Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominic Lau.
Hi Dominic, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
After a career designing and building sets and props for theater, the idea of creating a world of my own seemed like a natural next chapter. The vision was to build a shop inspired by the colorful atmosphere of a Renaissance Faire—a place filled with handmade crafts, collectibles, curiosities, and treasures that felt like they belonged in another time and another world. On October 17, 2023, that vision became a reality when Lancaster Troll Market opened its doors, bringing together the theatrical imagination of its creator with a love of collecting, crafting, and all things wonderfully strange.
The name itself carries several layers of meaning. “Troll Market” is a nod to nerd culture and, specifically, the fantastical world of the Hellboy franchise, where the idea of a hidden marketplace populated by strange and extraordinary creatures helped inspire the concept. “Lancaster” and “Market” connect the idea back to the city itself and its long tradition of shopping, merchants, markets, and local commerce. Together, the name suggests a place that could feel both familiar and fantastical—a marketplace rooted in Lancaster but populated by treasures from countless worlds.
Today, the market continues to grow as a place where artists, makers, collectors, vendors, and curious shoppers can all become part of the adventure. Every display is an opportunity to create a little bit of atmosphere, and every visit offers the possibility of discovering something unexpected. What began as the dream of a theater craftsman looking to build his own world has become a living marketplace filled with creativity, nostalgia, craftsmanship, collectibles, and oddities. At its heart, the idea remains simple: shopping should be an adventure, and there should always be something new waiting to be discovered.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest challenges in bringing the Lancaster Troll Market to life was simply finding the time to build it. While working full-time, the store was being designed and built from the ground up during evenings and weekends. For eight months, every available hour outside of work was devoted to turning the vision into a physical space. Years of experience designing and building theater sets and props helped, but this was still a massive undertaking. There was no production crew waiting to build the next scene—every wall, display, detail, and finishing touch had to be planned, built, and completed around a full-time work schedule.
Opening the doors was only the beginning. Coming from a theater background meant knowing how to create an environment, but running a retail marketplace brought an entirely different set of challenges. Inventory, vendors, sales, staffing, marketing, finances, and day-to-day operations all required learning on the fly. The challenge was finding a way to preserve the creative vision while also building a business that could function sustainably. There were plenty of decisions, mistakes, adjustments, and unexpected problems along the way.
The eight-month buildout taught an important lesson that continues to shape the market today: creating something unique takes persistence. What started as evenings and weekends spent building a store became the foundation for a growing community of vendors, artists, collectors, and customers. The challenges haven’t disappeared, but each one has become part of the process of figuring out what the market can be. The goal remains the same—to create a place that feels unlike an ordinary store and gives people a reason to walk through the doors, explore, and discover something unexpected.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
The creative roots of the Lancaster Troll Market go back much further than the opening of the store. From a young age, I was drawn to making things with my hands. I was always fascinated by toys, action figures, models, sculpture, and miniature worlds. I loved the idea that something could exist in three dimensions—not just as a drawing or an image, but as a physical object that could be held, examined, and brought to life. I spent years sculpting, crafting, building models, and exploring the endless possibilities of three-dimensional art.
That passion eventually led me to art school in Philadelphia, where I originally pursued the dream of becoming a toy designer. Toys were more than things to play with; they were tiny worlds filled with characters, stories, and possibilities. Along the way, my interests expanded into stop motion, miniature painting, model making, fantasy, Tolkien, and immersive environments. I became fascinated by the process of creating not just individual objects, but entire worlds that people could step into and explore.
My career in theater allowed me to take those interests even further. Designing and building sets and props gave me the opportunity to combine sculpture, fabrication, storytelling, and environmental design on a much larger scale. The same fascination that began with toys and miniatures eventually grew into a love of creating immersive spaces filled with detail and personality. The Lancaster Troll Market is, in many ways, a culmination of all those interests—a place where sculpture, craftsmanship, fantasy, nostalgia, collecting, storytelling, and world-building can all exist together.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
One of my earliest creative memories is sitting with Plastacine and turning small pieces of clay into entire worlds. I would make tiny foods, animals, people, vehicles, and just about anything else I could imagine. What started as a lump of clay could become a miniature meal, a strange creature, or an entire scene populated with tiny objects and characters. I loved the freedom of being able to invent something and immediately bring it into the physical world. Looking back, I realize I wasn’t simply making little things—I was creating miniature worlds, something that has remained at the heart of my creative life ever since.
Pricing:
- prices range from $1 to $1500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lancastertrollmarket.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lancastertrollmarket/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lancastertrollmarket
