Panelists

Amy Barickman built a business by anticipating popular trends. As founder and owner of Indygo Junction, she discovers and showcases the work of innovative fabric artists and designers (35+ to date). Her company has published 800 sewing pattern titles and over 80 books since 1990, and her craft kits and fabric lines are licensed with the nation’s top fabric, fashion, and novelty craft suppliers. Quick to spot the emerging vintage art movement and a savvy computer user herself, Amy launched The Vintage Workshop in 2002 to give crafters on-line access to vintage images that can be downloaded and printed on fabric. Amy is author of numerous books, including Hankie Style (2009). Her newest book, Amy Barickman’s Vintage Notions (coming in September 2010), is inspired by her personal collection of rare sewing and needle arts books, vintage home arts magazines and cookbooks, and sewing, textile, and handiwork projects found at antique stores and flea markets over the past 20 years.

Amy Turn Sharp is the wood queen of Little Alouette, an organic wooden toy shop she runs alongside her master carpenter husband, Joe. A mother of 2 from Columbus, Ohio, Amy tracks her life on doobleh-vay blog and at all times has at least 7 projects brewing. She is writing her first novel and learning how to bake in 2010. Amy is practicing positive thinking and hoping to have an essay on NPR someday. Amy LOVES the connections online and helping other women find their rooms of their own. She really likes radishes, spoonerisms, and chicken korma. She is a Kirtsy.com and BlogNosh.com editor, is a freelance writer that regularly contributes to sites like Alphamom.com and Scoutiegirl.com and works with women all over the country teaching social media. She runs creativity workshops with local children and was named one of the 50 top Etsy Moms by Babble.com in 2010. She has spoken at numerous conferences including, Blogher, Blissdom, Mom2.0, Kirtsy HOSB, Chicks Who Click, and many other amazing local venues.

Beth Ferreira, is currently a consultant and advisor for early-stage companies.  She is the former Vice President of Finance and Operations at Etsy, Inc. the leading online marketplace for all things handmade. Etsy has become a worldwide destination for independent artists and consumers who value the uniqueness and craftsmanship of handmade goods. Prior to joining Etsy, Beth held positions at Flatiron Partners investing in early stage technology companies, The Boston Consulting Group and Union Bank of Switzerland.  She holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School. You can also find her blogging at www.earlystager.com.

Brett Bara is a crafts and DIY lifestyle expert with experience in print, internet and television.

She is Editor in Chief of Crochet Today magazine and host of the Emmy-nominated PBS series Knit & Crochet Now. Brett writes about her crafty pursuits on her blog at manhattancraftroom.blogspot.com, and she is a regular contributor to the design blog Design Sponge.

Previously, she was Crafts Editor at Woman’s Day Special Interest Publications and a writer for numerous national magazines including Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Details, Men’s Health and Prevention.

Brett’s mission is to spread the joy of crafting far and wide, especially among the new generation of young DIY’ers. Brett also enjoys sewing, embroidery and anything crafty, in addition to DIY decorating, baking and vintage shopping. She lives in New York City, where she is writing a sewing book to be released in spring 2011.

Candi Jensen is executive producer of the Emmy-nominated Public Television series Knit and Crochet Now, which reaches over 100 million households and is in 88% of the top 25 markets. She has had more than 300 designs published in national magazines including Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, and Crochet Today and is the author of 13 books. With appearances on programs such as Knitty Gritty, Knit and Crochet Today, and the Carol Duvall Show, Candi has inspired viewers with innovative ways to use knit and crochet. She works tirelessly to promote both knitting and crochet through and for charitable organizations.

Debbie Dusenberry is the owner and creative director of Curious Sofa, the Kansas City–based retail boutique specializing in home furnishings and accessories. Debbie’s eye for the unusual and her unorthodox way of display have made Curious Sofa one of the nation’s top small retailers and a destination shop for customers from across the country. Established in 2000, Curious Sofa has been recognized by many local, trade, and national consumer publications including Victoria, Romantic Homes, Travel and Leisure, Country Home, and Elle. It was a featured business in the 2007 entrepreneur issue of Country Living and the subject of a New York Times six-article series on the personal side of running a retail business. For those who can’t attend store events in person, the shop’s Web site and blog are the next best thing for distinct products and artistic inspiration.

Life’s sweet adventure led me from Queens, New York, where I grew up the youngest of five, to my husband’s hometown, with hills all around. I describe myself as the cheerful ringmaster to my three little ones. Home is our circus, full of folk art, color, and vintage oddities I’ve collected since childhood. My New York University (NYU) master’s degree in city planning first led me to organizing urban markets. Once settled in the country, I became knight-errant to the band of artists I call my Earth Angels. I now know I want to be me when I grow up. Visit my world at www.earthangelstoys.com.

