EQUESTRIAN ARTIST: Danielle Demers

This month we heard from one of our favorite equestrian creators: Danielle Demers. We ask her of course... about horses! But also touch on art, inspiration sharpening her skills as an artist and entreprenuer.

WHICH CAME FIRST: YOUR LOVE OF HORSES OR YOUR LOVE OF ART?

I have loved horses for as long as I can remember. Shortly after my parents were married, they purchased their first horse: a young Quarter Horse named Jessie. My mom rode throughout the time she was pregnant with me and took me to the barn to meet Jessie when I was very young.

I think the obsession set in immediately!Art has also been an integral part of my life from a young age, though I do remember when I fell in love with making art.

My grandmother was a talented artist and knitwear designer. Before I started pre-school, my grandmother took care of me during the day and we would often color and draw together. Similarly to horses, drawing was something I fell in love with immediately.

Photo from DANIELLE DEMERS

HOW DID THOSE PASSIONS EVENTUALLY COME TOGETHER?

Drawing horses was a natural progression – for me horses and art have always gone together. I drew horses anytime I had a pen, pencil or any form of paper to hand: on the backs of restaurant placemats and napkins, in all of my sketchbooks, sitting in church on Sundays…

I remember sketching away even during family movie nights as a teen.I was very fortunate to grow up with horses and had my heart horse, a chestnut Quarter Horse/Arabian named Gemini, in my life from age five until he passed away when I was 22.

Gemini was my childhood; horse show weekends, the 4–H horse project, trail rides with friends, a safe space during those sometimes tough, emotional teenage years – he was a constant (There is a reason why there are so many chestnuts and copper horses in my work!).

During my senior year of high school, I started my first business “Designs by Dannie,” selling artwork, prints, note cards and shirts with my equestrian designs. And later, in college, I earned a double degree in Art Education and Studio Art.

YOUR ART HAS EVOLVED INTO PRACTICAL PIECES OF ART THROUGH YOUR HOME DECOR AND STATIONARY ITEMS, WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THIS?

I knew from the start that I wanted to have multiple revenue streams for my business. Original art and prints were two natural offerings, but I love to learn and to experiment. Once I had a website, a few collections of originals and prints established, I began to branch out and dream of what else might be possible.

The inspiration behind each new collection has come from multiple sources: a love of history, interiors, antiquing and travel. Everything starts with an idea, then I work to see if what I am envisioning is actually possible – how can I bring it to life? What do I need to learn in order to make this new product?

2022 and 2023 were big years of learning for me – from a surface pattern design course, to reacquainting myself with linocut printmaking techniques, to learning to use a foil press and an antique letterpress printing press, to learning needlepoint.

Photo from DANIELLE DEMERS

WHAT INSPIRED YOUR MOST RECENT, AND OUR FAVORITE, WALLPAPER COLLECTION?

In early 2022, I took Bonnie Christine’s Surface Design Immersion course to learn pattern making. I designed “Amongst the Oaks” during that course and shared an early iteration of the pattern to my Instagram account. The response was overwhelmingly positive; I think it was my first post that went “viral.” People were commenting and messaging, “When is this coming out as a wallpaper?”

The assignment at the end of the Immersion course is to create a full collection with an end product in mind: quilting fabric, clothing, nursery decor, etc. Based on the response to “Amongst the Oaks,” I knew I wanted to create a wallpaper collection.

The Wanderlust Wallpaper collection is largely inspired by the three years my husband and I spent living in London. We drove out to the countryside many weekends to walk or to tour historic homes and estates, and I fell in love with the English country home aesthetic.

Photo from DANIELLE DEMERS

WHAT IS A CHALLENGING PART OF BEING AN EQUESTRIAN ARTIST AND WHAT HAS BEEN SURPRISINGLY REWARDING?

The most challenging part – of being an artist and a solo-entrepreneur in general – is working on my own. There are a LOT of hats to wear and I am constantly questioning whether I am taking the next “right” step… am I continuing to move in the right direction? Will this new product or design resonate?

The most rewarding aspects are the sense of community and the friendships I have built through my work. It is really lovely to be able to connect with so many people over shared passions.

CHECK OUT THE COLLECTION