[00:00:00] Welcome to Unsolicited Perspectives 🎙️🔥💥

[00:00:00] Bruce Anthony: Is your living situation giving you comfort or stress? I'm talking about interior design, y'all. Let's get it.  

[00:00:18] Bruce Anthony: Welcome, first of all, welcome. This is Unsolicited Perspectives. I'm your host, Bruce Anthony. Here to lead the conversation in important events and topics that is shaping today's society. Join the [00:00:30] conversation to follow us wherever you get your audio podcast. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for our video podcast and YouTube exclusive content.

[00:00:36] Bruce Anthony: Rate review, like, comment, share, share with your friends, share with your family. Hell even share with your enemies.

[00:00:44] Meet Dani Gottschalk: The Space Whisperer 🛋️🧠

[00:00:44] Bruce Anthony: On today's episode, I'll be interviewing Danny Goli. She's an interior designer and psychotherapist. We're gonna be talking about how your living spaces can affect you mentally and emotionally, but that's enough of the intro.

[00:00:58] Bruce Anthony: Let's get to the [00:01:00] show.  

[00:01:07] Bruce Anthony: Okay. Like I said at the top, I'm here with Danny Ock. I'm probably butchered that last name, but I'm trying my best. She's an interior designer and bar owner with the Diploma in Psychotherapy. We're gonna be sitting here talking about we interior design spaces and how they affect you. Danny, I am so excited to have you on the podcast and, and do this [00:01:30] interview.

[00:01:30] Bruce Anthony: Thank you so much for joining me.

[00:01:32] Dani Gottschalk: Uh, you are very welcome. I'm also very excited.

[00:01:36] Bruce Anthony: Oh, I'm glad you're excited. I love it when the guests are excited. It normally leads to a good interview. So I like to start off every interview with the same question.

[00:01:46] From Words to Walls: Dani’s Unconventional Career Shift ✍️➡️🎨

[00:01:46] Bruce Anthony: Can you tell me a little bit about your background and what led you to pursue your career, specifically your career in interior design and project development?

[00:01:56] Dani Gottschalk: Yeah, that was now the last step in a long journey. [00:02:00] So I always kind of knew that I'm a creative person, but I don't think we all get really well trained in school to figure out what our talents are. If you're not going to a Waldorf school, it's pretty lame. So I knew I'm good with words, so, and then I saw these billboards and I'm like, I wanna do that.

[00:02:21] Dani Gottschalk: Because I was thinking, that's all one job. Like the Marlborough man and the Marlborough claim. I thought that's all coming from one of the same person. So then I wanted [00:02:30] to do that. So then I became a copywriter. This is a, the term it's called, when you do something like this, a junior copywriter, a copywriter.

[00:02:38] Dani Gottschalk: But I felt like in this whole complex of advertising agency, it's not about creativity, it's about power. It's about politics. Uh, you have to submit and to, to the person in the higher hierarchy, it's not about the good idea. And all the clients in Germany, they're also very [00:03:00] conservative, so they're not even go for the good idea, you know?

[00:03:06] Dani Gottschalk: You're not allowed to be creative, so you deliver a very good, sharp idea, but the client is to co it and there's no one fighting for you. So in the end, it's still your spot or your advertising, but it's like kind of like deconstructed to a point where you can't even put your name under it. [00:03:30] There's spark in it anymore.

[00:03:32] Dani Gottschalk: There's no joke in it anymore. It's not like slightly politic, incorrect, so. So I'm like, I can't work for these people. So it's like, I mean, I was, but I'm like, I can't work in, in a complex like this. I wanna be creative and I have a very strong feeling if the idea works and if it's good. So I, you, you just can't trick me out of that.

[00:03:57] Dani Gottschalk: So I know when it's good and it's like cooking, [00:04:00] so you can't tell a chef, well, takes the ba basil out it.

[00:04:09] Dani Gottschalk: Not the dish, uh, the dish isn't working. So same with creation? I think so. So I needed to do something for myself. So I was like, okay, I must become self-employed. And I took a completely different road and opened a restaurant, which was like only a soup bar. Like we only had soup and sandwiches. But now in the end, I know I never [00:04:30] wanted to open the restaurant.

[00:04:31] Dani Gottschalk: What I wanted is to be able to have like a room to display my. Huh.

[00:04:36] Bruce Anthony: And

[00:04:36] Dani Gottschalk: get direct feedback from the customers, which doesn't have to go through a process or whatever. So it's just like how people react to what I put out there.

[00:04:46] Healing Spaces: Where Design Meets Therapy 🛋️💭

[00:04:46] Dani Gottschalk: So for me, the biggest problem was to interior design the shop. So I was thinking I also must run it, but in the end I know I would not have had to run it.

[00:04:58] Dani Gottschalk: To create, but.[00:05:00]

[00:05:07] Dani Gottschalk: Creating these new rooms and all the idea I have in my head how to create a new room, but then also as an empathetic person and with my own personal struggles and a difficult relationship with my mom and all the years of therapy I did myself. Then I found myself in the position when you behind the counter and in a bar as well, people start to [00:05:30] talk to you.

[00:05:30] Dani Gottschalk: So they basically, the, they have a beer, they have agin, and they, they wanna. Pull their heart out. So, and if you are like conditioned, like I'm, you cannot not listen to it. You wanna listen to it and you wanna give like, good advice. And that led me to also do psychotherapy studies. So though that I had like a, a claim, a label on it.

[00:05:57] Dani Gottschalk: So I'm not just like pathetic person. I also know [00:06:00] what. Yeah, basically the whole being with people, creating spaces, also creating spaces where people are free to express themself. Like if it's a bar, I mean, one could say, okay, there's alcohol involved in all of that. But I thought it's just a token, like ordering a gin and tonic is just a token to be able to talk to someone and probably also like cherish an environment.

[00:06:25] Dani Gottschalk: I had so many people who said like. My bar helped them to coming out of the [00:06:30] closet or they just feel they can be how they wanna be. And yeah, that in the end led me to like, what I really want is create spaces and encourage people to express themselves, live themself, be themselves, give themselves like the words and the creation where they flourish the most.

