Dani Kreeft
Dani Kreeft
COPYWRITER / PHOTOGRAPHER / ENTREPRENEUR
Toronto, Ontario
www.danikreeftwrites.com
Instagram @danikreeftwrites
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I write snippets, sentences and stories for anyone looking to leverage the magic and momentum of words.”
It’s the mandate of any copywriter worth their salt to put on the coveralls of a brand and sink into an awareness of how they think, talk, behave and bleed; to be a citizen of theirs for a brief moment so they can cast onto paper the kind of language that can only come from their truest heart. Whether it’s in agency world or with my own freelance clients, that’s what I do. When I’m not at the pen, I’m also dipping in some art direction and photography while letting my entrepreneurial mind roll in all kinds of creative directions.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
STEP ONE: Don’t rush to find out what I want to do with my life. Go travel.
STEP TWO: Take that bold life experience and create my own company out of it.
STEP THREE: Learn a whole lot more in eight years than I would’ve with a business degree.
STEP FOUR: Hone the thing I love most about running my own business: writing.
STEP FIVE: Know when to creatively move on and shut down said business.
STEP SIX: Jump the plank into the copywriting world.
STEP SEVEN: Swim hard.
FOR OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR FIELD, WHAT DO THEY USUALLY LACK?
Focus and follow through. Creatives can get so jacked on new ideas and trying their hand at everything that we can exist in a scrambled state with a wake of unfinished projects and half-baked skills behind us.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
Filling my time with diverse, challenging copywriting work with a rolodex of interesting, innovative clients. For me, that’s the dream as a copywriter - to constantly be turning corners into under-developed neighbourhoods and helping build something dope.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
My dream morning would be driving through a long desert in a dusty red pickup truck with Springsteen on cassette and a jet-black coffee resting in the cup holder. Windows down. That sums me up on a soul level. I’m thirsty for simplicity, so muted tones, blue-collar music, no fuss stuff is what I’m after. I guess you could say that’s my style.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
Photography because I’m not as good as I want to be and know I could be. When I have free time, I’m at the pen, not the lens. I should adjust that ratio now that I think about it.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
I used to be frustrated by limitations and money and envy and the condemning feeling that I had creative chains on me that other people didn’t. But in the past few months, I’ve somehow been able to pour something new on that dry, stale ground. I started paying down some debts and the way that’s empowered possibility to really flex its muscles in every area of my life has been insane. I’m dreaming bigger than I ever have. So not that frustration is an expired bedfellow, but I’m not waking up and acknowledging it anymore. I’m really on my way to something good, and I finally know it.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HOUR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
Expose me to new brands, fresh companies and industry leaders. It’s all evolving pretty quick, so I often feel way behind.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
Oh boy. I’d go back to my 24-year-old self and tell her to get out of the relationship she was in. Then I’d brush her off and tell her she wasn’t the sum of what he said or didn’t say, and that it was going to get so much better than 2008. So much better.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
All the different ways of thinking and how they can influence elements like new ideas, creative concepts and interesting problem solving. I can really lock into one way, one perspective, so sign me up for someone who is habitually drawing themselves outside the lines and challenging themselves to think differently.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Cool ones. Interesting ones. Daring ones. Sure, I can whip up a brochure, everyone has to pay the bills, but I’d like to do more expansive work than that. That’s what I'm constantly looking for - more.
WHAT IS YOUR RATE?
I hover around a $75/hour rate and custom quote flat rates based on project scope. To be honest, I want to dive into great potential and true work, so everything’s negotiable.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
I’m pretty chill, so just say hey and let your brain scribble your deepest desires down. Take the first step into a really cool collaboration and hit up my email - dani.c.kreeft@gmail.com.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
By staying curious.
This member profile was originally published in June 2016, April 2018.