About The Artists

We have always been passionate about making things, and we’ve spent a good many years learning to do it well. We embarked together on a journey of discovery to pool our talents and resources, create amazing, original stuff, and find joy in our work. The exploration of our imaginations has transported us from our home base in Portland, where beauty and gritty realism walk hand in hand, to fairy lands where magic and mystery dwell; the Middle Ages where chivalry and rivalry rule; pirate ships where daring and intrigue prevail; and the steam-filled world of the 19th century. Who knows where our path will lead us next?

Jeff Witkavitch started crafting at the New York Renaissance Festival about 20 years ago making belts, pouches, whips, chains and myriad other items. He expanded his repertoire making handbags and luggage in New York, Maryland and Maine. He is the website designer, graphic artist, and voice of reason for Chrononaut Mercantile. Notorious for his cynicism and dark sense of humor, as well as his exacting aesthetic, Jeff has an inhuman attention to detail and innate perfectionism that drives Heather to drink. He also loves his cats.

Heather Kahn spent many years toiling in the shadow of her mad-scientist father at Caravan Beads. In the dark recesses of his extensive bead warehouse she picked up a variety of unlikely skills. She took a break from the bead world to work as a ninja, and spent years teaching martial arts to impressionable young children. Chrononaut Mercantile is the flowering of her desire to live an adventurous life, possibly fighting a dragon here and there.

Her designs appear in print in the August/September 2010 Beadwork,  June/July 2011 Super Beadwork, and August/September 2011 Super Beadwork. Her DIY Crafting the Continuum Bracelet appeared in Steampunk Month 2009 on the Tor Books blog. Her most recent endeavor is founding the non-profit Museum of Beadwork