today, i am at a craft fair, and my cute sponsor dani is here with a fun interview!
enjoy!
1) tell us who you are/where youre from/what you do/where can we find you?
Hi everyone! I'm Dani, I'm 27 and live in Missouri with my husband (my junior high sweetheart!) and our two dogs, three cats, and three chickens! I work full time as an educator at a zoo, which means during the school year I take animals to schools and daycares to teach the kiddos about them and then run zoo camps during the summer. It’s a blast! But in my spare time (ha!) I make needle felted wool critters, which I affectionately call craftimals, and lots of fun jewelry! You can check them out in my shop here. And, I post info about new products and sales on my facebook page, and I would LOVE for you to join!
2) whats your fave way to relax?
I love hanging out at my in-laws' little farm. It's so soothing to sit on the back porch and just listen to all the songbirds and cows and chickens.
3) where would you love to be in 1/3/5 years?
Working at a zoo and teaching kids about animals and conservation is very important to me. Animal species and habitats are declining in population and size at an alarming rate. I want to help encourage and foster respect for our earth, and what better audience to do this with than children and teenagers. Within the next five years, I hope to build on my teenage volunteer program at the zoo and be able to measure its success. On a craftier note, I hope to increase my client and fan base for my shop and be able to say I actually make a profit! ;)
4) name your perfect day ; what you would do? be with? be eating? ect.
My perfect day would be spent with my husband exploring a small town in Europe. We'd enjoy the local cuisine and wine, see the sites, and enjoy interacting with the people that live there. We'd ride bikes around the town, find a secluded space and then watch the sunset.
5) what do you want to learn? [knit, to fly a plane, to be vegan ;)ect]
I really want to learn to knit, and then once I know how to do something with yarn, I'd love to spin my own. I think it would be so cool to have a little farm with sheep!
6) best advice you can give folks that want to start an artsy career/shop/side project?
Learning how to manage your time is very important. I have to decide on how much time I want to allot to certain activities like facebook, checking out blogs, or creating things for etsy vs. craft shows. I also love to make lists, and these help to keep me on track and organized.
7) lets be honest ; n*sync or the backstreet boys?
Being totally honest--never really liked either. [whaaaaaa?!?! ;)]
But now, I'll take Justin Timberlake any day! :)
dani is so cool ;) : i think shes great [LOVE the part about teaching children responsibility and conservation!] and her shop is fun!
be sure to check out her facebook AND shop!
