Each episode of the Building a Creative Brand series features straight talk with creative rockstars including artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon, Christine Schmidt from Yellow Owl Workshop, fabric designer Heather Ross, Liesl and Todd Gibson of Oliver + S Sewing Patterns, and craft book publisher Melanie Falick. 

Fine artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon is best known for her colorful abstract paintings, intricate line drawings, pattern design & hand lettering. She works for clients around the world including the MoMA, Harvard University, Martha Stewart Living, Chronicle Books, The Land of Nod, Simon & Schuster, and Cloud9 Fabrics, among many others. She exhibits her work around the country, including in shows at the Contemporary Jewish Museum and Bedford Gallery. Lisa is the author of five books, including the starving-artist-myth-smashing Art Inc: The Essential Guide to Building Your Career as an Artist, and illustrated books Fortune Favors the Brave, Whatever You Are, Be a Good One, Twenty Ways to Draw a Tulip and A Collection a Day. She was named one of 40 Women Over 40 to Watch in 2015. 

Christine Schmidt is the author of Print Workshop: Hand Printing Techniques and Truly Original Projects, and the founder of Yellow Owl Workshop, a company known for its distinctive designs printed with natural materials. Yellow Owl Workshop has been featured in well-known magazines and websites such as Martha Stewart Weddings and Apartment Therapy. Her products are carried in more than 500 stores worldwide.

Heather Ross is an illustrator, author, and textile designer with a large following in the crafts and sewing markets. Her textile designs are among the most recognizable in the retail fabric market and are a favorite among home sewers of clothing, accessories, and decor for children. Heather wrote Weekend Sewing, a best-selling how-to sewing book. She teaches sewing and crafts to women and girls of all ages through her popular sewing retreats. Heather’s client list includes a wide range of product lines and companies, including high end home decor and fashion fabrics for Kokka of Japan, paper goods for Chronicle Books, original artwork for Polar Bears International, for whom she acts as artistic ambassador, and even surfboards (Walden Surfboards, Artists Series Signature Line). 

Liesl Gibson is the designer behind the Oliver + S, Liesl + Co., Lisette for Butterick, and Straight Stitch Society sewing patterns. She also designs fabric and is the author of Oliver + S Little Things to Sew and Oliver + S Building Block Dress. Liesl has a background in fashion design and lives with her family in Madrid, Spain.

Melanie Falick is currently working as a creative and editorial consultant. Until very recently she was the publishing director of STC Craft/Melanie Falick Books, an imprint of Abrams. Among the many authors whose books she has edited are Creativebug artists Natalie Chanin, Heather Ross, Heather Jones, Anna Joyce, Denyse Schmidt, Liesl Gibson, Gretchen Hirsch, and Kelly Wilkinson.  She is the former editor-in-chief of Interweave Knits magazine and the author of Weekend Knitting, America Knits (originally published as Knitting in America), Kids Knitting, Handknit Holidays, and Knit: A Personal Handbook, and the co-author (with Kristin Nicholas) of Knitting for Baby.