Meet Danielle Schwartz of Lady Dandelion in Venice Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Schwartz.

Danielle, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a born and raised California girl. I grew up in Santa Monica and the vast landscapes, from ocean to mountains, have always inspired me. Culturally, I have always been inspired by New York, and I especially love the people there… unlike LA, they are real and unbothered by what other people think. Lucky for me, I grew up bi-coastally because my dad is from NY. To this day, I believe this duality shapes who I am in a large way.

As soon as I finished school I left for NY full time to dive deep into the rich inspirations and continue my work in the fashion industry. I attended Parsons and worked for many brands, in virtually all dimensions of creativity, from design, to sales, to art direction, to production and finally social media. I also did a good deal of store management which gave me a lot of face to face time with customers. I stayed in NY happily struggling, learning and absorbing all it had to offer me until the day I turned 30. And just like that, I knew it was time to return to my roots.

Just a few months later, I moved home and found a great spot in Venice Beach. I took a position working for an Australian brand that had a flagship operation a few blocks from my bungalow. I started skating and surfing everyday and found a great community in my neighborhood. Life had changed quickly and delightfully, but it was about to change even more in a way I could never have imagined…

One weekend I spontaneously decided to visit a friend in Portland. My first night there, I met my now fiancee in a dive bar. We fell in love fast and were having the time of our lives visiting each other back and forth between LA and PDX. Time stood still. Until about 3 months later when I found out that I was pregnant! Suddenly, we were thrust out of our happy cloud and back into reality. We started planning our lives together as a family which was a whole new lens and perspective on life. This curve ball was my biggest wake up call, and what a blessing it turned out to be. 

With a baby on the way, I simply could not see myself continuing to work for other people’s visions instead of my own. Especially at the cost of being away from my child most of the day and barely earning enough to cover childcare. I know this is a common experience for women when they become moms. So I decided to take a huge leap of faith and finally start working full time towards my own visions.

In the year that my daughter Lulu was born (2017) I founded 2 companies. One- a female skateboarding collective which took off with great speed in Venice Beach. The second, my own brand called Lady Dandelion. Its slogan: part tomboy, all Lady. For girls who like to get dirty but clean up real nice. All of the content for LD features my daughter and I in our natural environment, stripped of any props or make up. In fact, often times we photograph the clothes while I skate the bowls at Venice Skatepark. It is 100% real. The line has a story. It’s about about women who dare to live free and be bold. Tough but also tender. Both feminine and tomboy. I like to show women in their lives wearing the clothes because to me, what we wear is a choice. It’s a form of self expression. It is our modern armor. Anyone who ever told you what you wear does not effect how you feel was lying to you. So I make clothes that are timelessly feminine and playful but allow you to play rough. And I always prioritize fully ethical practices.

My mission in everything I do, weather it is designing my own line or modeling for someone else’s ideas (which has become a fun side hustle), is to inspire and empower girls and women to live their lives authentically. This takes courage in our culture! And we need more role models of women, mothers, and girls who are defying the norm. For me, this means doing the things that make me feel powerful and free as often as possible. I live in Venice, work from home, collaborate with other rad artists in my community, I skateboard and surf as often as possible, and I love to try new things. I spend a great amount of time with my daughter and I immerse her in all that I do. And she is a badass (at least partly) because of it. I’m most inspired by the mark I’ll leave on the next generation of girls. I want it to be a badass one. 

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I wouldn’t call it a “smooth road”. There have been so many people along the way who have told me what I want to do is “impossible”, “risky” or just plain stupid. The biggest challenge has been believing in myself and trusting my own path. Im not much of a joiner. In fact I work really well on my own. I have left many “promising” situations because I didn’t feel there was much integrity or honesty at the heart, and therefore they weren’t right for me. It’s really scary to leave a successful group and keep going on your own. So I do this for all the loners out there who don’t believe that they can be successful by themselves. It’s not an easy path! Sometimes you feel crazy or drive yourself mad because you don’t have anyone else to share your ideas and vision with. It all starts with you and it isn’t real until you bring it into reality. I have experienced many set backs along the way. Over the years, I have felt defeated by people who copied or cheated or had what felt like unfair advantages. I had to learn the hard way to stop looking at those around me. All that matters is that I continue to do what I love and believe in. Starting a company, you get thrown off and pushed down so often it becomes rudimentary. What matters is how you bounce back. I truly believe that the world needs each individual’s unique contributions. If you look at it that way, who are we not to offer this to the world?

Lady Dandelion – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Lady Dandelion is a lifestyle brand. It is designed by and for California Girls and has a playful feminine tomboy aesthetic. My tagline is: part tomboy, all Lady. It’s for girls who like to get dirty but clean up real nice.

I think I am known for my authenticity and inspiring others through my own unique lifestyle which I am really proud of. I also like to feature friends and collaborators in my local Venice Beach community who have an awesome story to tell. Lady Dandelion embodies these women and myself and my daughter and strives to make you feel beautiful and badass at the same time.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I personally believe success is maintaining your integrity and values in everything you do. I also believe strongly in quality over quantity. In other words, you don’t have to be an “influencer” to have an influence. Being grateful for what you have and knowing that no one can take from you what you’ve truly earned, so keep moving forward little by little. And at the end of the day, if you’re surrounded by people you love who support you and don’t care how “successful” you are, well then you’ve really made it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theladydandelion.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @theladydandelion

Image Credit:
Rebecca Pagan,  Zoe Cole, Jason Travis, Annabelle Sadler, Tobi Ann

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