Open Treasures Found at TRUNC Artisans: A Black Business Spotlight

There is a well curated, locally made shop featuring home accessories, furniture, apothecary, art and jewelry nestled in the heart of Northern Liberties, called TRUNC Artisans. Owned by Dorothea Gamble and Dagmar Mitchell, the Black women owned shop is not only supporting the craft of Black emerging talent across the country, but continuously raising the standard on what it means to experiment with fresh and fit works of art, culture and craft.

One of the shop’s core missions is to elevate Black artisans whose work could go unrecognized in mainstream design circles. Started in 2018, co-owners Gamble and Mitchell use their twenty years of experience with retail, merchant trading and project management to continue the intricate legacy of Black merchantry, filled with Open Treasures.

“This dream was always in the back of my head, to have my own business,” says Gamble. “Until one day, I joined my partner and decided to get a place in the area we are in now. We were sitting on waiting to get a loan from the city from 1999-2018 because we could not get a loan.”

TRUNC isn’t just a shop–it’s a statement. While many retail spaces are turning to an overwhelming set of produced goods that lack depth and can be fleeting trends, Gamble and Micthell choose intentionality; not just their brand, but for their legacy.

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“My first love was my first job at a record shop where I grew up in Red Bank [New Jersey],” says Gamble. “In the record shop, you could come in, play music, hang art, read poetry, it was just phenomenal, and I always said, I’m going to have something like that.”

Gamble and Mitchell’s backgrounds in design, fashion, and wellness bring an intuitive elegance to the store’s ethos. Nothing is accidental, but always on brand. Everything is placed with intention, from the blend of jazz and funk bouncing off the murals to the light hitting new collector hats, jewelry and decor for your home. Its purpose is to not only create a one of a kind experience, but to bring every piece of art to life.

Beyond the products themselves, TRUNC also acts as a cultural incubator. From their partnership with A Deeply Rooted Trolley Tour, a showcase of Black owned businesses in the North section of Philadelphia, to the events they host in their own space such as wine nights and seasonal pop-ups, TRUNC remains a space for community and discovery.

“Discovery is my favorite part about being on this journey,” says Gamble. “Discovering that I could get through anything, instead of thinking that this is the worst idea ever and then realizing that this is easier than I thought. It’s the journey, and the people I meet along the way.”

TRUNC proves that soul, style and so much substance can all live under one roof.