Our Team

Allow us to introduce ourselves:

Risa Dickens, Indyish Founder.

Risa is an author / arts producer / web publisher with a masters degree in Communications from Concordia University. Her thesis will be released as a book internationally in spring 2008 under the title No One Knows Everything. Currently, she is writing on topics related to open source theory, concentrations of knowledge, and the power of networks. She has been an actor, a playwright and a teacher. Her writing has appeared in many places, including the Canadian Journal of Communication, and Worn Fashion Journal. She founded Indyish.com with her partner Elran Oded in December 2005 to showcase the things she and the people in her community were making. She believes that with empowering tools, the Indyish of the world are unstoppable. You can email her at: Risa @ indyish . com

Elran Oded, Indyish Founder.

Elran is a web developer, internet consultant, and serial entrepreneur. His professional interests include: linux, security, networks, open source softwares, and web standards. He is founder of TouchBasic Networks, president of PC Cruiser, author of TechBlog and website administrator for sites including: Wornjournal.com, Actaeonphoto.com, OpenJournalMontreal.com, and Indyish.com; Elran helped co-found Indyish.com because he believes that “code is art” and couldn’t resist an opportunity to demonstrate this point and in the process, help merge two seemingly different worlds. Elran is a man of the people, a man who wears many hats (but these days he mostly wears the blue one). You can email him at: Elran @ Indyish.com

Tessa Smith, Indyish Site Editor.

Tessa is a student of Media at McGill, and co-founder of Fixture Records. Tessa developed the the Indyish Assembly Art Relay coordinating large scale collaboration with hundreds of artists around the world. You can email her at: Tessa @ Indyish.com

Tristan Brand, Indyish Event Coordinator.

Photographer at many events, and save the dayer at many last minutes, Tristan Brand is a good man to have around. His career as a zoologist filmmaker means he brings quite a skill set and many passionate fish facts to the table of blogger bounty that is Indyish. You can reach him at: Tristan @ Indyish.com

Marilis Cardinal, Photoblogger and Event coordinator.

Marilis joined Indyish as a photo blogging Intern and took on increased responsibilities during the build up to the Montreal Fringe where she helped coordinate the Art Marts. As of July 2007, she has helped book the Indyish Monthly Mess, gradually taking on bits of everything - from web work to stage management.

Sarah Pearson, Columnist, Volunteer coordinator.

Sarah’s a Montreal-based writer, editor, drama instructor and choir-gal, who’s always keen to jump on board something fun, creative, and google-dockable. An actor by training (and reviewer by trade), she’s got a soft spot for Toronto and Montreal’s theatre communities, and for indie performing artists in general.

Alanah Heffez, Event Curator.

Alanah joined the team as a blogger and has stepped up into event curating and helping with pr, including design, while writing and researching professionally around social, urban and environmental issues.

Lise Treutler, Indyish Newsletter Editor.

Lise began as a “put me where you need me” volunteer and now manages the Indyish newsletters (no small feat!) and helps in a dear and dedicated type way with events.

Team Members Who Have Been Switch Hitters, On Call and Involved:

Josh Hinck, Original Monthly Showcase Producer.

Sometime after Beijing, and following many years producing and promoting shows, Josh found us via the interweb and we’re so glad. He provoked and cajoled the Indyish Monthly Mess into being, curated the first five and half shows, and was always dedicated to helping Indyish be open, accessible, challenging and supportive for artists of all kinds. He’s on the road again, as of Mid June 2007, after being featured in this Gazette article for all his hard work, but when he lands he’ll be back. Magic of the interwebs. You can still reach him at Josh @ Indyish.com

Iain Laurie, Indyish Designer.

Iain Laurie is an Edinburgh-based artist who Risa works with on as many projects as she can finagle, including book reviews for Worn Fashion Journal. He designed the top and bottom logos for Indyish, several of the original Indyish event posters,the Indyish t-shirt logos, and was a core contributor to Risa and Elran’s first collaboration Open Journal Montreal.

Jonah Tozman, Major Jones.

Jonah helped with “Operations” and “Execution” (and Myspace). Although he doesn’t really like to be asked to do extra reading, he helped map out and talk through the world of Indyish and for that we are in his debt. He is also good at talking Risa down when she’s freaking out, and at producing instructional video, but right now he has no time for that as he is very busy working at edCetra training. Still, you can email him about Indyish at: Jonah @ Indyish . com

Serah-Marie McMahon, indyish artist scout.

Serah-Marie is the Editor in Chief of Worn Journal and has helped give Risa perspective on indie business and artists.

Darren Curtis, indyish Photographer.

Darren did all the product shots and image editing for complexgeometries, Hastings and Main, Re-Gen, Pearls Before Swine and Vintage-ish. He agreed to help Risa out because he’s nice, and because he’d been planning to get his own photography company, Actaeon Photo, off the ground. We traded photo help for website. He’s also one of the criminal masterminds behind Kidnapper Films.

Robyn Fadden, Indyish writer.

Robyn is the sharp pen behind many of our first, funniest product write ups. If you’d like her to wrap some of her good words around your products, email her at Robyn @ Indyish . com.

Emilie Marzinotto, Indyish writer.

Emilie is a writer and advisor for Indyish who gets lovingly roped into Risa and El’s geeky schemes ever since they all lived together in what was to become Indyish Central (who knew!). You can email her at Emilie @ Indyish.com