The Creative Connection

I am a soft sculpture artist and have been since 1979. My toys are small…4″ to *8″ tall, small enough to fit in a child’s hand. They are made from mohair, wool felt or cotton velveteen as the old toys were. My inspiration comes from vintage children’s book illustrations and antique toys. This will explain my color palette. I love what I do…after all I could be making sparkplugs…but silly little toys are much more intriguing.

Jody will be featured in the Autumn 2011 issue of WHERE WOMEN CREATE and will be signing copies at the Autograph Party.

Elisa Camahort Page

Co-Founder and COO
Elisa Camahort Page co-founded BlogHer, Inc., in 2005 with Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone, and serves as the company’s COO. Elisa leads events, marketing, public relations and research for the company and with her leadership, the BlogHer conference business has grown from a single conference hosting 300 attendees in 2005, to five diverse events that will host over 4,000 attendees in 2011. With more than 3,000 attendees expected at this year’s annual conference alone, the flagship event is the largest conference for women social media leaders in the world and has been described as “ComicCon for women who blog” by Variety magazine. Elisa’s other major focus is to bring the story of BlogHer and the influence of the women in its community, to life via research, helping BlogHer’s customers glean critical insights about how women connect, share and behave online and off.  Elisa’s work leading BlogHer’s consumer insights team, as well as marketing and public relations, has resulted in coverage and profiles from many of the leading media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Advertising Age, Forbes, Fast Company, CNN, The Today Show, the Wall Street Journal, and many more. Elisa is a frequent public speaker, bringing research data about women and online communities to life in recent keynotes at Marketing to Women, MediaBistro Circus, Fem 2.0, New Communications Forum, BlogPaws and WOMMA Marketing Summit and sessions at Web 2.0, SXSW Interactive and CES. Prior to co-founding BlogHer, Elisa ran a marketing consultancy, Worker Bees, which was among the first companies to integrate corporate marketing strategies into the social media environment. Before bringing her marketing expertise to the Internet industry, Elisa was a senior-level high-tech marketer, helping develop digital infrastructures for voice, video and data delivery. Her last corporate position was as Senior Director of Product Marketing at Terayon Communication Systems, where she managed a team of product managers and five product lines. Together, BlogHer co-founders Lisa, Elisa and Jory have been named among the most influential women in Web 2.0 and technology by Fast Company (2008, 2009 and 2010), Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalists (2010) and among the seven most powerful people in new media by Forbes Magazine (2009). In 2011 they were jointly awarded the PepsiCo Women’s Inspiration Award and in 2008, the Anita Borg Institute Social Impact Award. Elisa has been honored as an NCWIT Hero. As the co-founder of a mission-based for-profit organization, Elisa is a founding Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and serves on the Board of Directors of the 42nd Street Moon Theatre in San Francisco, the programming advisory committee for SXSW Interactive and the Board of Advisors of the Anita Borg Institute A native of the Bay Area, she lives in San Jose with her software developer husband.

Jory Des Jardins

Co-Founder and President of Strategic Alliances
Jory Des Jardins co-founded BlogHer, Inc. in 2005 with Elisa Camahort Page and Lisa Stone, and serves as the company’s President of Strategic Alliances and lead evangelist to top revenue partners. With Jory’s leadership, BlogHer has developed its own distinctive, brand of strategic partnership, helping to facilitate constructive dialogue between some of the world’s major brands and women who are social media leaders and their readers. Jory frequently gives private presentations and training sessions to Fortune 500 companies and their internal and external strategy teams, bringing community insights and case studies directly to companies and agencies that are navigating the social media space. Leveraging her prior experience in both print and online media, Jory works within brand teams to deconstruct media models and to develop messaging and campaigns that resonate with bloggers, blog readers and brands.

BlogHer’s integrated sponsorship model, which combines live events and media channels, has grown to revenue of eight figures trailing for the past two years, during which BlogHer, Inc. was named among the AlwaysOn OnMedia Top 100 for 2011 and Global 250 for 2010, and as one of America’s Most Promising Start-ups by BusinessWeek. BlogHer’s flagship site, BlogHer.com, was named one of the Top 100 Websites for Women by Forbes in 2010. Jory is BlogHer’s representative on the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Board of Directors, and serves on the advisory board of start-ups FeedBlitz and Juno Baby.   Jory also represents BlogHer at public speaking engagements, having keynoted such events as ad:tech Chicago and the Marketing to Moms Conference, and spoken on panels at events for the IAB, ANA, AMA and WOMMA and at Web 2.0, SXSW Interactive, BlogWorld Expo, the Monaco Media Forum, Girls in Tech and CES. Prior to co-founding BlogHer, Jory helped high-technology start-ups Pluck and Rojo develop the models to launch successful blog syndication initiatives and served as producer as Third Age transitioned from traditional web destination to a network of bloggers. Together, BlogHer co-founders Lisa, Elisa and Jory have been named among the most influential women in Web 2.0 and technology by Fast Company (2008, 2009 and 2010), Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalists (2010) and among the seven most powerful people in new media by Forbes Magazine (2009). In 2011 they were jointly awarded the PepsiCo Women’s Inspiration Award and in 2008, the Anita Borg Institute Social Impact Award. Jory lives in the Bay Area with her husband Jesse and their baby daughter.

