In the Spotlight Blog by Lyra Pappin

Christen Largent may have deeper roots in silver than she realizes. The metal smith and proud owner of the iCraft Exhibit, icraftgifts.com/christen-largent has a perfect last name for a creator whose line predominately features silver. L'argent is the French for "silver"!

Although no longwinded tales of toiling silversmith ancestors began our interview, Christen did explain her personal route... Read more

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Two women, Mavis and Olga, are the masterminds behind ‘ knittles ’, a line of chic woolwear for everyone who wants to be both warm and fashionable, whether you are a child or a senior. After marrying brothers, Olga and Mavis got to know each other when the two couples shared a house for some time. “You do get to know someone after a while in a situation like that!”, Mavis explained.... Read more

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Maria Kirk starting sewing clothes as a precocious five year old and has never stopped. After learning to sew from her grandmother, a seamstress who sewed doll and toy clothes for Mattel, Maria built on this passed down talent by continuing in a similar vein and began to hand-sew clothes for her Barbie dolls. Now, as an adult, Maria has fine-tuned this ability to create clothing, albeit in a slightly larger size!... Read more

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Hardworking and seemingly fearless, Vicky Vander Kooi , began creating jewelry after finding inspiration as an English teacher in Thailand. Over the course of two years in a totally foreign environment, Vicky pushed herself to experience new things she never knew she was capable of doing. From trying new foods to dealing with language barriers and exploring beautiful new territory, Vicky learned that her... Read more

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Nathalie Girard is a hardworking jewelry designer on her way to having it all. After two years of promoting her online jewelry company Canadian Rockies, Nathalie is branching out into boutiques across Canada with designs on the United States as well. Her unique style and intricate wire work also recently helped her to win MetalChasers.com’s Valentine’s Day design contest.

Nathalie resides in... Read more

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For someone who paints almost exclusively in black and white, Fernando Ortiz has a warmth and exuberance for life that is anything but colourless. The Colombian painter grew up in the capital city of Bogotá, loving soccer and playing another form of it called micro football, which is played with a harder ball that doesn’t bounce. This seems typical of Fernando, to find a way to challenge himself... Read more

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Josie Tecson , creative artist and self-made entrepreneur knew there was no turning back when she left her Vancouver home at the age of 25 and accepted a position with La Senza, Canada’s leading lingerie company, as a Marketing Coordinator. She headed east to Montreal, Quebec where the La Senza head office was located to begin her new and independent life. Shortly after, she moved to Toronto, which was one... Read more

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Don’t hate me – I’m new to the world of high quality handmade fashion. While not as clueless as the young reporter in The Devil Wears Prada or the presumed style nightmare that is Ugly Betty (never seen it), I’m neither a devourer of trends nor am I fighting my way into a highly competitive fashion industry. And since I can’t seem to touch a sewing machine with anything but trembling... Read more

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