Introducing John and Dylan Blue

Examples of John's work.Various media and all beautiful in their own right.


















To my Dear Friends,
In my last post I mentioned John would be joining with me in making AardvarkSilver grow. I am limited here in what I am to do alone for many reasons,not least the fact that shipping times are way too long to allow for customers to plan projects right now.
And so I will let John speak.


Greetings, all. I am John Madsen, who runs Dylan Blue. Tanya has described us as "joining forces", so I wanted to share my take on that decision and let you know how I feel about it.

So that you'll understand my perspective, a bit about me. I'm 56, a granddad, and a refugee in flight from Corporate America. In the first 30 years of my adult life I moved around through functions such as food service manager, firefighter, computer programmer, military service, production supervisor and manager, sales and marketing, and general manager of a paper-recycling business.
On the side, I was always interested in art - drawing and painting, guitar and percussion, writing and theater. When our kids moved out, I had to grapple with depression which turned into a horrible emotional crash.

However, in recovering from all of that, I've worked at developing myself as an artisan and seeker, through my jewelry and writing and painting.

Tanya and I met online not quite a year ago through a mutual friend, Meredith of CraftyGAGalCreations. Almost from day one things occurred that showed me that I could communicate with Tanya in ways that were new to my experience of what business was all about.So very very different from the regular sales world.

In the ensuing months, I've come to understand Tanya as an individual who combines a wonderful heart with an angelic spirit and a world-class mind. Needless to say, such a person is compels a huge amount of affection and respect, and it is an honor to join forces to make this grow.

Not surprisingly, I've viewed the place Tanya has created in cyberspace as being similarly unique - a place where commerce and art and human values co-exist cheerfully and in community. How cool is that? Massive Cool. In this day and age of the almighty dollar it is refreshing to see heart in a business.

After getting over the initial shock that Tanya accepted my offer to join with her I've begun to see the possibilities and I am full of gratitude and humility for the chance to be a part of making this into an even larger community that benefits all. My place will be to facilitate the growth of Tanya's vision, and contribute my own work and art at a later time.

My first goal will be to always ensure that the enterprise continues to be suffused with Tanya-ness; that it continue to look and feel exactly as it has. Tanya has plans for growth, and I truly believe that I can assist in bringing them to be in ways that are both creative and effective. Tanya is an integral part of all that goes on and as "the Aardvark" she is there as well.

So - that's my story. I look forward to working and playing and seeking and sharing with this community, and hope that you will find my efforts to be of use to you in your works and journeys.

Peace an' love, you-all, john