[00:06:52] Bruce Anthony: So you said that you had issues with your [00:07:00] mother. No. And, and that sought you because of your issues with your mother, you sought therapy. When was it that you realized, okay, I have issues with my mom and I need to get help with this?

[00:07:16] Dani Gottschalk: I think, uh, for the first 15 years I thought my mom and I are really best friends.

[00:07:21] Dani Gottschalk: Mm-hmm. Which stopped in the moment that I became my, my own person as long as she basically owned me like a pet, and I had [00:07:30] no mind of myself. Things were beautiful, but when I got into puberty and became a woman, and she basically could sense that I'm soon going to kind of leave her in a way. Mm-hmm. So she couldn't have that.

[00:07:44] Dani Gottschalk: So she was very jealous, very manipulative, very covered narcissistic, which I all couldn't, I couldn't figure out what it is, why she suddenly so hateful towards me. So, I basically had no [00:08:00] support from her. She always wanted me to feel bad and she wanted me to stay small and to be with her. And she took so much room in my, in my personality and in my heart.

[00:08:11] Dani Gottschalk: So I think, uh, and then I had my first relationships and they all kind of failed because they all repeated the pattern I had with my mom. They, I mean, my mom was my first love and it's our all first love. So, we were lucky and had a good relationship. We probably [00:08:30] are also going to have good relationships, but if, if you wanna, we are basically doomed to repeat what we haven't solved.

[00:08:37] Dani Gottschalk: So, and then I attracted always the same kind of narcissist and, and basically through my relationships I figured out my mom's diagnosis because she has that she. Then living with man who had the same, and that basically then I think I started, my first [00:09:00] therapy was 25.

[00:09:02] Bruce Anthony: Mm-hmm.

[00:09:03] Dani Gottschalk: But I never stopped, ever since I did all therapies that are available.

[00:09:07] Dani Gottschalk: And once you, it's like with a diet, you know, some people just wanna go on a diet and then they wanna lose five kilos and then they go back to their old habits. And other people completely changed your life, their lifestyle, because they figure out it was unhealthy to live like that before. And I would rather keep on getting healthier and getting a better figure and [00:09:30] staying where I am because it gave me so much not only pride, but I feel so much better now that I've figured that out.

[00:09:38] Dani Gottschalk: So, and the same with therapy as, as soon as you feel for yourself that it helps and the more you understand yourself, you more understand everyone else. And there's basically, there's no stop to it. It's not that like, oh, I'm still not healed. I'm still miserable, I still need therapy. How embarrassing. No, it's, you should go to all the time [00:10:00] you.

[00:10:03] Dani Gottschalk: It's, it's just the coaching. So like everything goes, everyone would like to go to a massage every week. You should also, every, every week, like talk to someone and get mirrored back what happened and how you react to it and how it's like a old pattern or a new pattern or how you basically behaving better now or feeling better.

[00:10:26] Bruce Anthony: Do you think that your art is an outlet for [00:10:30] your trauma?

[00:10:31] Your Home, Your Sanctuary: Crafting Emotional Safe Havens 🏡✨

[00:10:31] Bruce Anthony: Yes. And your creative? I think so. It's so funny that, uh, it's almost like you are opening up these, the sub shop and the bar to basically supplement because you have to make money to supplement your creative lifes, your creative, uh, ideas and your artistic ideas because you were unfulfilled doing it in the marketing.

[00:10:57] Bruce Anthony: And, and exactly. They were stepping all [00:11:00] on your creative ability. Like we find this often with artists, right? Musicians or directors or writers, where it starts to get to the executives and they start to dissect your artwork and it's no longer your artwork. So it just seems like you started these restaurants and bars solely because, yeah, I want to do the art my way and this way I could display it.

[00:11:24] Bruce Anthony: Also, I need to make money.

[00:11:26] Dani Gottschalk: Exactly. You are exactly right. That's, that's what it [00:11:30] is. It wa I wasn't aware of that, but it's actually really what it is because, uh, how to, like, with some dignity, sell something but not losing yourself. You know, if you like sell your ideas to someone and he's making them themself, you just like drop out.

[00:11:49] Dani Gottschalk: And then again, if you're just creating something for yourself, you probably will.

[00:11:56] Dani Gottschalk: Together, and I'm happy that I managed [00:12:00] and that I had success and that people

[00:12:05] Dani Gottschalk: myself.

[00:12:09] Dani Gottschalk: And if, if it is a bad idea, I'm not making any money, but there's no one in in between who just has to polish their ego and say, no, we do it my way. Also, your way would probably be better, but a better luck because that's what I know from home. So trying to keep you small, you know, not trying to, to let you know that [00:12:30] this actually really was a good idea, but especially in advertising, there so many people involved and there's money and there.

[00:12:38] Bruce Anthony: Yeah, I can kinda understand that. So you have something called Tinseltown. Can you give my audience a little explanation of what that is? And would you describe, how would you describe your mission to someone unfamiliar with your work? I.

[00:12:57] Dani Gottschalk: Tinder Town is an interior design [00:13:00] company, which I created now here when I bought the house in South Africa.

[00:13:04] Dani Gottschalk: So I mean, finally after a bar in a restaurant, in a hotel in Croatia, in a apartment design in London. And at end I figured out, okay, I'm actually interior designer. I mean, people always think you must. Commit to something, which I don't think because it's all part of, so, but interior designing is my strongest my strongest [00:13:30] approach at the moment.

[00:13:30] Dani Gottschalk: That's what I wanna, this is how I want to express myself. I will also bring in some psychological themes because I really wanna. I wanna encourage people to live in a surrounding that really reflect themselves, not me, but, but them. Mm-hmm. But that's also why of course, prefer to work with people who really white on the same, you know, I can also make them like a, a calm, white, beige hi [00:14:00] house.

[00:14:00] Dani Gottschalk: But everyone can do that because everyone is doing that in the moment. So I have a very specific, very circus. Pop Art, clm, Bohemian, Palm Springs approach with this very vibrant and very stimulating, and for some people probably overstimulating. Uh, but it's a total niche and there are people who are crazy for it and probably other people who lose their mind.

[00:14:26] Dani Gottschalk: But yeah, I'm basically here [00:14:30] to, to fulfill dreams or to. Like an adventure. I think like you must come home and you must feel like every time you come into your home, it's like a, a weight is lifted from your shoulder. You are at home. You love it here, you really love it. You're not just existing. You love it.

