Amaya Burkhart

Amaya was born in Glendale, Arizona.  She has always loved all types of art from visual to performance art including singing, dancing and acting. Amaya comes from a family of ten siblings, and she has always been close with her family. Amaya is inspired by larger-than-life things like Disney. She creates her one-of-a-kind items from things she finds while thrifting. Her joy is bringing these items back to life. Amaya started working on her art in her senior year in High School and she likes sharing her art with others.

Cynthia Smith was born in Pasadena, California and moved to Arizona in 2018. Cynthia's grandmother was an oil painter and watercolorist. Cynthia works with glass and enjoys bringing light and life to ordinary subjects. She started creating in 2009 when her art instructor gave her a piece of glass, tools and a kiln and said to her, "see what you can make." She was immediately hooked on fused glass art. Cynthia loves working with glass and has developed her own style and techniques. From jewelry to cards, framed work, trees and lanterns, Cynthia's wide variety of work is breathtaking. Cynthia is inspired by all the rich colors of the desert and the ocean.

In addition, Cynthia bakes! Her handmade pies are a huge hit. Her baking business is called Sissy Bee Pies. Cynthia does a Pie Pop Up several times a year at Memory Lane during the monthly themed specialty promotions.

Gus Granrath is originally from New Jersey and moved to Arizona in 1987. He enjoys fishing, camping and being outdoors. Gus creates incredible wood art including birdhouses, signs and serving boards. Upcycled from a variety of barnwood and vintage wood, Gus enjoys the smell of sawed wood and feels awesome creating his one-of-a-kind treasures.

This wonderful brother and sister team are in Portland, Oregon. They live at their family Dairy Farm that was purchased by their grandparents in 1910. They harvest hazelnuts from the original orchard planted by their grandfather in the 1930's. The orchard has expanded over the years to be 300 trees. We are thrilled to feature bags of these delicious hazelnuts (unshelled.)

Rachel was born and raised in Arizona and has been crafting since she was a child. Rachel creates a wide variety of art pieces. She enjoys finding old things and making them pretty and giving them purpose again. She is constantly learning new techniques and finds that creating can be very therapeutic. One of Rachel's most popular items at Memory Lane is her variety of candle pillars in varying shapes, styles and sizes.

Robin moved to Arizona in 2005 from Wisconsin. She grew up the oldest of 4 in a rural town about an hour from Chicago. She learned at an early age that anything worth doing was worth doing to the best of my ability. She grew up with a lot of responsibility, rules, high expectations and love. Her free time was spent thinking outside the box and being creative. She likes to creatively repurpose items, arrange real looking silk and create custom treasures. Most of her designs have a country floral flair with a hint of the southwest. Creatively combining succulents with wildflowers and garden species. Personalized designs for weddings, special occasions or memorabilia are her all-time favorite. She started putting together bouquets and corsages with various flowers she would pick for her mom, when she was a kid.  As she got older, she enjoyed working with silk flowers and then adding additional items as a hobby or for gifts. The thought of creating beauty from imperfection or discarded items excites her. She can't wait to see the transformation and the joy that her creation brings to others. Each piece is done with love and has a story or feeling to go with it. Her hope is that her work isn't just looked at but experienced with joy and fond memories. 10% of each item sold is set aside for charity. She believes God has given her a gift and she wants to share it by giving a hand up to people who need it.

Vita is originally from California and moved to Arizona in 1967. Vita creates beautiful soft cover journals featuring art from the 1400's to the 1800's. The journals are USA made. She hopes that people will use the journals to write down their thoughts and feelings.