Meet Danielle Epstein | Owner & Founder of Canatoo

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danielle Epstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?

There are three aspects of my personality that led to me creating my business, Canatoo™. First, I am obsessed with interior design (I think I was the only 5 year old who preferred HGTV over cartoons). Second, I love to make things myself. It’s an incredible feeling to make something out of nothing! And last, I have expensive taste but I’m very budget conscious.

It should come as no surprise that I’ve long dreamed of having a home that was as perfect and meticulous as the ones I had seen on TV. I finally took the leap and bought a house 3 years ago, but to my surprise decorating it was a lot harder than I ever imagined! For the first two years I lived with completely bare walls because the artwork I saw in stores cost more than what I was willing to pay. Not only that, but it also felt like a violation of my “maker’s code” to buy mass produced art. And there was certainly no way I could afford any custom artwork.

I realized that the only way to get affordable, high-quality, highly personal art was for me to create it myself. I found a royalty free image online and used my movie projector to blow it up onto a large canvas I bought from the craft store. I traced the image with a pencil, mixed my own paints, and voila! The idea for Canatoo was born!

Canatoo was made for people who are passionate about home décor, who want to be directly involved in creating the design elements that go into their home, and who want to do all this without breaking the bank. We make home decor kits that are high end, limited edition, and handcrafted here in the USA.

What should our readers know about your business?

Canatoo is an online shop that connects artists and homemakers. I work with artists to break down and reverse engineer their artwork into completely unique kits that I then sell to homeowners. It’s a win-win. Artists now have an additional stream of revenue and get additional exposure to grow their businesses. Customers are now more actively involved when decorating their homes and get to showcase their personalities more.

My first product line, Paintliner™, is a total reinvention of paint-by-numbers. These paint kits essentially send an artist’s studio home to you in a box! I am super excited to see this product gaining traction in the market, and I can’t wait to start developing some of my other kit ideas in the coming months.

Opening this shop feels like it was meant to be. I have had an incredible career working for some of the largest tech companies in the world, but something always felt like it was missing. This career path that I had been on simply didn’t satisfy my entrepreneurial spirit nor my love of building physical products. I love how my passions are now aligning – it feels like a major breakthrough!

I want the world to know that Canatoo is very mission oriented. I am committed to being as eco-friendly as possible. I’m determined to help artists make a living and to bring more personality, self-expression, and authenticity to interior design. I aspire to make art of all shapes, sizes, and forms more affordable. And I hope to build a community of people who share these values.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I very recently moved to Colorado so this is a tough question to answer! If my visitors are feeling bold, I love to take them to the Manitou Incline near Colorado Springs. It’s a brutal workout (which I personally enjoy) and the views at the top are a total treat. Catching a concert at Red Rocks is also fun. But more than anything, I enjoy trying out new bars and breweries with my friends.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Going into business by yourself is no joke! I am so thankful to my friends and family for their help. They provided so much constructive criticism and inspiration along the way. They picked me up when I felt like I was failing and were there to celebrate each and every small win. I’m also so grateful for the Women Helping Women Entrepreneur group I joined on Facebook (such a wealth of knowledge and resources there) and for my volunteer business mentor from S.C.O.R.E (which I highly recommend). My mentor was and continues to be so kind and helpful that somewhere along the way, he really became part of the “friends and family” category.

Website: www.canatoo.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canatoo.kit/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteindanielle/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canatoo.kit