to be good natured

Today I want to introduce you to an adorably sweet & talented sponsor of mine Dani.  She has sponsored before and I adore her cute felted items and LOVE her ceramics.  Recently she asked if she could send me a few goodies ---uh of course!  When the package arrived full of amazing goodies, great branding and seriously thoughtful items I was really excited.  When I saw the mini Arthur she made though.. well I kinda sorta died.


Just going off a few photos she had seen from my blog Dani managed to make a little felt version of him!  His spots, his ears and his under-bite were all there!  A perk of this new little Arthur, he won't shed as much (evidence on the floor in the photo below) and probably won't slobber or eat too much either! Today she is hanging out to share a little bit about what she does & answering a couple business questions.  Enjoy!


Hi there!! I'm Dani!  I live in Missouri with my husband, Brandon, (whom I started dating in junior high!), and our two dogs, three cats and two chickens.  My full time job is a zoo educator.  I take animals to schools, daycares and other facilities and teach people about them.  It's a crazy fun job.  When I'm not at the zoo, I'm either working on projects for my shop, Good Natured, or I'm gardening, biking, reading, hiking, sewing or planning a traveling adventure! 
Good Natured started a little over a year ago after I discovered needle felting.  I found a kit on Etsy and fell in love!  I do a lot of other things also, like pottery and ceramic jewelry, so I opened a shop of my own. My husband helps too--he makes pottery and folds all of those tiny origami shapes for jewelry.  For now, my shop is just a part-time venture, but I'd love for it to grow into something bigger! 
I don't have a blog, but I love to sponsor awesome blogs like JustLove.lyThings to get more exposure than what Etsy can provide.  I also use facebook and pinterest to help market my shop.
What do you love about having a handmade business?  I love creating something special.  I love the time and thought that goes into making art with my hands.  And I really love the handmade community--you guys rock!  I can always find support among all of the amazing people in this community.
What are your favorite things to make?  I love making pin cushions like this one  and this one.  I just recently added my Tea Party Pin Cushion collection, which are made vintage teacups, wool and lace!  And it might be obvious that working with animals has inspired a lot of different felt critters in my shop!  These two are my favorites: here and here.  I also get really excited when customers come to me with custom requests.  Currently, I'm working on wool portraits of a girl's grandparents to give to her grandmother for a gift.  So cool!

Do you have any new items or fun business news in the works for this year?  I'm hoping this year to offer even more woolly variety in my shop.  I'd love to offer my wool critters in little sets, with maybe even some scenic wool playmats to go along!  I'd also love to delve into the world of framed wool pictures.  I have so many ideas, I can't wait to make them all happen!


GOOD NATURED BY DANI
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shop // facebook // pinterest

6 comments:

  1. katie bingham16 May, 2012

    ha this is so cute, what a unique shop! i'm so jealous of her job at the zoo how fun & inspiring that she brought it into her shop too!

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  2. Anonymous16 May, 2012

    I totally just had to pin some of her ceramics! We are re-doing our kitchen and these would be so perfect for our style. Thanks for sharing (dana king)

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  3. Awww... she is so talented. Love the mini Arthur.

    http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com

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  4. Ah!!! I wonder if she could make a corgi...

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  5. Kayla G.17 May, 2012

    how unique! does she make custom stuff? I would love some for my animals =)

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  6. I don't know how I missed this... I love the mini Arthur... and if I ever take a picture of my floor when the two Pomeranians are shedding I am totally tagging you so you can sigh in relief!

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