15 Years

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Our BHCG website is 15 Years on the Net!


15 Years On The Web!. Illustration: Maria Romero.


I really got to know Maria when working with her for our 45th anniversary celebrations, all done virtually on our website throughout 2020, with 85 posts exhibiting many of our Guild members’ talents.

Maria is meticulous and has endless energy, enthusiasm, ideas, and creativity, not to mention a heart of gold! To mark our website’s 15 years on the Web, we would like to celebrate Maria, who dreamed it all and made it a reality. 

With sincerity and respect,

Emmy Maten / President


Meet Maria, our webmaster

Maria’s story starts in Venezuela, her country of origin. She studied Visual Arts, earned a diploma, and taught Drawing and Art History to Graphic Design students at the University. In 2001, she emigrated to Canada, making Dorval her new home at the time. In 2004, when driving her visiting relatives along the beautiful Lac St Louis lakeshore, they happened upon a sign announcing a BHCG rug exhibition at Centennial Hall! They went in to look, and so started her love for the art of hooked rugs.


Maria Romero. BHCG Webmaster.


In 2006, Maria was free only on the weekends thus she joined the St Henri Guild of which several members were also members of the Beaconsfield group. In 2007, she was able to attend Monday meetings, and consequently joined the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild. Denise Vandenbemden was the president at that time (from 2005 to 2011) and Maria proposed the idea of creating a website in order to show the Guild’s beautiful rugs to the public any day of the week, rather than only for 2 days once every two years at a rug exhibition. Denise agreed it was a great idea.


January 28th 2008: Celebrating the launch of the Website.
Web Committee: Denise Vandendemden - President /  Maureen Rowe - Editor and Translator / Maria Romero - Webmaster.


In 2008, she launched the BHCG website with the added goals of covering rug hooking techniques and learning from other rug hookers with “Show and Tell”. Meanwhile, Maria studied 3D animation and worked at the National Film Board for a year. Her animation studies inspired her to animate several rugs which you can see on the website Animated Rugs - BHCG (beaconsfieldrughooking.com). She also made many clever illustrations such as this Happy April Fools’ Day card, and Matty, who represents a guild member, and acts as the Guild mascot for communications and invitations.


April Fools' Day. Illustration: Maria Romero. 2015.


Matty_Hook In. Clip art #3. Illustration: Maria Romero. 2012.
 Annual General Meeting, April 2012:  Maria introduced us to our Internet mascot.
The members chose to name her "Matty".


Matty _Web. Clip art #25. Illustration: Maria Romero. 2013.


In the past, Maria hooked rugs and was an active member of the Guild and enjoyed participating in rug hooking activities with the public. 

Today, Maria’s creative outlet is the BHCG website, her “baby” as she calls it. Maria, always gracious and mindful of others, gives credit to each website committee member throughout the past 15 years, who have all worked hard to contribute to the posts from collecting stories and pictures through writing, translating, and editing. Without her team, she says, the website could not exist.

Thank you, Maria, for your extraordinary creation!


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Web Committee
2022 - 2023

Emmy Maten
President

Dawna Matthew
Vice-President

Jacqueline Bouchard
Editor/Translator

Maria Romero
Webmaster/Designer

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 Past-Presidents

2017-2022
Dawna Matthew

2014-2017
Ti Seymour 

2013-2014
Ti Seymour an Riita Jackson
Co-Presidents

2011-2013
Louise G. de Tonnancour

2008-2011
Denise Vandenbemden


Editors/Translators

2015 until now
Jacqueline Bouchard

2009-2015
Rose Kandy

2008-2009
Maureen Rowe

Webmaster/Designer

2008 until now
Maria Romero
____________________________________

Web Committee
2008

Denise Vandenbemden
President

Maureen Rowe
Editor/Translator

Maria Romero
Webmaster/Designer

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