Contributors

Jen Siska (101: Silk-screening photography) is a self-proclaimed quirky girl who loves to photograph people. Typically photographing her subjects in ordinary settings using only natural light, each picture is a celebration of the overlooked things in life. A San Francisco resident, Jen’s favorite food is birthday cake. She recently ran her first solo art show (which even included handmade frames for the photos) for an entire month at Rowan Morrison Gallery in Oakland, Calif. Collections of Jen’s eye candy reside at jensiska.com.

A diehard Chicagoan, Beth Doherty (Cro-bot) is the crocheting mastermind behind gourmetamigurumi.com, home of the tastiest treats around. Even though she was hospitalized for amnesia last year, she still can’t stop dreaming about yarn. Known for her unique style and loving attention to detail, Beth’s ridiculously adorable creations take forever to craft and no time at all to sell. Her tribe consists of her husband and two cats. Keep an eye out for Beth’s new amigurumi book coming out this fall from Lark Publications.

Matt Maranian (Ant Farm Room Divider and Raw But Refined) is a designer and best-selling author of the DIY/style books PAD and PAD Parties, as well as the celebrated — albeit infamous — guide to Los Angeles, L.A. Bizarro. A half-time retailer, he and his wife Loretta own Boomerang, a new and vintage clothing store in Brattleboro, Vt., and live just outside of town nestled among the birch trees in their modern “vacation cabin,” originally built for Woman’s Day magazine as a model home in 1963. A sometime drummer and full-time bon vivant, he’s currently at work on a new book.

Leah Buechley (The Electric Tank Top) has been obsessed with art, craft, mathematics, and engineering for as long as she can remember. Her research interests include electronic textiles and wearable computing, tangible interfaces, education, and human computer interactions. She is delighted to have found a place where she can do everything she loves: the Craft Technology Group at the University of Colorado ( www.cs.colorado.edu/~buechley). Isn’t it wonderful that you can get a Ph. D. building light-up clothes and jewelry?

Leah Kramer (Customized Kitsch) has been crafting ever since she could hold a pair of safety scissors. Somewhere along the line she thinks she inhaled too much glue because now she is attracted to crafts that are irreverent, ironic, kitschy, or cleverly eco-friendly. In 2003 she started craftster.org — an online community for rebel DIYers. She resides in Boston where she is part-owner of a handmade crafts boutique called Magpie and is an organizer of the Bazaar Bizarre craft fair. Leah is also the author of The Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty, and Kitschy Crafts.

Fueled by loose glitter and caffeine, Kathy Cano Murillo (Fiesta Explosion Flower Pots) lives in Phoenix with her husband, two kids, three chihuahuas, and her favorite tool, a chopstick. Though coffee, chocolate, and chili are her three favorite flavors, she’s tasted (accidentally) glitter, varnish, paint water, and kindergarden craft paste (not by accident). Check out Kathy’s crafty projects and mucho colores offerings at craftychica.com.