When Danielle Bradley graduated from college with degrees in biochemistry and criminalistics, she never imagined that, seven years later, she would be a full-time, award-winning furniture artist with her own furniture restoration and interior design company, Soulful Collections.

After college, Bradley decided to become a stay-at-home parent to her daughters and passed time by fixing up old furniture as a hobby, something she learned from her mother.

“When I was a kid, my mom used to restore furniture, because we just didn’t have the money to buy new furniture,” Bradley says. “I learned from her and thought it was just really neat that she does that. I watched a lot of YouTube videos and got a lot of practice, and over the years, my skillset has definitely developed.”

Eventually, friends began to take notice of Bradley’s eye for design and hired her to restore their furniture pieces, and Soulful Collections was born.

“Word just spread. It was referral after referral. I was selling really cool pieces on Facebook Marketplace, then I started a website and then I started a nationwide Etsy shop,” Bradley says. She rescues old or unwanted mid-century modern style furniture from clients, secondhand shops, garage and estate sales, or even the side of the road. She cleans it, repairs it and formulates an artistic vision for the piece. Then the transformation begins; using paint, wallpaper, hardware, carpentry and other creative methods, she revives the furniture into a unique, fresh statement piece ready for a new life.

“I sketch up a plan of what I think I want to do, but sometimes as I’m doing the work I come up with a completely different plan. My inspiration is whatever’s on my mind, what I’m feeling, what music I’m listening to, what’s in my heart or what’s going on in my life. That’s projected onto a piece of furniture. It’s a very emotional thing,” Bradley explains.

Of the thousands of pieces she’s restored, one of Bradley’s favorites is a dresser and desk set that once belonged to a client’s grandmother. It was an emotional and gratifying moment when the client and her father returned to pick up the finished pieces.

“Her dad came to pick it up with her (it was his mother’s furniture), and I just remember the reaction I got from her dad,” she says. “He was crying, because it was something sentimental that his daughter could now use and was designed for her space. That is one of my favorite memories.”

Bradley uses furniture artistry not only as a creative outlet, but as a way to combat waste and promote sustainability.

“I really think we need to focus onsustainable furniture and avoid throwing things out in the landfill. You can rescue these guys. I hate for pieces of good furniture to go to waste,” Bradley says. “A lot of the pieces you might have in your home that you don’t love the look of, we can redesign those and make them look like something out of a magazine. You don’t have to buy something brand new.”

Soulful Collections began as a furniture restoration business and has since evolved to offer other services, like interior design and real estate staging featuring Bradley’s custom furniture. She is now sponsored by various paint and paint brush companies and has won several national awards as a furniture designer. Bradley hopes her success as an artist inspires others to follow their passions.

“Biochemistry just wasn’t my true passion. I followed what my heart was telling me, and it was to be an artist. I love what I do,” Bradley says. “I really want to encourage young girls and stay-at-home-moms especially; don’t be afraid to be an artist if it’s something your heart is in.”

To purchase a unique furniture piece or to learn more about Soulful Collections, visit soulfulcollectionsdesign.com or @soulfulcollectionson Instagram and Facebook.

All photos courtesy of Soulful Collections, unless otherwise stated.

Originally published in the Summer 2022 issue of Spoke+Blossom.

Soulful Collections: Restoration Gives Furniture New Life