Hi, I'm Danielle.
Creativity keeps me moving. It is a driving force in my life that has helped me get through the good, bad, and the ugly.
My grandmother taught me so much at a young age about how to be crafty and have fun in everything I do. She used to own a flower shop and I would go with her all the time and watch her work. I was fascinated by how much of herself she put into her work and how much she did for people. It was such an inspiration for me and now I find myself running my own creative endeavor doing what makes me super happy and grateful!
Life is a canvas to me. Everything can be painted to be
just as you want it if you work hard enough and set the right intentions out for yourself. It took me a while to learn this, but it was a lesson that opened up so much opportunity.
From theater to playground design, I have gone on many creative adventures. I sought out to study fashion design after high school and realized it wasn't my favorite thing. I just wanted to leave my hometown to do something exciting! I decided to transition into costume design and had big dreams of working for a large theater creating unique costumes on a regular basis. While I love designing costumes, I later found out I didn't want to make them full-time and there was so much more to explore!
I ventured into set design for stores and theater and started building fun props and painting scenes. I was grateful my dad taught me so much about power tools because it helped me tremendously when I started building sets.
Set design was a fun creative challenge and after my contract was up with the company I was working for I began staging homes for realtors. I would basically set up the house to make it look like someone was living there so when potential buyers would view the home, they could see how to set up furniture. I would also do furniture repairs and refurbishing. This was a great placeholder for what was coming next.
I started designing playgrounds while I was still staging homes which later became a long and exciting creative challenge. I have always wanted to work towards something that focused on the greater good of the world. This position definitely impacted my life and others in such an incredible way. I designed playgrounds that heavily focused on kids with all abilities.
I learned a great deal about how to see things from other perspectives in life. During the design phase I would ask myself questions like, how would a child in a wheelchair go down this slide?, should I create a space for an autistic child to relax in?, and basically how do I make sure this playground is for EVERYONE! When you do this type of work, you realize how much of a struggle this could be for daily life of those who have different situations. It taught me how to really think outside of the proverbial box and do my best to create an awesome playground that everyone could enjoy.
There was a unique process to these designs which allowed community input as well as input from the children. I would meet with the community and ask them what their dream playground was, gather ideas from everyone, figure out how to make it fully inclusive, and then design it on the spot while I was there with them based on their needs, wants, and budget. It was like putting together a puzzle with some pieces provided, but the rest I would fill in the blanks with some of my own ideas.
After the design was completed, I would go back to the office and take in all the feedback after presenting the design and work on finalizing the playground. I learned how to make renderings of the space so clients could see a full concept of what they would be getting and map out where everything was. I would also serve as a project manager for the community so I could walk them through the entire process and make sure they were organized.
When it came to building the structures, there were two methods we would propose to our clients. One was where thousands of volunteers would come together to build the entire playground, and the other was where our team would build it for the community. I had fun with both versions of the builds. Meeting all the volunteers and seeing their skills, passions, and excitement kept me propelled and thriving! Creating the playgrounds with our team allowed me to use my own creative magical powers to make something great! I loved working with the kids and teaching them how to paint and I also enjoyed making things come to life with our team.
After several years of devoting all of my time and energy into the playground world, I was ready to build my own empire! While traveling, teaching volunteers, and helping communities grow was an amazing experience I wouldn't trade for the world, I knew I was ready to do my own thing!
D-Nella Doodle was birthed from a place of trying to figure out what I wanted to do. The name came from two nicknames given to me throughout life, one from my dad (Doodle Bug) and one from a friend (D-Nella). My mom started her own business and so did my step-father. I knew I could do it too! I just needed to figure out exactly what I wanted it to be.
Coming from several creative backgrounds, I decided I would provide creative services for people on an as needed basis. My clients contact me with their ideas and I bring them to life. Throughout my own endeavor I have illustrated children's books, developed logos, business cards, stickers, and cartoons for new businesses, painted murals for businesses and homes on windows, walls, and pieces that can be mounted on walls, guided others through mural painting classes, and much more!
Life is full of opportunity and I am excited to be here and share it with all of you. Thank you for visiting my page. I hope to help you create something amazing!
