ANNA LEE / Ms. Anna Lee / @xomissannalee
As a producer, artist, designer, and Creative Guidance counselor, Ms. Anna Lee has helped artists of all genres expand their creative endeavors for over twenty years.
Through her events, workshops, energy paintings, and creative guidance sessions, one gains a better understanding of the individual, the collective, and their responsibility to the self and each other through creative exercises, contemplation, and discussion.
JULIE LARSON / @walnumfox
Julie Marie Larson is a poet, writer, proofreader and researcher. Her most recent publication, “Father Tongue,” will be in the forthcoming issue of the Northern Narratives. In 2021 she became a certified teacher of mindfulness mediation through the School of Positive Transformation and is learning ways to braid meditation into a healthy writing practice. During the last five years she has focused on researching the function and potentiation of herbal medicines, fungi, dietary nutrients, nootropics, and the human microbiome. These are elements and systems which she believes have and will continue to provide insight on how living beings can supplement their diet for optimum cognitive and body support and functioning – including and especially the creation of various types of art. She is deeply influenced by a subconscious/symbolic/Jungian approach to writing and instruction based on the idea of alchemizing pain, anxiety and overthinking into art and how those fusions and intersections might just slowly-but-surely make the world a better place – for all living beings.
CHRIS LARSON / Wrapture / @pinstrype
Chris Larson is a graphic designer, illustrator, and art director. He currently works as a freelancer after honing his skills at a global beauty brand for over a decade. In 2021, he founded Wrapture, an eco-friendly, subscription-based wrapping paper brand. This is his first mural.
NANCY X. VALENTINE / Nancy X. Valentine / @nancyxvalentine
Nancy XiáoRong Valentine is a Chinese American artist living and making a life in rural Otter Tail County, Minnesota. Conceived as the second child of a family residing in Lanzhou, Gansu during the era of China’s ‘One Child Policy,’ Valentine views her artistry as a channel to deepen her cultural connections to and between her Chinese heritage and Midwestern roots. Valentine’s artwork is woven with nuance and symbolism resulting in conceptually complex visual stories meant to evoke empathy.
SARAH FAITH STRONG / Sarah Faith Strong / @sarahfaithstrong
Sarah Strong, a traveling flâneur, photographer, cook, and mostly life-long Minnesotan who thrives on documenting the simple bits of everyday life, ideally people cooking & eating together.
CANDACE STOCK / website coming soon / @candy_sstock
Creating food that maintains the body but excites the taste buds. Chef Candace started her career by selling cookies to her teachers in middle school. Knowing she wanted a career in food service and hospitality she paid close attention to how her foods were cultivated and sourced. Growing up in rural Minnesota on the White Earth Reservation, fresh fruits and vegetables were available in backyard gardens. Despite being surrounded by farmland, finding quality produce was a challenge. Grocery stores in small towns provide little variety. Convenience foods and gas stations provide food for those that can not afford the time to garden. If not for a family of farmers, her culinary career would have suffered greatly.
Candace received a Bachelor Degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park NY.
Her work is influenced by heritage, and honed through years of training and travel. Several years working in restaurants, catering companies and agriculture.
Currently working for BernBaum's with a focus in catering and events.
KELSY OSTERMAN / Kelsy Osterman / @kelsyosterman
Kelsy is a Minnesota-born artist and hair stylist who works in both New York and Minneapolis. Her artistry is an exploration of spiritual and physical textures; a study of hair, Nature, and change that are understood more deeply through the prisms of photography and environment. As a veteran master stylist, Kelsy has worked privately with clients including Gwyneth Paltrow and Courtney Love, and on shoots for Vogue, å, and Elle. She spent fifteen seasons bringing her unique senses to New York Fashion week, but her ethos has been most nurtured by the Joshua Tree earth. While studying the character changes of hair in wind, sun, and rain in the California desert, Kelsy experienced a unity between external calm and internal peace. These states of connectedness led to the development of her first major installation, Human Nature. Over the course of her career, Kelsy, a self taught artist and photographer, has used her photographs as a way of sharing the stories, patterns, and sensory experiences communicated through hair.
PAST COLLABORATORS
Debut Collection- Sense of Place- Sense of Self- Body of Work
LAUREN KRYSTI / Lauren Krysti Photography / @lauren_krysti
Collaborator. Tastemaker. Visionary. Photographer Lauren Krysti is all of these. Lauren is an award-winning photographer with nearly 30 years of experience working with retailers, advertising agencies, and editorial publications. Recent projects include campaigns for Target, Thymes, Mall of America, and Galleria Edina. With a background in graphic design and a passion for editorial photography, Lauren is known in the industry for her clean, minimal lighting and sleek, understated style. Those who work with Lauren are immediately put at ease by her calming energy, fierce determination, and ability to create strong emotional connections. Hailing from Chicago, Lauren lives in Minneapolis and enjoys connecting and collaborating with brands and makers from near and far.
Debut Collection- Sense of Place
MELANIE HAROLDSON / Haroldson Art & Design / @h.aand
Melanie Haroldson is an award winning Designer turned Creative Director with a passion for story telling through photography and styling. You can find her love for illustration, sculpture, paper arts, writing and photography influencing the unique and creative solutions in her work — featured by Print Magazine, Communication Arts, AIGA and The Show to name a few. Residing in Minneapolis, Melanie works with local agencies, studios and photographers on a project basis as well as ongoing work with her own clients. Always interested in collaborating or taking on new projects with people who value design and share a passion for what they do.
