Danielle Balfour is a bright light with a keen eye for creating things and spaces that evoke moments that make you feel-good while also making you think. Sometimes complex thoughts around inequity and racism in our country, to belonging, and as she shares “staying hopeful through justice and empathy”. hope that will let you know . From her design agency, Oh Happy Dani to having her own product line at Target, Danielle has always intertwined joy and activism into beautiful illustrations that are relatable for everyone. She is now taking a yearr of dreaming into her brick and mortar concept, Gladly Gather. A retail space centering the Black experience and ensuring all feel welcome to explore and belong right in the midst of South Nashville.
Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Danielle landed in Nashville and decided this was the place for her first gift shop concept. A concept she had been dreaming of for many years. A dream that became radically accelerated after she chose to pull her successful line from Target when they decided to roll back their DEI initiative. A bold action that many would be fearful to do, and some thought she was crazy. Yet, this leap of faith showed Danielle her own strength and how much people truly loved and supported her work. So much so that the profits she made in 2025 after moving all her products online would pave the way for her to invest in Gladly Gather. A space that is turning into such a beautiful, needed and welcomed place to shop, belong and feel seen in Nashville.
I have wanted to share Danielle’s story since hearing about her opening during Black History Month this past February but it took our Summer Intern Mia sharing how excited she was to attend the Gladly Gather Juneteenth Book Fair to bring our interview to life. Just this past weekend, Danielle and her team received over 600 books and invited community in to shop, learn and find their next great read. If you are a creative, writer, designer, lover of community, activitst and seeking to find another way to explore Nashville, Danielle’s story is one to take some time and read.
Share the why behind opening Gladly Gather in Nashville?
I’ve always wanted a gift shop, but to me it felt like something in the future; it didn’t feel like something I would be able to do now. But with my online business, I was starting to really crave in-person interactions. anyway. I came across a listing for a commercial space, but I was like, the people who look at million-dollar houses on Zillow, thinking, oh yeah, one day. I liked the listing, and the broker actually reached out sharing how they were looking for something just like this. It kind of fell into my lap and it was everything I wanted, from the least term to the location, which was cute. The space itself was so nice, and I just took a leap. The concept was a space that highly prioritizes visible representation and diversity.
After pulling my own products from Target shelves, I didn’t want to wait for retailers to realize again that supporting Black businesses, entrepreneurs, and stocking us on the shelves matters. I was not going to wait for them to come back to that conclusion. I’m just gonna become my own retailer. I have friends. I wanna stock, I know small businesses that deserve shelf space, both locally and nationally. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and create my own retail space, because no one is gonna tell me what I can and cannot do.
Why did you lean into making Gladly Gather a unique concept of retail and community space?
Our motto is “celebrate belonging”. We stock everything from greeting cards to puzzles and mugs, and across every product type, even down to the packaging. I need to see black skin and brown skin. I need to see multiracial representation. And I want to do it through centering the black experience because I feel like when you reach for those that are often put on the margins, everybody else can also find an invitation in some way. When you’re really centering people who are often not centered, it just makes all the difference.
For local businesses and artisans how can they become a part of the Gladly Gather community?
I’m always on the lookout for vendors, especially food, jewelry, and candles and all sorts of things. When it comes to local vendors, I have a model where we invite you to share the space with us during events. Our event model has three goals: shop small, give back and belong. With the brands I stock from national and the local level it’s Black-owned brands, Women owned brands and other racialized groups. We carry products and art. I’m searching for products from the little guy. The people who may not have all the reviews yet, but you can tell the quality of the product is there. It’s a shot and I wanna be that kind of person that makes a wholesale order and puts you on our shelves. Just this past month, we had No Yolk Bakery come out, and they sold out.
What do you hope people experience when they walk through the Gladly Gather door?
I think that you should walk into a store and not just have to find yourself in a section or hunt to find yourself in any part of the store. I want people to walk in and feel the overwhelm of being re represented in every corner, every nook and cranny of our store. That’s kind of the goal. When you prioritize visible diversity, a lot of people are served by that because a lot of people can come in and be like, oh, I’m there. You can all find yourself represented and again, really speaking to the Black experience is rewarding too because the bulk of my work is everyday advocacy and activism. So I stock a lot of Angela Davis, John Lewis, and James Baldwin. I want people to leave feeling represented, seen and known in a way that’s more than just checking off a box.
Your space is becoming an open door for all to explore and shop, which is so refreshing to see in Nashville…
Yes, I’ve found the space has become intergenerational, which is something I didn’t plan for, but is so beautiful to me. As often as we can, I want to keep speaking to all ages while centering Black history, the Black experience, and the work that Black leaders, authors, and activists throughout the years have put in to pave the way for a future where all of us can find ourselves represented.
Photography: Trinity Kendrick – 2026 Urbaanite Summer Photography Intern
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