[00:14:54] Dani Gottschalk: So the house is, the home is nurturing. It really like stimulates you. [00:15:00] You're still able to see something new. Also, you have been there a million times. Good. You feel calm and like inspired at the same time and.

[00:15:14] Bruce Anthony: I dig that. And the reason why I dig that is because I absolutely agree with you. I don't think people understand how important it is for your home to be your home.

[00:15:24] Bruce Anthony: And what I mean by that is whenever I go visit my mom or my sister, I immediately feel at [00:15:30] home. There places are designed just for comfort, that it's very earth, Tony. It's, it's not a lot of lights and and brightness, but it's just calming. No. Now I am a huge fan, a group, a huge fan of the TV show, Miami Vice.

[00:15:49] Bruce Anthony: I love pastel colors and neon. Yes, yes. So my house, my house has lights everywhere. They're different colors. I changed the light colors and everything. And for [00:16:00] some people that enter my home, it's. Overwhelming. Overwhelming. And at times for me it's overwhelming. But I can change the colors of my lights. I can change, I can demo 'em, I can, I can change the mood and I, and it kind of feels like the way you design is kind of similar to what I like very

[00:16:17] Dani Gottschalk: much, very much,

[00:16:19] Bruce Anthony: but also.

[00:16:20] Bruce Anthony: It's, it's also, I, I like that. And also like the, the, the calmness like there, so how do you work with people who are, who would be somebody [00:16:30] like me that says, I want the lights, I wanna walk in and my place is a party. But also sometimes I. I just want it calm.

[00:16:39] Dani Gottschalk: I do understand. And I'm also the same. And I would love to see your house.

[00:16:44] Dani Gottschalk: It sounds like you're living like the sunny Crockett, uh, lifestyle.

[00:16:48] Bruce Anthony: I try to, I try to. Sonny and Ricardo, I tried. That's what I tried to do in my life. Yes.

[00:16:54] Dani Gottschalk: That's amazing. I would love to see that because it's also very fashionable at the moment. The whole eighties [00:17:00] thing. It's just.

[00:17:05] Dani Gottschalk: And the pink everywhere, so it's very much coming back. So you are very trendy, so to say. So I always, I think like a house must not be or apartment whatsoever. You must not follow through with one thing in every room because you're not in every room at the same time. You know, I.[00:17:30]

[00:17:40] Dani Gottschalk: Very strong styles. It doesn't fit, but I'm sure you can create in, in the, in the style you have, you can create a much calmer room, which less decoration, just stick to one or two of the colors that you have somewhere else in the room and give it a completely different wipe with probably completely different [00:18:00] lighting.

[00:18:00] Dani Gottschalk: And I like to do that in the bathroom. The bathroom of that house also doesn't.

[00:18:09] Dani Gottschalk: Five star hotel marble could be elsewhere. So if I would be like completely going through with that, it would also have been black and white stripes, which would've been amazing. But a lot of the break going into the spa, like dark, moody, sexy bathroom, uh, though I absolutely think you [00:18:30] can create a room, must not be the most important room.

[00:18:32] Dani Gottschalk: I think like the main room should be like in one. But then you have always a room where you can go. You pick something out from the other rooms, but then go with that, like color trenching. Leave it all in one, one color, which is like already soothing, no matter what color it is. But if you go every single one color, it will already be like a calming work.

[00:18:55] Bruce Anthony: Hmm. So in, in talking about just taking me [00:19:00] personally with my mom and my sister's homes being this comfort and my home doing kind of both, uh, because of my personality, sometimes I'm hyper, sometimes I'm not hyper in my places exactly like that. How does your background in psychology approach interior design and shaping spaces for not only you personally, but for your clients?

[00:19:25] Dani Gottschalk: Yeah, I think there is not so much in the [00:19:30] way there's nothing you can say from the beginning. Like, this is, like, this color would be good for you because you have a DHD or something. Like, there's like, I'm not going so far, like really like diagnosing my clients, but I can see what they, if they really like o clean, then you also must.

[00:19:53] Dani Gottschalk: All the decorations so you can adjust to their, first of all, to their lifestyle and then also to their, [00:20:00] per their personality disorder or to their little, so mm-hmm. It should cater to that. Your, your house cannot make yourself nervous only because it's, it's trendy. So to.

[00:20:16] Dani Gottschalk: Overwhelming and terrible, but you can still, you must consider the personality of the person, which becomes harder if it's a couple. So there's only so much you can, I think, uh, take [00:20:30] in perspective. You must take their overall approach and perspective, but that's also a reason why. Because it's al almost like divorce canceling, like couple counseling is like, so they have no concept together and then they now want you to, to, to take both sides in.

[00:20:52] Dani Gottschalk: And then I mostly go with what I want do.

[00:20:58] Bruce Anthony: So, but how can, [00:21:00] how can a room design. Help or hurt a person's wellbeing mentally and emotionally?

[00:21:13] Dani Gottschalk: Yeah, I think, it definitely can. So if you already have a dysregulated nervous system, you cannot go wired because the, the room will just, the rooms will just be overstimulating to you. And as I said, you should come home.

[00:21:29] Dani Gottschalk: It should be like [00:21:30] a weight is lifted from your shoulder. If you come from a traffic jam and your own house feels to you like a traffic jam because there's so much going on, then you will not feel at home. So it depends on. If you are a very regulated person, if you are like internally very clean, then you can tolerate a lot of chaos.

[00:21:52] Dani Gottschalk: I mean, even Albert Einstein said this already, so you must be very coordinated inside if you [00:22:00] can tolerate chaos on the outside. And creation is chaos. I mean, so even like cats for example, love to live in chaos because it's closest to. Nature. Nature is also chaotic. Nature is not straight and.

[00:22:19] Dani Gottschalk: In general, a home should be both stimulating and calming. But if you are somewhere on the edge from your personality already, I guess it should be only be [00:22:30] calming. So, and I don't think that anyone who's like whatever, who has low blood pressure, which is not a personality disorder, should live in a wide environment just to get a little bit more hype.

[00:22:41] Dani Gottschalk: It.

