Your Name
Dhanya Falkenstein
Shop Name
Flower Child Creations
Shop Address
Please start by telling us a little about yourself, your family, and your art form.
Hello, my name is Dhanya, pronounced dawn-ya, and I am an artist. There is not a medium I haven't tried, well maybe not welding, yet! I run a small shop on Etsy called Flower Child Creations. We offer organic, airbrushed, earth friendly, one of a kind and few of a kind, wearable artwork, for babies to kids, adults, and some of my paintings are listed as well.
Painting shirts and one-pieces for our little girl’s arrival two years ago is what initially inspired the Flower Child line. At the time I was a full time massage therapist and Asian body-worker only painting part time preparing for our daughter’s birth. Although my parents, who are also artists, and I have been airbrushing children’s and adult clothing for over 30 years between us and have sold at craft shows and boutiques all over the world Etsy is my online selling debut.
I grew up in a small community of artisans in southern Oregon who expressed themselves through a variety of cottage industries. There were basket makers, a button maker, weavers, drum makers, a blacksmith, seamstresses, farmers, potters, glass blowers, bakers, the list goes on and on. So I feel right at home in Etsy's hand made community.
I live in AZ with my little girl (she’s 19 months) and her father and love every second of it! Together we run a small, family owned hotel in Sedona as our regular “day job” and juggle our toddler between artistic pursuits and the hotel’s daily tasks. We feel very fortunate to spend so much quality time together as a family. It seems rather rare in this day and age.
When we are not on duty we spend as much time as we can walking in canyons, riding bikes, swimming, listening to music, drawing, painting, exploring fields of grass with our little girl, pointing out birds in the sky, stacking blocks, singing kids songs, reading children’s books (one of my dreams is too illustrate children’s books one day), rummaging through thrift stores, preparing yummy organic food, and so on.
Where and how did you start or learn your medium?
The first time I touched an airbrush I was about five years old. Both of my parents are talented multi-media artists and I was always around airbrushes as a child. I dabbled with the machine as a youth but I didn’t get serious until after high school. I was more interested in dance, music (I was a pirate/community radio DJ for almost 10 years as well as doing shows and parties), photography, and traditional brush painting techniques in my younger years.
I took an airbrush portrait painting class in college that really sparked my interest in the craft. Airbrush can be extremely challenging at times and very technical. The mechanics are one of the things that take the most time to figure out and are the biggest turn off for a novice. Lots of patience and practice make for a successful airbrush artist. You have to love doing it and be prepared to mess up or break something important on occasion.
Will you share at least one thing that defines or inspires you as an artist?
Love. 
Does where you live and create influence your creative process?
Yes, it’s almost over whelming at times. I have to really focus to get thing accomplished. There is inspiration everywhere I look around Sedona. Talk about eye candy it’s hard to drive here sometimes there are so many beautiful views.
What is the best piece of advice you can give aspiring artists?
Be yourself. Trust yourself. Listen to yourself. Follow your gut. How ever you want to say it. Life is way too important and way too short to be taken seriously. Art is a life long path and life is art. Take your time, slow down, enjoy the process even if it is challenging at times, being creative is it’s own reward.
Do you have any short or long-term goals you would like to share with our readers?
I am currently working on new adult line (under a different name) that I will preview on Etsy prior to launching our website. Having a toddler makes for time frames to be a bit looser than in the past but with luck it will be done with in the year (fingers crossed).
Our family’s long-term goal is to build an Earthship here in Northern Arizona. An Earthship is a sustainable home that uses rain caught water, is built from 90% recycled or reused materials, and is completely self sufficient, self contained structure. It uses mainly passive solar energy to heat and cool itself and is perfect for the desert. The largest community of them is outside of Taos, NM. Who knows we may turn it into a Bed and Breakfast.
Where or how did you come to start selling on Etsy?
I opened my shop in September 09’ after a long summer craft show season. Everyone I've met is so helpful and ready to share his or her experiences it's great! Etsy is a truly wonderful community of artists and I am thrilled to be part of it. I am inspired every time I browse through categories, read about other artists, do random searches, there is always something new to discover.
What first attracted you to using organic materials?
I have always used organic materials in the way of food, bath and beauty products, and fabrics. The hand-made, do it your self, ‘organic’, ‘green’ lifestyle is how my parents raised me.
We started using organic fabrics in our clothing line as soon as we started finding affordable sources. They were scarce a few years ago or super expensive. The organic line of shirts we use today costs the almost the same as conventional cotton clothing. We are committed to using only socially and environmentally minded materials in the making of our line. We also do our best to run a zero waste studio by reusing and recycling anything we can there by lowering our over all environmental impact.
How do you think that buying and manufacturing organic handmade products benefits society?
Buying and selling organic makes the world a cleaner, healthier, happier place to live. We cast a vote every time we spend our money on goods we put into and onto our bodies.
When we choose organic and sustainable products to eat and wear we are sending a message on a vibrational level to everyone we come in contact with. It's like a silent bill board saying "I care", I care about myself, I care about the planet, I care about you, I care about the person who made the clothes I'm wearing and so on. We essentially surround ourselves with a thoughtful presence that makes an impact on society at large whether they or we are conscious of it or not.
I see the green movement becoming more widely accepted and understood every day and it puts a smile on my face. We are moving toward a brighter more beautiful tomorrow for all the kids. They deserve to inherit a beautiful, clean, peaceful planet.
How did you some to find a home on the Etsy Organic Team?
EOT was the first team I explored, I poked around the team members’ shops, read their philosophies, and I felt like there were like-minded people involved. I applied and I am so happy I did!