Khristian has one mission in life – to spend each day doing what she loves. Right now that includes surface design and photography (and throw in a little salsa dancing here and there). Some would call her love of French culture an obsession – she prefers the word passion. She could (and will soon) live the rest of her life eating olives along the Mediterranean and riding the trains of Europe. Each day, each step in this adventure as a working artist gets better and better, and offers Khristian lessons about how she sees herself and the world. Some of the brands she is thrilled to call clients are Anthology Fabrics, Nordstrom, Robert Kaufman, and Landor Associates. Recently her work has been featured on two Eddie Bauer catalog covers. She is also featured in the recent book released by Laurence King Publishing, Print & Pattern by Bowie Style. On the heels of exhibiting at SURTEX this past spring, Khristian is excited to continue building her art licensing business. You can find samples of Khristian’s work on her site www.khristianahowell.com, and follow her on twitter – @surfacedivine.

Laurie Lenfestey, designer and owner of Bittersweet Designs tells her story through collage. For eight years, she’s been tucking handmade cards into her children’s lunchboxes — a love letter of ribbons, photographs, and ephemera artfully pieced together. She started designing cards to sell in 2005 and expanded naturally into crafts journals, frames, and jewelry. Collage finds its way into each handmade piece. Her journals and frames are crafted with vintage wallpapers, flocked prints from India, silk ribbons, and rediscovered trims and findings. Her elegant jewelry line playfully combines sterling, vintage chains, sparkling semiprecious stones, Ethiopian crosses, and lengths of antique glass beads in pieces that are easy to wear to any event, from a child’s recital to an evening out. Read More

Leigh Standley is the artist, writer and owner of Curly Girl Design, Inc. In it’s seven years, Curly Girl Design and Leigh’s  line of clever and colorful greeting cards and gift items have taken the industry by delightful storm. Focused on the magic of the small moments, her product peeks into the corners of life and taps into the hearts of all.Founded in 2003, the company began with just 12 greeting cards and grew steadily. Now with seven amazing full-time employees, it sells to more than 2300 shops nationwide and distributes to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. In 2008 Leigh began the process of licensing her art. Carefully choosing some of the most renowned and artist-driven companies to work with, her brand has expanded to include calendars, napkins, larger giftware items and a full line of holiday decor. Read More

Lisa has been making jewelry since high school but decided to get serious after her first son, David, was born.  She wanted to start a small business that would enable her to quit her job and stay home with her boys. At the time, she had never taken any formal classes or received special training in jewelry making. She just went for it!   She’s kind of the ‘jump in and learn as you go’ type.  Creating jewelry not only allowed her to work from home, but has connected her with so many amazing women along the way.

Her jewelry has been featured in magazines such as Glamour, In-style, Victoria, Parenting and Pregnancy. Celebrites also love her pieces, including, Josie Bissett, Naomi (Jason Preistly’s wife), Carnie Wilson and Jenny Garth.

Each piece they create is a work of art—hand cut, hammered, polished, drilled and assembled with care. Lisa is inspired by other artists–painters, scrapbookers, clothing designers and poets.  She also loves to soak up nature-the sky, the sea, the green hills.  She lets all these ideas and images swirl around in her mind and then she creates.  When an idea hits her, she sketches it out and plays with it until the perfect design comes together. Visit her at www.lisaleonardonline.com

Marcia Ceppos is the busy and innovative proprietor of Tinsel Trading (www.tinseltrading.com), the renowned family-owned trimmings store located in Manhattan’s garment district and a “must” shopping destination for collage artists, crafters, and creative people everywhere. Marcia began helping out at the store at age 11 and kept it up during high school and college, learning as much about the business as she could. In 1998, the store acquired its first computers (with Marcia kicking and screaming) and started exhibiting at trade shows. When Martha Stewart ran a feature on Tinsel Trading on her morning television program, the phone started ringing the moment the segment ended, and Marcia says it hasn’t stopped since. Read More

Serena Thompson ventured into the entrepreneurial world when she and a friend held a little antiques sale in a friend’s barn. The sale was a huge success and quickly grew into a big antiques show with vendors and shoppers from across the country. The Farm Chicks Show was soon discovered by Country Living magazine. Many Farm Chicks projects and stories have been featured in the magazine, and Serena continues her relationship with Country Living as a contributing editor. Read More

Vanessa Bertozzi is the Director of the Community and Education Team at Etsy (www.etsy.com), the leading online marketplace for all things handmade. Etsy has become a worldwide destination for independent artists and consumers who value the uniqueness and craftsmanship of handmade goods. Vanessa focuses on community engagement, overseeing Etsy’s social media efforts and social site features, seller education, crafty events and handmade merch, and outreach to schools and museums. She first started at Etsy in January 2007 and worked until June 2010 as Editorial Director, launching the Etsy blog http://blog.etsy.com and video podcast http://www.etsy.tv. She has a passion for the connections between face-to-face experience and the online world — and the particularly authentic activities of the handmade movement. Vanessa earned her Master’s degree from MIT’s Comparative Media Studies program, where she studied progressive homeschoolers’ media practices and the future of engagement with the arts. Before joining Etsy, she made a documentary film about the history of used clothing and diaspora communities, titled Secondhand (Pepe).