Contributors

Yoko Baum is a freelance illustrator, originally from Japan and now living in Portland, Oregon, who likes food and nature. Her work is bold and colorful, and she enjoys working with a variety of clients, from surface and editorial to advertising and design, to make everyone’s life more colorful. She cooks and draws, and wears hand-knitted socks every day.

Kristina Buckley is a printmaker and illustrator based in Portland, Maine. She received a BFA in printmaking from the Maine College of Art in 2015, and soon thereafter joined Pickwick Independent Press community printshop with a focus on risograph publishing. She is interested and invested in the intersection between the arts and community building. Find Kristina’s work at twofern.com and on Instagram @twofern.

Amanda Julia Steinback is an artist and photographer from Posey County, Indiana, who is currently based out of Kansas City. She freestyles lengthy solo road trips exploring the mythic American West and rendering it through a queer lens. When not focusing on her fine art photography, Amanda also does editorial and documentation work for creatives. She has shown works in galleries in Indianapolis, San Antonio, and Austin. Find her on Instagram @_big_fern_.

Maryellen Weimer is a retired Pennsylvania State University professor. She lives most of the year on forty acres in north central Pennsylvania, where she spends time walking her two dogs, knitting, writing, and reading books she wishes she’d written. In the summer she’s in the Adirondacks, on Bluff Island in Tupper Lake, doing the same things.

Kelly Renee is a writer, storyteller, knitter, gardener, kitchen conjurer, mother, wife, and collector of hobbies. She enjoys nothing more than hearing or telling a good story and believes strongly in the power of storytelling to foster community and create space for people to feel seen and heard. Stories reach into places where we might otherwise feel alone, and whisper reassuringly, “not just you, me too.” She can be found sharing stories and mental health skills on Instagram @ohheykellyrenee.

Mari Jyväsjärvi Stuart is a regenerative designer, homesteader, and writer fascinated by where things come from and how they are made. Originally from Finland, she now stewards a third-of-an-acre urban homestead in Asheville, North Carolina. She designs regenerative sourcing systems at Terra Genesis and is a cofounder of Carbon Harvest, a regional agroforestry carbon project. Find her on Instagram @mari.stewards.

Ashley Moore tends a garden, three children, and a whole pile of animal friends on a half-acre hillside in Carpinteria, California, with her husband, Ryan. She is the co-author of The Women’s Heritage Sourcebook and The Children’s Heritage Sourcebook (Welcome Books), and co-owner of Heritage Goods and Supply, a country store and workshop hub. Find her on Instagram @motherhestia and @heritagegoodsandsupply.

 Amanda Lee Lazorchack of Please Send Word Brooms lives and crafts in the Heartland. As a broom maker, she is delighted by traditional craft and domestic history. She crafts sweeps for all occasions, and her seasonal collections of botanically dyed brooms are her favorite. You can find her work or strike up a conversation at pleasesendword.com.

Rhett Arens is a writer and photographer living in Stillwater, Minnesota, who loves travel. He appreciates how it connects strangers and broadens perspectives. His work has appeared in The Paris Review, Nueva Luz, Travel and Leisure, and more. Rhett plans to continue exploring while broadening his global portfolios and seeking out engaging stories. 

Crystal Schmidt creator of Whole-Fed Homestead (wholefedhomestead.com), is devoted to sharing the skills of growing, preserving, and cooking with whole foods on her website and social media channels. She is the author of Freeze Fresh, a book that teaches how to freeze fifty-five common fruits and vegetables.

Roux is an artist and woodworker living in Florida and making friends with the trees around her. She enjoys her morning visits from Tabbethia the sandhill crane and is currently up to her ears in sawdust and natural dyes. Follow her adventures in art and nature on Instagram @handcarvedhooks. To view all her works of art, visit handcarvedhooks.com.

Alicia Plummer is a lover of literature and storytelling in all forms. She transcribes metaphors and stories through texture and stitch, drawing inspiration from personal experiences, memories, and feelings. When she is not knitting, she is busy renovating her mid 1800s home in Midcoast Maine, spending time with her family exploring the outdoors, or reading. She also loves animals and hugs. You can find her on Instagram as Aliciaplums, & she is also the coauthor of Plum Dandi Knits.