New Peeps!

Emma Dines- Bike & Elephant Crafts
Emma Dines has been hounded for years by friends to make her crafts and sell them! She has just recently taken the dive into producing crafts to sell and is really enjoying creating her label Bike and Elephant Crafts. Emma studied theatre and creative writing at the University of Waterloo and currently teaches yoga, tends to her garden and dances. She is a founding member of the Spark Poets collective, a secret gang of rowdy girls making art at night in public places. The Spark Poets have had a number of photography exhibits around the KW area and are thrilled to be represented by Emma at RareFunk

Jenna Holtz - Ice Cream For Breakfast
When she is not running around in the forest or eating food, Jenna is making vintage-inspired clothes and up-cycling old garments.  After finishing her science degree at the University of Waterloo she decided to turn a long-time hobby into something more, and plunge into the realm of clothing design.  She is heavily influenced by 1940s, 50s, and 60s fashion because of the way that it flatters the female figure.  Her disdain for yucky-feeling fabrics is also evident - all of her creations are lovely to touch, while all itchy synthetic fabrics have been eternally banished from her sewing machine.  :-)  Someday she hopes to score herself a sweet dressmaker's dummy so that she looks like a real pro when she is working.

Dan Rivero - Artist
When Dan is not working as a chef to earn his bread and butter, he paints.  Dan’s style ranges from abstract to pop-art mixed with elements of surrealism.  Punk rock and early NY graffiti (Dondi), Andy Warhol, and vibrant Latin murals (influences from his Cuban heritage) are his biggest inspirations.    Although Dan has no formal training in art – it has been self taught and engrained from his early teens sketching and working with spray paint.  Eventually Dan got involved in the art scene in high school doing presentations on graffiti for Arts Celebration week.  More recently he has been using acrylic in combination with spray paint and oil on canvas. Dan has participated in fundraisers, exhibiting his pieces at The Skydragon Café, Parkview Nursing Centre and Touche nightclub. Dan’s work has been on Exhibit at The Pepperjack Café, Atomica Tattoo, This Ain’t Hollywood, and The Casbah Music Venue.  More recently Dan has been busy operating his own business (Abstract Visions) from home producing custom art for homes and commercial spaces as well as dabbling in some live music and band photography. A selection of Dan’s paintings can be found for sale at RareFunk.

Michelle Popp – ErosDIY
Michelle has been sewing from a young age when she would watch her mom and from there, taught herself.  She enjoys making her own patterns and designs from as many different materials that she can find.  Michelle loves shopping vintage and using old things to make something new and interesting.  Victorian is something that catches her eye the most.   She loves working with color and texture to create unique fashions.  Most of her creations are few of a kind but she does take custom orders and can often recreate her designs in different sizes.  A unique selection of Michelle’s designs can be found for sale at RareFunk.

Megan Philbin – Rejected Clothing
The Rejected clothing line is by designer Megan Philbin, of St Thomas Ontario, a small, yet eclectic town with an active punk/industrial/metal scene. Her favourite designers are the influential Vivvienne Westwood and Betsey Johnson.  Established in 2005 and normally sold exclusively online, anyone can show their playful side with this line of unique fits and embellished details.  The clothing line strives to be fun, flirty, quirky and sexy, with clothes and accessories that can be mixed and matched for day or night time, dressed up or down, and look great on ANY body type.   Every season boasts pieces that range from soft and comfortable, to funky and eye-catching. A fabulous selection of Megan’s clothing can be found for sale at RareFunk.

Maggie Krawczyk - XXXLittWear
Maggie Krawczyk is a self taught artist, specializing in the creation of unique jewellery.   In 2007 Maggie started her first business, Neogami Origami Jewellery and now has her work being sold in several boutiques, online, and at local craft shows and events.   In 2010 she came in to possession of over 100 vintage pornographic novels, and got to work right away finding a purpose for them.  After much design and debate, XXXLittWear came in to being!   Maggie now creates simple yet shocking pendants, rings, and cuff links all featuring original excerpts from vintage adult novels, and bearing the XXXLittWear logo.

Ruth Smith – Periwinkle Designs: Future Friendly Accessories
Ruth views writing artist biographies about herself as a chore. There’s only so many creative ways to describe being crafty, cheap and a thrift store goddess living in suburban Winterpeg, Canada. Ruth views musty abandoned books and bags of industrial obsolescence as a challenging way to keep her Etsy store stocked. Her children are mostly embarrassed, as teenagers tend to be, and her husband will look the other way if she brings him a cold one first. The dog is fine with it all. Ruth likes to keep things from ending up in the trash and has a special relationship with a few factories that feel sorry for her and would rather set the rapid technology change induced trash aside, than rescue her from the trash bin, again. A selection of Ruth’s computer component jewellery and pin back buttons are available at RareFunk.

Lisa Roussel – Mosaic Ma Vie
In recent years, Lisa Roussel, also known as "Granny" has found herself in the unique position of raising her first grandchild. Although raised in three separate Ontario cities, Kitchener has always been the true home of her heart, and after fifteen years away she decided to return in 2010. Admittedly a tad eccentric & hugely creative, that creativity was stunted through her early years by parents who refused to allow her to take art classes in school. In her adult years she has dabbled in many differing arts, from quilting and sewing, to creating her own stencils and altered books, and even recreating furniture. In 2002 while browsing Ebay she stumbled upon a corner nicknack shelf mosaiced in vintage china, and found herself enthralled by this unique art form. Still to this day, Lisa has not taken any formal art training, but rather has researched through books as well as the internet to obtain the skills she has achieved after rigorous trials and errors. Truly passionate and a bit obsessed by mosaics Lisa deftly and fearlessly scoops handfuls of broken china or glass while creating and prefers to grout each piece with glove bare hands. Lisa is very excited about the new opportunity of having RareFunk promoting her artworks!

Ben Ross – Artist
 Ben Ross is a guelphite, younger than his age requires, consistently inspired by nature and still working on developing his craft.  Ben often engages in renaissance festivals, steampunk throwdowns and other subculture frivolities. Ben works with steel, copper and any other metals found in junk yards.  A selection of Ben’s metal trees and dragon fly magnets can be found for sale at RareFunk.