The BlogHer team will be featured in the Autumn 2011 issue of WHERE WOMEN CREATE and will be signing copies at the Autograph Party.

Nora Abousteit is the co-founder of BurdaStyle.com, a DIY fashion community of 500,000+ members who share techniques, projects, and PDF sewing patterns to print at home. Previously, Nora worked at a German publishing house–writing speeches, organizing workshops, and planning events for the World Economic Forum. She is also a founding member of the DLD Conference.

Nora has been invited to share her experience at Picnic, FOO Camp, Parsons School of Design, Stream, and the Menorca TechTalk. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, BusinessWeek, WWD, and Fast Company. Nora holds degrees in Middle East studies, political science, and philosophy from the American University in Cairo.

Nora will be featured in the Autumn 2011 issue of WHERE WOMEN CREATE and will be signing copies at the Autograph Party.

Leslie Shewring is a Canadian from Vancouver Island currently living in Los Angeles, California. She relocated to the U.S. to earn a degree in Architecture and Interior Design. Immediately after finishing school, Leslie had the opportunity to team up with a manufacturing and distributing company. Collaborating together, Leslie developed, designed, and handled packaging direction for many products sold in major retailers throughout North America. Although she loved her job, the deadlines, cross-country travel, and long trips to Asia did not fit with her ideal of family life. When Leslie had her first child four years ago, she stepped away. She still consults from time to time, but most of her days are spent with her two little kids, or in her home studio where she paints, collages, styles, and photographs. Leslie shares her creative projects on her blog A Creative Mint and she also authors a popular monthly column on the blog Decor8 called “Color Me Pretty.” Recently, Leslie has teamed up with Holly Becker to teach “Blogging Your Way,” a popular e-course that has been running twice a year. You may also find Leslie’s colorful work in Stampington’s Somerset Life, where she is a columnist.

Leslie will be featured in the Autumn 2011 issue of WHERE WOMEN CREATE and will be signing copies at the Autograph Party.

Jinger began her creative journey in 2001 when she opened a retail store which immediately became a destination for people who shared her love for crafting. After hiring a talented design team, coming up with a line of great products and personally setting up production in the Orient, she created her own retail brand under the name of “Just Jinger.” It wasn’t long before her products gained popularity and the “Just Jinger” brand found a home in thousands of retail locations, including Michaels, Hobby Lobby, A.C. Moore and Wal-Mart. Since 2008, Jinger Adams has served as Creative Director and Spokesperson at Provo Craft. During this time, Jinger has been featured regularly as a vendor host on Home Shopping Network (HSN). As one of the top-rated vendor hosts on HSN, she has become the face of Cricut and an inspiration to millions of creative people in North American and abroad. She also appears on The Shopping Channel, in Canada, and Ideal World in the UK, and has been featured on Designing Spaces, The Lifetime Channel and many other national and local TV programs.

Provo Craft is a technology company that enables women to be their creative best. For 40 years, Provo Craft has invented new products that bring industrial technology to the masses, including the Cricut® Personal Electronic Cutter, the Cricut Cake® Personal Electronic Cutter, the Gypsy® handheld design studio for Cricut, the Yudu® Personal Screen Printer, the Cricut DesignStudio® software, the YourStory® Book Binder and Laminator, the Cuttlebug® Embosser and Die Cutter, and the Knifty Knitter®. These innovative tools help women bring their creative ideas to life in a personalized, professional-looking way at home, in schools, and in the workplace. Provo Craft products have won dozens of industry awards and are available through leading craft, home décor, office, and education stores nationwide. Visit www.provocraft.com or www.Cricut.com for more information.

Jinger will be featured in the Autumn 2011 issue of WHERE WOMEN CREATE and will be signing copies at the Autograph Party.

Melody is a fourth-generation Idaho girl and has been an artist from the time she could hold a crayon in her hand, knowing from the age of five that she wanted to grow up and combine beautiful colorful images with her love of words. At the age of 18, Melody began to sell painted works, and in 1997 at the age of 25, she started a worldwide product design and publishing business called Chatterbox. Through Chatterbox, she authored and published 15 books, manufactured and sold thousands of products that have become collectors items, and won countless awards for product innovation. Melody’s art, products, and books have been featured on television programs and in countless magazines. In 2009, Melody stepped away from Chatterbox to start Brave Girls Club, a worldwide organization that combines art with life skills to help women create the lives they want to live. Melody now licenses several product lines in arts and crafts, books, and home decor–including an extensive gift line with Demdaco and a new fabric line with Blend.

