Biography: Anna Heywood-Jones is an artist, educator, and mother. She has been working with plant-based colour for over 20 years, and her work includes the creation of Tinctorial Cartographies, a research project archiving botanical colour growing across Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia). As an artist-in-residence and project leader with the EartHand Gleaners Society (Vancouver), Anna researched the interactions between locally grown fibres (linen, nettle & wool) and the spectrum of dye plants growing in EGS’s urban garden sites (Vancouver).

Annie has been a creative force since adolescence, exploring multiple artistic disciplines with curiosity and care. She began sewing professionally in high school and has since developed a deep love for all things textile. Her passion lies in sharing the joy of making, and mindful fashion—encouraging others to see beauty in the worn, the repaired, and the repurposed. A strong advocate for sustainable fashion, Annie sees clothing as both functional and deeply personal—items that support us as we move through the world while expressing who we are.

Brianna Boone is a largely self taught multi disciplinary textile artist. Knitting, crocheting, weaving, spinning, dyeing, felting, sewing....hoping to add quilting and lace making to the list in the near future!

Bio: I started quilting in 1997 while my husband and I were living in Cold Lake, Alberta. I have been an avid quilter ever since! Now, I have my own studio and long-arm quilting machine, and really enjoy sharing what I have learned over the years. Because we moved approximately every 3 years, I have been involved with several different communities and guilds. Along the way, I have had the good fortune to be involved in many community based teaching and group projects. I started teaching beginner quilters in 2007 when we were stationed overseas in Belgium.

Christine O'Neill has lived on Denman for most of her life and has created all kinds of fibre arts over the years, no doubt inspired by her mom, Phyllis Fabbi.

Cynthia Minden has been on a basket making journey since 1987. She continues to explore sculptural form, including mobiles, suspended
and stationary figures as well as installation art. She has taught at numerous venues, for weaving guilds, scholl districts as well as at Hollyhock, the Kootenay School of the Arts and Metchosin International School of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited both locally and internationally.

I am an amateur woodworker with 60 years experience. Using mostly hand tools and using machines where necessary.

A lifelong artistic dabbler, Erin has been playing with various wool felting techniques for the past six years. Originally self taught, she has since been fortunate to have had many talented and experienced felters guide her along the way. She is a prize winning felt artist and has sold her art at both galleries and fiber arts festivals. She is a generous and enjoyable teacher to learn from, providing individualized personal instruction when needed to support each student to learn and expand their skills.

Isabelle lives and weaves on Denman Island. She has been weaving for over 20 years and has a "master weaver" certification from Olds College. She loves spreading the word about weaving and is very active in many weaving groups, including the Denman Island Spinners and Weavers.

Jayne Fogarty's artistic endeavours span a variety of mediums including sewing, stenciling, lino cuts, and painting in her home studio. She draws from the natural beauty of the surrounding forests, coast and gardens. Her unique prints can be found on a variety of items including flags, tea towels, cards, and napkins. For the past two years she has been creating rope baskets of varying sizes.

Jean Cockburn has been knitting socks for many years. In 2011 she attended the Sock Summit conference in Portland, Oregon, where the motto was “Taking Sock Knitting Almost Too Far”. Jean Cockburn is an experienced embroiderer who has shown her work in art shows at the Denman Summer Gallery and the Vancouver Island Surface Design Association. She is a member of the Denman Craft Shop and her work can be seen there any day of the week. Jean draws, paints, quilts, knits, crochets, sews her own clothes, and does all manner of hand-stitching. And a little gardening when time allows.

Jenna Rudolph is a fiber artist living on Denman and has been weaving for over a decade. Jenna once made 30 soft fiber baskets in two days for a Squamish naming ceremony and has also made a backpack with soft fibers and home spun wool.

Lisa took macrame classes over 40 years ago and like many others in the 70’s made lots of belts, hanging potholders and other projects with hemp cord and beads! Who knew macrame would make a comeback? Lisa now uses paracord and revitalized macrame techniques to make outdoor gear and is currently exploring ways of using natural or recycled cord and other objects to create pictures or ‘knotscapes’.

Megan Hanna divides her time between West Vancouver and Denman Island. She’s been sewing since her early teens and has tackled a wide range of projects including ski wear, her wedding dress, fully-lined drapes and very cool Halloween costumes for her children. Megan started quilting in 2014 and is a member of Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild, Seattle Modern Quilt Guild and Denman Island Quilters.

Ram Sudama has been sailing boats since he was a toddler. He has owned and maintained many of his own boats and also moonlighted for a number of years as a professional marine surveyor, inspecting other people’s boats and advising them on necessary repairs. He started building his own boats 20 years ago and has just finished his seventh small boat project. He has published several popular blogs as well as articles on his boating and building experiences.

Sarah has been knitting for over 20 years and started teaching beginner knitters while working at Wet Coast Wools yarn store in Vancouver. Since March 2020, she's been teaching via Zoom, and she's very happy to be teaching in-person again. She also teaches spinning and introductory weaving. Until recently, her day job was as a university laboratory instructor, giving her many years of experience helping adults learn how to do things with their hands. She has always emphasized the “why” along with the “how.”

Satomi founded TEMARIMO in 2022 in Vancouver, and has been running workshops and participating in craft markets in the Vernon area for the past six months. At TEMARIMO, workshops are more than just a craft class — they are a space where participants learn the history and techniques of temari while becoming part of a warm, welcoming community. Satomi designs every workshop so that participants feel a sense of belonging and can connect with each other in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. TEMARIMO is also rooted in a commitment to the earth.

Sheila Stewart has been hooking rugs since 2002. She is originally from the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia and remembers her grandmother hooking rugs. She discovered this wonderful art form on a trip to Nova Scotia in 2002. Believing there were no rug hookers in British Columbia, she taught herself how to hook and then began attending rug schools in Nova Scotia and Oregon, USA. She became a certified instructor in Traditional Rug Hooking through the McGown Teacher's Program in the United States.

Susan Purney Mark is an award-winning textile and surface design artist living and working on Pender Island, BC. Since the early 1990s, she has created contemporary wall and dimensional work by applying layers of dyes and paints to achieve distinctive pattern and texture. Rooted in her family’s needlework traditions, her work has evolved from functional to pioneering, embodying experimentation and exploration. Currently, she focuses on mark-making, text, and narrative within a controlled colour palette, moving towards abstraction using layers of cloth, paper, and recycled materials.

I’m Suzanne and I’m a calligrapher, bookbinder and designer in the craft industry. I began my artistic life as a calligrapher spending many, many hours practicing. With small children in the picture, I lacked time. Bookbinding allowed my creative spirit a much needed outlet as I could glue something together then come back a few hours later and glue up the next step! Books are such a wonderful format in which to express your creativity. You can find me online at www.quietfiredesign.ca and all the usual social media spots!

Included reps will be Christine MacDonald & Gladys Love