[00:22:45] Dani Gottschalk: Most people are rather overwhelmed. Uh, I mean, neurodivergent is like, I dunno, say a new thing, but they are more and more neurodivergent people and they need kind of structure, but also like [00:23:00] creativity. So it can, it can ha I think in general too much will rather harm you, harm you than too little. But also in the littleness, I would not go for the minimalism because minimalism per se, is cold.

[00:23:18] Dani Gottschalk: That's my feeling. So I would go for not too much decoration, but still a lot of color.

[00:23:25] Bruce Anthony: Still lot cover. How can, are there ways that people are [00:23:30] gonna be listening to this and they're going to say, I never thought about this before. My, A house doesn't feel like a home. It, are there ways that they can kind of pick up on the fact that they're not in comfort when they are home and.

[00:23:47] Bruce Anthony: This interview can, can bring attention to the fact that they need to make some changes at home. That it may not be just work and outside factors outside of the home. It may be your actual [00:24:00] home is dysregulating you as well, and you need to take an examination of that. Are there signs that people could pick up on?

[00:24:08] Bruce Anthony: I

[00:24:09] Dani Gottschalk: think if you, I mean, it always feels like that people are like, oh, home, sweet home. I mean, almost everyone would say like, oh, I feel the best at home. But it's of course difficult. If you, per se, a depressed person who feels the best at home, that means probably in translation that you just feel sheltered and [00:24:30] safe and isolated, which also is not ideal.

[00:24:34] Dani Gottschalk: So I think everyone must really take a good look if. If there are places where they'd rather be, if they have a friend where they say, oh, she's so good in this environment. Or like, if you now only would feel good with your mom and your mother and like, oh, I wanna go home, and then you go to your own place and you would say, you are still not home.

[00:24:55] Dani Gottschalk: Home is still there where my mom and my sister is, then you would know you have a problem. You know? So. [00:25:00] And if there are places, if it's like hotel lobbies or a restaurant or your friend's place where you somehow feel better than home than in your own home, you should actually almost feel nowhere better at, at the at home.

[00:25:17] Dani Gottschalk: So, and I have a friend who always says like, you know what? Also, when you go on holidays, you should never go to something less. And less nice than your own home because you don't have to spend money for something [00:25:30] that has not the quality of living where you living in on a daily basis. It can't be holiday.

[00:25:35] Dani Gottschalk: So if people think there are places. Where they feel better or calmer or, or then they also must see, is it because of the person? Is it because my friends live there, or is it just such a nice atmosphere when you come in there? The lighting is dim and the couch is cozy and it's a nice smell in the air.

[00:25:56] Dani Gottschalk: So really pay close attention to [00:26:00] what is it, what you. And then also is it probably because people are always like, oh, I have no taste, or I have no style. Yeah, but that's not true. Everyone has taste and everyone has style. People are just like, have been told like, oh, you have no good taste. And then there's somehow believe that this is true.

[00:26:21] Dani Gottschalk: I mean, there's no one, there's no judge about good taste. You know? If you don't wanna end up in interior design medicine, there's basically no one you have to [00:26:30] report to.

[00:26:34] Dani Gottschalk: Uh, if you are, feel uncomfortable if friends come over and you have to defend why you did something that way. That's also sometimes a big problem. But in general, I think you people must learn to listen to the tiniest spark they experience when they see something and they're like, oh, I love that, but that would never fit in my house.

[00:26:54] Dani Gottschalk: No, go ahead and buy it. Whenever you see something where you really have like a [00:27:00] visceral reaction where you feel like, I really like, don't pass it by. If it's kind of affordable, just take it and start to integrate your. It'll change and it'll change you and you will be proud of your decisions because you look at stuff that actually makes you happy, and the more, the more of the stuff you have that makes you happy, it's not that it's almost fit together.

[00:27:24] Dani Gottschalk: It's basically like if you have eight children and you look at all of them, they will make you more [00:27:30] happy then if you have one children, you know, one child, you know? So it's just like more of a good thing. It's more of a good thing.  

[00:27:44] WFH Bliss: Turn Your Workspace into a Creative Oasis 🖥️🌴

[00:27:44] Bruce Anthony: So I have another question. Remote work is hu huge. I don't know how big it is overseas, but here in America I.

[00:27:54] Bruce Anthony: Remote work is huge. So people are at home and they're working at [00:28:00] home, and jobs here are stressful. How can they create a workspace and have that separate from their living space? If they can't Yeah. Build an office like outside. Their office is inside their home, how can they, how can they leave that office and walk into their home and separate it?

[00:28:20] Bruce Anthony: Is there a way that you could design the two so that they absolutely feel different?

[00:28:27] Dani Gottschalk: I think, yeah. I mean, it would definitely help if [00:28:30] your table is not standing right in your living room, because then you have to adjust the whole living room. But if you have the luxury of having a a own room, like a office room.

[00:28:41] Dani Gottschalk: I don't think that people really wanted to look like an office. I mean, some people probably feel safer or more important if they keep it really officey. So they, but it's also like a wrong conception that people think an office was, must look like an office. You hated your office when there was no remote work.

[00:28:59] Dani Gottschalk: When you had to go [00:29:00] to your office, you probably hated it because it looked so sterile and it was so, there was no creativity, there was no fantasy, there was nothing. So now you have an office where you hang out like six to eight or even longer hours a day. You must make it as nice as you can. So if you want to, you put like a pot with warm water under your table just to feel like, oh, you are on the beach and you are like, uh, whatever.

[00:29:28] Dani Gottschalk: So, or like you have [00:29:30] like a little thing that that spark like a fountain and then you. You just make it a nice room. You must make, must not make it a room that screams office. So that's basically, that must be like a holiday home. So that must be the nicest room in your house because there you spend most of your time.

[00:29:51] Dani Gottschalk: And the good thing is now that you don't have to go to office, you don't have to leave your house. You can make your, your [00:30:00] workspace the nicest room. You, you go on holiday every day. I mean, you have to do tasks, but you look around and there are all these pictures that you love and probably you get a nice curtain or you get a good few, or you have a lot of plants and it feels really generally.

[00:30:17] Dani Gottschalk: So make your workspace the nicest place in the house.

