Meet the Staff: Part 1

As we enter a new year, we wanted to introduce the individuals who are part of the creative team that supports me in the operations of Artistic Artifacts, and share some of their own creative resolutions.

I might be the chief creative mind and owner, but I could never have built this woman-owned small business into what we are today without a great deal of support from a staff of many talents. Over time, we have grown in number to 20, so these introductions will take a few posts!

I’ll start with the key staff who manage the day-to-day business with me and who have been with me the longest. All have worn many hats over the 12- 13 years they have been part of the business, but you don’t often see them.

First up is my son, Kyle Gula, who has literally grown up with the business — he’s seen here with me demonstrating block printing at the Artistic Artifacts Holiday Open House in 2012! As the business has grown, so has his role. He joined me full-time during the pandemic and now truly carries out ‘other duties as assigned!‘ Over the years he traveled with me and his father when we had booths at quilt shows all over the country, and last year was a one-man show exhibiting at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show.

Many of you know (and greet) Kyle from manning the camera once we began our weekly Facebook Live videos during the pandemic. Over the last few years, you can also find him behind the register ringing out shoppers. He’s relied upon for technical expertise to maintain and update our computers and equipment. He’s an invaluable part of my annual Creative Retreat in Italy, handing transportation, luggage, logistics and more for our large group... I couldn’t do it without him — join us both this September 5-13!

Besides the many hats he wears, Kyle’s also learning the business of managing a small business, as my personal resolution is to spend more time in my home studio exploring my creative side — only possible by having reliable, knowledgeable staff in charge in my absence!

“I would like to get better at mixed media paper arts for my photo journal,” Kyle said as his creative resolution — you can see him here working on the cover of that journal in a class with Finnabair in 2024!

Kyle also hopes to find some time this year to work on a long overdue batik quilt. He made some beautiful pieces in last year’s 2-day Wax / Threads / Roots — A Batik Experience at our shop, and raved about the experience. We’re so fortunate to be able to host them again this July! Kyle reports that “it was one of the most interesting classes I've ever taken. It was cool to see all the students be supported (Nia is so patient) in what they wanted to accomplish, and we all went in completely different directions. Fun and informative — sign up!”

My sister Julie Middleton joined me over 13 years ago to help me grow the business. Her professional background and project management skills have been key in helping to manage the budgets, inventory and website. Over the years, Julie carried out just about every job there is at the shop and as the staff has grown, she’s now in charge of researching and purchasing all the fabrics and products for mixed media and surface design that Artistic Artifacts carries. Pictured here, Julie and I were thrilled to meet up with Annie Uhrein of ByAnnie at last year’s h+h americas Trade Show for the North American Handicraft Industry. One of our biggest thrills from 2025 was hearing Annie announce our name as one of the four inaugural winners of the Creative Hub Award (and repeating as Virginia regional winner) in the Local Quilt Shop Contest. Beginning January 24 we will once again ask for your votes for us!

Julie’s three children were quite young when she joined me — Celia, Layla and Evan have all grown up with our family businesses and done their share of volunteering and working at the shop... here they are in 2014 helping me product test! With their activities plus her volunteer work with PTAs, scouting & sports, Julie didn’t have much time to be creative then. Still, she never missed trying something new with her contributions to our annual Holiday Stocking fundraiser, and now that her children are young adults, she’s carving out time for working on projects and getting acquainted with what her BERNINA can do. Julie recently completed two quilts for her daughters that had held ‘Work In Progress’ status for more years than she will admit! She just shared for the Show & Tell portion of our weekly staff meeting that she “tried out a new pattern I’m thinking we’ll carry,” sewing a beautiful large-scale decorative fabric bow for her mother in law’s door in her senior residence.

Sharon McDonagh found Artistic Artifacts through an ad in Quilting Arts when we were primarily an online business selling mixed media supplies and vintage finds. “The Artistic Artifacts booth was always my favorite at the annual Quilter’s Unlimited show, which is how I first met and talked with Judy,” she said.

In the early days, Sharon worked alongside me and Julie, doing every job there was from front register to packing and shipping to revamping our original website. She now focuses primarily on content, graphic design and our newsletters, making sure our customers have all the information they need for purchasing products as well as classes and inspiration. Pictured here, she’s demonstrating Mattints by PaperArtsy. In this new year, Sharon says “I want to dedicate more time to creating overall, and actually USE the supplies I buy” as well as make a dent in her UFO pile!

Next up, Chris Vinh, who fell into a quasi-staff relationship after she retired from her work as a hospital administrator. She attended an early Judy's Altered Minds (JAMs) meeting after I got back from Houston Quilt Market with new ideas and was hooked. She started out helping to stage the store when we were still just part of one room (now we have three plus upstairs classroom space!), then joined me in my travels to quilt shows.

Somewhere along the way Chris ‘volunteered’ to help with our social media profiles, which is now her primary responsibility. Chris is also a reliable stand-in for our Facebook Live presentations on Saturday morning when I’m traveling. Plus, many of the samples in the shop are ones she has created to test tools, patterns or to show off fabrics we sell. “I would like to spend time on creating several art quilts combining fabric collage and hand stitching,” is her creative resolution. Chris advises all of us is to find inspiration everywhere – in nature, other people’s work, books, classes. She says to explore and play and you’ll find what gives you joy.

Katelyn Grandy started with us as a volunteer when her Aunt Sharon joined the staff — look at her in 2012 manning our Make & Take table with her younger sister during that same Holiday Open House! When the pandemic started, Katelyn’s work as an esthetician shut down, and she transitioned from part time with us to full time in the shipping department — another of our invaluable ‘other duties as assigned’ employees. Katelyn continues to assist in shipping and on the floor, and is responsible for customer service, online orders and maintaining our Workshops & Events registration lists.

Having come from a family of creative women, she enjoyed scrapbooking and sewing when she was young. Currently she loves exploring mixed media and handwork — her creative resolution is to “work on my hand stitching techniques, improving my skills and learning new stitches.” Katelyn is the proud owner of a BERNINA, and is adding quilting to her creative toolbox, as seen here (Katelyn loves Tim Holtz, both his fabric and his mixed media products!)

As with the others on the team, Katelyn loves the constant inspiration she finds from her co-workers, customers, and supplies. She says the “collaborative energy has revitalized my love for all things art.”

That’s all for now... thank you for giving me this opportunity to brag on my wonderful staff, with a few strolls down memory lane! We’d love for you to share your own creative resolutions for 2026, here in the comments or via a post on our Creative Minds Facebook Group page.

Stay tuned for future blog posts, which will include our educators, sales associates, BERNINA techs and shipping & receiving staff.