We are honoured today to announce the members of our Jury for "The Poppies", our virtual awards event we are currently holding here on the blog. The Jury will choose a winner from each category from all of the current nominees. This selection is in addition to the "The People's Choice" winners people are currently voting on. We asked these people for two reasons. First we respect their eye in a MAJOR way and secondly because they are all well-respected in their fields and well-known within the online community. They will be announcing their winners on Friday, February 5th/10.


Lisa Solomon



Lisa Solomon is a mixed media artist who is profoundly interested in the notion of hybridization. Her work often questions and deconstructs the meaning of identity through the exploration of mediums traditionally associated with domestic crafts. She also moonlights as a professor, graphic designer, crafter, and amateur photographer.

Born in Tuscon, AZ to a Japanese mother and a Caucasian father, she has exhibited her work all across the United States and internationally . She lives and works in Northern California with her husband, daughter, 2 dogs, a cat and many, many spools of thread.



Kate Bingaman-Burt



Kate Bingaman-Burt was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1977. She founded Obsessive Consumption in 2002 and has documented her personal consumption in many different mediums. Her first book, Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?, will be published by Princeton Architectural Press in April 2010.

Bingaman-Burt is active in the indie craft and craftivism movements. She provided all of the illustrations for the book Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft and Design as well as the promotional materials for the documentary of the same name. She lives in Portland, Oregon where, along with being an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Portland State University, she also makes piles of work about consumerism (zines! pillows! dresses! drawings! paper chains! photos!). She happily draws for other good people too (IDEO, Madewell, ReadyMade Magazine, The New York Times, Wieden + Kennedy). Kate also conducts zine workshops and spreads the craftivism word.


Faythe Levine



Faythe Levine is the director and co-author of Handmade Nation. She is also an avid art collector, curator and maker of various things. You can find her in tucked away in Milwaukee, WI where she used to run the recently closed Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery and produces the annual indie fair, Art vs. Craft. Keep an eye out for her new 2010 projects TBA very soon.




Victoria Smith



Victoria Smith is a San Francisco based design blogger, hopeful photographer, design junkie and bonafide flea market queen. Victoria writes sfgirlbybay.com, one of the West Coast’s leading interior design blogs, featuring behind the scenes interviews and home & studio tours of up-and-coming artists; design/art event coverage; as well as offering affordable interior design inspiration and ideas, always encouraging individuality and unique, personal style.



Andrea Jenkins



Andrea Corrona Jenkins is a Portland-based photographer, writer, occasional modern dancer teacher and self-proclaimed photobooth fanatic. She's a regular contributor for the ever-delightful Uppercase magazine and has also been featured on the pages of Light Leaks, Artful Blogging, Glimpse and Life Images. She lives with her husband and two children in a cottage filled with too many collections and can often be found extolling the virtues of polaroid cameras, list-making and rickety old bicycles over on her blog, hula seventy.


Irene Hoofs



Irene lives in the beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur. She was born in Amsterdam where she spent most of her student days (a long time ago...). When you add her two boys to her husband, Rik, she now has 3 men (all look-a-likes…) in the house. Irene spends most of her days taking care for her boys and writing on her two design blogs, Bloesem and B:Kids. Writing about and discussing everything that has to do with design and arts with her readers (both silly and serious stuff…) is very much a part of who she is. Being connected to the entire world through a shared passion for design is an amazing experience for her and gives a truly rewarding feel.



Jen Anisef




Jen first experienced the power of craft when she spent a year in rural Japan in 1999 and was blown away by the importance of handwork in the lives of everyone from children to the elderly. When she returned to Canada she co-founded the Montreal Chapter of Church of Craft and wrote a Master's thesis exploring themes of community-building and political activism in contemporary craft culture. Her academic and community engagement in crafts inspired her to found the Toronto Craft Alert, an online resource and community hub championing Toronto area craft activity. Toronto Craft Alert is a partner inCity of Craft – a collective that encourages community engagement in craft and support independent craft businesses and practices by programming creative events and discussions. She also sits on the Board of the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto's largest and longest-running outdoor art show. Jen thinks Toronto has it going on in the contemporary craft department.