Life in HEATTECH with Danielle Weber
Jul 03, 2020
LifeWear
Find out how everyday people wear UNIQLO's HEATTECH.
Danielle wears Women’s Ultra Light Down Hooded Coat with Women’s Premium Lambswool Crew Neck Sweater and Women’s Pile Lined Sweat Pants. Layered under is Women’s HEATTECH Ultra Warm Leggings and Women’s HEATTECH Extra Warm Scoop Neck T-Shirt.
UNIQLO is led by the brand’s philosophy of LifeWear where clothing is designed to make everyone’s life better. It is simple, high-quality, everyday clothing that is inspired by life’s needs. This winter, UNIQLO is featuring conversations with real, everyday Aussies who work, play and live in our HEATTECH range. UNIQLO’s HEATTECH range, driven by technology and innovation, serves as a base layer or thermal to help keep you warm during the colder months.
Danielle Weber is a Melbourne-based street artist whose work has been praised by the likes of Gal Gadot and Tim Cahill. Creatively wired, she’s always been passionate about art, but it was her parents that helped her to truly recognise her own capabilities and drove her to pursue this career.
Danielle uses her experience working in a male-dominated industry to encourage young women to push past perceived boundaries and reach their full potential. She shares with UNIQLO Australia that she loves a challenge and is always on the lookout for new and unique opportunities to create impactful artwork.
When did you first become interested in street art? What/who inspired you?
As a kid, I loved sports, drawing and painting. When I finished school, I was going to study health sciences and my family actually pushed me to pursue art - that's what kept me painting.
For about the first five years or so I was solely painting canvases and it slowly transitioned into murals. I started on small ones and then I got asked to do more and more and now I'm nine or 10 years into my journey and I've been doing murals for about five years.
I think maybe the fear of doing something challenging inspires me the most. I was so terrified of ruining someone's walls. I was like, you know what, let's just do it!
There are heaps of other aspects that are quite daunting: being outside, being on scissor lifts, getting all your tickets, and it’s a male-dominated industry. Just overcoming all of those roadblocks, is something that keeps me motivated.
How does your artwork make you feel and what emotions do you want to evoke?
Depending on how big and how long they take, it's an emotional roller coaster. Especially when you love something so much.
When you don’t feel like you're enjoying it, or if you don't feel like doing it, you tend to beat yourself up a little bit. Like, why am I not enjoying painting today? It's my passion. I should love this. I think every piece is different and with me responding differently to every piece, I guess my audience does as well.
The feeling of finishing a piece and seeing clients’ reactions is priceless. Some people have cried when I complete a piece on their wall. I think that's probably the most satisfying aspect, witnessing their appreciation, amazement and other emotions. For me as well too, because it's a relief when you conquer another mural - the bigger, the better.
I received a message from someone I don't know today saying, I just want to say “Thanks for posting your art. My six-year-old gets so excited and so inspired by looking through your work” and I just think, that is so beautiful.”.
Danielle wears Women’s Pile Lined Fleece Long Sleeve Pullover and Women’s Pile Lined Sweat Pants with Women’s HEATTECH Ultra Warm Leggings and Women’s HEATTECH Ultra Warm High Neck T-Shirt underneath.
You’ve mingled with some celebs and painted for them, how did that come about?
The Rock or Dwayne Johnson was the first big celebrity that noticed my work, that was through social media and I was like, “Huh?”. It was just so crazy. It's not something I was expecting to happen.
Next thing you know, I met him in America and he’s a bit of a mentor for me now. Art is something that I never thought would even be a job, let alone bring me to meet people like this.
I thought that everyone could paint until I was 20 and then I realised that wasn’t the case. It took me a while to process that people see art in a different light. Especially the celebs who are highly respected, it's insane to think that they have that appreciation.
Last year I donated a piece to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s charity and attended a party at his house. I really admire their stories of where they come from and where they have ended up. I make sure that's drummed into my head. When I was feeling tired... just think of what The Rock would do!
How do you keep warm whilst painting murals in Melbourne’s cold weather?
I’m a master of layering! Over the years I've gotten used to the cold and worked through the winter months instead of bypassing them. I've learnt that your bottom layers have to keep your body warmth in, then I generally have a fleece and an outer shell. Inner layers like the HEATTECH Ultra Warm Leggings are perfect for my work. Toe warmers are my little hack as well.
What’s in store for the rest of the year?
I have lots of work in store because we can't go anywhere. It's given me a chance to knuckle down and spend time with family and friends.
I've got a crazy few months of murals coming up. Including one in Casey Fields for AFL Women's. That's 40 or 50 metres long. It’s one of my biggest to date.
Dad usually helps out, he's the only person that doesn't complain when we're literally freezing and working, 12, 14, 16 hours a day. I might get a few extra hands because of the cold and the nature of the beast. I have had a few artists help me and they're amazing.
For those who are exploring street art, who are some other street artists they should follow on social media?
@ctoart, @dinocero2, @ellestreetart, @sofles, @adnate, @juzpopcreations and @resio_
Just to name a few!
What advice would you give a young budding street artist?
Explore all styles and be versatile/flexible so your work is multi-dimensional. Work hard and dedicate any time you have to work on your craft. There's always more to learn and bigger challenges to take on.
Danielle wears the below HEATTECH items as her base layer:
Women’s HEATTECH Ultra Warm Leggings
Women’s HEATTECH Extra Warm Scoop Neck T-Shirt
Women’s HEATTECH Socks 2 Pair Line
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