Hello! 

My name is Dani, the artist and business owner behind Luna & Starlight. I live in Cheltenham where I run my business out of my home studio. I've always been a creative little bean, I had my own dance theatre company for over 15 years and have always had a playful & quirky approach to all that I do in life! 

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My husband and I have 2 cats called Fern & Fig, they are our absolute world! So mischievous and funny! I love to travel and experience different parts of the world, immersing myself in local culture and lifestyles, and I'm very grateful that I'm able to do so. We are huge basketball fans, our team are the New York Knicks and we visit NYC each year, it really feels like a second home to us. 

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I have quirks about me that regularly make people giggle... I am partially deaf (but refuse to wear a hearing aid (because it's SO overstimulating!) so regularly mishear/misunderstand and last year I was diagnosed with ADHD and traits of Autism. That explained A LOT... it's been an experience! I'm so proud of where I am today with Luna & Starlight, I'm so grateful and thankful for all I have in my life and I'll never take myself too seriously! Life is too short! ​​

From Jade Art Illustration...

When covid hit, my sister introduced me to Bob Ross and I loved watching his tutorials, and one day I decided to give it a go, and somehow... I was half decent at it! I absolutely loved getting lost in the process and enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment when I stepped back and saw what I had created.

My husband then bought me a book by Papio Press called The Creature Garden, to help me study illustration and I got practicing! Fun fact, the first animal I ever drew was a narwhal! It took me a while to build the courage and confidence to share my paintings, but I opened up my first art account, Jade Art Illustration, in early 2021.  

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So let's throwback to about ten years ago... I worked in Kenya in an animal orphanage (yes, it was INCREDIBLE) and set up my own volunteer project called 'The Duma Tatu Project' to rebuild some of the enclosures the animals were be rehabilitated in, I hand raised some amazing animals along the way that I will never forget and will live on in my heart forever... 

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Fast forward to me sitting with my new book on how to illustrate animals, and my first art collection was born... The Malaika Series, inspired by the animals I hand raised in Kenya. These paintings helped me hone my skills, test out new ideas & play with colour, and I was enjoying every second of the process!

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Around year later, I was sharing lots on social media (but still riddled with imposter syndrome!) and decided to give something new a go... hand painted ceramic baubles! My first designs were woodland animals, with starry skies and snowy forests, which I sold at local markets around Cheltenham. Every Christmas, the baubles are still my best sellers and I absolutely LOVE winter evenings painting them in my studio, listening to an audio book with a hot chocolate! 

To Luna & Starlight!

As the years went by, I found myself learning lots more new skills to grow my business and to express my creativity. I began weaving my life experiences and my learnings through my psychodynamic therapy (yes, I go to therapy , it's GREAT!) into my art work and formats. I learned how to sublimate at home and my creative world opened up even further and I just know that one of my FAVE mantras, 'you're allowed to take up space' absolutely needed to be on a mug and a tote bag! It felt like my style, my products, and need for creativity was morphing... then was diagnosed with ADHD & traits of autism in early 2025, sparking the next chapter of my small business... stationery! I had the courage to apply for one of the biggest events in the UK, StationeryFest, and my line of 'chaos' notepads were a hit, I was so happy and excited, I felt inspired to really think about the future of my business and what was the art of the possible... 

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Reflecting on my journey so far, I realised I'm no longer building only a business, I'm creating a BRAND, a COMMUNITY, a SAFE SPACE where people can connect and feel SEEN and VALIDATED by my products. A brand that is inclusive, unapologetically authentic and open minded. 

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And so, Luna & Starlight was born!