Travel Managers

Holly Brown

Holly Brown has been working for Craftours for 5 years. She is easy going and fun loving. She loves traveling and experiencing new adventures around every corner. You never know what you might discover. The love of travel was sparked at a young age when her family moved to Seoul Korea. Holly loves making new friends, and doing crafts all over the world. She has been crafting all her life. Photography, crocheting, and sewing to name a few. She has been quilting for 20 years and owns a longarm. She is also an avid reader. Holly lived in Northan Virginia for most of her life before retiring from NFCU in 2016. She currently resides in SW Florida with her husband, Darrell, and their two cats, Honey, and Sugar. They have 2 grown children and 5 grand kids.

Ana Buzzalino

Ana Buzzalino grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where sewing was part of her life at an early age. She studied dressmaking and art while in school. In early 1983, Ana moved to Calgary. A couple of years later, while walking down the street, she saw a “blanket” on a window and went into the store to ask about purchasing it. She was told that it wasn’t for sale, but that she could learn how to make her own. She signed up for a beginner’s quilting class that same day, and she never looked back. The rest, as they say, is history.

Ana has been teaching quilting since 1986 and has taken numerous workshops with renowned quilt and textile artists throughout the years to improve her skills. Some of the workshops have been with Claire Benn, Hollis Chatelain, Laura Cater Woods, and Elizabeth Barton among others. She has also attended several classes at the Alberta University of the Arts.

Ana Buzzalino is a creator, maker, fibre and mixed media artist, surface designer, teacher and lecturer. Her love of layers and texture combine in her original work. She achieves results using a combination of different surface design techniques such as monoprinting, hand-painting, free-motion stitching and hand-stitching, amongst others to achieve the effects she’s searching for. Her work has won numerous awards at national and international shows. In 2019 Ana was honoured as Quilter of Distinction at Heritage Park 24th Annual Festival of Quilts.

IA lot of her work for the past few years has used aspects of history with an impact on our culture today. In the current climate where everything is new, instant and shiny, history has relevance; old buildings have a soul that modern buildings do not possess. She finds herself returning to those old buildings to look at the marks of passing time.

Weathered wood, rusted metal, peeling paint. The work takes on various shapes and forms to draw the viewer in. The layered elements are used to give the impression of time passing, buildings deteriorating, disappearing slowly to make room for the new.

Ana is a frequent contributor to Quilting Arts Magazine and her work has graced the cover of four issues of the magazine. She has appeared in seasons 1900, 1200, 1000, 900 and 800 of Quilting Arts TV. Her work has also appeared in the American Quilter’s Society Magazine, in A Needle Pulling Thread, and in Modern Patchwork, as well as in 101 Patchwork Projects and Quilts and Quilt Scene. Ana has also produced two workshop DVDs with Interweave/F&W.

Ana is the founder and CEO of Create2Flourish, a program to help quilters, textile and mixed media artists avoid frustration and overwhelm and find their own voice so they can create art in their own style. Ana is currently teaching online from her studio in Calgary, Alberta.

In August 2022, she was invited to tape a segment for The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims, to be aired late 2022 or early 2023.

Aisling Fleming

Aisling (pronounced Ashling) was raised in the beautiful town called Killarney in the Southwest of Ireland. An avid lover of the sea, beaches, camping, walking and road trips. Hiking makes me smile profoundly and I am lucky enough to be in close proximity to Ireland’s highest mountain, Carrauntoohil and to have tackled all of its peaks – some of them numerous times, as well as having hiked Croagh Patrick, Ben Nevis, Ben Bulben, Errigal, Mount Brandon, Snowdonia, and others. A proud mother to my daughter, Saoirse- Gaelic (Irish) for freedom. We have a great relationship, and love exploring Ireland and Europe together. She has accompanied me to many wonderful places, including Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, England, Italy, Wales, Sweden, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Prague. America is next on our list! Some of my own favourite cities are Barcelona, Edinburgh, Gothenburg, Kraków, Venice, Lucca and Kosice. I also have a great love for French châteaus- Chenonceau, especially!

In 2014, I graduated from the University of Limerick with an honours Bachelors degree in Languages, Literature and Film. Spanish was my major and Japanese my minor. I completed my thesis on ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and it remains one of my favourite books, although I am always open to suggestions. I enjoy watching Spanish films such as those by Pedro Almodóvar and Guillermo Del Toro-great directors!

I love to learn and have attained other qualifications outside of my degree such as childcare, culinary management and teaching in adult education. The pandemic led to a recent career change and I qualified as an accredited National Tour Guide which will suit me ‘down to the ground’ as they say in Ireland because I love being busy and interacting with different people and cultures!

Deb Haugen

Aloha from my little piece of paradise, my name is Deb Haugen, and I’m an artist/designer from Hawaii. My art career started more than 40 yrs ago, and throughout my career it has traversed many mediums, and paths. I’ve always loved color, and to draw and paint, that led me to work in Hollywood in the entertainment arena.  I then worked in film production as an “On Set” dresser, and an Art Director for an Independent feature film.  I soon realized that supplying my own personal art was a very profitable idea and have been renting my art for years.

