antler wood boxes, cowhide handbags, cowhide iPhone holders for the saddle, cowhide flasks to fit into saddlebags, cowhide keychains, horse silhouette pillows, etc.), and the ability to be hands-on with our custom furniture made from reclaimed wood.
H&S: How did you come up with the name? FD: We were flipping through vintage cloth children’s books
from the 1940s, and we came across one with images of adorable farmyard baby animals. We both thought the farmyard babies were just so ‘Darling!’ It was an ‘Ah hah’ moment; we looked at each other and commented simultaneously, “Farmyard Darlings would be a great name for our company!”
H&S: What has been your greatest challenge, and how have you overcome it? FD: One of the many challenges has been to work with
artists who ‘steal’ our designs and use our brand for their individual success. But one thing we’ve learned from
horses is that they never forget anything! Their memory is nearly infallible, but also like horses, we FORGIVE.
H&S: What is the definition of a Farmyard Darling? FD: Children often ask us, “What’s a ‘Farmyard Darling’?” We answer, “A Farmyard Darling is someone who has the courage to follow the dustier path, knowing there will be falls; and the spunk to get up, brush yourself off, and get going again.”
H&S: How did Farmyard Darlings start? FD: It all started because we are both creative souls and
collectors at heart, and we design our worlds to fill this innate need of creating something from basically nothing. We quickly learned that our talent and our country chic aesthetics appealed to many folks, and we began offering to visit people’s homes where we were allowed to arrange once forgotten pieces (i.e. old ladders, frames, vintage photographs, saddles, miscellaneous tack, etc.) with girlish glee and reckless abandon. We also wanted to sell some of our farmilicious finds and vintage treasures that we had collected over the years. We sent out an email to our pals as a sort of Beta test about what
Clockwise from top-left: burlap sack; Farmyard Darlings Burlap Horse Shopping Totes; Farmyard Darlings mirror and chicken feeder lights
105