[00:30:21] Bruce Anthony: Ah, I like that. I like that a lot. That's a shout out for everybody that still gets to work from home. You've [00:30:30] traveled all over? Yes. Is there a different, obviously there's a difference. Is there, do you see a connection, uh, with. Hmm. How can I, how can I phrase this question properly?

[00:30:47] Bruce Anthony: I would say that, uh, Americans are a little uptight, not a little, a little bit more uptight than in Europe and other places. Do you see that in the way that we [00:31:00] design things and design our homes as well? Is there a difference of. In other words, what I'm asking is, is there a difference in designs that could lead to a more peaceful, less uptight nature that you see in other countries?

[00:31:20] Dani Gottschalk: I think I can't say that for whole countries, you know, I think like if you live in LA or if you live like in some kind of redneck, [00:31:30] uh, little intern US state where I've never been. There, it will be the same like in Cape Town, if you live in Cape Town. Even in Cape Town, you can find low taste, but a lot of the stuff from the restaurants to the, to the houses is high taste.

[00:31:50] Dani Gottschalk: Mm-hmm. But then you go to whatever, Pretoria or or to small suburbs, and it's as, as. [00:32:00] Uptight is everywhere else, and though it is in Germany, oh my god, Germany is so uptight. I would think nowhere in the US it could be more uptight than in Germany.

[00:32:10] Uptight or All Right?

[00:32:10] Dani Gottschalk: Germany is a capital of Uptightness.

[00:32:13] Bruce Anthony: I don't know. I live, I live in Washington dc Washington dc pretty uptight.

[00:32:18] Bruce Anthony: I don't know. I've never been to Germany, but I have a friend who is listening and watching the show. From Germany and lives here and, and she could honestly say, you know, which one is [00:32:30] more of type. She might say Germany, though. She might say Germany.

[00:32:33] Dani Gottschalk: I mean, I have a friend, he's like a German who also lived in Washington DC and he loves Washington DC but he also loves Germany.

[00:32:41] Dani Gottschalk: So I think that might be very similar, but I think it's, it's very individual and you will find.

[00:32:52] Creativity Knows No Borders: Breaking Stereotypes Worldwide 🌍🎭

[00:32:52] Dani Gottschalk: Uptight people everywhere in the world, in every country you find, uh, creative people everywhere you find tasteless people, [00:33:00] you find cheap people. You find cheap people who don't care about how it looks in their houses at all.

[00:33:06] Dani Gottschalk: You find modern people, I think I've not seen anything that is particular was, uh, would say. I mean, okay, my bar for example, in Frankfurt, everyone comes in and say, oh, so Berlin. Which is still Germany. But I don't wanna be Berlin. I never wanted to be Berlin. I can't stand Berlin. But Berlin is the thing. I mean, even when I was in [00:33:30] the US, everyone was like, oh, Berlin.

[00:33:32] Dani Gottschalk: Berlin. And I'm like, yeah, uh, difficult. So, but I can't, of course there are classical Italian stuff, but even if you go like very down in the south of Italy. They have these beautiful buildings, but then the inside are these old beds and your hardly can sleep in it. So there's ugliness everywhere. There is uptightness everywhere.

[00:33:52] Dani Gottschalk: There is also a little bit of looseness, and I mean, I think it's only like small crowds which are [00:34:00] more, more creative than others, but I could never say that for a whole.

[00:34:08] Bruce Anthony: Okay. Yeah, so you just can't generalize. I, I like to generalize America compared to everybody else because it seems like we're a little bit more conservative here, but there are absolutely pockets, you know, Miami Vice, right? So Miami is completely different world than many of the cities that are right next to it.

[00:34:23] Bruce Anthony: So yes, what you're saying makes absolute sense.

[00:34:28] What Is Tinseltown? A Dreamspace Realized 🌟🎥

[00:34:28] Bruce Anthony: What, is there a [00:34:30] particular project that you've done or worked on that you feel like best represents your style? Because you have your bar, you have your company where you do interior design, but is there one particular project that you were like, huh, this is it.

[00:34:45] Bruce Anthony: This is me and it's entirety.

[00:34:48] Dani Gottschalk: Well, I must say that's like the house I renovated and created, which is basically my Tinseltown business card, which I bought like two and a half years ago here in Cape Town. Mm-hmm. That's my [00:35:00] best work, I guess like everything, but I mean, I think the latest project is always the best work because you also develop yourself.

[00:35:08] Dani Gottschalk: You know, I wasn't that bold in my bar. My bar is also bold, but I have it for 23 years, years. I was still not that. It's getting more and more. You try out more and more. You, you style more and more advanced and nothing is holding back anymore. And this go step further [00:35:30] and I think this house is completely me.

[00:35:33] Dani Gottschalk: The next project will be even more.

[00:35:40] Dani Gottschalk: This this hotel here. It's not a hotel, it's a villa that I'm renting out for photo shoots, but also for Airbnb guests. That is like complete, that is, that's just perfect I must say.

[00:35:55] Bruce Anthony: Okay, so.

[00:35:57] Instagrammable Spaces for the Content Creators 📸🎭

[00:35:57] Bruce Anthony: Tinseltown is kind, is kind of [00:36:00] a, a concept for content creators, correct? Yes. So can you explain to me a little bit about how that works?

[00:36:09] Dani Gottschalk: So it, it just, it, I did not really, really create it. I, I maybe did, but I never did anything in my life with a business plan. So I was not sitting down and say, I'm making a content creator a house. But the way it turned out, it was pretty clear that this is going what it's going to [00:36:30] be, because it was like four weeks on Airbnb on the market, and I had about around 200 influencers checking in, asking if they can come and if they can do stuff.

[00:36:42] Dani Gottschalk: So it just developed and it was basically parallel that I even found out that this is the thing that they're actually like influencers, content creator outside. They are actively looking for stuff that gives them such a brilliant background. And [00:37:00] yeah. That's pretty amazing actually because that's perfect for that.

[00:37:03] Dani Gottschalk: That's perfect for all kind of photo shoot. It's perfect for your Insta story. It's just like, it gives you so much, so much to play with.

