Meet Jen Daniel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Daniel.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
My name is Jennifer, but everyone calls me Jen. I have five sisters and two brothers and grew up in Phoenix in a household with parents who consistently worked hard to give us a great life. My mom stayed home with all of us as we were growing up and used her creative talents to help supplement some of our families income with her stained glass pieces among other things. I remember being around seven years old and watching her hands work. I was intrigued with all the tools and how each piece fit together perfectly. She also refinished furniture for fun and loved a good challenge. Most of who I am today as a maker was due to growing up watching her creative brain work non stop. Fast forward 30 years and I’m now a stay at home mom of 4 kids. I was feeling creatively deprived and started picking up pieces of furniture from thrift stores to refinish and flip. I had no idea what I was doing, but dived in any way and fell in love with the transformation that paint can give a piece. This provided some much-needed cash for kids and all the things. I was enjoying the creative outlet and the money and started taking on commission work. When we moved to Mesa in 2012, I discovered Facebook yard sale groups and started selling refinished furniture strictly there. I started a business page on Facebook and word got out quickly that I had some woodworking skills and was willing to do custom pieces, then I started getting requests for wood signs and the rest is what brought me to where I am today!!

Please tell us about your art.
I create handmade art and home decor out of reclaimed wood, refinish furniture, and I make wood signs. I build out of my garage where I can be home with my growing kids, and I find inspiration in paint color, naturally weathered wood and a good quote. I’m a lover of words and unique pieces. I’m a believer that a collected home or a home furnished with unique pieces and decor that have been collected over time and that you won’t find in your neighbor’s house is how one truly feels at home in their space. I love when I can walk into someones home and instantly picture them saying the exact quote that’s on the sign hanging on their wall. I’m also a huge believer in daily mantras and have a slew of them I repeat daily. I believe if you see, read or say something every day; you start to become what you are seeing and saying. That’s where my love of wood signs comes from. A few years ago I made a sign that said, “Be Kind” and hung it on the wall at the end of our stairs. Every time my kids would come down those steps they would read that sign out loud. I loved the power those words gave them, and I was hooked!! When someone orders a sign to be made custom, I encourage them to tell me the words that came to their mind for the sign first. This helps give me an idea on what type of sign they are looking for and then I can help them create the perfect words for their walls. One thing you should know about my art is that I love custom work. I love bringing your idea to life for you. I love when clients show me a picture of something they love and trust me to use it as inspiration and let me make it my own and the last thing you should know about my work is that with woodwork, no two pieces are exactly the same. Every piece of wood used is unique and will vary slightly from the rest. This just adds to the beauty and uniqueness of your piece and will make a great addition to your collected home.

As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
As an artist what defines success for me is repeat customers. If a customer keeps coming back with another piece of furniture to be refinished or to order another sign, that tells me they are happy with my work and what I have created for them in the past. Another thing that defines success for me as an artist is to create something solely off the cuff with a bunch of scrap wood. There are few things more satisfying than taking a stack of scraps and creating a beautiful one of a kind piece for someone to enjoy in their home. One characteristic that I think is essential as an artist is you allow yourself to be vulnerable. There is no right or wrong way to do things creatively, but not everyone believes that so when you create something and put it out there, you have to be ready for anything that comes back. Because most of what I do is custom based, another quality that I feel is essential is to be able to understand the vision of the client and to help them trust you to do your thing!

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
People can see my work and order through my page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pineanddesign. I’m also currently working on a website that will launch May 18th, but in the meantime, I can also be reached through email at www.pineanddesign@gmail.com and on Instagram @pineanddesign

Contact Info:

• Address:
  Email- pineanddesign@gmail.comFacebook- www.facebook.com/pineanddesignInstagram- @pineanddesignPhone- 480-580-3828
• Phone: 4805803828
• Email: pineanddesign@gmail.com
• Instagram: @pineanddesign
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/pineanddesign

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition, please let us know here.