You’ve probably seen my art many times on your favorite TV shows & feature films, NCIS, to CSI, Microsoft, or The Muppet Movie, to name a few. I also taught Art in my own studio to model makers, fabric designers, painters and prop people, specializing in airbrush realism, and still learn so much from the many artists I meet. I have licensed thousands of pieces to to Crate and Barrel, Target, Neiman Marcus, Urban Outfitters, and to hospitality Internationally just to name a few. I also had the great opportunity to own the men’s Aloha clothing line of the great Olympic swimmer and “Father of Surfing”, Duke Kahanamoku.

Betsy Martinson

Betsy is a life-long, free choice learner, always interested in exploring the world, experiencing new cultures and gathering a greater understanding and appreciation of the people and places she is lucky enough to visit. After acquiring a BFA in Studio Art, and an MA in Art History, Betsy shifted her focus to history and spent over thirty glorious years in the Museum field focusing on interpretation, administration, and visitors studies. Retiring in 2020, Betsy is thrilled to slide into the role of Tour Manager for Craftours.

Her passion for learning and interpretation continues. Never having met a craft she didn’t like, you will usually find Betsy traveling with a knitting or beading project, always happy to share her hobbies and to learn about those of everyone she meets. Betsy still embraces her role as educator and looks forward to guiding and assisting others as they pursue their own crafting and cultural explorations.

Brenda Montoya

Brenda is a resident of Nevada and hails from the Midwest where she spent most of her childhood. Her innate sense of adventure has remained constant throughout her life, as she consistently seeks to expand her knowledge and experiences through books, travel, and a variety of opportunities. Brenda possesses a deep passion for crafts and art, a flame that was first ignited by her grandmother who taught her crocheting, knitting, hand embroidery, and baking at a young age. In the 7th grade, she further honed her skills in sewing, with guidance from her aunt, resulting in a complete back-to-school wardrobe.

With an insatiable thirst for knowledge, Brenda’s interests lie in exploring different cultures and connecting with people from all walks of life. She thrives on the excitement of trying new things, especially her passion for cruising, and she embraces the opportunity to learn through a special travel experience, what life has to offer. As one of Craftours “cruise” travel managers, Brenda has embarked on this exciting adventure and looks forward to providing our guests with a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Alice Ridge

I learned how to sew and embroider by hand when I was in second grade, taught by my grandmother and my great aunt. I got my first sewing machine when I was in 5^th grade and have been sewing ever since. I have been quilting on and off for over 40 years. Quilting “obsessively” (as my husband says) for the last 20+ years. I have been a Traveling Quilt Teacher and Speaker for about fifteen years. Just about all quilting styles appeal to me. Handwork and machine, traditional to art quilts. I love to try new techniques and ‘tweak’ old ones to make them new and fresh! I have a small rigid heddle loom to weave my own fabric to incorporate into some of my art quilts. I love playing with the different textures that you can get from different fibers! I also crochet and knit, and am learning how to tat lace. Never a dull moment!

Her passion for learning and interpretation continues. Never having met a craft she didn’t like, you will usually find Betsy traveling with a knitting or beading project, always happy to share her hobbies and to learn about those of everyone she meets. Betsy still embraces her role as educator and looks forward to guiding and assisting others as they pursue their own crafting and cultural explorations.

Personal info: I am married to a career Army man ( he finally retired after 35 yrs Active Duty !!) and have traveled all over the world. We have lived on 3 continents…. We moved 22 times in 35 years. We bought our “forever” house and I don’t intend to ever move again!! 3 children – 2 daughters and 1 son. The girls are in Indiana, my son is in the Army and his location changes as often as ours did! Such is life in the military! 4 grandchildren – 2 girls and 2 boys, all of them in Indiana. Thanks for Sharing in my Quilting Adventures!!

Margie Westlake

Margie was born in Adelaide South Australia where she raised her family and met her husband Craig. In 2013 they decided to move to Hobart Tasmania to work and enjoy the spectacular sailing, lifestyle and beauty Tasmania has to offer.

During 2015 Margie was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer and underwent surgery and significant treatment which continued for twelve months. After this experience Margie and Craig decided to take a break from their working lives and spent the year of 2020 sailing the East Coast of Australia. They had originally planned to travel to Fiji to support Breast Cancer Survivors in remote locations, however, 2020 saw everyone’s plans change and they remained in Australian waters.

As Margie and Craig are both avid lovers of the sea they currently live on their Beneteau Oceanis 473 yacht with their dog Molly.

As a proud breast cancer survivor with a keen sense of adventure and an enthusiasm for enjoying different cultural experiences, Margie is looking forward to enhancing your travel experience, and ensuring that you have a wonderful fun-filled adventure.