[00:37:13] Bruce Anthony: So it's kind your place though, it's home is kind of also like a studio, like a movie studio. Yeah. Or a studio live where they'll have different designs for different shoots, different TV shows.

[00:37:26] Bruce Anthony: Exactly. And, and so people come and they [00:37:30] film. Now you don't. They don't stay right. Do they stay with you? Is it a content creator house where influencers will actually stay? Or do they just come rent out spaces for a certain amount of time to shoot their content and leave?

[00:37:44] Dani Gottschalk: It is both. Some only rent it for a day and then not stay overnight.

[00:37:49] Dani Gottschalk: Others come for two days, others come for a whole week. So whatever someone wants to invest and combine, some want just to make holidays, just someone just to. [00:38:00] So some just like, I mean I now had like some bigger companies doing photo shoots here for their advertising campaigns. So it's for all kinds, actually.

[00:38:10] Dani Gottschalk: Like a movie set. You are right. So the every room is different. The outdoors is different. You can be in somewhere in Greece, but you can, most of the time we'll be in Palm Springs or in the Beverly Hills Hotel, something like that. So that's the main theme of the house. But you can find so many backgrounds where so much is [00:38:30] happening so that you can, for a lot of scenarios, just like say, oh yeah, that's the right house for me.

[00:38:36] Bruce Anthony: So that's so crazy.

[00:38:37] Designing Joy: Why Your Space Should Reflect YOUR Soul 🎉❤️

[00:38:37] Bruce Anthony: How does that feel personally, to know that you are creating a house? I. For yourself, but in that house for yourself, it's so welcoming that people want to come to your house to feature your house when they're featuring themselves. How does that feel personally, to know that you created something that other people say, I wanna be a part of that.[00:39:00]

[00:39:00] Dani Gottschalk: Yeah, maybe that's a little bit my kink, because I think that also was like the, the underlying theme of opening a restaurant and a bar, you know, people, there is something that is so attractive to people, but I created all of this so that I have to give something to the people. They wanna actually come, they wanna have a drink here, they wanna have a soup there.

[00:39:20] Dani Gottschalk: So because feel good environment that I.

[00:39:27] Dani Gottschalk: Stingy in sharing that because I'm, I [00:39:30] love hosting and I love sharing that with the world, and I love that people that I'm able to create something for people where they say like, oh my God, oh my God. Because there are also places for me where I say, oh my God, I must go there. Oh my God. So I must save all my money just to spend three days wherever it must not be.

[00:39:52] Dani Gottschalk: If they write you Airbnb or whatever and you just realize they definitely wanna stay there, they can't, they don't wanna [00:40:00] spend that amount of money. But at wanna be there two days and I'm the, there are places where I afford stay very long. But at least I wanna be there for one or two. I just wanna go there.

[00:40:10] Dani Gottschalk: Just wanna feel it because the feeling you take with you, you can also make your content and yours, but you will never forget how it into and be overwhelmed.

[00:40:22] Bruce Anthony: Yeah. But the, what fascinates me more about this is when you're creating a bar or shop, you're [00:40:30] expecting, you're creating an environment where you're expecting and you're hoping that people will come in.

[00:40:36] Bruce Anthony: Mm-hmm. When you're creating your home Yeah. You like to host, but I'm sure in the back of your mind, you weren't creating, like you said, this was not a concept that you had originally. Thought out to do. This was a home that you designed, but in that same process of the shops and the bar, there's still an attraction there that people are drawn to.

[00:40:57] Bruce Anthony: But that wasn't the initial purpose. The initial [00:41:00] purpose was for it to be your home. So I know that has, there's a difference between design and a bar and want and driving people to the bar by the aesthetic of the bar. That's something that you purposely did, but this wasn't something that you purposely did, but it still had the same effect.

[00:41:17] Bruce Anthony: That has to make you feel good inside, that no matter where you go, people are going to be drawn to your art. I.

[00:41:26] Dani Gottschalk: Yeah, it's true. Yeah, that's it. And I have also like a [00:41:30] need to, uh, I mean, even if I wanted to create a home, but I also knew that this will be my business card for me as an interior designer. So whatever I create, it'll always be like shown to the public somehow.

[00:41:44] Dani Gottschalk: And, uh, yeah, it makes me feel really, really, really good. I love that. I love that, that that I'm able to do that. That's something I like. Also other people were like in a, in a way, I like it, not just like, you can't be like [00:42:00] ambivalent about the house, you'll love it or it'll be far too much for you. So, but if you love it, you really love it.

[00:42:07] Dani Gottschalk: And it was also the same with my bar. My bar was like so special and for two years it did not really work. And I was so concerned because it was done with so much laugh and passion and intention and. But it's not a mainstream thing. Which I had to learn, but now it's running for 23 years. It's the oldest bar [00:42:30] in Frankfurt.

[00:42:30] Dani Gottschalk: It's and when there was Covid and no one was allowed to go out, people were basically waiting in front of the bar until it opened again. Other, other bars could not open anymore because they don't have their fans. But, but this bar really has a fan a fan base because these people all. They missed it so much and so the doors opened again.

[00:42:54] Dani Gottschalk: It was full again. So but this took a time to create because it's [00:43:00] not for everyone. So it's not like a, you must make a statement. You know, I think a lot of people don't wanna make a statement. They buy a Ralph Lauren shirt. Because they basically have no taste, but they're on the safe side because everyone knows what it costs and you are dressed with it, so you don't have to make a statement.

[00:43:16] Dani Gottschalk: They would never just choose something, especially if it has not a certain price because they're not aware of their taste. Or if it's really nice, it just can choose because it has a price and everyone can see he could [00:43:30] afford it. He's on the safe side. Special people who. Who feel drawn to it, who wanna make a statement, who wanna be different or have a different taste.

[00:43:42] Dani Gottschalk: And then also be happy that someone has the courage to go out there and put it into the world and not take the safe food and say, you know, we go, we make it all bei. We make it all like Ikea because that's always okay, but you will not [00:44:00] remember it.    

[00:44:08] From Soup Kitchens to Success: Dani’s Rollercoaster Ride 🥄🎢

[00:44:08] Bruce Anthony: We've talked a little bit about your challenges, right?

