Eva - Owner

Soul Sisters’ Studio was inspired from my stays at a wellness center in the Berkshires.  During my retreats, I would take a variety of classes, and enjoy buying unique gifts for myself and others in their gift shop.  The best part about spending time at this place, however, was the overall feel of it … so relaxing!  I would talk at length with my dear friends (my Soul Sisters!), Lynn and Susan, about creating a mini version of this space, and one day I finally said “it’s time.”  Lynn helped me bring my vision to life, and both Lynn and Susan continue to be an integral part of the studio.  Susan is the studio’s Event Coordinator and Lynn is our Fusion Mineral Paint vendor.

My vision for the studio was to create a space that gives women the opportunity to step away from the busyness of day to day life, and reconnect with themselves.

In our upstairs space, we offer everything from arts and crafts to meditation classes.  It’s a supportive environment for women to share their gifts, talents and passions with others.

The downstairs boutique offers items made mostly by women artisans or curated from women and family-owned businesses.  When selecting items, I try to imagine a person buying something for herself as a gift, but everything we offer is a great gift for someone special in your life.

Certifications:

Eva Stephens has been trained in the Usui System of Reiki and is a certified Celestial Reiki practitioner with Katy Sloane.  She is a certified Unplug Meditation Teacher, and has studied with Sara Auster of Auster Sound.  She received a Soul Entrainment certification from Karen Paolino Correia, and continues to study how to unlock the loving wisdom and guidance of the soul through various holistic modalities.

Eva is a certified Spiritual Life Coach, and a graduate of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating.  Other coaching instruction includes Mindful Self-Compassion training through the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, and Crafting a Resilient Life with Dr. Maria Sirois.

Spiritual qualifications include Angelic Advisor training with Radleigh Valentine, and an Angel Practitioner certification with Charles Virtue.  She has also received an Akashic Record Practitioner certification through Linda Howe.

Susan - Studio Event Coordinator

Susan C. Alexander is an artist, born and raised in Montgomery County, PA. She began her formal art training at the age of 15, attending Saturday classes at Moore College of Art, Philadelphia College of Art and Montgomery County Community College. During this time, Susan developed her drawing and painting skills through printmaking, illustration and watercolors. In 1987, she earned a B.F.A. in Communication Design from Kutztown University. As Susan applied her hand-created design skills in a corporate art department, work moved from the drawing table to the desktop computer and the quickly evolving publishing software.

In 1998, Susan left corporate design work to care for her two daughters. While volunteering at the public school and local church, Susan realized how much she missed creating art by hand. As a life-long learner, she enrolled in several classes at the Banana Factory in Bethlehem, PA. After trying her skills in the hot glass, acrylic painting and pottery studios, Susan settled into clay work. This focused attention of creating art directly with her hands, brought back her love of hand-crafted art. Now she is combining clay and painting through her mobile art studio, Soul Creations. Whether it is a personal piece or a group painting event, these creations are designed to provide a healing moment for the artist or, to send messages of inspiration, hope and joy to Veterans, pediatric patients, the homebound, hospice patients, cancer treatment patients and those who mourn.

Lynn - Fusion Mineral Paint Vendor

As long as I can remember, I have always had a passion for creating and I just loved art! I vividly remember a “make it-take” it project in 1st or 2nd grade based on cut-outs of a snowman. We were instructed to assemble the snowman EXACTLY the same. Well, this did not sit well with me, so I tipped the snowman’s hat and pasted it on a diagonal. Oh boy, such a rebel! As I walked my project out in the hall (glue dripping, I might add….) the teacher said, “Oh no! Let’s straighten his hat out!” I was mortified and as a good, sweet student, I just sulked and walked away. So, in that moment, I realized that I wanted to be different, in fact I will pride myself in being creative and coming up with many possibilities and solutions to design problems.

This led me to college to obtain a degree with a focus in Graphic Design from Millersville University. After working in the field for a few years, I decided to attain my art education teaching certificate from Kutztown University as well as a Master Degree in Education from Wilkes University. I taught art to children of all ages in public schools as well as adjunct work in early childhood art education at the local community college for a total of 30 plus years! I love teaching art to ANYONE who enjoys creative thinking, has a desire to work with their hands and want to learn something new!

I have always had an interest in design but most recently over the years began to work in the interior design field and the repurposing old furniture. My husband and I have our own business and I have just created my own little niche, Live in Grace Design. I have used various paints in my work such as milk paint, chalk paint and mineral paint, which I am now currently obsessed with! I am a vendor of the Fusion Mineral Paint line and sell this line right here at Soul Sisters’ Studio! You will just LOVE this product line and the ease of working with the paint! I will be offering classes on the “how to” of furniture painting and refurbishing but will also feature a variety of other creative classes at Soul Sisters’ Studio. Oh yes, one more thing, and yep, you guessed it… I will not offer a “make it-take it” snowman, you all are much better than that!