Nicky Vee
Indie Junction Owner,
Etsy Team Co-Leader,
Co-Designer
Nicky was born and raised in South Africa. She moved to Canada in 1997 and has a certificate in Art Fundamentals and a diploma in Crafts & Design with a major in glassblowing and a minor in ceramics. Her grad show was held at the Sandra Ainsley Gallery in Toronto where her piece was one of the very few that sold. After graduating she freelanced with her lampworked jewelry but decided to start working with other mediums. She now owns her own wedding invitation design business called Jolie Papeterie Boutique and also sells her stationery in her etsy store under Ambient Girl Designs.
Deb Hall
Indie Junction Owner,
Etsy Team Co-Leader
Promotions Leader
My name is Deb Hall and I am the owner of Zur Designs. I design and sell handcrafted jewelry using such materials as sterling silver, gold, precious and semi-precious gemstones, and other high quality materials. My design style is contemporary with old world flair. My designs are very personal and are inspired by life, love, and the beauty of the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts that surround me and where I make my home. One of the primary strengths I bring to the design side of the business is that I have been creative all my life. Writing and blogging, photography, singing, are still some of my favorite things. The strengths I bring to the owner/operator side of the business is that I have an MBA degree and have either run, owned, or accounted for small businesses or non profit agencies for all my adult life. I love the online marketing concepts such as social networking and I think I love promoting other artisans even more than promoting myself!
Lauren Hoehn
Indie Junction Mod
Etsy forum Administrative Liaison
Treasury Chair
Lauren has been interested in all aspects of art, since she was young. For the past three years she has been focusing on her hand knitted jewelry line, made with semi precious stones and czech glass for her etsy shop lapisbeach. Lauren is a wife, a mom to twin sons and a giant Great Pyrenees.
Carol Dearden
Etsy forum Administrative Liaison
I am a native Montanan who grew up on a wheat farm/cattle ranch in the wind-swept, rolling hills of Central Montana . My mother’s philosophy was to always keep your hands busy and you were never bored. Consequently, I’ve been a crafter/creator all my life. I’m drawn to the old world skills, when handmade was a necessity rather than a hobby. I love the romance, beauty and grace of the Victorian era. Friends have said I was born 100+ years too late. I have an old soul. I am a “retired/unemployed” medical administrator now living in southcentral Montana with my husband and two adorable furbabies (shih-tzu’s) – Wu and Li. I am a farmer at heart and spend my non-etsy/tatting time in the yard and garden. I love animated children’s movies and fantasy/science fiction. I Jazzercise every day and spend most of the rest of my day doing my Etsy/Indie/Facebook/Twitter thing on the computer or creating! It’s a great life!
Steve Sheppard
Indie Euro Moderator
Facebook Fan Page Admin
I’m Steve Sheppard, and I run Cherished Stained Glass, which is my own independent stained glass studio, based in Kent, England. After the never ending and creatively unrewarding life of a city career, I finally had my Eureka moment and gave it all up to
devote my days to my passion, which is working with stained glass. The love for it found me, rather than me finding it, as a young boy admiring the glass windows in English churches, or from the doorway in the entrance of a Victorian home. I was amazed at how they threw their colours over the white washed inner walls, with such stunning effects. I suppose it was inevitable that one day it would become a huge part of my life. My work, as I believe with all creative folk, comes from the heart and I like to feel that there is a little piece of me in all of my work. I totally understand how hard it is to take a hobby to the stage that you can actually call it a business but can think of nothing more rewarding than mixing the two successfully.
Susan Morrow
Indie Euro Moderator
Hi, I’m Susie Morrow and I handmake jewellery with an edge. I work full time in software research, but my creative outlet is making jewellery, that is bold and bright and beautiful. My interests are varied and include pre-historic cultures, evolutionary biology, quantum physics and chemistry. I am also interested in the history of art and I adore sculpture. These interests show up as influences in my jewellery. As far as making jewellery is concerned, I am a metalsmith and work, mainly, with sterling silver. I use many of the conventional silversmithing techniques but I also try to incorporate semi-precious and precious stones into my work to bring in a touch of the tribal and to add earthy tones to my work. I live in the north of the UK in Northumberland which is quite rural. I love with my partner Steve and our dog Ella. I have a grown up daughter and 2 grandchildren (what, how did that happen?).
Janine Basil
Indie Euro Moderator
Etsy Shop Moderator
Hi, I’m Janine and I make hats and headpieces! I’m on a one woman mission to bring some glamour into people’s lives (even if it sometimes in a bit of a geeky way see my rhinestone POW! fascinator for proof!)
If I’m not making hats I’m sewing, if I’m not sewing I’m thinking about new designs for hats, if I’m not…you get the idea! lo
I’m influenced by old films, comics, glitter, shiny things, embroidery and South Park! I swear I watch it so often I’m going to be making knitted hats with pom poms soon for wearing to the races. Actually, that could be interesting… hee hee
aj
Flickr Group Moderator
I am excited by the intersection of different media and what happens at the edges of layered images. Influenced by the juxtaposition of graffiti and commercial signage, I paint and draw text as well as symbols from popular culture. My work is a funnel by which the highs and the lows of my life, the distant familial past and current family relationships can be safely explored and relayed in such a way as to spark a dialogue of their greater universal themes.
Always a drawer and a painter I recently decided to try my hand at tie-dye and batik.
