Welcome to The Visual Diaries, where we talk to like-minded visual-oriented businesses and downright inspiring people. We chat all things from humble beginnings to future aspirations. We get to the nuts and bolts of how they got to where they are today, the ins-and-outs of their craft, and thought you might like to come along for the ride.
For our fifth installment of the Visual Diaries, we chat to all-around talent, creative, and boss-mamma, Dani Dean. She dreams up and brings to life the boldest and most beautiful scenes imaginable with her business The Make Haus. A skilled stylist with a unique eye she, is the force behind numerous transformations including, floral activations & events, to retail and commercial spaces. When she's not dreaming up concepts she's running the show at The Ware Studio, a concept space for business, events, and more.
Hey Dani, can you share a little bit about yourself, where you grew up, and what you do for a living?
I grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, where I now live with my husband and our two boys Dallas and Smith. First and foremost I am a designer and nurtured a career in this industry for the best p[part of a decade. I founded a creative studio called the Make Haus which creates custom interiors, spaces, and objects. When looking to establish this business in a warehouse we dreamed up the concept space ’The Ware’ The purpose of this space is to play host to other businesses and support the creative industry with a blank canvas for events, shoots, and space.
Could you tell us a bit behind the journey of how you got to where you are today?
Out of school I studied fashion design and landed a job with an Australian label Fleur Wood. I worked in many creative roles throughout an 8year stint. Decided to study interior design and started the Make Haus.
Being so multifaceted, it is hard to imagine what your every day would be like. What would a typical work week look like for you?
A typical day is coffee, emails, meetings followed by project work. Creative projects need to be set up the same way as any industry. Days can be spent looking at showrooms, conceptually building mood boards, or drawing up concepts.
Talk us through your creative process? Where does it start?
It's not always the same, I love magazines, Instagram, and a few key creative journals. I collect on file thoughts and imagery for each project and prefer to do this over a few weeks before we land on a point to develop.
Where (or who) do you look to for inspiration? I love Architectural digits and blogs TRENDLAND + THE IMPRESSION
Do you ever find yourself in a creative rut and if so, how do you get out of it?
Walk it off, yoga, or just move away from it for a little while.
What’s your favourite part about what you do? Owning my own business has given the freedom to create and develop concepts I would have never dreamed of. Meeting some incredible creatives along the way.
Advice for people wanting to make a living out of their craft?
Practice, be patient and be persistent to following the path you want. Follow and connect with people in similar roles or businesses. Discover how you can work with them no matter how small a task.
What does success look like to you? Renovating a dream home.
What does the future look like for you? Do you have any exciting projects lined up?
We are shifting our focus on how we do things in our businesses and working on ways to be more sustainable, more productive and bring lots of creative life into our studio. 2021 is starting to look like a normal year again, new projects and events will be unveiled which we are excited to be a part of.
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