In honor of Women's History's Month, we are sharing the creative work of fantastic women in our community in our Virtual Women's Makers Market. Encompassing art, curation, craft, and activism, MOCA celebrates and uplifts women and the work they do. We encourage you to follow their stories through social media to learn more about these talented women that are helping to grow Jacksonville's creative culture. From exploring our exhibition, Romancing the Mirror, which features all female artists, to shopping our Virtual Women's Makers Market, we hope you take the time to support women with us this month!

KiArtist

Kiara Sánchez

Kiara Amaris Sánchez is a Puerto Rican illustrator and designer local to the Jacksonville area. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in graphic design from Flagler College and has since been creating illustrations and fine art that support local businesses, especially those that are woman and BIPOC owned and operated. Kiara's illustrations have been featured in two children's books-"Happy Too" and "Carlito the Bat Learns to Trick or Treat"- as well as in Edible Northeast Florida and Void Magazine. She also creates custom portraits through KiArtist, including playful depictions of weddings, families, and pets. She makes every piece unique and loves clients' happy reactions when they see the finished product. KiArtist also sells prints celebrating Latin heritage. It is very important to Kiara to show pride for her culture and to have representative art people can display to showcase their own pride.

Instagram @kiartist | Website kiartist.com 

MIJA

Kyra Rosa

Kyra is a 28-year-old Latina photographer and designer based in Jacksonville. Her work focuses on feminism, social constructs, and environmentalism. She also started the brand MIJA as a way to showcase her culture and inspire other Latinx women through media and merch. MIJA was created because growing up, Kyra didn't see woman who looked like her in the media. She wanted to build confidence in young girls and help them embrace their culture. Products include apparel, jewelry, journals, and stickers. The brand also publishes a monthly blog covering topics such as success, traditions, and art. 

Instagram @yas_mija | Twitter @yas_mija | Youtube Yas Mija | Facebook YasssMija | Pinterest yas_mija

This Girl's Kitsch

Ana Calise

Ana, the girl behind This Girl's Kitsch, is a self-taught artist with a fondness for retro flair. While she has always loved art, it wasn't until her late 20s that Ana decided to pursue it as her full-time career. Enter This Girl's Kitsch, artwork heavily inspired by midcentury figurines that aims to evoke a feeling of whimsy. While This Girl's Kitsch started off small by offering eyelash cat magnets, over time, the range of artwork has grown to include wall hangings, original paintings, brooches, and hand-painted resin figurines. From the mold the piece is cast in, all the way down to the finishing touches, each and every one of This Girl's Kitsch creations are crafted entirely by hand.

Instagram @thisgirlskitsch | Website linktr.ee/thisgirlskitsch

Retro Luxe Resin

Lauren Gherardi

Lauren Marie has been a photographer for more than a decade and runs Retro Luxe Resin, which specializes in one-of-a-kind handmade resin jewelry and accessories inspired by decades past. She wanted to create something funky, lightweight, and wearable with a retro feel and a modern vibe. Her love for bright colors, loud patterns, and fun textures became the inspiration behind Retro Luxe Resin. She blends her unique style of fashion imagery with her eclectic creations to design accessories that merge nostalgia with today's trends.

Instagram @retroluxeresin | Facebook @retroluxeresin

Wild Cherry Parlour

Michelle Chapple

Michelle Chapple, also known as Mickey, is a self-taught nail artist that used her background in graphic design and branding to create Wild Cherry Parlour. Wild Cherry Parlour is an online press-on nail shop that specializes in one-of-a-kind press-on nails. After a disappointing visit to a local nail salon, she was determined to specialize in nails herself, with a mission to make every client's request come to life. From hand painted portraits, 3D sculpted artwork and nails that light on fire, Mickey delights in the challenge of pushing the boundaries of what is expected in the world of nail art.

Instagram @wildcherryparlour | Facebook @wildcherryparlour

Paper Serene

Kellea Roberson

Kellea Roberson is the owner and curator for Paper Serene, a carefully curated collection of eclectic finds for the eclectic individual. Her inspiration for fashion comes from her family's iconic outfits worn in the 60s to the early 2000s, and she wants to commemorate and honor her family by recreating their looks from different eras. The brand also uses collecting and repurposing old items to pursue a sustainable lifestyle.

Instagram @paperserene | Facebook @paperserene

The Wandering Jew Co.

