THE CREATIVES
The artists we support.
Artist & Maker - PittsburghStyx Weathington
Styx is a Pittsburgh-based artist and maker whose clothing label, Mothball Apparel, is handpainted and handprinted wearable art for people who like to get a little odd. Starting with sketches inspired by anime, punk culture, nature, and historical art, Styx transfers original designs to clothing using chalk, paint, bleach, safety pins, and chains, producing pieces that are unmistakably handmade and entirely their own.
While a student at City of Bridges High School, Styx was selected for Handmade Arcade's 2022 Youth Maker Accelerator, a competitive, juried program offering teen makers a $500 materials stipend, three professional development workshops, a dedicated mentor from Pittsburgh's maker community, and a vendor booth at Handmade Arcade's Holiday Market, Pittsburgh's largest independent craft market, which drew over 11,000 shoppers in 2022.
Being selected for the accelerator, alongside a small cohort of Pittsburgh's most promising young makers, marked an early and well-earned validation of Styx's creative vision.
Drummer & Producer - PittsburghDesmond Rucker
Desmond is a collaborative, multi-genre musician, writer, and creative director with 17 years of experience performing in original bands across Pittsburgh and Manchester, UK. A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, he combines formal training in composition, production, arrangement, and creative direction with a deeply intuitive, ensemble-focused approach that makes every project he joins better.
Desmond performs across funk, jazz, rock, alternative, and indie, a versatility rooted in both contemporary band work and early orchestral percussion training at CAPA. He has contributed to a wide range of artist projects including The Beautiful Sinners, Mhari Jasmine, Turtle Park, Snowdonia Band, the Afro Yachy Music Collective, and Pablo Miller, earning recognition for original drum compositions, strong groove, and his wider role as co-writer and creative partner. His collaborative album X earned him a feature on the BBC.
Intuitive Artist - PittsburghElizabeth Mae Renfrew
Elizabeth is an intuitive artist based in Pittsburgh. Creative energy moves through her into everything she touches. Exploring the self in relation to the world through embodiment practices and creation.
In her words: "My practice with clay begins before the clay. I sit. I breathe. I notice the energy of my body, the energy of the land I am sitting on, the energy of the world around me. And I feel sensations that feel like resistance, tension, energy stuck in my body, and I get curious about that place. What am I holding here? What message or image comes when I feel into it? Then I ask that space what it needs in order to release.
Sometimes it only wants acknowledgement, to be held in awareness while breath comes in and goes out. I imagine the breath carrying particles of that tension out of my body and into the air, where the plants and trees will recycle it into fresh oxygen. Sometimes I need to move through specific poses to shift stagnant energy. Sometimes that looks like flailing about, reaching for the euphoric feeling of a stretch after a long stillness. Sometimes dance is what is needed. I believe in the power of love and gratitude."
Artist - ManhattanLaura Mylott Manning
Manning is a New York-based artist whose work bridges the metaphysical and the material, using fabric, paint, and Reiki energy to create artwork that fosters individual and collective healing. She holds a BFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and has also studied at the Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art in France.
Manning is best known for her Mandala and Stargate series: layered, mandala-like textile works set with an intention of goodwill and imbued with universal healing energy. A selection of the Stargate works is on ongoing view at Columbia University's Center for Theoretical Physics, placed in collaboration with renowned physicist Brian Greene. Her work is held in private collections throughout New York City and beyond, and has been featured in Harper's Bazaar.
Her exhibitions span institutions across the U.S. and internationally, including the National Arts Club at Gramercy Park, Art Basel Miami Beach, and the Baur au Lac in Zurich. She has been an artist-in-residence at The Banff Centre in Canada, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Arquetopia Foundation in Mexico, and is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant.
A Reiki master, UN affiliate, and keynote speaker at the New York State Art Teachers Association Conference, Manning brings a rare combination of rigorous formal training and spiritual depth to her practice. Her work has been covered by the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, Time Out New York, and the Brooklyn Rail, among others.
Jewelry Designer - PittsburghPaul Michael Bierker
Bierker is a Pittsburgh-based goldsmith, designer, and technologist, and the creative force behind Geek Jewelry, his internationally recognized line of fine jewelry inspired by pop culture, science fiction, and the stories that define us.
Paul holds a BFA in Jewelry Design and Manufacturing from SUNY College at Buffalo and carries designations from the Gemological Institute of America, including Diamond Graduate, with certificates in Gem Identification, Diamond Grading, and Colored Stone Grading.
Paul Michael Design has gained worldwide popularity for its work in "geek" jewelry, rooted in a belief that every piece should be as unique as the person wearing it. Drawing inspiration from fandoms like Marvel, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones, Paul's custom pieces fuse fine craftsmanship with genuine cultural passion. GeekHuffPost
His reach extends well beyond the studio. Paul created the primary prop locket for the horror film The Conjuring and crafted a custom band for Cate Blanchett in Where'd You Go, Bernadette?, which filmed in part in Pittsburgh. His work and commentary have been featured in Vogue, Fortune, People, InStyle, and leading industry publications including Professional Jeweler and National Jeweler Magazine.
Fiber Artist - Brooklyn + PittsburghA. Holly Sphar
Fiber artist, A. Holly Sphar, received a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art and an MS in Interaction Design and Information Architecture from the University of Baltimore. He is an artist member at Radiant Hall in Pittsburgh and works primarily in mixed media fibers and drawing.
Holly has participated in group shows in Manhattan, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Brooklyn. He has also worked on the websites for numerous publications in product development, team management, and engineering capacities including wired.com, usmagazine.com, rollingstone.com, and Fidelity BondBeacon. Holly currently splits his time between Brooklyn and Pittsburgh.