Our Authors

Deservedly regarded as one of our top gardening photographers and writers, she has been honoured by the nurserymen, plant growers and other players in the industry several times for her unique and special contribution to gardens and gardening in South Africa. Her books are a manifestation of her affinity with nature and gardens and the beauty that comes from the good earth. She still writes for various magazines and her photographs have been used in publications all over the world.

Along with the joy of her work involving what she loves, Barri Sue enjoys the opportunities to teach and meet others who love embroidery. Barri Sue’s other hobbies include knitting, painting, friends and being outdoors. After raising two sons, Barri Sue moved to a tiny mountain town in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains named June Lake. She lives there with her husband Ron, a dog and two old cats. She has recently opened a stitchery and knitting shop in Bishop, California named, ‘Sierra Cottons & Wools’.

Her children are the main driving force behind this since they are forever in need of gifts to give friends and teachers. Alet usually makes several items at a time so that there is always something special available when an event or occasion requires a gift to be given.

Her interest in cottage woodcraft was triggered by an article she saw in an American magazine. She stated small, cutting and painting simple figures, but she soon tackled more complicated projects and decided to do a woodcraft course with Judy Bunce in Durbanville to learn more about special finishes. Before long she was exhibiting at the major Cape craft markets and she could hardly keep up with the demand for her work. When she is not exhibiting, she attends as many craft fairs as possible looking for new ideas and inspiration.

The age 0 – 3 years is the time when the foundation of development is formed. She did research on the needs of this age group as part of her studies for a Master’s Degree. In her work with children she was also involved in many aspects of family life and advised parents in many aspects of parenting, including family dynamics. She is currently an accredited occupational therapist who finds ongoing training valuable. She is qualified in sensory integration and recently attended courses in Therapeutic Listening, DIR / Floor Time techniques and Sensory Profile Theory. She has developed and presented several training programmes for day mothers and day-care centres in an effort to improve the quality of care and stimulation of babies and toddlers in care.Marga lives in subtropical Brisbane, Australia. She is married, raised three children, and is a proud grandmother. To be a parent was and is one of the most delightful aspects of her adult life. Marga writes articles for Sensible Parenting and publish in various parenting magazines. She works at a multi-disciplinary private practice in Brisbane as part of a dedicated team of paediatric professionals. She concentrates on sensory integration and sensory processing to improve the outcome of children with sensory processing problems, learning disabilities, emotional issues and children on the autism spectrum. She is registered to work with mental health issues. She initiated an interest group, Bayside SI, to encourage paediatric professionals from different disciplines to liaise and share their interest and knowledge of sensory integration and sensory processing. Through her clinical work and her website she provides advice and support to parents. Sensible Stimulation is a guide for parents to prevent developmental and sensory processing problems in their children but also to identify possible problems areas to ensure early intervention.

Always looking for something new to try, she started working with pewter about ten years ago. She took classes with one of the doyennes of pewter work, who stopped teaching for personal reasons. At that stage there were no other pewter teachers in Cape Town nor was there much in the way of the written word. So she spent many hours experimenting with and teaching herself the craft of pewter before starting to teach others. Sandy has a studio in Devils Peak in Cape Town where she teaches pewter and her other passion, fabric painting. She also runs a children’s craft class. She is married, and has a daughter who inspires much of her own craft.