Tiny-Chapel

Tiny-Chapel began as a side project in a sunlit downtown Dubuque studio—an experiment in turning gallery creativity into wedding-day utility. What started with one hand-painted Paper Moon quickly grew into a catalogue of rentals designed to give celebrations and every-day memories a touch of personality without resorting to one-size-fits-all décor. Every prop you’ll see here was sketched, built, or restored right in that same workspace, then road-tested at real events before earning its spot in the collection.

Today the studio offers two things in equal measure: ready-to-rent statement pieces and collaborative custom designs; the goal is to match your vision, not squeeze you into ours.

Behind it all is a commitment to craftsmanship and transparency. Pieces are repainted, re-loved, and priced clearly, so you know exactly what you’re getting and what it will cost. Whether you’re here for a single photo prop or a full photo suite experience, Tiny-Chapel is built to collaborate—bringing distinctive, well-made design to every celebration that walks through the door.

Meet the Artist: Andonia Giannakouros

Andonia Giannakouros is a figurative painter based in Dubuque, Iowa.
Andonia’s work honors the slow, imperfect beauty of handmade patterns—passed down, stitched, carved, and woven through generations of artisans in her family. She draws from folk traditions where embroidery, weaving, and painting serve as vessels of memory, shared language, and symbolic inheritance.

Andonia is the artist behind the hand-made items in our rental collection. This part of her practice, producing functional art that sets mood and ambiance is a perfect companion to her fine art practice.

Over the past two decades, her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee, Illinois, and Arkansas, and is included in both private collections and the permanent collection of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. Her solo exhibition at the Dubuque Museum of Art opened in 2022. In 2023, she received a Creative Empowerment Subgrant from the National Endowment for the Arts (ARPA), administered by the City of Dubuque’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, for her exhibition project GRID: 100 Mini Paintings, which debuted in September 2024.

  • If you would rather own your items outright, we have pricing available for final sale.

    That said, unlike other final sales, you can change your mind and return the item to us in good condition for a refund within 120 days of purchase for a 50% refund.

  • We cover this in detail in your rental contract, but generally, we want to provide you with beautiful decor and modular backdrops at affordable prices and because we make a lot of the items we rent, we can repair a lot of the minor damage.

    Think about it like this, have you ever dinged someone’s car and to your relief they say, “hey, don’t worry about it?” We try to be that person when we can. For significant damage, we may need to charge a little bit to cover materials.

  • We love to take commissions and will accept commissions time allowing.

    We would love to hear your idea.