn't start because a bunch of guys had a love for weddings.... I'm sure that's hard to believe. It actually started as a way to save the much-loved location of the Grain Designs headquarters in its rural picturesque location of Davenport, ND. Hear how the business trudged through struggles, disappointments, and took risks to make big things happen.
Mikkonen lives in Horace with his wife Kelsey and their daughter Kollyns. You can find Grain Designs & The Pines Venue
Grain Designs on Facebook
Grain Designs on Instagram
The Pines Wedding & Events Venue on Facebook
The Pines Wedding & Events Venue on Instagram
Krysti Mikkonen is the owner of Rural Gold, a business located in rural South Dakota offering website development and coaching services for small to medium-sized rural businesses.