Meet the Maker


Hi. My name is Dani, the silversmith, photographer and creator of Aesthetic Arrest. I’m originally from Seminole, FL and grew up on the always sunny beaches of the gulf coast. I knew at a young age that I loved to create things. I come from a family of makers, My mother always crafting and my father constantly drawing and inspiring designs with my pieces and with my grandfather being a metalsmith, I can only imagine thats where I got it from. I am constantly moving... I call it "The hummingbird syndrome" I hate to fucking sit still!!  Working with metal is literally the only thing that has been able to keep my attention for longer than 10 minutes!

Aesthetic arrest came from everything that is me. It took me a bit to find my place with it but when I just sat back and thought of all the things I love, it came to be. I continually test my abilities every day and will continue to do so, striving to push my limits on things to see what I am capable of, NEVER SETTLE! I am lucky enough to have a small group of close friends that encourage me to never stop and push me to push the boundaries and I am so very thankful for those humans. I have a husky pup named key who is the ruler of my tides and a bengal kitty named Data who is a beast! You will see them pop up on my Instagram quite a bit. 

I love doing things and visiting new places. My heart is in the mountains though. I would give anything if I could spend my days climbing and hiking my way through the mountains; being one with nature feet in the dirt and breathing in fresh air. You will see my strong love for the mountains throughout a lot of my pieces as well as the moon!! I have a romance with the moon and you will see that exemplified in multiple pieces of my art.

Throughout my years, I have found that my favorite mediums are paint, film, and fire. Lighting my torch and playing with metal has some real therapeutic value to me. I am always listening to music while smithing. It actually plays a huge part in my pieces. Most of them get a name depending on the song that is playing upon finishing a piece.

My shop is simplistic just the way that I like it, the only thing I would change would be to set up my shop in the middle of a forrest surrounded by trees and mountain peaks. I currently reside in St. Petersburg, FL which is an amazing place for independent artists. If I’m not in my shop working, you will probably find me at one of the local markets or events.  I love seeing the look on a customer’s face when they try on a piece of my artwork for the first time because at that moment they know the heart that went into making it. If someone asked me what I wanted to accomplish with Aesthetic Arrest, I would simply tell them, “To rock the fuck out of my pieces and collections.”