Dandelion Teahouse & Apothecary was founded in May 2021 by Marianne Wilson Stein and her daughter, Kat Stein. Marianne, a Pacific Northwest native, developed a passion for holistic wellness after Kat was born in 1992, wanting to give her daughter a good, healthy start in life. What began as handmade skincare gifts with a naturopath friend grew into her company Gifts From the Earth: a line of all natural skincare and body products, each one still handmade by Marianne. Making these lotions and “potions” became Marianne’s meditation and her way of helping others care for themselves. As the company grew, she began creating all kinds of new products from CBD creams to herbal tea blends - Dandelion’s very first teas were created under Gifts From the Earth!

When Marianne’s younger daughter was born in 1998, life was full of fun. Lots of arts and craft, music, theatre - you name it, they did it. This fun, artistic environment instilled her love of creating and caring for others in Kat and Addy at a very young age. Growing up in this creative, community-centered environment, both daughters helped dream up product ideas, worked the booth at the farmers market, hosted community events, and helped the company blossom.

In 2018, Addy sparked the idea of opening a tea shop in downtown Vancouver. This thought stuck, and ruminated in Kat and Marianne’s minds until Marianne learned of Vancouver’s Downtown Associations’ Launchpad Competition - a prize of $40,000 would be awarded to a local business to help open a brick and mortar shop in the downtown area. She immediately called Kat, who was living in Philadelphia, to ask if they should enter and open a teahouse/apothecary. Of course she was on board!

Marianne and Kat came up with their dream for the hypothetical new storefront: an inclusive, cozy space where everyone would feel at home - a space where all would be welcome and all would be invited to be their full, authentic selves. They got right to work on the application and business plan, emailing draft after draft back and forth to revise and edit, and they sent it in. Before they knew it, they were 1 of 3 businesses in the final round! At this stage, all 3 contestants were asked to present their business plan to a panel of local business owners and community members from downtown Vancouver. Marianne and Kat worked tirelessly on the powerpoint presentation, making sure everything was perfect. Marianne knew that she knocked it out of the park as soon as it was over, and it was at this time the two decided that whether or not they won the grant, they would find a way to bring Dandelion to life. In July of 2020, the VDA made the announcement: Dandelion Teahouse & Apothecary won the first annual launchpad competition!!

While Marianne got right to work on the new space, knocking down walls and getting construction underway, Kat worked remotely from the east coast, prepping operations, social media, and working with Dandelion’s designer (her boyfriend, now husband) Patrick Thomas on building the brand. Kat and Patrick moved back to Vancouver in January of 2021, which Marianne was over the moon about, and in May 2021, Dandelion officially opened its doors.

From 2021-2025, we were blown away by the support from the community - from all of the kind reviews and notes left in our guest book to folks showing up to help support their neighbors, from partnerships with community organizations to folks asking how they can be involved in our work, this experience has been more fulfilling than they could have ever imagined. 

Toward the end of 2025, we came to a fork in the road: either scale back the community work we were doing and put all of our efforts into making the business more sustainable, or go all-in on serving the community and change our business structure. As we worked through our options for restructuring, we realized that we were not your “normal” small business - any profits that we’ve ever made have gone right back into the community, and we did not plan on changing that. 

We explored what it would look like to switch over to a B-Corp, where there would still be individuals profiting from the work while we would be donating portions of profits to our mission, but that didn’t feel quite right. When we started floating the idea of becoming a not for profit business, everything felt like it clicked into place - of course, we were meant to have a community organization that’s not only run for our community, but also with our community. Dandelion has always existed to serve the community, not generate profit for owners. Becoming a nonprofit would allow us to more fully live our mission by reinvesting resources into community care, accessibility, staff well-being, and programming, while increasing transparency and accountability. We are thrilled to announce that as of January 1, 2026, Dandelion Teahouse & Apothecary is a Washington State Charitable Corporation, and will soon be a 501c3 nonprofit! 

On the surface, Dandelion will look exactly the same: we are still a teahouse where you can come to find all your yummy teas, herbs, skincare, and other local goods. These sales will help sustain our nonprofit mission alongside grants, donations, and partnerships. The difference, now, is that Dandelion does not have owners or shareholders, and that you have the opportunity to be more involved with us! This new structure will allow us to have even more community events, more chances to collaborate with other groups, and more opportunities for folks to volunteer and be a bigger part of what we do. This change also guarantees that any money you spend with us will be reinvested directly into our mission, operations, and community offerings.

Dandelion is now governed by a Board of Directors that helps guide our mission, finances, and long-term vision. Day-to-day operations are still managed by our amazing team, and our intention is to support staff with fair pay and sustainable working conditions. All changes have been made thoughtfully and with care for the people who make Dandelion possible. 

Yes! The founders remain deeply involved in Dandelion’s leadership and vision. Marianne is the president of the Board of Directors, and Kat will be taking on the role of Executive Director. 

Becoming a nonprofit allows us to reinvest all revenue into community care and programming, pursue grants and partnerships that weren’t previously available, increase transparency and accountability, and expand access, inclusivity, and long-term impact. 

You can support us by visiting the teahouse, attending our events and programs, donating, and sharing our work with others, and offering your feedback. Transparency and trust are very important to us, and we are always open to chatting.