[00:44:10] Bruce Anthony: Your challenges when you were in the advertising agency. You said it took the bar a little while to get going. What challenge, what would you say is one of the main challenges that you faced throughout your career and what have that, what has that challenge taught you about design and creativity? [00:44:30]

[00:44:30] Dani Gottschalk: Uh, the, the, one of the main challenges is really like to trust so much in your own creation and in your own idea that you are not listening to all the fears, your friends, your parents, everyone is putting onto you.

[00:44:46] Dani Gottschalk: If you. I go out and say like, I open a bar or a restaurant when I was very young and my parents know they can't really help me if it goes wrong. They don't have the money to support me. And also with buying a house on the other side of the [00:45:00] world, my friends, and, and then everyone asking you all the questions that keeps them holding back from doing something, you know, and what are doing then and what is happening with this and what is that?

[00:45:11] Dani Gottschalk: And I'm like, listen, it's not that I was not thinking about it, but I can't answer it. We cross the bridge when we get there. So I, I do it. I feel the fear and do it anyway. I would do it. Don't ask me all that questions. It's not that I'm going in naively, it's my whatever twenties project [00:45:30] I thought about it.

[00:45:30] Dani Gottschalk: I can't answer to you. I still do it. You can't answer these questions and that keeps you from doing it. So that's one thing. You don't have to be transparent to everyone. Don't share everything you do with everyone because they will not understand and, uh, you, you also, not nobody is that brave that, I mean, you must be stupid to do all of that with no fear.

[00:45:54] Dani Gottschalk: You don't need more fear from the other people. So they treat you like you must be the expert now. And you're doing [00:46:00] that all fearless and that's all falling in your lap. And you can only do it because you are so fearless. No, I'm not. I'm, I have fear, but I do it anyway because I can't stop. So, and then I had a very concrete challenge, which was like.

[00:46:17] Dani Gottschalk: Business partners, I definitely doesn't work for me. I must do my own thing. Uhhuh,

[00:46:24] Bruce Anthony: yeah. Yeah.

[00:46:26] Dani Gottschalk: Is also for me, I'm not valuing money enough. You know, [00:46:30] my first business in the money, of course. Without his money, I could never have done shit. But then on the other hand, it's just money. So you know, I have a full idea and he, because he spent the money, he wants to have a say, but that just spoils the whole idea.

[00:46:48] Dani Gottschalk: It's very hard for me to accept it. But,

[00:46:51] Bruce Anthony: hold on, daddy. Hold on, daddy. Hold on. Yeah, I find this hilarious. So you had a business partner that put in all the money, [00:47:00] but you didn't want that business partner to have any say in the creation.

[00:47:04] Dani Gottschalk: Exactly. No, because the concept was ready and it was a full concept.

[00:47:10] Dani Gottschalk: And especially basically also what, what made me leave advertising because. It is not logical and it's not fair, but you're not doing yourself and your business a favor. If you give me money for something that will completely blossom, which I can kind of promise you, it will blossom [00:47:30] less if I start to integrate your ideas in a concept you have no clue about.

[00:47:35] Dani Gottschalk: So this guy did not have a clue about what I was doing. He just believed because I was so passionate about it, to give me the money. So, and I know of course, but if he give all the money, he also shall have a say, but it's not profiting the business. You know what I mean? So, I mean, I get what

[00:47:53] Bruce Anthony: you're saying.

[00:47:54] Bruce Anthony: Yes. I get what you're saying. It's just, that's funny though.

[00:47:56] Dani Gottschalk: No, it's very hard for someone to accept. I do [00:48:00] understand. But it's just like, hmm. So, okay. But what do I want to say? Yeah. The other challenge was, uh, I, I mean, this guy then also wanted to go out of the business after a year, which was the biggest blessing because I could not have him say anyway, and he didn't, uh, benefit and it's absolutely unbelievable that he wanted to go out because it was running like crazy.

[00:48:25] Dani Gottschalk: It was the talk of town. People were standing on the street lined up. [00:48:30] He wanted to go out because he started too many projects and he father and he also, I think he also noticed that he no say and so me it a great blessing that he wanted, but immediately also paid him. So I paid him everything back, so I had no resources.

[00:48:49] Dani Gottschalk: And then I also opened a second branch of the same soup kitchen. And then with the beginning of the new contract of the second soup kitchen, [00:49:00] the, the, the summer of the century started. So 2003. It was 35 degrees from mid-April to mid-September. Basically every day. Every fucking day. Okay. And I have nothing but

[00:49:14] Bruce Anthony: food and sandwiches.

[00:49:16] Bruce Anthony: Okay. So, you know, we're in America. So what is that? Was it, when you say 35 degrees that Fahrenheit or Celsius? Is it cold or high? Cel.

[00:49:27] Dani Gottschalk: Celsius, it's very hot. So hot [00:49:30] that you would not eat soup if someone would give you $2,000. So it's like hot. It's hot for everything and. A lot of hospitality completely crashed.

[00:49:44] Dani Gottschalk: And so I, because I was so much positioned on soup, which is a blessing, but of course people not thinking, oh, what's a poor lady from the soup kitchen doing? They're just not coming because they barely survive. They all they wanna have is a salad and a and a Coke light or [00:50:00] something. So Ice cream? Yeah, ice cream.

[00:50:03] Dani Gottschalk: So they're not even thinking about lunch or about anything. So you stand there, you still. The shop itself is hot. You cooking soup, nobody wants to eat it. You throw it away. You are creating more, so you throw your money down the toilet, but you also don't have the boss to say, you know what, I'm opening in September again.

[00:50:23] Dani Gottschalk: I mean, not after. I was only like three years in business, you know? Mm-hmm. Today I would do that if this [00:50:30] would be like this. But you still hope, oh, maybe tomorrow it's. Cooler, so, or if not tomorrow, but do you have to prepare all of that? That was horrible. I, I had like depression from it. My hair was falling out.

[00:50:42] Dani Gottschalk: It was, I did, I did think that was it. You know, you have a great idea, but like Jesus Petros, whoever decides it's 35 degrees every fucking day for five months and you're done.

[00:50:59] Dani Gottschalk: [00:51:00] It was horrible. And after that I worked. I mean, of course, then September came eventually. I mean, that also I knew, and of course I was afraid. That they will also hate my whole concept, so that it was something personal, that it was not only the sun, but uh, but it was so suddenly it was colder and business was running and I could pay all the bills and, but I was really traumatized, like.

