PEDDLERS DEN - Key Persons
Tonya Weakley, owner and primary artist of Peddlers Den Inc, is a well known scenic stamper and instructor. By February 2018, she was convinced that the world needed a wider variety of scenic friendly stamps. While Tonya was definitely going to draw images, she knew she would need additional artists to also contribute. She recruited her artist/stamper friend, Marge Dady, and the two of them began drawing. Equipment was purchased, and in July of 2018 the original stamps were being manufactured in-house by Peddlers Den. Tonya continued to search for a wildlife illustrator, and later that year Ashley Polito joined the team. Since then, there have been additional artists who have contributed. While their focus is on scenic stamping, nearly all of their images can and are used traditionally as well.
Tonya Weakley was formerly co-owner of a fine art gallery. She taught drawing at the gallery, and at the height of that career, had 66 students. Scenic stamping has been an extension of her art background.
A scenic stamping specialist, she has been teaching this genre since the mid-1990's. Her work has been published in magazines and books. To share with a broader audience, she joined the RSM team in 2019 as a Tips and Techniques columnist. She continues to contribute to RSM on an "as needed" basis.