cathy Cathy Callahan was raised by a super-crafty mom in suburban Southern California during the '60s and '70s, and she can’t help but be influenced by the crafts and design of that period. Cathy gets inspiration for her work from her constantly expanding collection of vintage craft books and magazines. You can often find her digging around thrift stores of browsing eBay in hot pursuit of some long-forgotten craft item. Cathy has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and her work has been featured in Sunset, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Venus and Craft as well as on The CBS Early Show and KTLA News. Her products are available from retailers such as the MOCA Store, Tinsel Trading in New York, Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco and Reform School in Silver Lake. Cathy also sells her crafts at indie craft fairs including Renegade Craft Fair and Felt Club. Cathy shares her inspirations on her blog: cathyofcalifornia.typepad.com. Cathy's new book, Vintage Craft Workshop- Fresh Takes on 24 Classic Projects from the '60s and '70s is available now from Chronicle Books.

CQ CQ is our resident design diva, blog blabber and website watchdog. Born Christina Quarles, CQ has always loved drawing, doodling and designing and finds daily inspiration from the imaginative world of children. CQ has worked in several companies that, like Kimmel Kids, share her enthusiasm for kid’s creativity, including the Armory Center for the Arts and Sesame Street. When she’s not knee-deep in Pantone color swatches, CQ is most likely exhibiting her paintings statewide and abroad, out hiking in the mountains with her girlfriend and herbalist Alyssa or watching Gone with the Wind with her red tabby, Chief. Visit christinaquarles.com to check out CQ the painter and christinaquarles.tumblr.com/ to check out CQ the designer.

eileen Eileen is the resident social butterfly at Karen Kimmel Studios. While growing up in the mitten state of Michigan she developed a love for art + design early in life. From taking after-school classes at Paint Creek Center for the Arts, to wandering the halls of Cranbrook during weekend chinese school breaks, aesthetics now reigns supreme in all aspects of Eileen's life! When she's not busy crafting social media fun, obsessively snapping photos for Instagram or pinning DIY ideas on Pinterest, you can find Eileen in her quaint little Venice Beach bungalow where she cohabitates with her boyfriend, their two cats Truman + Victor, and pup Rusty. On the weekends she's most likely scouring for flea market treasures, baking carrot fries and quiches, or playing around on her lifestyle blog LA Lovetta.

karen Karen is the big kid at Kimmel Kids. She spends her day spinning her creative wheels working at the studio and consulting for creative companies such as Splendid and Nike. She loves poring over color palettes, drawing with her ever growing pencil and marker collection and directing creative in-office traffic. Her biggest accomplishments go by the names of Jersey and Ace, and she can often be found playing ultimate frisbee and picnicking in the park with friends on Sunday. Her secret dream is to design a simple beach house, grab a morning surf session and make drip sand castles in the setting sun.

kid concierge Tait Chatmon and Stacy Bernstein, two California moms, are founders of Kid Concierge, a full-service lifestyle marketing company. Tait and Stacy are family ambassadors that cater to each client’s specific lifestyle needs and they work as a conduit to creatively connect parents with unique products, services and experiences. Drawing from their own mom experience and relationships in the children’s industry, local media and community groups, Kid Concierge also works directly with brands to create customized marketing initiatives and one-of-a-kind events to build consumer loyalty and maximize their presence in the marketplace.

kristen Kristen is the resident spellchecker, tipi expert, crafting supervisor, blurb writer, yarn overlord, color coordinator, amateur detective and general know-it-all Gal Friday type at Karen Kimmel Studios. At various points in her life she has called Chicago, London, Santa Monica and St. Louis home, and has dabbled in academia, gallery and museum work before the fateful day she met Karen. Clocking hours looking at and reading about inspiring art is still one of Kristen’s favorite pastimes, but working at Kimmel Kids has taught her the therapeutic and life-changing benefits of actually getting paint, glue and glitter all over the place and making something marvelous for yourself! Kristen received her BA cum laude in Art History from Washington University in St. Louis in 2009.

leila Leila is the resident intern here at Karen Kimmel Studios, as well as lifelong intern to her big sister Kristen. When she's not grabbing lunches or coffees for the team, she spends her time sourcing materials, preparing for events or assembling stencil kits. While nothing in her English major has prepared her for this intrepid voyage into Karen's world of crafting - a wonderful place, populated largely by stencils and beads - she can't wait to get blogging about the fun projects, beautiful creations, and brilliant people she encounters on a daily basis here at Kimmel Kids. Leila is currently studying English and Film at Barnard.

sheryl Sheryl Cancellieri is an artist, entrepreneur, idea-generator, friend gatherer and arts-and-crafts gal. Sheryl has spent the past ten years developing products and businesses that fulfill a lifestyle niche with a creative solution: founder of Anybuddy-Hug in a bag, creator of Creative Spaces craft curriculum and the original Fairy School; Little Art Illustrations; Two Plums Paper; MOM2B maternity focused trade show and producing 90041 Handmade. Her favorite endeavor was painting the murals in the children's cardiology wing at the Los Angeles Children's Hospital. When she is not in the middle of creatively raising her three kids, you can find Sheryl doing stand up, hosting craft nights in her studio, repurposing furniture and journaling her ideas on art, life and humor in her blog: www.twoplumspaper.blogspot.com

tanya Tanya Aguiñiga is a furniture designer whose work is informed by the complex interactions between Tijuana and San Diego, the cities in which she has spent most of her life. While studying design at San Diego State University, she began working as an educator at the San Diego Museum of Art and created collaborative installations with the Border Arts Workshop, an artists' group that engages activism and community-based public art. After earning an MFA in furniture design from Rhode Island School of Design in 2005, Aguiñiga settled in Los Angeles. Her sensitivity to materials and interest in creating furniture that responds to the user's spatial needs have resulted in a playful and organic modernist approach to form. She hopes to deepen her commitment to ethical design by working with traditional artisans, connecting local craft traditions with a global economy. She has been an artist in residence at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts and The Native Art Center in Fairbanks, Alaska, and is currently teaching at Otis College of Art and Design while spearheading Artists Helping Artisans.

tanyak Tanya K. brings her creativity and inventive spirit to Karen Kimmel Studios as the junior graphic designer. She was born in South America, and spent her childhood coloring, drawing, making paper dolls and painting her nails with flower juice. Graphic design has become part of her daily life, and she finds her inspiration in blank canvases and empty pages - that's where all the fun begins! When she’s not working on her tablet and design programs, she’s playing princess with her small nieces, taking polaroid pictures, and finding any excuse to go camping.