Katrina.
Originally from Calgary, Katrina Barclay moved to Ottawa in 2011 after living overseas for eight years, first in London, England, then in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She credits her time in Europe as changing and influencing her tastes in design and interiors and really inspiring her to work with furniture. Katrina was also drawn to upcycling old furniture as a way to cut down on waste and stop perfectly good furniture from winding up in landfills.
Katrina’s previous life was working in the media, mostly for radio and TV. But after discovering Chalk Paint™, and then meeting Annie Sloan, Katrina’s life path changed dramatically with her taking the leap to start a business and opening the Malenka Originals shop.
Katrina is committed to spreading her love of refreshing furniture by teaching workshops, providing free demos at her shop and supporting local charities. She is also committed to helping and supporting other furniture-painting entrepreneurs through such endeavors as her annual Refreshed Furniture Pop-Up Shop. In 2016, Katrina was picked as one of Ottawa’s Forty Under Forty for her business and leadership accomplishments, and for her work in the community. You can read more about Katrina’s story here.
Lisa.
Lisa Silfwerbrand is the author behind the popular Recreated Designs blog about upcycling inexpensive (and most often free!) vintage, flea market, and dump centre finds. She and her blog have been featured around the web, on TV, and in print, daily inspiring others to tap into their creativity while saving things from the global landfill.
As the recipient of a 2019 creativity award, Lisa also teaches paint and art classes both locally and virtually. She has taught audiences worldwide through a series of regular shows geared towards upcycling and repurposing for Hometalk TV.
When not blogging, teaching, or hanging out at the cottage, Lisa loves to travel… hunting high and low for amazing vintage pieces. She has filled her home with these rustic finds creating a space that reminds her of simpler times and her love of nature.
Louise.
Local furniture painter Louise Skabar started off as a regular at our pop-up shops back in the early days of Malenka Originals, then moved to running workshops, and eventually joined us in the shop. Louise loves to make things beautiful, and can be caught painting many objects, including gourds and plant pots! Follow her at PaintErUp and come join her sometime at a workshop.
Susan.
With a love of all things colourful and creative, Susan joined our team in Fall 2021 and has been adding much beauty, whimsy and special touches to the shop ever since. With a particular interest in painting fabric, look our for Susan’s wearable designs when she’s in the shop!
Amal.
Not long after Malenka Originals opened, we started seeing more and more of Amal Rashid as she caught the Chalk Paint™ bug. At one point, Katrina suggested Amal start working there, which she seemed to take as a joke!
A few years later, Katrina tried again and this time was successful. Amal has now been working at Malenka Originals since March 2016 and has brought much energy and style and to our team with her infectious laugh and love of bold colours. She also has an intense commitment to checking inventory, making her especially invaluable.
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