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Danielle Crowell, founder and creator of Mountain Made Creative

Work can be a form of self-love

We're taught that work is supposed to be a drag; that you're supposed to hate it, complain about it, and wait for the weekend. I don't know about you, but hating something that takes up 80% of my day, my week, my life... is a hard no for me.

I believe that the work you do and the things you offer to the world can be a form of self-love; of self-respect.

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

~ Howard Thurman

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About Danielle Crowell

There is so much more to me than a bio, but here's a work-related summary...

  • I started working as a Digital Marketing Manager for Northern NS in 2012 and was quickly promoted to the Digital Sales Supervisor for NS, NB & PEI by 2013.

  • In 2014 I got hit by an SUV while crossing the street, which made me question everything, like "If that had been the end, would I have been happy with the life I had led?"

  • After recovering from a broken pelvis, I became obsessed with the body and spent the next year taking multiple movement certifications, including yoga teacher training, personal training, group fitness training, and Pilates training.

  • In early 2015 I gave my notice to the corporate world and opened a yoga studio that June.

  • I successfully ran the studio for five years, during which time I learned how to build websites, manage social media, send email newsletters, build an online membership platform, integrate online booking services, and sell products online.

  • I began offering those skills as services to other local businesses and in early 2018, I made it official and launched "Websites with Danielle."

  • After experiencing a whole new way of living & working, which included time and financial freedom, I made the difficult decision to sell, and sold the studio in late 2019.

  • My husband and I spent 2020 - 2022 building our new home/property and small horse farm.

  • After feeling inspired by living amongst the trees and the name of where we live, I rebranded to "Mountain Made Creative" in 2023.

  • In 2024, I took a Mind-Body Somatic Coaching certification and decided to combine my years of movement training, design & business skills, and somatic coaching to offer what you see today. 

The bear is the north star of Mountain Made Creative. Photograph by Andy Holmes

Why the Bear?

Bears have appeared during pivotal moments in my life. I see them as my North Star.

My first experience was during a guided vision in 2016 and throughout my dreams. The bear always appeared as a beacon to show me the way.

In 2020, while we were clearing the land for our current and forever home, I found a perfectly intact bear skull in the area where I later chose to build my horse barn. The spot had been blessed by the bear. (The skull is now mounted & displayed with reverence in my barn.)

In 2021, a bear walked through the yard of my childhood home, where we had been staying, a few days before my husband and I moved into the forever home we had been building. A few weeks later, after we had moved in, a bear visited us during the night and put paw prints all over the exterior of our new home. Our home had been blessed by the bear.

A year later in 2022, the night that my riding ring was complete but before we had fenced it, a bear walked across it, leaving paw prints in the sand. My ring had been blessed by the bear.

In 2024, I was at a crossroads wondering which direction I was going to take my business and how it would all fit together. I had the idea that you see now and said to myself, "If this is right, I'll see a bear." A few weeks later, while I was outside cleaning my horses' paddock, I started thinking about my idea again. Suddenly, my horses went running to the fence to look at something. A bear had emerged from the woods, leisurely walked past us on the other side of the fence, and re-entered the woods again. My idea had been blessed by the bear.

Recently, in 2025, I had taken a wrong path and was feeling discouraged. I spent the evening feeling sorry for myself, and wondering where to go from here. A few hours later, my husband and I noticed the horses looking at something and we went out onto the back deck to survey the yard. A bear was laying down on our back lawn. It's front paw was mildly injured and it had taken some time to rest in our yard before reentering the woods. The bear was a reminder that we all fall down sometimes, but we can always rest, reset, and pick ourselves back up again. 

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