Heather McKinnon. Heather has been drawn to all forms of artistic endeavors from a young age. Starting with surface embroidery using designs stamped on pillow cases as a young child and then, as a teen, learning to sew and making everything from pajamas and suits to bridesmaid dresses and even a wedding dress for a friend. In addition to embroidery, Heather also engages with bear making, Torchon lacemaking, needle felting, beading and any other creative efforts that fulfills the artistic side of her brain. After completing a BSc in Computer Science, Heather needed a creative outlet while traveling on business trips. She taught herself cross-stitch. This was her first step back into the embroidery world since working on the embroidered pillow cases.

Working full time and raising four children limited her opportunities for creative output but she still found time to cross stitch. When Heather moved away from the corporate world she was able to pursue other forms embroidery. The pandemic opened up a whole new world of embroidery opportunities with online classes. She dove deep into learning new techniques, the history of embroidery, colour theory and discovered the emotional impact of expressing ideas through fibre and needle.

For her continuing personal development, Heather takes classes online and in person. Most recently, she has been enjoying the National Art Gallery of London virtual lecture series which has resulted in her considering a return to university to pursue a degree in Art History. Heather’s goal, as Director of Education for the Embroidery Association of Canada, Inc. / Association canadienne de broderie, Inc., is to preserve the art of hand-embroidery in all its forms. Making sure that embroidery skills and techniques continue to be taught is crucial to ensuring that this exquisite form of artistic expression is continued into the future.

Rachel Smith. Rachel lives in Langley, BC, just outside Vancouver, with her husband and two very active kids. Always on the go, they love to explore, camp and hike, watch soccer, and of course, Rachel always has her spindles with her! Obsessed with wool and hand-processing, spinning and weaving, as well as teaching, Rachel hosts the podcast Wool n' Spinning on YouTube and writes for PURL, PLY and WEFT magazines, as well as teaches for the School of SweetGeorgia. Find her at YouTube.com/c/RachelSmith

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Diana Twiss. Diana is passionate about fibre, fabric, colour and texture. An experienced teacher with a background in adult education, she has successfully introduced many beginners to the wonders of making yarn and has helped more experienced spinners experiment with technique, colour, and fibre to take their spinning to a new level. Her favourite tools for yarn making are spindles because of their simplicity, beauty and portability. You can see how she combines all her fibre intersets and skills by following her pursuits to make yarn from locally sourced wool, llama, alpaca and mohair on her blog 100milewear. You can find Diana’s patterns on ravelry

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Janna Maria Vallee is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in the media of plant dyeing and weft-faced tapestry weaving. In 2008 Janna attended Capilano University's technical Textile Arts program and in 2013 graduated with distinction with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Fibres and Material Practices program at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. In 2016 she returned with her family to her home region, the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, where she runs Everlea Yarn Co.  Everlea Yarn Co is Janna's hand-crafted looms and plant-dyed yarn, featuring consciously sourced wool yarn which is spun in Canada and then hand-dyed with plants, as well as handmade looms - all made by Janna. everleayarn