Sense of Place- Sense of Self
KYLEE LEONETTI and CHRISTIAN JENSEN / Kylee and Christian Creative / @kyleeandchristiancreative
Kylee and Christian are visual thinkers who love telling stories. Christian’s lifelong passion for movies allows him to bring an artistic and thoughtful method of storytelling to the table, while Kylee’s background in live television gives her an undeniable craving for immediacy and high-quality content on any project she produces. They met on set in 2009, and in 2013 decided to combine their many years of experience to form a company that would give them the perfect platform to create engaging visual experiences for their clients.
Sense of Place- Sense of Self
KRISTINE LOEHRER / Kristine Loehrer / @makeupjunkie9
Kristine is a self proclaimed makeup-junkie.
She has been a Published Professional Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist for 7 years. It all started when she was a little girl, tearing out pictures in magazines and watching television shows and films, admiring the glamorous women and feeling inspired by what she saw on the covers. She began collecting cosmetics and would practice on her friends to gain experience. She attended Regency Beauty Institute in 2008 where she became a licensed cosmetologist. In 2009, she attended a makeup artistry school in the midwest and is a trained media makeup artist for commercial, private client, bridal, television, film and light special effects. Kristine is passionate about the artistic nature of being a hair and makeup artist, being able to express herself and enjoys the creativity that comes with it. She believes hair and makeup has a transforming effect, by not only enhancing a clients beauty, but their confidence as well.
Debut Collection- Body of Work
GINA MARIE / House of Gina Marie / @houseginamarie
At the House of Gina Marie we embody an ethos- one of taking flight to fearless exploration, of maintaining an anchor to sustainability, of community building, of heart. You’ll discover Gina Marie’s tailored women’s apparel & accessories that harken the lady-like aesthetics of Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O. For a life lived to its fullest, with style of course. Like these spirited personalities, we value perseverance, independence, culture, and fortitude. Gina Marie is committed to the responsible design of dresses and separates to be unequivocally yours. Gina Moorhead honed that trait peculiar to folks born of extreme weather conditions, fog and rain to commit themselves, to push forward and see their passions realized. Those in her world know her by her smile, infectious liveliness, passion and drive that translates to her work. Gina Marie designs reflect her spirit- modern, beautiful, independent, bright and Nordic- a mirror of the life she lives.
Website
HILARY DAVIS / Hilary Davis Design / @hilarydavisdesign
Hilary is an art director and designer based in New York. She loves working with brands that hold a special place in people's hearts, but need a refresh – or a redefinition. Her contagious enthusiasm and a collaborative spirit bring projects from concept to completion.
Growing up in the Midwest taught her the power of honest communication combined with a steely work ethic. Traveling (to a country on the other side of the world, or a new town upstate) inspires and motivates her to continue learning. As an alternate creative outlet, she plays electric violin in rock bands.
Debut Collection
KELSY OSTERMAN / KLO Hair / @klohair
Stylist yet sculptress, Kelsy specializes in building an infrastructure that supports the raw and human element of hair. She reallocates weight and density until everything falls into perfect form. Inspired by hair's natural growth patterns and characteristics, Kelsy builds around the boundaries between motion and stillness, treating hair as a natural medium influenced by the environment. Kelsy's passion is in creating a sensory experience through an appreciation for the hair journey.
Sense of Place- Sense of Self- Body of Work
KAROLINE WELLS / Elixery / @elixery
Our model is simple, but rare: We formulate original products, develop our own colors, and compound products from scratch in our laboratory. This gives us an intimate understanding of our products that few modern companies can claim.
We believe in the simplicity of beauty, the elegance of science, and the dignity of all people. We believe in gender equity and critical thinking--and we believe that smart is sexy.
We search the world to source the finest ingredients to ensure our raw materials are safe, ethical, and free of animal testing.
Debut Collection - Body of Work
FATIMA OLIVE / Fatima Olive Beauty / @fatimaolivebeauty
Fatima Olive is a professional freelance editorial makeup & hair artist whose career spans a broad spectrum of the beauty industry. Fatima began working in the salon industry and because of her ability to combine makeup artistry and hair styling Horst Rechelbacher invited her to join Aveda. Fatima has worked developing and shading makeup products, consulting for both national and international brands, as well as creating beauty content for companies. At the heart of it Fatima is a beauty pragmatic—a woman who loves showing other women how to look their best with great products and simple techniques.
Ask Fatima Olive to define beauty, and she’s got it down: “Beauty is magic, confidence, and power. Beauty is imperfection. It’s appreciation for what you have, not what you don’t have. Its unique.” That doesn’t mean that a little smoke-and-mirror effect can’t help, though.
FALL 2017: Debut Collaboration
EMMA BERG / Emma Berg / @emma___berg
Emma Berg lives in Manhattan and is a Minneapolis native, with a background in studio art and costume design. She has been creating limited run collections for nearly a decade, each with a unique story and perspective. Her collections strive to inspire individuals to be or do something beyond their current place of comfort.
FALL 2017: Debut Collaboration
STEPHANIE LAKE / Stephanie Lake Design / @stephanielakedesign
The fifth scholar in the world granted a Ph.D. in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture, Dr. Stephanie Lake worked internationally as a decorative arts curator and Sotheby’s auction specialist before turning her attention to jewelry design in 2007, launching her eponymous firm that year. Her one of a kind designs are informed by her work in Paris, London, Istanbul, Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles, examining some of the world’s most extraordinary collections and collectors. Her namesake jewelry salon is located within the Mona Williams boutique at the Mall of America.
In addition to helming Stephanie Lake Design, Dr. Lake is the author of the highly-acclaimed and definitive Cashin monograph, Bonnie Cashin: Chic is Where You Find It (Rizzoli). Heralded by the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and by the New York Journal of Books as training “a white light on one of the most brilliant designing minds of any century . . . the bar has been raised.” Lake has been named “Best Jewelry Designer” by numerous publications of record and maintains her studio, private showroom and Cashin archive in Minneapolis, where she lives with her husband and young daughter.