Melody will be featured in the Autumn 2011 issue of WHERE WOMEN CREATE and will be signing copies at the Autograph Party.

Stacy Julian is a recognized leader in the scrapbooking industry and the visionary founder of Big Picture Classes (BPC). Launched in November 2005, BPC is the first online community offering creative e-learning with members around the world. Stacy is a passionate sought-after speaker and the author of four books including her most recent, Photo Freedom. Her television appearances include the Discovery Channel’s Home Matters and the PBS series Scrapbook Memories. Simple Scrapbooks Magazine (2002-2008), where Julian was the founding editor, has been mentioned in The Chicago Tribune andWoman’s Day as a leading consumer publication for the scrapbooking industry. Stacy has been a certified professional teacher with the Craft and Hobby Association since 1997 and lives with her husband Geoff, five energetic children, and a tank of somewhat neglected goldfish in Washington state.

Stacy will be featured in the Autumn 2011 issue of WHERE WOMEN CREATE and will be signing copies at the Autograph Party.

After a successful career climbing the corporate ladder in Silicon Valley, marketing high-tech start ups and brands like IBM and Animal Planet, Traci left the corporate world to pursue her passion for art. The year 2011 marks the 10-year anniversary of launching her creative business endeavor treiC designs. Prior to becoming a full-time artist, she worked as a graphic designer, event planner, marketing director, professional cheerleader, elementary art teacher, fashion designer, and web designer—to name just a few positions. Experiences that she gained through these positions, coupled with her innate drive to explore and create without boundaries, are what contribute to her success as a mixed media artist. Her passion for sharing art has led her on a worldwide tour, teaching mixed media workshops in handmade books, art journaling, collage, art marketing, and surface design. Traci is the author of the bestselling book, Collage Unleashed, and is currently working on her next book which will be released January 2012. Her art has been featured in over 15 art/mixed media books and 40 craft magazines, including Somerset Studio, Altered Couture, cloth.paper.scissors, Art Journaling, Art Quilting Studio, Belle Armoire, and Craft. Her column “Creativity Unleashed” was featured in Somerset Studio Magazine. She has been a regular guest on DIY/HGTV Craft Lab. Her creative business includes designing licensed product lines, Collage Pauge adhesive, and {kolLAJ} paper crafts. She has developed business partnerships with numerous craft manufacturers, and has built her online presence solely on her own, designing every aspect of her brand and marketing strategy.

Tim Holtz is the Creative Director for Ranger Industries, one of the leading manufacturers of innovative inks, paints, and embossing products. Tim plays an integral part in the development and design of cutting edge paper crafting products. Tim has also teamed up with various key companies like Advantus/idea-ology, Tonic Studios, Stampers Anonymous, Sizzix/Alterations, and Coredinations to bring unique product collections that work hand in hand with Ranger’s extensive lines. As a well known designer, Tim travels across the country and internationally to educate and introduce people to his world of distress techniques and philosophy of embracing imperfection. His book “A Compendium of Curiosities” is filled with creative and inspiring ideas for beginner paper crafters and beyond. He truly lives his motto to live the life you’ve imagined.

“In a world where the moments of our lives can be captured and created in art of the everyday, it’s important it reflects our own unique personality. Finding just the right objects and tools to use are most important. Whatever your artistic vision is, exploring the imaginative is a chance for our creativity to escape understanding. Remember life isn’t about finding yourself – life is about creating yourself…”  -Tim

Contact:
Web: www.timholtz.com

Susan Branch is the self-taught artist and author of fourteen Heart of the Home books. From her Martha’s Vineyard studio, she writes about the “home arts” of family, cooking, gardening, sewing, and the little things that make life sweet. Susan illustrates her books in watercolors and hand writes every word in pen and ink. You’ll see some of her work in the new Celebrations cookbook debuting at THE CREATIVE CONNECTION event in September. Susan has a monthly newsletter, famous in certain circles, named “Willard,” after her grandfather. Susan’s artwork has graced many products over the years, from pajamas and teapots, to hooked rugs, calendars, and scrapbooks. She also designs quilting fabrics for Cranston’s “Quilting Treasures.” Please visit her “ancient, but still beautiful” 14-year-old website, SusanBranch.com.

Susan will be featured in the Autumn 2011 issue of WHERE WOMEN CREATE and will be signing copies at the Autograph Party.