Meet the Maker

A Little About Me

Hi! I'm Dani, the silversmith, artist, and slightly chaotic mind behind Aesthetic Arrest.

I was born and raised on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida, surrounded by a family of artists and makers. My mother always had her hands in something creative, my father was constantly drawing, and my grandfather was a metalsmith. So I suppose creating things has always been in my blood.

I've always been a bit of a hummingbird. My mind is constantly wandering, my hands always need to be doing something, and sitting still has never been my strong suit. But then I discovered silversmithing, and something just clicked. For the first time, I found something that could hold my attention for hours on end. Over a decade later, I'm still just as obsessed with playing with fire and metal as I was when I first picked up a torch.

Aesthetic Arrest started as a way to bring all the things I love into one place. It took me a while to really find my footing and develop a style that felt entirely my own, but somewhere along the way I stopped worrying about what I should be making and started creating what actually spoke to me.

Nature, the moon, witchcraft, old folklore, the strange and the beautiful. I'm endlessly fascinated by the stories and symbolism woven into the natural world. Poisonous flowers, twisted trees, woodland creatures, the changing seasons, and all the little mysteries that have inspired folklore for centuries. There's something magical about taking those things and bringing them to life through metal.

My heart has always belonged to the mountains and forests. Give me towering trees, dirt beneath my feet, crisp mountain air, and a sky full of stars, and I'm the happiest little creature alive. If I could move my entire studio into the middle of a forest, surrounded by mountains, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Aesthetic Arrest has become so much more than a jewelry business to me. It's my life, my passion, my creative outlet, and quite honestly, a huge piece of who I am. I pour so much of myself into my work, especially my larger, intricate pierce-and-saw pieces. Those are the pieces where I really get lost in my own little world. I don't create them simply to have something to sell. I create them because something inside me wants to bring an idea, a feeling, or a story to life.

Over the years, that passion has grown into teaching silversmithing as well. There's something incredibly rewarding about sharing a craft I love so deeply and watching someone discover what they're capable of creating with their own two hands. Being able to pass along the knowledge I've spent years learning has become another part of Aesthetic Arrest that means the world to me.

When I'm not at my bench, I'm usually hanging out with my husky, Key, and my Bengal cat, Data, getting lost in nature, listening to music, or dreaming up the next ridiculous project that's going to consume my life for the foreseeable future.

And to everyone who has followed along, collected my work, taken a class, or simply connected with something I've created, you are such a huge part of why I get to keep doing this. Knowing that something I've poured my heart into can find its way into someone else's life and mean something to them is a feeling I don't think I'll ever get tired of.

I don't know exactly where Aesthetic Arrest will take me next, but I do know I'll never stop learning, experimenting, pushing myself, and creating things that make my soul happy.

After all, what's the point of making art if you can't put a little piece of yourself into it?

All my love,

Dani 🌙