Who we are
Gnomecraft & Co. started as a dream every artist and maker has: a dedicated space in which to create in, and share our art with the world.
When we attended an open studio at Whiting Mills, we both felt an instant connection to the building and community, and felt compelled to inquire about space. Less than 6 months later, we’ve made our dream a reality, and we would love to introduce ourselves!
John Kantor
John has spent the last twenty years building a resume as a Leatherworker, model maker, sculptor, and fabricator. Starting early as a child building small worlds in HO Scale railroads, his love for miniatures extended into the world of Dungeons & Dragons as a teenager, where painting his own miniatures evolved into crafting custom bases and terrain to better visually display the worlds they lived in.
During the same time, he was introduced to Leathercraft in the Boy Scouts, and soon his passion for cosplay and fantasy costuming for renaissance fairs and medieval reenactment dominated this hobby, as he crafted costumes and armor for himself and friends, eventually taking professional commissions, where he became a sought after leather smith for custom cosplay costume pieces, with his work travelling to over 17 countries world-wide.
As a part of his education in architecture and mechanical engineering, john took four years of studio art, anchoring his skillset in modern mixed-media techniques with exposure to painting, sculpture, sketch work and calligraphy. John has studied with many instructors in leatherwork over the years, ranging from historic reproduction experts to seasoned costume creators.
Tyler Evangelista
Self taught in most corners of his art, Tyler weaves his horticultural degree into many of his works via organic shapes and nature motifs. Tyler has been playing tabletop roleplaying games since 2016, finding 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons to be the perfect outlet for his creative passion. Specializing in acrylic, Tyler began 3D printing gaming accessories back in 2017, ranging from dice towers to player miniatures, monster models, and miniature landscapes. Even when attending college courses, Tyler’s games were never devoid of set pieces to liven up the story.Professionally running games since 2018, Tyler strives to create an immersive and imaginative setting for his games and stories by mixing roleplay with an array of bespoke terrain.
Since 2022, Tyler has run workshops and hosted live events for tabletop games to showcase his fusion of detailed terrain, hand painted miniatures, and imaginative storytelling. Shortly afterwards, Tyler found a niche in the roleplaying community attending LARP events and picking up leather smithing to create and repair countless costume and equipment pieces. At these events he would build a portfolio fabricating intricate costumes and props to use in theatrical vignettes. After these creative years, Tyler continues to extend his creative talents to the community around him, always striving to keep his schedule full of commissions and games.
