DAO! Why Now?
We didn’t know it then—and the name was different—but DAO actually emerged in the 90’s as we explored our passion for art through DIY projects. We made artistic calendars, candies, and homemade gifts and even developed a tee-shirt brand, thumbnail t's, from Eric's art. A few originals (or are they vintage??) remain.
In the Desert, Eric continued to create art for our home, friends, clients, and various art shows and exhibitions he participated in. One winter in Palm Springs, which is like summer anywhere else, Eric's client hired him to install a children's playground using recycled wood. We foraged through the Desert and collected fallen cacti and tree branches, inspiring us to make tree tea light candle holders as our holiday gifts that year.
Our DIY recycled desert cactus Christmas Tree was an added bonus. Our family loves this sustainable tree—it's portable, hangs up quickly, and we don't even take the lights off. Added a cute dog photo, just because.
Fast forward and back in the Bay Area, Project Bird Dog emerged as a way for us to pay it forward with our skill-set and passion. Project Bird Dog assists small businesses and non-profits, by offering branding and design to help launch their passions. Click on the images below to read the stories of these brands.
Then came the pandemic, tons of time at home, and shifts in both our careers that inspired us to finally organize all the art and supplies from the desert studio and upgrade our home decor. This began our DAO journey. And, even though we may be a little late to this party, our friends know we always like to join in.
Spoonflower, an online fabric, wallpaper, and home decor company recently acquired by Shutterfly, was the first platform we explored for our home decor upgrades. We tested Eric’s original patterns on tablecloths, throw pillow covers, and a sheet set. Check out our blog Why Spoonflower? for our orders and reviews. Our DAO Spoonflower Shop has more than 400 unique fabric and wallpaper patterns, with new ones added monthly.
The next step on this path was reaching out to Nancy's brother Mark, and sister-in-law, Erin. They've been creative entrepreneurs, and one of their brands we were interested in working with was Stationery HQ. They specialize in on-demand, one-off and extreme short-run production of fine stationery and gift products. We ordered wrapping paper, journals, and holiday cards and we are excited to partner with them. Check out our DAO Shop for products that we work with them on.
If you are looking for personalized anything, but especially for kids, you should check out their brand Frecklebox; they offer a lot of fantastic stuff.
We got a little excessive with our venture into the popular site Society6, but with our family that somehow isn’t a surprise. We ordered and "tested" products that everyone wanted. Society6 brand is eco-friendly, and the price point on this platform seems reasonable, but we were curious about the quality. Check out our blog on Why Society6? and One Pattern/Multi Product for a review of the products we ordered.
The Fam: Nancy, Eric, Emma Lane, Jolie Jane
We are grateful for this passion project during such a challenging time in history. We support everyone's individual path and hope for tremendous social and climate transformation. We want to thank Emma Lane (content and website) and Jolie Jane (video and social media) for their unique talents and "familyship."
Keep a lookout for one-of-a-kind products coming soon!
Thank you so much for visiting our DAO Shop and reading our story; it is how it has happened…..so far.