About Jeanette
I was a kid who loved to make things. I especially enjoyed figuring out how to take the flicker of an idea and turn it into something real. Almost all of the projects in my classes are my original designs or adaptations of classic ideas -- because I still love figuring stuff out and making things!
My Philosophy
A 12 year-old student once wrote on a class evaluation:"[Jeanette is] very friendly and helpful. She will help you reach your goals. [In the class] there is a lot of choice - what you want to do, instead of assignments or pre-chosen stuff."
That evaluation sums up my goals in all of my classes: to be friendly, helpful, and honor the interests and abilities of the individual student.
That evaluation sums up my goals in all of my classes: to be friendly, helpful, and honor the interests and abilities of the individual student.
Providing a safe and supportive environment, as well as having the right materials and tools at hand, are the cornerstones of my programs. In my small group classes and workshops (3:1 or lower student to teacher ratio) I am able to offer personalized attention, high-quality materials, and creative flexibility. I design most of my class projects not just because I enjoy the creative process, but because I want to make sure that the projects that I present in my classes are doable and will provide a pleasurable and successful creative experience for my students. Offering choices and taking into consideration the tastes, interests, creativity, and varying skill levels of my students are also important to the success of my programs. Whenever possible, I encourage recycling, reuse, and reducing waste by reusing scraps, and incorporating thrift shop finds, vintage notions, and recycled materials into projects.
In creating classes I draw on my experience as a mom, my artistic professional work in Seattle and Bainbridge Island as a floral presentation and display designer, and my drama training at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. But most of all, I draw from the blissful hours I spent crafting as a child: designing doll clothes, creating stuffed animals, and engineering mouse houses.
I am happy to collaborate with students and families to figure out the best approach and adaptations necessary to make crafting accessible to everyone!
In creating classes I draw on my experience as a mom, my artistic professional work in Seattle and Bainbridge Island as a floral presentation and display designer, and my drama training at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. But most of all, I draw from the blissful hours I spent crafting as a child: designing doll clothes, creating stuffed animals, and engineering mouse houses.
I am happy to collaborate with students and families to figure out the best approach and adaptations necessary to make crafting accessible to everyone!
My Background
I made this doll when I was about 10 years old!
Born to an artsy-craftsy mom, I was the lucky recipient of the extra bits of exotic materials leftover from her own projects: hot pink velvet, sequins and seed beads, dried flowers, and vintage magazines. At the age of five or six, I dreamed of being the next Oscar de la Renta, with my Barbie doubling as haute couture model and savvy customer. I soon expanded my crafting repertoire to include embroidery, making miniatures, stuffed animals and decoupage. At the same time, I was honing my acting and costume making skills with backyard productions of "Little Women" and an all-girl stage version of "Get Smart." I learned to sew by hand and machine by watching my mother and grandmother, by reading sewing articles in McCall's magazine, and eventually through the very rigorous 4-H sewing program. As a teen I made many of my own clothes including a wardrobe of evening gowns suitable for choir concerts, formal dinner parties, and junior prom.
Originally from Trenton, NJ, I moved to Seattle in 1980 shortly after graduating from acting school in New York City. I made a very brief go of acting in Seattle, but quickly found a comfortable new profession in retail with Nordstrom: back to fashion, my first love. I worked in several different departments, but still longed to be making things with my hands, so I went to floral design school and joined the floral presentation team in the now-defunct Nordstrom Catering division. I loved going to work every day to a super-creative environment of the floral design workshop. Then a new opportunity came along - motherhood and a move to Bainbridge Island.
Having given birth to a wonderfully creative child, I soon found myself creating art and craft experiences for my then young daughter and her friends. In 2000, I casually mentioned what I was doing with arts and crafts to an acquaintance and a few weeks later, I was offered the opportunity to present a two-week nature arts and crafts camp for the Bainbridge Island park district. At the time I had no idea how to teach a group of elementary-aged kids, but those two weeks went well and my supervisor asked me, "What else can you do?"
The answer to that question was, "Lots more!" Over the last 18 years I have created classes and camps in sewing, beading, magic, puppet making, miniatures, decorative painting, toy and game making, paper crafts, collage, book making, and more. I have taught students as young as two years old all the way up to students in their 90's.
Not having a formal education in educating, a few years ago I took several classes in child development and education at Olympic College in Bremerton. I enthusiastically absorbed information and ideas about stages of development, learning differences, and educational theory. My college experience further reinforced for me that continuing to learn, and sharing what I know about crafts, is my calling.
On the personal side, five years ago I moved back to the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle with my family after 19 years living on Bainbridge Island. In addition to sewing (a lot), in my spare time I enjoy planning for and traveling with my family, reading the Seattle Times at breakfast, going to movies, thrift store treasure hunting, searching for a decent NY bagel in Seattle and learning how to make sock puppet iMovies!
Originally from Trenton, NJ, I moved to Seattle in 1980 shortly after graduating from acting school in New York City. I made a very brief go of acting in Seattle, but quickly found a comfortable new profession in retail with Nordstrom: back to fashion, my first love. I worked in several different departments, but still longed to be making things with my hands, so I went to floral design school and joined the floral presentation team in the now-defunct Nordstrom Catering division. I loved going to work every day to a super-creative environment of the floral design workshop. Then a new opportunity came along - motherhood and a move to Bainbridge Island.
Having given birth to a wonderfully creative child, I soon found myself creating art and craft experiences for my then young daughter and her friends. In 2000, I casually mentioned what I was doing with arts and crafts to an acquaintance and a few weeks later, I was offered the opportunity to present a two-week nature arts and crafts camp for the Bainbridge Island park district. At the time I had no idea how to teach a group of elementary-aged kids, but those two weeks went well and my supervisor asked me, "What else can you do?"
The answer to that question was, "Lots more!" Over the last 18 years I have created classes and camps in sewing, beading, magic, puppet making, miniatures, decorative painting, toy and game making, paper crafts, collage, book making, and more. I have taught students as young as two years old all the way up to students in their 90's.
Not having a formal education in educating, a few years ago I took several classes in child development and education at Olympic College in Bremerton. I enthusiastically absorbed information and ideas about stages of development, learning differences, and educational theory. My college experience further reinforced for me that continuing to learn, and sharing what I know about crafts, is my calling.
On the personal side, five years ago I moved back to the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle with my family after 19 years living on Bainbridge Island. In addition to sewing (a lot), in my spare time I enjoy planning for and traveling with my family, reading the Seattle Times at breakfast, going to movies, thrift store treasure hunting, searching for a decent NY bagel in Seattle and learning how to make sock puppet iMovies!
