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

Mary, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

There’s been several meaningful projects I’ve worked on since traveling thru my journey as a Leather Jewelry Designer and Businesswoman. One being a part of raising awareness to small businesses right here in Michigan. I was invited by the CEO of That Girl Incorporated and Make Your Dreams Come True founder Natasha Lee to be a part of an invested tribe of talented and strong women who feel deeply about their business endeavors on various platforms. This project helped me to realize the impact my ChokeHerSkins brand was creating locally and internationally. During this experience my designs were placed on market shelves alongside That Girl inc. and other local businesses. Also, at the Little Caeser’s Arena home of the Pistons basketball team my leather jewelry was on display for all the incoming visitors to observe and acknowledge the craft of a designer. Knowing that my vision for one of a kind handcrafted jewelry was motivating others to feel inspired was absolutely satisfying. Such a meaningful project to help support our small businesses in their growth to success.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Mary Daniels I’m 58 years young and a Leather Jewelry Designer. I’m one of the many businesswomen, here in the state of Michigan. My journey throughout my course of life has always been in the designing field of clothing and jewelry. I began taking interest at an early age for sewing and designing fashion. Life can change unexpectedly, and a new path must be taken to survive mentally and physically. This is what happened to me 9 years ago after falling sick and later diagnosed with a chronic lung disease called Interstitial Lung Disease ( ILD). An early retirement from my regular job which was also my self-employed business came to a halt. This disease was puzzling for me because its primary cause comes from smoking, and I never smoked. Being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease Lupus followed closely. Such a great change of my daily lifestyle became depressing at times and scary, but I knew something was always brewing inside me creatively. Prayer and time allowed me to get back to my sewing skills and start creating something collectively different and beautiful. I just needed to get my health plan in order to control my oxygen levels and joint pain. Once I started to gain my mental and physical strength, I started thinking clearly about how much of an investment I could afford while building my brand. I knew sewing would be my foundation for creating but the question was… What will I create/design? Being a collector of neck art, I decided to start off designing chokers. This was very meaningful and personal for me to design something that wraps around my neck and demands of me to lift my head up high with confidence knowing that I’m uniquely beautiful in any stage of my life. No one can ever duplicate me (DNA) or my art of designing these unique art forms with creative details from creation itself. It was very important not just to design my collections for appeal but also versatility and easy attachment. Therefore, all my art pieces with the exception of the Wrist Cuffs are fastened using two straps allowing my client to easily tie her jewelry piece rather than trying to clip a closure which at times I found to be difficult with inflamed fingers and joint pain. Also being that we are various sizes my collections can adapt to small or larger demands during attachment. These are important factors as I create my leather jewelry. My collection includes ChokeHERS (neck art), ChestHERS (choker and chest are design), HipHERs (hip and waist design) and WristSprout (wrist cuff). My unique creations are never duplicated by design or color. Both leather skins and hide are my dominant fabrics, but I also use faux leather and denim fabric. My vision is that every woman who buy from my collection of wearable art will feel uniquely special and beautiful by their own judgment.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I find the term non-creative interesting in contrast to creative like myself, I’m constantly thinking about putting something together by design. Changing the normal form and manipulating the original into something uniquely different unexpected and surprising. We were created from the very beginning, and our original artist Jehovah was amazing with colors and shapes and unique elements that are full of wonderment. This is one of my reasons for understanding why I’m creative and see the beauty in mostly everything that’s in my view. Being made in Gods image I’m naturally creative. Sometimes our viewers become focused on the imperfections of our products instead of the purpose and efforts that can sometimes be very difficult for artist. No one wants a bad product or inconsistency when trying to support a business. But for those with a growing business we have to remember our original purpose and vision. Someone who depends on the creative person can be critical at times because their non-creative disposition can keep them from accepting what’s being presented. A non-creative person may feel they can’t create or change the object without losing interest. I believe in the business that I’ve built over the years and being the best at descriptive and inspirational leather artistry. My confidence in my ChokeherSkins brand is hopefully evident to the noncreative and will encourage them to respect and appreciate what I’m presenting to enhance their beauty while rocking my creations. Let me share what I love to do without judgement and speculation of just being a small homebased business. My business is beyond the mortar that contains me. Whether we’re creative or noncreative we all play our part in beautifying this earth in a uniquely creative way.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

If you want to GO somewhere you have to MOVE! If you’re on a MISSION, you have to PLAN! Without goals you’re stuck! Only you can make the choice to Go or Yield. I had to reflect on my life and the blessings that I could still grasp and enjoy. Despite my health challenges and unexpected symptoms that come along with them I knew standing still out of fear or uncertainties were not on the table. A Lupus Warrior I AM! Fighting thru it would be my only option until it is time to recoup and back to business-as-usual. Having my own brand and business that represents me first is truly amazing.! Profiting from what I do is great feeling and seeing people wear my art is satisfying. Even more so I’m left with the creative side of me the ChokeHerSkins brand that continues to WOW myself and others keeping my journey moving both productively and positively!      

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.chokeherskins.com/
• Instagram: @choke.her.skins
• Facebook: chokeherskins
• Linkedin: Mary Daniels
• Other: www.linktree/chokeherskins

Image Credits
Green dress is Shandera Dawson in a Featured ChokeHer she is ChokeHerSkins Brand Ambassador Myself pictured in other two photos