Bella Kitzis

Bella Kitzis is a Jacksonville local, eco-nerd, and Jewish woman. She focuses on open conversations about anti-Semitism, being environmentally conscious, and woman empowerment. She has a bachelor of arts in biology from the University of North Florida and is currently working on her master of arts in teaching at UNF. She created the brand The Wandering Jew Co., which creates eco-friendly and sustainable macrame art and accessories. All of the materials used are sourced from other woman-owned small businesses and they exclusively use 100% recycled cotton. Cotton scraps from larger projects are re-used for smaller items, such as keychains and earrings, in an effort to be zero-waste.

Etsy TheWanderingJewCo | Instagram @thewanderingjew_co | Facebook @TheWanderingJewCo

Camp Craft Cocktails

Rhonda Stringfellow & Suzanah Raffield

Rhonda Stringfellow & Suzanah Raffield originally launched an ice pop food truck from a 1969 camper. While towing the camper from Florida to a California music festival, they took the down time on the road to evaluate their business model. Camp Craft Cocktails emerged as they deconstructed some of their best pop recipes and turned them into jars of ingredients that just need alcohol added and three days in the refrigerator. "We started our small business as a way to break out of the boxes that confined our dreams for our family. Camp is our love story. We are grateful for the opportunity to share with you and yours."

Instagram @campcraftcocktails | Facebook @campcraftcocktails | Website campcraftcocktails.com

Anact

Brianna Kilcullen

Brianna Kilcullen is the founder of Anact and originally from Atlantic Beach. She helped legalize hemp in Florida while launching Anact, an activist brand that makes sustainable towels. Prior to starting the brand, she worked in the apparel industry, traveling to more than 40 countries and working in factories on almost every continent. Her journeys led her to creating sustainable products that push for transparency and a more environmentally friendly textile industry.

Instagram @anactglobal | Facebook @anactglobal | Twitter @anactglobal | Pinterest @anactglobal

Creations for Change

Jessie Doherty

Jessie Doherty is 16 years old and the founder of Creations for Change, a charity-based small creative business specializing in handmade polymer clay and resin jewelry. Prior to lockdown, she attended Douglas Anderson School of The Arts, where she majored in musical theatre. While in quarantine, she began jewelry making as a hobby to pass the time and by August had opened her own small business, selling creations here in Jacksonville, as well as shipping around the world. Every month, all profits made are donated to a different social justice or immediate need cause. For the month of March, in celebration of Women's History Month, all profits made will be going towards The Malala Fund, which is an organization fighting for girls' access to education across the globe.

Instagram @creations.for.change | Facebook @Creations-for-Change | Email creationsforchangebyjessie@gmail.com

Reliving and Co.

Olivia Hodges

Olivia is the face behind Reliving and Company, which sells easy to grow and maintain plants in repurposed pots along with modern, vintage and recycled goods for your home, patio and garden. She is a Jacksonville native who is always looking for new ways to express her creativity and pulls inspiration from her vibrant community. Reliving and Company is about conscious consumerism as a whole. Their goal is to normalize the use of second-hand goods as a way to promote an appreciation, respect and relationship with plants and Mother Earth.

Instagram @reliving.co

Ash&Art

Liane Roman

Liane, the hands behind Ash&Art, is a thirty-something Jacksonville native. She specializes in custom wood-burned goods, giving worn cutting boards new life or customizing ukuleles with intricate designs. Other products include signs, dog tags, and pins. Liane started Ash&Art to give herself the opportunity to run and a business while creating.

Instagram @_ashandart_

Alisha Lockely 

Alisha Lockley is an author, short film producer, poet, spoken word artist, Tedx speaker, Sagittarius, and tea enthusiast. She studied performance theatre at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and majored in English with a minor in African Diaspora studies at the University of North Florida. Equally enamored by both theatre and literature, she is always delighted to share her love of an art-form that merges the two, performance poetry. She believes that poetry is about illustrating the smaller moments suspended between connections that are often overlooked. It's about breathing life into the story and making it seem tangible. She has published The Book of Hims, a collection of poetic works that explores the mundane, humorous, and painful beauties of the human condition. The poems range from topics of spirituality, heartbreak, sexuality, mental health, to defiant expressions that challenge the norms of socially constructed masculinity and femininity. 

Instagram @ms.lockley 
Twitter @alishalockley 
Youtube Alisha Lockley