Affirmation Tote Bags

I saw a meme earlier this year that said "Life is too short to wear department store jewelry". :) 

Oh so true. For me, that has come to apply to lots of store-bought things, particularly the little things we adorn ourselves and our homes with. It means so much to carry things that were made individually and with love. 

That is the heart of the concept behind the new Wildflower totes.

 My grandmother sews them very carefully and lovingly (You should see how she does it. Each one is made with so much tenderness.) and I handpaint each of them with an affirmation word in mind. I use a mixture of acrylic paint and textile medium. 

I know for a fact they are wonderfully strong, since I own one of them, and I am quite accustomed to toting it around, filled to the seams with books, paint, clothes, etc. ;)

Each bag is completely different, and bears a different affirmation word.

The intentions and energies we carry with us are so much more powerful when we think. It seems like a small thing to carry a bag with the word "Strength" or "Peace" on it, but on a level we may not realize, we are actively bringing that energy into our everyday lives. 

Making these bags and working through the concept has been so wonderfully eye-opening for me as well. It's helped me to strengthen certain notions I've always known on some level to be true, and it's helped me to see in a much clearer way what the core ideas of Wildflower Studio are. It's about discovering and sharing beauty in the everyday, joy and meaning in the ordinary. There is a lot of love here. We hope you feel it when you take our little things home with you.

~Dani

Thoughts on the Colouring Book.

The Wildflower Studio colouring book has been one of my most beloved projects to date. 

I had so many ideas, too many to fit in this one little book. 

In creating the illustrations for it, I found myself unexpectedly returning to my own childhood, to the place where I grew up, and to the things that move me most... the things I wished I could give back to myself. I followed my feeling.

The end result is a book filled with images of tenderness, wonder in nature and maternal love. It celebrates female relationships, and seeks to provide images of that healing, life-sustaining love between sisters and friends that is so often flattened out and robbed of its power. 

They are what I believe to be the kinds of images that Trinidadian girls can easily grow with, and see themselves and their aunts, sisters, mothers, grandmothers and friends in. 

It's a little book I am proud of, and one I wished I had when I was eight years old, and just starting to grapple with so many painful and difficult questions about myself.

It's hand-bound and backed with repurposed cardboard, and beautifully designed and printed by Kevin. <3 

It's listed in my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/167977482/wildflower-studio-coloring-book-art?

More photos there as well.

Peace 

Dani

Rolled Paper Rosette Arrangements

I made this cute little paper rosette wildflower arrangement for Things TT, an awesome market we were happy to be part of. As the Wildflower adventure continues, we're beginning to think lots more about display ideas, and not only that, but display ideas that suit our style and our energy. Our ultimate vision for our craft market tables is one of artsy, poetic, earthy whimsy and a sense of visual lushness at the same time. I loved making this little arrangement. It was set up in a glass jar filled with crushed orchid petals and pebbles. Along with the flower rosettes grew and old paintbrush, a bit of swirly decorative wire, a bit of green, and a call card ;). Here are a few shots:

If you're interested in making rolled paper rosettes, this Youtube tutorial does it pretty nicely! 

They can also be made with felt, which has a softer, sweeter look, I think.

via wwww.craftingmom.com

I didn't want my rosettes to be too symmetrical and perfect, so I cut them the swirl with varying thicknesses and added a twist every now and then while rolling it. I've always felt that the important and beautiful thing about all the DIY resources that there are online is that they're there for you to put your personal twist on. No two projects look the same.

More soon.

xoxo

Dani

Grow Love

The thing about our current studio is that it's not quite a studio. It consists of a spare bedroom or "stuff room" as my family calls it, and our back garden. While it isn't ideal, and it's only a temporary arrangement, it definitely teaches us how to be resourceful, and to be thankful for the space we have. There are days when the garden space is just dreamy, though. It also leads to some pretty cool ideas, like these seed bomb wedding favours. :)

Kevin and I are getting married in a couple of weeks, and we decided fairly early on in the planning (which started about a week ago) that we wanted to keep things as sweet, easy, natural and handmade as possible. I happened upon a photo of seed bomb favors on Pinterest recently, and fell in love. I can't stop pinning and tweeting different seed bomb ideas... and of course we had to try our own! Which brings me to my adventure in chadon beni seed bomb recycled paper.

Got this bag full of dried chadon beni from my mom. Smells incredible.

... and wildflowers. Because in all things, you need wildflowers.

My paper pulp, with chadon beni seeds, a mixture of petals, brown paper, patterned scraps left over from notebook-making etc. All kinds of goodness. Note the fancy equipment: my grandmother's enamel bowl.

I found an old Botany book in a stack of books to throw away recently. Throwing away books is wrong, so wrong. I cut out and tore off bits of plant illustrations and integrated them into the pulp so that they will show through.

A few hours later....

My chadon beni recycled seed paper hearts. <3
Going to make a few different colours and mix them up.

Going to tear up the scraps and return them to the pulp... Nothing wasted!

More posts about these experiments to come. 

~Dani

On Whimsy

We're preparing to introduce a whole new line of Wildflower things in August, and I find myself reminiscing on some of my early creations. There was a kind of wild spontaneity there that I love dearly. I remember one evening in particular, roaming through the bush with a bag tied on to me, gathering bits of bark, leaves and fibers eagerly despite the coming dark. I had not yet started thinking about what was "sellable", what would ship easily, or what would preserve well. It was all about the moment, the lovely whimsy of it.

Now, a year into the making of things, and fresh from my first solo exhibition, I'm more committed than ever to doing what I love, and feeding myself with what nourishes me and helps me grow. These photos, scavenged up from Kevin's laptop, are reminders that we have to keep doing what we do out of love, or else it will lose its magic... and there's no way we can have that!! :-) I'm so excited about August's new stock. I think it's our best work yet.

~Dani

The Wildflower Story, one year later!

My name is Danielle. I'm an artist and writer from Trinidad, and I love handmade things. Oh, how I love handmade things. :)  I remember walking into a gift store with my little sister once, and touching everything wistfully. We could afford nothing, but wanted just about everything. I've always mourned how expensive handmade items can be in malls and gift stores. When I started working full-time on my art, I began to realize how many beautiful, whimsical and affordable handmade things were available online. It got me thinking. At the same time, I started encountering people who loved my art and who were affected by it, but who couldn't afford original paintings. I ran a couple of ideas about art-inspired items by my boyfriend, who was a computer technician and graphic artist, and he provided awesome feedback, and practical thoughts on how we could make my ideas happen. More than that, he provided support, and an extra pair of hands! As we were both in between jobs at the time, and were particularly unsatisfied with the nine to five lifestyle, we decided to try following our hearts instead of our heads. That was the start of Wildflower Studio, and it's been a lovely adventure since then. We're still very much in this together, especially now, as we prepare for our August wedding. Our   art-emblazoned items are incredibly meaningful to us, and we value the personal, human connections we make along the way.

I've always felt that Wildflower Studio is as much as a philosophy as it is a line of physical things. It's about keeping beauty and whimsy close by in the act of everyday living. It's about not losing magic and loveliness to logic and practicality. A year into our Wildflower adventure, I've decided to finally start a blog chronicling our journey. It also gives me something to do with the million photos I take, lol.

So... hi! It's wonderful to meet you. Welcome to our blog.

Love, blessings and inspiration,

Dani