Karen PETERSON and Andrew JOHNSON

Karen was born and raised on a farm east of Edmonton and inherited her creative sense and love of nature from both sides of her family, as did her siblings: a writer, a jeweler, and a draftsperson. She is an avid gardener who loves to grow the new and unusual.

Andrew was born on the west coast. While living in Lund, a small and rather unique village, he discovered a talent for carving. He works largely in soapstone and goes by the artistic name of "Grandville". His favorite pastime is fishing and since being "dragged" here by Karen hasn’t found anything to compare to the fishing he enjoyed on the west coast. His love of the ocean is reflected in his work.

The idea for making cribbage boards originated with Karen’s father, who had been making them for several years. When ill health forced him to stop it was a natural step for Karen and Andrew to carry on the tradition. The boards have evolved since then but Ray’s original idea is still evident.

Karen and Andrew now live only a few miles from the farm where Karen grew up and some of the boards come from wood grown on that land. They use dead and down wood wherever possible, or take only a branch or use trees that are being taken out for other reasons.