Hi, I'm Danica,

& this is my story

I grew up moving from one rented apartment to another, moving through different countries and cities, always chasing safety and a better life. My family fled Kosovo during the war, and I watched my parents stretch every coin to give us a sense of home. My mother used to tell me how she couldn’t even afford milk — so she would mix it with water to make it last longer for my sister and me.

We moved seven times before I was even old enough to understand what “home” really meant. Since then, I’ve moved even more—across Serbia, Germany, and Italy—living in student housing, sublets, and shared flats. I know what it feels like to live in spaces that aren’t really yours.

When my parents bought their first small apartment, they built almost everything themselves. (P.S. my dad’s an engineer.) They kept that same approach with every place after.