Daniel Thielman has been working for Linden Hills Co-op in Prep Foods since October of 2008. After a year and a half, he was promoted to Prep Foods Assistant Manager and is now leading the department as Prep Foods Manager. Prior to Linden Hills, Dan worked at a pizza establishment while focusing on his passion for music.

Dan graduated from a two-year program at the Institute of Production & Recording (IPR). Dan and his business partner were running a production company compiling DVDs for local bands. As Dan points out, however, this was “a bad business model” because “bands don’t have money.” Thus, the business started focusing on creating websites and is still a lucrative success for Dan’s business partner who continues to own and operate the business today.

Dan has been writing, playing and producing his own music since high school, and has produced 26 of his own albums, as well as several albums for other musicians. Most accustomed to working with drum machines, electronic programming and synthesizers, Dan recently started learning to play the ukulele because it is “better for kids.” A dad of two — Violet (3 years) and Penelope (10 months) — he now spends most of his free time painting, swimming, making trips to the zoo, and watching episodes of Daniel Tiger. He hopes the ukulele will be an intriguing introduction to music for his kids. He has a niece who loves to sing and has been writing her own songs since she was 4 years old (she is now 9)!

When Dan does find time for himself he enjoys drawing, sculpting and graphic design. He is also very intrigued by physics and how it correlates with spirituality; and how ideas such as “manifesting reality” are becoming more widely accepted because of this connection. His love of science extends to science fiction. He has a large comic book collection (350 books total) he has kept since childhood and enjoys watching sci-fi movies like the most recent “Ant Man.”

An artist at heart, Dan says his transition into Prep Foods made some sense: “I thought ‘food’; I can still be creative.” He loves to express his creativity through new recipe offerings every season inspired by the sophisticated and widely varied palettes of Linden Hills Co-op customers.