#BAREwithMe No11 w/ Danielle
One thing that is important for me and the art that I choose to create is authentic alignment.
There is nothing that I create myself, that I do not also stand on in my personal life both with myself and those around me. Therefore, my messaging remains the same. Especially when it comes to this series, The BARE Collection. This series is designed as a step back from the perfect-self that we portray to the world and an indulgence into our true selves, the imperfect. complex, full of flaws and contradiction-filled persons that walk this earth. Funny enough, if there’s one person that embodies this series on the daily, it is Danielle Warren: the artist, the muse & the influencer.
Starting from the top, I was unsure what to think of Danielle. We had never met but I had seen her work with some fellow photographers, as she had seen mine as well. With the new algorithms of Instagram, I wasn’t able to see most of work which made it harder to appreciate the spectrum of her artistry. From drawing and painting, creating characters that could live in a world of their own, to modeling clothes and expression using her body alone, I didn’t see her range at the beginning. I did know that she had pretty good taste in art just off of the strength of content we would share back and forth with each other since 2018 but for a variety of reasons, we still never got the chance to work together. As time passed, Danielle began to step into a space of creating content herself and becoming an influencer at the same exact time that I dug deep within myself to generate the right amount of energy towards creation and building a foundation for myself that I can stand on autonomously. Not to mention, she too is a damn good writer and has inspired me to be more “articulately vulnerable” on my platforms as well.
What I was able to clearly gather from our initial meeting, which was perfectly placed at a coffee shop, was that whatever popped into her head would directly come out of her mouth as well, an authenticity and also a vulnerability that I can only respect. It’s almost infectious by nature, in the sense that her realness creates a comfortable space for the other person to truly be themselves, a trait that I am used to hearing about myself from others. The ability to be yourself for better or for worse is a special skill that most of us don’t have naturally but usually have to work towards.
So when Danielle hit me to take photos of the new products that True & Co had just sent her, I was down already. I knew absolutely nothing about the brand but I trusted that her brand being about authenticity and vulnerability, that any brand she chose to support would likely be aligned with similar vision. As I began preparing for the shoot (the day of - please don’t judge me LOL), I realized that not only did the core values of True & Co fit her brand but it also was truly in alignment with what I aimed to deliver with The BARE Collection.
As a mission, True & Co represents the same value of self-love that I too stand behind, also creating products that are made ethically for the masses. I think it’s important to highlight brands like this in our current consumer market because a company that is willing to pay attention to the details of people and the needs of their demographics is a brand that deserves the attention of that same demographic. Unfortunately, more often than not, companies that stand firm on ethics and morals will get swept under the current trends in consumerism. I hope with the imagery that I was able to capture with Danielle, that the content not only finds true to True & Co but also opens up their brand to an audience that might not be aware as of yet.
Follow Danielle : @Daniell_eeeee on Instagram ; Her artwork : @danioffsets
Follow True&Co : @trueandco on Instagram
