Today we’d like to introduce you to Dani Gorin.
Hi Dani, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve always enjoyed art and painting, but Fox & Thistle Studio came to be in the months after giving birth to my first child in 2021. I had graduated from UMSL with my Masters in Fiction in 2019, and I’d been teaching college writing and freelancing leading up to my son’s birth. But to be honest, I’d been feeling lost and unsure about what I wanted to do with my life. After graduating, I stumbled back into art by painting a few watercolor animals, and I was surprised by how much the paintings excited me. I kept thinking of more and more plants and animals that I’d like to capture; sometimes, I’d have trouble sleeping at night because idea after idea kept coming. I felt lit up inside, but I spent a lot of time trying to tamp down my enthusiasm because it was such a departure from everything I’d been doing academically for the past six years. I felt like I was jumping ship–and there was some shame in that. I’d spent so much time trying to make my other creative interest–writing–valid throughout my schooling. Now here I was fixated on another creative path with no guarantees and no stable career waiting at the end of it. But motherhood shook my life up in a way that opened me to new ideas of what my life could be like. I kept painting, working during my son’s naps and late at night after he’d gone to bed. I started signing up for markets and events, and that’s how Fox & Thistle Studio came to be.
Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been different challenges, and I’ve learned so much from failures. I’ve taught myself how to make greeting cards and learned through generous online and in-person teachers how to sublimate mugs and make my prints. And there have been many botched cards, mugs, and prints along the way. It’s also been challenging to navigate being a new mother (with another on the way) and trying to grow my craft and my business. But I enjoy a good challenge, and it’s satisfying to feel even small pieces click into place. I love the learning component of being an entrepreneur–it’s humbling and it keeps me engaged.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work is very focused on the natural world. When I was younger, I spent a lot of time hiking and exploring my grandparents’ woods, and I also spent a lot of time helping out in my mother’s flower garden. So these are the things I find myself drawn to capturing. I think it’s beautiful how different plants and animals hold so much memory for the customers I interact with. A painting of a cardinal or an iris will remind someone of their grandmother or bring them back to their childhood home. And I love that. I also hope my paintings will encourage people to interact more with nature. I’m planning a “natives” series to draw attention to native flora and fauna, and I hope it might make people want to go for a hike, research a native plant, or track one down for their yard. I’m also constantly working to make my products more environmentally conscious. My greeting cards are printed on recycled cardstock and paired with recycled kraft envelopes. My goal is to keep working towards making my products more and more ecologically friendly.
Please talk to us about happiness and what makes you happy.
My friends and family, being outside, flowers, animals, genuine kindness and compassion—these things fill me up and make me feel more present and hopeful—even when things are hard. I’m also happiest when I let myself dream up new ideas and “play” by trying out things I’ve never done before.
Pricing:
- $4-$475
Contact Info:
- Website: https://
foxthistlestudio.etsy.com - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/fox_and_thistle_ studio/ - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/ FoxandThistleStudio
