Karyn Valino | the workroom

Karyn Valino

Owner

My degree is actually from Ryerson’s Media Arts program, where I majored in photography. My first creative loves were paper, bookbinding, photography and collage. Along the way, I also took woodworking, stained glass and neon signmaking classes. It wasn’t until I was working in New York City that I discovered sewing and immediately fell in love with making my own clothes.
September 24, 2019 — Karyn Valino
Maisy | the workroom

Maisy

Our dearest shop dog who saw us through the workroom’s first nine years. We could not have built such a welcoming space without her sweet guidance and company. We miss her sweet face every day.

#rememberingmaisy

September 23, 2019 — Karyn Valino
Andrew Cloutier | the workroom

Andrew Cloutier

Graphic Designer

I enjoy working on our houses, immersing myself in nature, riding my bike, making things out of wood, and designing stuff. A part of my heart lives permanently in British Columbia and I try to visit it as often as possible.

September 22, 2019 — Karyn Valino
Alexis Da Silva Powell | the workroom

Alexis Da Silva Powell

My earliest making memory is obsessively weaving construction paper. So obsessively, in fact, that I quickly ran out of construction paper and took to shredding any paper I could get my tiny hands on. Always one to encourage my creative pursuits, my mom allowed me to paint wall-sized murals in the kitchen and on the windows looking out into our backyard — worms were my speciality.
September 20, 2019 — Karyn Valino
Carolanne Graham | the workroom

Carolanne Graham

Instructor

My education is in English Literature and Librarianship and sewing obsessions started early for me. I suffered devastation in Grade 7 Home Economics when my teacher gave me an A- on a very complicated hot dog pillow. I made 9 more cushions before I got the A grade I thought I deserved (and before the teacher refused to mark any more pillows!).
September 19, 2019 — Karyn Valino
Ignacia Ibarra Black | the workroom

Ignacia Ibarra Black

Making stuff is in my family; we are a clan of creatives. We are painters, artists, seamstresses, knitters, fibre artists, photographers, crafters and makers of every sort of thing. I never lacked for inspiration or encouragement, and pursued every creative curiosity, since I was small.
September 18, 2019 — Karyn Valino
Tags: ignacia people
Annie Lum | the workroom

Annie Lum

My background includes a diploma in pattern drafting and clothing construction from George Brown. I also have a BDes from OCAD where I majored in industrial design and minored in material art & design. The latter included ceramics, woodworking and weaving.

September 17, 2019 — Karyn Valino
Johanna Masko | the workroom

Johanna Masko

Instructor

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Michigan, but my crafty education comes directly from Mom!! She sewed, knitted, macraméed, embroidered — you name it!

When I’m not at the workroom, I’m a mother and wife, plus stitching, designing and sewing as much as humanly possible.

September 16, 2019 — Karyn Valino

Leo S

My great-uncle Moshe was a tailor. When he first came to Canada he sewed pockets on an assembly line for Harry Rosen. He taught me how to construct a welt pocket and that set off my admiration for technique and precision. I inherited Moshe’s scissors and they are my most beloved tools.
September 14, 2019 — Karyn Valino
Joanna Schleimer | the workroom

Joanna Schleimer

Instructor

Joanna Schleimer is a hand weaver using fine, natural materials to create delicate, personal and nostalgic textiles.  Her studio work focuses on embedding imagery within cloth, exploring both additive and subtractive processes, both on and off the loom. She is particularly interested in memories and feelings that are evoked from meaningful garments and heirloom objects.
September 13, 2019 — Karyn Valino
Julie Sinden | the workroom

Julie Sinden

Instructor

I grew up with a mother who is a fibre fanatic, in a house full of yarn and fleece and looms and spinning wheels — so i was crafting from a very young age, doing everything from sewing, knitting and dyeing to needle point and cross stitch.  In 2002, I set off for the mountains of BC and did a three year textile program at the Kootenay School of the Arts, a very small and eclectic, but wonderful school.
September 12, 2019 — Karyn Valino
Rosa Moniz Tarle | the workroom

Rosa Moniz Tarle

Crafting has been with me since I was a kid. After lunch at my grandmother’s house was when she would sit on the edge of her bed and make, mend or alter a little something with a needle and thread. Showing me how to imagine a little change and how to make it happen.
September 11, 2019 — Karyn Valino