We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kevin Bendtsen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kevin below.

Alright, Kevin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Danico is a shared design studio between my wife (Ana Gonzalez) and I (Kevin Bendtsen).

Personally I didn’t really know what I wanted to do growing up. I was fascinated by how things work and how they were designed but there wasn’t a specific occupation I knew of growing up that encompassed that. I went to college for architecture and it wasn’t until then that I took a furniture design course that really opened me up to the world of industrial and product design.

Everything we do is self taught. There have been times where we take a loss but we tend to learn more from that and try not to commit those errors again. At the same time we like the thrill of learning new things. In every project we try to include a medium we haven’t done or experienced yet, whether it be 3d printing, CNC, metal work, sewing, etc. I personally learn best from failure and even though this takes more time I don’t think I would have changed it to speed up the process because each moment really identifies a specific situation with specific solutions.

The skill that we think is probably the most essential is patience and dedication. We live in a time where everyone wants instant gratification. This just doesn’t happen. You have to learn to be patient for the outcomes you want, and when you don’t achieve those outcomes you need to put your nose down and keep working towards them. We still aren’t where we would like to be, but we just need to keep pushing forward and know one day we will achieve it if we keep at it.

I think the largest obstacle to overcome for us is that of everyday life. We have day jobs at local architecture firms and often times it can be quite challenging to come home after a long day at work and push to keep on doing what makes us happy. Having only limited amount of time after work really adds another obstacle for us in the amount learning we actually want to accomplish.

Kevin , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Ana and I (Kevin) are the creative directors for our design brand DANICO. We really enjoy all aspects of design ranging from art, architecture, fashion, furniture, lighting, home products, etc. the list can go on and on. There is always a sense of playfulness in our designs because it really portrays who we are as individuals. We work in a wide range of mediums from wood working, metal work, 3D printing, sewing, etc. All of our products are designed and built in house by the two of us. We do everything from product photography to our own marketing and social media influence as well.

DANICO started in 2018 essentially making custom wood and steel furniture for businesses with that heavy industrial style that was popular at the time. After working and achieving our graduate degrees in architecture we decided to make one off pieces for ourselves. People began to take notice in the things we were creating and started asking us for custom pieces of their own. After gaining a little more experience we decided to take a leap and start our own product line and really turn DANICO into a true design brand. Our goal is to have a quality brand like that of Charles and Ray Eames, and have original designs good enough to be at the MOMA Design Store in New York City.

I think the thing we are most proud of is seeing the evolution of DANICO. Something that essentially began as an idea to do what we love then evolving to the point of our brand having pop up events where other people see the potential in us, our brand, and products is a pretty amazing feeling.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think creatives in general can sometimes be seen as outcasts. I think society has to understand no single style or artist is going to be everyone’s cup of tea so even though it may not be a personal style choice there shouldn’t be a tone of judgement because society may not understand. Instead that judgement should be replaced with a tone of curiosity and maybe then through asking questions or research society will have a better understanding. It still may not be for them but now they know the why portion of the question. I believe this also goes for creatives as well because creatives can be some of the most judgmental people out there. We are all in it together and all hear to support one another to continue doing what we love to do, which is expressing our creativity.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

We personally get a lot of fulfillment just being able to release that creativity and see it become an actual product. We also enjoy finding out about creative things other people are doing. When we discover that say a friend’s brother has a clothing company or a relative does paintings or photography, that really makes us happy because it shows us there are other people out there chasing their dreams and want to do what makes them happy every single day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://studiodanico.com/
• Instagram: studio_danico
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-bendtsen-57727252/