Andi Dornan, owner of Penny Lane Cooperative, had dreamed of owning a retail store ever since she was a little girl playing in her mother’s dress shop.

“My twin sister, Alex, and I spent countless hours at the shop as toddlers,” she says. “We would play dress up in the fitting rooms, adorn ourselves with costume jewelry and sequin dresses. It was really fun for us.”

Dornan grew up backpacking all over the West, and she followed her brother to Jackson in 2004. She had earned a degree in retail management with a minor in fashion design from Purdue University in Indiana, and had hopes of spending a season or two exploring the outdoors before moving back to the city to start her life.

But, like so many Jackson Hole residents, she fell in love with the area and, after moving back to Indianapolis and working in pharmaceutical sales, she found herself missing the mountains.

When she relocated back to the valley, Dornan realized she had an opportunity to pursue her dream and set herself up to settle in the place that felt like home.

With the mantra “If not now, when?” in mind, she opened the doors to Penny Lane Cooperative in June 2016, conceptualizing the store as a cooperative that would support local artists whose businesses were too small to afford a storefront. Artists can rent space in her store and display
their items, which adds to the diverse shopping experience and community feel.

“The Artist Cooperative space is ever-changing,” she says. “Folks like Ben Roth, Jenny Dowd, and Bird & Buffalo have been with me since day one. I call them the anchors of the space.”

Owning a retail storefront comes with a unique set of challenges, and for Dornan, buying for the shop has been a learning experience.

“The challenge is picking clothes for the Jackson woman that they will actually wear, not just what I want them to wear,” she laughs. Dornan draws style inspiration from fashion icons from the ’60s and ’70s like Stevie Nicks and Bianca Jagger. Dornan also attributes her sense of style to her mom, Lisa.

“I can remember my mom telling me at some point in my life that when you feel your worst, you should dress your best,” Dornan says. “I believe in the power of a good outfit