Small Wall Unit Approx. 3.25’ w x 5’h
Large Shelf Approx. 43”w x 14”h
Large Wall Unit Approx. 6.5’w x 5’h (2 small units side by side)
Small Shelf Approx. 20”w x 14”h
THE KINDRED TEAM
Michelle Smith, Creative Director Michelle founded The Rock & Shop Market in 2004, the first event of its kind in the Triangle area. Since then the event has grown to feature over 100 emerging designers, live bands & food trucks. In addition, Michelle is the creator of indieNC, a site dedicated to shining a spotlight on creative businesses in North Carolina. A multifaceted business owner, she is also a textile designer, photo stylist & blogger whose work and products have been featured in major magazines. Before launching her businesses, Michelle worked as a web designer creating ecommerce sites for Fortune 500 companies. She also co-produced and marketed a line of goods that were sold through retailers across the country and exhibited at major trade shows.
Tracy Antonik, Sales Manager Tracy Antonik graduated in 1993 from ICM school of business in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvanina. She worked 12 years within the business world, all the while, creating stained glass panels and selling at local art shows in her spare time. In 2005 Tracy moved to North Carolina where she decided to switch gears and pursue her life long love of creating, jewelry spoke to her. Having always been obsessed with nature she found a way to merge the two and craft jewelry that expresses her love for nature so that it can be worn by others who share the same appreciation. Whitney Robinson, Associate Combine a background in computer science with an innate love for design, and you get Whitney. Whitney has immersed herself in the cultures of Design, Fashion, Photography, and Web Design, Development & SEO. She enjoys rummaging through her Grandma’s closet and finding creative solutions to modern issues, including the repurposing of materials. Shortly after starting her company and blog Freshly Given, she challenged herself to find alternative ways to re-purpose leather. Thus the birth of her accessory line, also affectionately named Freshly Given.
Bill Warner, Executive Director Bill is the founder and Managing Partner of Paladin and Associates, a firm that helps executives create successful businesses by providing a broad array of executive services. He is co-founder and Chairman of the Triangle Accredited Capital Forum, an angel investor network that reaches throughout the southeast. Bill has forty years of business experience, mainly in the computer industry, as a CEO and general manager responsible for computer software and hardware businesses in companies such as IBM, Intel, Dialogic, Banyan Systems and LiveWireLogic. Brad Lienhart, Director of Operations Brad Lienhart is currently providing COO and Sales Strategy support to two young, enterprising Company’s located in Raleigh, North Carolina; and has investment and mentoring interests in three additional Triangle based start-ups. After a 28 year career in product management, supply chain management, and profit center leadership at The Dow Chemical Company; Brad moved to the RTP area to begin 16 years of founder/investor/executive support activity with Triangle based start-ups. These start-ups have been based on novel technologies licensed from the Triangle’s major universities and ideas launched by working people wanting to pursue a dream and a new career. Brad has developed and deployed a number of techniques for evaluating, screening, and resourcing new technologies and products. Brad Lienhart is a co-founder of EntreDot.
OUR PARTNERS
West Elm West Elm, a hip, modern furniture line, and a brand of Williams Sonoma has offered to help outfit our space with their furniture. Raleigh Chamber & Downtown Raleigh Alliance The Raleigh Chamber & Downtown Raleigh Alliance are two organizations that strive to promote the businesses within the city of Raleigh. They are working together to create materials that will further the general public’s understanding of the burgeoning artisan community. North Hills North Hills, a mixed-use outdoor mall in North Raleigh is offering up retail space for those artisans who are veterans of our program and ready to expand further into their own retail spaces. Mas Sato Mas Sato a Durham based furniture maker who creates modern, children’s pieces is creating the modular wall fixtures that will be in our space. The Makery The Makery was created by three sisters and North Carolina natives as an easy way for people to buy handmade, local goods. With an invitation to the site, you receive curated deals on such things as art, apparel, and homewares carefully made by your neighbors. The Makery believes in supporting North Carolina craftsmen and empowering our local community by reviving the tradition of community supported commerce. The Makery is offering to feature and sell items from Kindred designers on our site as a part of our weekly curated content. We are excited about the potential to work with vetted artists who are invested in their designs, process, and their businesses. The Makery can offer them a unique sales and publicity opportunity. Kindred designers who are featured on The Makery will gain exposure to thousands of people state and nationwide who are passionate about buying high-quality handmade. Seam Happy SeamHappy is an agency that connects businesses with local artisans to create premium promotional products and customizable gifts. For Kindred members, we are a resource for generating leads and orders. We work with organizations that have unique branding and gifting needs, and we identify local talent to develop custom designs to meet those needs. We make it easy for businesses to support local manufacturing, and the diverse network of Kindred artisans allows us to explore a wide range of creative media. Our partnership will be a key element in Kindred's incubation process, and we are thrilled to participate in the program. Nancy Watson, RYT 200 Nancy practices and teaches yoga as a moving meditation. Her classes range from calm and contemplative to joyful and energetic. She believes yoga has the power to transform you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Yoga has helped her discover greater strength, vitality, compassion, and peace. Through yoga she has developed a greater appreciation for nature, life, and community. She is honored to share these gifts with her students and partner with them as they explore yoga on and off their mats. Nancy is a graduate of the 285-hour blue lotus yoga immersion and teacher training intensive and is currently pursuing advanced training at blue lotus for RYT 500 status. Nancy has also completed training through Duke Integrative Medicine in Integrative Health Coaching and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. She writes for the Duke Integrative Health Coach Professional Training Program Newsletter. Elissa Keno Weddings & Events Elissa is a designer + stylist for events, interiors, and editorials and will be creating our window displays quarterly.
These are just a few of the partnerships we’ve forged to make Kindred a great experience for artisans. Look for more in the coming months. If you are interested in working together to cross promote our businesses, please email us at hello@kindredboutique.com