About us

We believe in our artist team.

Did you know that when you purchase any Creative Company product, you're also supporting the artist directly? We are proud to be able to pay our partnering artists a fair royalty on every sale we make that features their image, enabling them to make a living doing what they love.

Being creative is what we do!

We created our company to help share the benefits that we receive as artists with everyone of all ages. Taking time to quiet your mind and engage in a creative activity can reduce stress, build confidence, as well as spark inspiration.

We focus on providing creative outlets for all ages with our all-in-one Paint kits, Colouring Kits & Yvette St. Amant art supplies. Our premium quality products are carefully designed by our team with the beginner in mind, and a goal of creating as many “happy smiles” as possible.

Today we are proud to provide creative outlets for individuals, organizations, school boards and remote communities across North America - Inspiring tomorrow’s future artists, and providing a few hours of meditation when needed.

Meet our team

Deena Kruger

FOUNDER, CEO | ARTIST | VISIONARY | DOG LOVER

Deena discovered her love of painting when she was a teen, but didn’t really consider taking it more seriously until her early 30’s when she chose to leave her job in sales and fully commit herself to building a career where she would get to be creative every day. She quickly discovered that she had a real passion for business and creating something from idea to empire would become one of her life’s greatest challenges - one that she feels she was meant to do!

In her spare time she loves connecting with friends, going on adventures with her husband Jeff, and taking in all the snuggles possible from her frenchie Stanley. 

Steve "StevO" Gerow

HEAD ARTIST | DOG LOVER

Steve Gerow was born to be an artist! He has been creating since he was a child, using art as a way of healing. Growing up he was faced with numerous medical challenges, and during those times where he needed an escape or a way to “get through the day” he would turn to his art for comfort. As a result, over the last 40 years he has created some beautiful pieces that are now being enjoyed all over the globe. 

Yvette St. Amant

FEATURED PUBLISHED ARTIST | DOG LOVER

Yvette St. Amant is a French-Canadian Born American-Based licensing and published artist influencing thousands of aspiring artists through her online art courses and social media. She has been drawing and painting since she was a toddler and developed a strong interest in interior design by her teens. Yvette was raised on a lake surrounded by wilderness and is deeply connected to nature and water. She developed a great love for the beach and tropics which inspired her first globally published tropical florals setting the foundation to her professional artist career in 2003. Fusing styles influenced by culture, nature, personality, and interior design while incorporating trend forward colors are her specialty. Nature is very much the foundation to her creations, and she is known as “the chameleon” in the industry for producing a variation of unique styles with her diverse techniques.

Kevin Belmore

FEATURED ARTIST

Kevin is an Ojibwe Artist from Gull Bay First Nation located in the Thunder Bay District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Kevin joined The Creative Company as a collaborative artist in 2020.

At the age of 16 Kevin found himself in a workshop led by the late influential Anishinaabe artist Roy Thomas, who in turn was inspired by Norval Morrisseau, one of the founding members of the Woodland School of Art. This workshop is where he learned how to paint in the Woodland Art form, one that captures spiritual tradition as it shines through in the everyday, exploring the relationships between people, animals, and plants.

Angela Jason

FEATURED ARTIST | CAT LOVER

Growing up, Angela had very little access to brushes, paints, and canvas due to her location, the cost of materials, lack of available space, and the limited income of her family so it was not until 2010 that she finally decided to purchase these items for herself and begin exploring the world of acrylic painting. Most recently, she has begun exploring the stained glass medium.
While she is still developing her own style as an artist, she would describe it as influenced by First Nations/Woodland styles but with her own feminine twist to the colours, lines, and forms.

Steve “Hoier” Hoier

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER/DIGITAL IMAGING/OPERATIONS ASSISTANT | DOG LOVER

Prior to joining The Creative Company in 2021, Hoier (called by his last name since the company has two Steves) invested almost 20 years in the print industry. With him he carries a vast knowledge of operations management, product development, digital image processing, project management, problem solving - the list goes on.

He is a father, husband and in his spare time a part-time musician who writes and records all of his own original music, and paints little plastic spacemen too.

Simone Conrad

CUSTOMER ACCOUNT MANAGER | DOG LOVER

Simone started at The Creative Company working on the Production team. This new environment was a breath of fresh air for Simone, and she loved learning about Indigenous Culture from some of the artists on staff and ended up becoming a natural for our Customer Service front end. She currently heads the Customer Accounts Manager role, ensuring top notch service and follow up.

Simone enjoys spending time with her husband Cecil and with her family. Traveling and camping are important in their lifestyle as well. She most enjoys sitting on a tropical beach, sipping tasty beverages.

Marlee Martin

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR/PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR | DOG LOVER

Marlee is Dee’s sister, and right hand lady. Structure and organization is very important to her. She began her career in bookkeeping unexpectedly while on vacation, where someone hired her on a whim to work for her company. Since then she has worked for several companies, and recently has returned to Thunder Bay and is back in The Creative Company offices. When she isn’t carefully keeping the company’s books in order or supporting the Creative team, she enjoys the outdoors fishing, camping, traveling (36 countries and counting!) and spending time with her frenchie, Franklin.

Vishak Rao

SOCIAL MEDIA/DIGITAL MARKETING | PET LOVER

 

 Julie Orok

WAREHOUSE/PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

Julie started with us in 2023 in our production department making sure we are stocked and ready to serve you. She packs your kits with love and meticulous attention to detail, and has been a wonderful addition to our team!

Julie loves to bake, and makes the best chocolate chip cookies among many other tasty treats! She also loves the colour pink, and will be rocking her colour everyday while she packs kits.