Michelle Duxbury is deeply in love with the following things: americana, burlesque, craft, drawing and embroidery and the fifties. So far, so alphabetical but all joking aside these are the passions that fuel her life. So much so, that at some point during the last decade she took a deep breath and jumped off the old corporate ladder, waving an exuberant farewell to her proper grown up job in research development as she fell to the ground with a bang.

From that point on Michelle has immersed herself in both her own design work and encouraging others to get creative, running the full gamut from delivery workshops to organizing the first independent craft markets in the UK. Michelle has had projects and articles published in a variety of printed and online media and represented the UK at the first international gathering of independent craft organizers at Craft Congress in Pittsburgh. Michelle was also the founder of the first UK based Craft Mafia group, aiming to unite and promote independent craft businesses in Leeds by providing a strong support network sharing resources, information, experience, expertise and opportunities. Although now sadly disbanded Leeds Craft Mafia provided inspiration and a blueprint for the formation of a number of Craft Mafia groups across the country.

Michelle is currently working on an exciting new textile art project, developing a 'secret' website project and inflicting her creative direction and project management on a group of unsuspecting graphic arts and design students at Leeds Met University amongst other things. She is also the Director of Dr Sketchy Leeds and has been encouraging folks to whip out their drawing pad and pencil and indulge in some life drawing with a twist of burlesque and cabaret since 2008. Having built up a regular and loyal following at their bi-monthly drawing sessions they are now branching out into larger scale immersive art events, and have initiated a worldwide drawing project featuring the work of Dr Sketchy branches across the globe