Danielle Nagel

California girl, Danielle Nagel, is a fashion mogul and female entrepreneur inspiring and empowering women on a day-today basis. Nagel, as an artist, business owner and creative mastermind, has cultivated a community and network to help her in her mission to empower young women. Nagel’s portfolio of projects and businesses are: an art apparel line, Dazey La; Dazey Zine, a blog space to promote female entrepreneurs; Dazey Lady Shop, a section on the website to shop their products; and Biz Babez, her second company which is a female co-working space in LA made for collaboration and women-fueled creativity.

Fashion has always been a large part of her life. She started designing when she was extremely young – and I mean very young, baby doll clothing young. Later, fashion morphed into a form a self-expression during her shy and awkward middleschool years. This admiration for fashion followed Nagel into her professional life with the creation of Dazey LA. Dazey LA is Nagel’s art apparel line that focuses on the mission of women empowerment.

Dazey LA had humble and simple beginnings. Nagel started the line by adorning shirts with positive, feminist slogans to remind the wearer, “Hey, you’re awesome and you got this.” Dazey LA launched right around the same time as the Instagram Story feature came out. On the first day, she showcased her entire design process from start to finish on the Instagram Story feature and it immediately sparked conversation among fellow female entrepreneurs.

Dazey LA, as a clothing line, is really inspired by the life and environment of California. Being a Cali-based girl, she is extremely inspired by her home-town landscape. Nagel loves gathering inspiration by walking around the “beautiful, dirty, diverse, and creative city” of LA. On top of the awesome California-laid back vibe of the clothing line, there’s also a large environmental inspiration and component behind the line.

When someone purchases from Dazey, she noted, they’re supporting “small businesses, female entrepreneurship, ethically made goods, locally made goods, and furthering the slow fashion movement.” Dazey is a stark opposite of the fastfashion of today. Dazey Tee’s are hand printed and sewn right in LA by somebody being paid fair and ethical wages working in a safe, clean, and creative environment. Every year fast fashion leads to mass amounts of materials and clothing being left in landfills. Nagel aims to change that environmental nightmare– “It’s not a very common practice, and we want to lead the way.”

In response to the conversation sparked by her apparel line, Nagel launched the Dazey Zine. The Zine is an online blog space online “where we shoot, promote, and interview fellow female entrepreneurs.” The Zine created a space to celebrate female empowerment, success, and drive through a creative and exciting platform. Through her business pursuits, Nagel aimed to break down the stereotype of competitive women working against each other. Instead, she aimed to cultivate a culture of collaboration, mutual support, and female teamwork.

94As Nagel’s portfolio of successes and triumphs grew, so too did her network of female entrepreneurs. As her network expanded, she noticed the shared struggles of female business owners and creatives. Many of these women, she noted, “shared the same struggles with isolation when working from home.” This realization prompted Danielle to create her second company, Biz Babez.

Biz Babez is an “all-female co-working space downtown [LA] made for inspirations, collaboration, and community.” The space, which will launch this month, was a collaborative project between Nagel and one of her freelance design clients, Taryn. The open floor-plan, mid-century modern furniture, Moroccan rugs, and greenery make for a warm and nurturing space for creative. She noted, it has more of the feel of a coffee house than an office. Biz Babez is an extremely personal and important project for Nagel. She has a very deep personal connection to the concept of connecting and inspiring fellow female entrepreneurs. With first-hand experience in starting her own business, she knows how difficult it can be to establish yourself. The hardest part of starting your own business, she noted, is gathering enough courage to take the first step – after that, “the rest isn’t so bad.” But, for Nagel, garnering that level of courage took years.

She noted, “I think the hardest part for most entrepreneurs is struggling with the doubts and fears.” To combat this, Danielle learned to approach situations methodically–one step at a time. She also stressed the importance of being easy on yourself and not expecting too much too soon. Her struggles however, have helped her learn more about herself and learn how to ask and accept help from others. Now, she has taken her years of experience and morphed it into a project that aims to help young female entrepreneurs with the same struggles. Through all of her business endeavors, Nagel stands “for women choosing to be brave and share their ideas and talents with the world – we like to call these women Dazey Ladies. The community she has cultivated through Biz Babez has connected her to “modern-day kick-ass” ladies who help motivate and inspire her.

There’s an obvious feminist underdone that links all of Nagel’s business endeavors together. She has always considered herself— “the cut-and-dry definition,” according to Nagel, “is equality of the genders.” Growing up as a girl with a lot of drive and opinions, she constantly felt like others were trying to squash that power within her. This left her feeling like “there was something wrong... making me feel like I shouldn’t speak up or pursue my dreams.” To Nagel, this is what she’s fighting for. Nagel commented, “It’s not as obvious as laws or policy, but it is just as important. We need to raise women to be leaders and voices for our generation. We are here, we are strong, and we want to be taken seriously.” She channels this energy through her businesses in hopes of giving young girls more positive female role models.

Danielle Nagel isn’t just a female entrepreneur–she is a role model and beacon of hope for young girls who find themselves underprivileged or lost in the shuffle of a patriarchal system. Nagel, through her personal successes, has given so much back to the universe. Her emphasis on sustainable fashion, reaches far beyond the scope of female empowerment but touches on a crucial societal movement. The world needs female empowerment, and role models like Nagel to inspire the next generation of kick-ass young girls who can lead the world. If you’re interested in working alongside Nagel at the BizBabez loft, look no further! BizBabez is a collective looking for young female creatives and entrepreneurs who use Instagram as their main marketing tool. If that sounds a lot like you, you can check out more information about the community and partnership rates at bizbabez.la!

We need to raise women to be leaders and voices for our generation. We are here, we are strong, and we want to be taken seriously.”

Written by Mackenzie Rafferty | Photography by Naohmi Monroe