Business: Lighting and Furniture Design Studio/Urban Gardening Technology

Her project, Live Screen, a hydroponic garden installation for the indoors, had won international recognition from Italy’s Winter Design Furniture Fair. With her newfound success, Danielle decided to start her own lighting and furniture design studio, focusing on a function-forward approach working with sustainable materials and local manufacturing companies.

Danielle had depleted any working capital she had to move her business forward and was seeking capital when she came across an article about the Tory Burch Foundation, which directed her to Accion. Danielle applied for a loan through Accion’s Sandy Recovery Program and received a $13,000 loan and a $1,950 grant to support her in building and testing a second Live Screen prototype, move to a different studio, and help her showcase her product at another furniture fair to large-scale manufacturers. With an Accion loan and grant, Danielle is able to continue growing her business of creating affordable urban gardening technology.