[00:51:26] Dani Gottschalk: Post traumatic me traumatized and I've [00:51:30] worked then my ass off. I worked from eight o'clock in the morning in the soup kitchen until two o'clock in the box. I did all shifts myself because I had this extensional thing of like, no matter how good your idea is there, the better, which we can't control. I mean, who knows, but I can't control the weather.

[00:51:51] Dani Gottschalk: So you still on the.

[00:51:55] Bruce Anthony: So

[00:51:56] Dani Gottschalk: you must be prepared for the, for everything. [00:52:00]

[00:52:00] Bruce Anthony: Yeah, no, that I, as somebody who's had a couple of failed businesses, there's nothing that hurts more than the, than the breakup of a business. I've had failed re romantic relationships and failed businesses. The failed businesses hurt more.

[00:52:14] Bruce Anthony: I can deal with a failed relationship, but when you have an idea and you believe in the idea and it, it doesn't come to fruition or to the goal that you thought that it would go to, it is heartbreaking, successful. No, go ahead. What were you gonna [00:52:30] say?

[00:52:30] Dani Gottschalk: Especially if you can't, if you not have really done something wrong, you know, also if you have done something wrong, because everyone can make a wrong decision.

[00:52:38] Dani Gottschalk: But if it's completely out of your hand, it's just going down the train, uh, whatever, because the house burnt down or it's like super hot or whatever. It's, it's, that's painful. Really, really painful.

[00:52:52] The Road Ahead: Big Dreams and Fresh Spaces 🚀🏠

[00:52:52] Bruce Anthony: But you are accomplished now. The bar's been running well, you got that content creator. so what's next for you? You've had a successful career, [00:53:00] uh, successful businesses. What's next? What's the next thing that that's for you, Danny?

[00:53:08] Dani Gottschalk: I think I.

[00:53:11] Dani Gottschalk: I permanently move to town as soon as I can, or at least like 10 months or eight months a year, and I. Interior design a restaurant here, and I'm going to interior design a bar here. And then you, I think I will see with every [00:53:30] at the moment, I really have a huge urge to do a lot of interior design until my ideas run empty, which will probably never happen.

[00:53:38] Dani Gottschalk: But this is what I wanna do. And by the the, I'm still doing therapy and I'm doing group therapy, like. But, and I will do I think some handcrafted stuff. I will go into the production of some, because that's a great thing about here. You can get very nice things customized. So I will [00:54:00] create some own designs and will get them customized.

[00:54:03] Dani Gottschalk: Probably eventually open a new shop because there's still so much that you can do in South Africa. It's not so. It's not like Germany where there's everything and everything is in 20 different things. And you have to be impeccable. You have to be better than everyone. Here people are very appreciated of little creative businesses of designs or you [00:54:30] have actually real chance to do hear something.

[00:54:33] Dani Gottschalk: There's still a lot of space of room for, for good ideas.

[00:54:38] Bruce Anthony: I love that. Well, Danny, I want to thank you for coming on the show and opening up about your life and your work, and I know people that have listened to this have learned whether they realize it or not. Your home might be a little bit of the cause of your stress.

[00:54:55] Bruce Anthony: You might want. Look into redesigning or [00:55:00] adding things or like you said, if you like something, add it to your home. Doesn't matter what other people think because it's your home. I wanna Exactly. Thank you so much for coming on and just sharing that information to my audience.

[00:55:14] Dani Gottschalk: Thank you. Thank you too. It was wonderful talking to you.

[00:55:17] Bruce Anthony: Yes, it really truly was wonderful talking to you as well. Thank you.

[00:55:21] Dani Gottschalk: You are welcome. Thanks.

[00:55:25] Your Space, Your Sanctuary: Key Takeaways 🌸🎙️

[00:55:25] Bruce Anthony: If any of you guys follow me on Instagram, some of you might, some of you might [00:55:30] not. Uh, you should definitely follow our Instagram page for, uh, un solicited perspectives. My home, as I was telling Danny, is very much my personality vibe, Miami vibe, you know, a lot of lights, a lot of mood setting, and it can be overwhelming for certain people.

[00:55:48] Bruce Anthony: Like I, people have walked into my place and said this, can we tone it down a little bit? You got two TVs going, you got music blast and then you got all these lights on all over the place. It's a bit [00:56:00] much, but for me. It's comfort. Also, I do have another part of my personality where I need to tone it down to relax, and that's the reason why I love my mom and my sister's place so much because they are on pure relaxation all the time.

[00:56:15] Bruce Anthony: So I could go there and take a breath, not like I can't take a breath in my own place. If I can go there and take a breath. It's interesting to learn how we design our living spaces and how that can affect us emotionally and mentally. And I think Danny made [00:56:30] very, very good points about, Hey, look, if you go out there, you see something you like, you wanna put in your house, but other people are hating on it, to hell with them, it's your house.

[00:56:40] Bruce Anthony: It's your living space. You need to make your living space as comfortable as it could possibly be. So once again, I want to thank Danny for coming on the show and just enlighten us about how our living spaces affect us and telling us a lot about her life and her work. I thought it was a really good and interesting interview.

[00:56:59] Bruce Anthony: [00:57:00] And ladies and gentlemen, for those of you that are working remotely, working from home. Take some of Danny's advice and make your office the most comfortable place in your house, the most relaxing place in your house. 'cause aside from your bedroom where you sleep in, it's a PA place that you spend the most time at.

[00:57:19] Bruce Anthony: So make sure that it's comfortable and relaxing. And on that note, I want to thank you for listening. I want to thank you for watching, and [00:57:30] until next time, as always, I'll holler.

[00:57:34] Bruce Anthony: Woo. That was a hell of a show. Thank you for rocking with us here on Unsolicited Perspectives with Bruce Anthony. Now, before you go, don't forget to follow, subscribe, like, comment, and share our podcast. Wherever you're listening or watching it to it, pass it along to your friends. If you enjoy it, that means the people that you rock, we'll enjoy it also.

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[00:58:58] Bruce Anthony: Audi 5,000 [0