Design Team

Di Oliver

I have always been passionate about art and craft, I started drawing and painting as a child and for a hobby I was commissioned to paint animal portraits in oils and watercolours.  

As the craft industry grew in the UK I started card-making and scrapbooking but I always had a hankering to create things in 3D.  My Father had built the most amazing Christmas Scene when we were children and I was totally inspired by him.  

Eventually, with husband Tony, we started up Tando Creative Limited in 2007 and began laser cutting shapes and simple 3D items.  We started to introduce unique kits that created inspiring 3D projects and we have grown from there.  I love designing and seeing my creations come to life is wonderful.  

I am now embarking on workshop and retreat programmes and extensive TV work to share our projects with everyone.  As well as being the sole designer for Tando Creative  I am also the co-founder of the fantastic Ministry of Mixology retreats.

 

Kaz Boughton

I’ve been making things for about 15 years now after starting card making when I found it difficult to get out to shops. I’ve had M.E since 1999.

 

I love being creative, but the last few years have seen the amount of things I’m able to make drop quite a bit as my health has declined. However, I’m at my most happiest when I’ve got painty fingers and I’m hoping to improve enough to be more consistent.

My blog: http://kazscraftbits.blogspot.com

 

 

Karen Gist

Hi everyone!  I am Karen and I live in Cornwall, UK along with my lovely husband Jeremy and a beautiful black cat, Sam.  

I can’t remember when I started making things but I was probably only about 4 or 5.  I was 6 when my Mum got me onto her sewing machine and I made my first skirt for myself!  I have been crafting in various forms ever since.  I was lucky that my Mum loved to make/alter things and I learnt along side her when she fancied a new crafting hobby.  

Nowadays I love working with paint the most and am very lucky that I have been playing with Tando since it was just an idea that Di had.  I love working with the 3D items the most but also love to think a little outside the box to make something a little different sometimes!  

My blog is: www.karenscarryons.blogspot.com

 

Carol Plume

 

Celia Low

I’ve been crafting in one way or anther since I was very young - knitting, sewing, crochet, just generally making things.
 
Like most people I started mixed media crafting with card making. I started to discover more about mixed media & went to a few workshops, including Andy Skinner & Kate Crane. I’ve been to a few Ministry of Mixology retreats, where I met the whole crazy Tando team and elves.
 
I’ve learned so many new techniques which I try & incorporate in my projects. I am thrilled to be joining the Tando team and look forward to making even more ‘things’!

 

Brenda Brown

 
I have designed and created things all my life even as a child in primary school I can remember designing patterns and images for my cross stitching, and it was my Mum who taught me how to knit and to use a sewing machine. As I got older I loved observational drawing and studied oil painting at college.
 
Being a full time primary school teacher prevented me from having too much time to explore my creative side whilst I was working but since retiring I have been able to have the luxury of designing, creating and making in my work room much more.
 
I love all things vintage, shabby and timeworn and designing projects that I can share through my blog or teach at workshops.
 
I am a DecoArt Helping Artist and Tutor and a member of their Design Team so their media line of paints and mediums are my go-to materials to work with and these work brilliantly on the Tando Creative greyboard, mdf and acrylic substrates.
 
Having worked through a variety of artistic genres over the years mixed media has definitely become my style taking me all the way back to my college days.
 

Fiona Randall

 
Since a young age I have always been very artistically minded. As I grew up more of my things gave way to artist materials and my bedroom took on the resemblence of an artists studio rather than a place to sleep. So you could say I started out with mixed media techniques in my artwork from a young age.
I do get my hands dirty with glue,ink and paint and create physical mixed media pieces of art. This is my passion  and I am enjoying every minute of it.
My tools of the trade are the DecoArt Media Line of products  and Tando  Grey Board substrates ( I love Grey Board )when creating my Mixed Media pieces and also photoshop of which I have had no formal training in this application. I have been stumbling around in the programme for  years and am mostly self taught apart from some great tips from my online friends.
I love to go back and look at my earlier artwork and see how my style has changed and how far I have come over the years. I am looking forward to where this journey will take me in the future. It's a wonderful artistic world out there on the internet and it's great to be a part of it in my own small way.

 

Nikki Killinger

 
Hi, I’m Nikki Killinger, otherwise known as Nikki K. 
 
I'm originally from the Dorset Heritage coast, where I grew up crafting from an early age, making cards and jewellery containing real fossils and polymer clay, and selling them in the local fossil shop. This lead on to card making, and then a natural progression onto Mixed Media, which is where I found what I love doing.
 
I now live in Coventry, and am lucky enough to be a near full time Mixed Media Artist and teacher, Proud Design Team Member for Tando Creative and Andy Skinner, Guest DT at Chocolate Baroque, Mixed Up Creative Tutor, DecoArt Helping Artist, and demonstrate on Hochanda TV.
 
You can find me at:
 

 

Hannah Oxberry

 
I live in the beautiful Norfolk countryside with my family and two cats Bast and Minerva and was introduced to mixed media through friends, finding myself instantly hooked!

I really enjoy experimenting with different mediums, techniques and colours and love to add a feminine touch to grungy, quirky makes to and try to create a sentimental feel.
 
My main areas of interest include art journaling, greyboard alterations and mixed media canvas work but I can be found upcycling old furniture in need of a little love and attention!
I am proud to have been part of the DecoArt Design Team for 2017 and still contribute via their Blogger Outreach Program and as a Helping Artist.
For 2018 I am honoured to be part of Andy Skinner's Creative Team as well as working on the Design Team Tando Creative.
I also demonstrate art products on Create and Craft TV, a role I enjoy very much.

 

Dee Adams

 

Lisa Winnard

 
My name is Lisa and I live in Wigan, in Lancashire. By day I am a full time Mummy. By night, you will find me in my craft room where I turn in to a huge messy crafter.
 
I’ve always been creative, ever since I was a tiddler and constantly enjoyed anything that involved getting mucky, from painting to gluing toilet rolls together!
Even at school, I was constantly in trouble for hanging in the art rooms rather than the science lab! I continued my arty way through College and then University, where I decided to go on to train as an Art Teacher. I suppose I always found it easier to express myself with a paintbrush, and continually wanted to be around people who were as excited and got the same joy out of creating as I did.
 
I use my teaching skills working at the weekend as a craft demonstrator which I thoroughly enjoy. It is so wonderful to see others as excited as I am and be inspired by sharing tips and techniques with hugely creative people.
 
I’m not sure if I have one particular style of crafting. I do have a love of messy crafting – painting and getting a bit inky. I would tilt my style towards the distressed/vintage/shabby chic category if pushed...
I am also a self confessed stamp addict!! My biggest passion is creating projects using mixed media art. I continue to dabble in other areas of arts and crafts and at the moment I am enjoying playing and learning about art journaling.