Pennsylvania's only national forest, the Allegheny National Forest (ANF), inspires the name of this landscape and our makers here in the PA Wilds. The ANF spans more than 500,000 acres in the northwest portion of the Wilds, and residents often create art and wares that reflect the landscape’s most treasured places and experiences. These goods are sure to keep the landscape top of mind, whether by design or when remembering who made them.
Let's meet the PA Wilds Marketplace makers who are creating, designing, crafting and innovating in the PA Wilds Allegheny National Forest and Surrounds landscape!
Lisa Conklin Conn - Conklin Studio Pottery
Lisa Conklin Conn is a clay artist who sculpts stoneware and porcelain by hand. Although she had taken ceramics classes in high school, Lisa did not actually pursue clayworking until several years later. She now calls the northwest PA region of the Allegheny National Forest her home and studio. She says the beauty of the forest is a wonderful backdrop for creating, and her love of animals and nature inspires her sculptures.
Ellen Paquette - Ellen Paquette Art
Ellen Paquette is a northwestern Pennsylvania-based artist and musician working out of her studio on the edge of the sublime Allegheny National Forest. Her acrylic paintings feature animals in Renaissance-style portraits, as well as mythic and folkloric subject matter. Over the last few years, Ellen's work has come to focus primarily on vulnerable and endangered species.
Julie Mader - Artwork by Julie Mader
Julie Mader challenges her customers to think about how even their clothing choices can reflect the love that they have for the PA Wilds. Her silk scarves are inspired by the beauty of the natural world around her. For example, Julie’s “colorways” scarf designs come in patterns such as dark skies, chicory, milkweed and local honey. One of her scarves was even dyed using rust from an old fence in Kane! She draw inspiration from the landscape of the Allegheny National Forest and the entire PA Wilds.
Kelsey Kleiner - OneTen The Studio LLC
Kelsey Kleiner is a type designer and creative director with a love for building brand identities from the letterform up.
She launched the creative studio & type foundry, OneTen The Studio® in 2021 after several years in the corporate design world, stepping into entrepreneurship to create more intentional, personal, and type-focused work. Since then, her practice has grown to include retail font design, custom lettering systems, and creative consulting for brands and studios alike.
Ryan & Kira Geer - Elk & Walnut Creative Corner
The Geer family loves to travel! And they love to collect souvenirs from everywhere they've been. When they first set out to make our collectibles, they decided to start close to home. Ryan grew up in Mt Jewett and spend so much time in the woods in and around the Kinzua Bridge. Their first three designs were dedicated to creating one of a kind souveniers for locals and visitors but quickly branched out to add more memorable locations and items!
Jill Forquer - Allegheny Nesting
Jill moved to Kane, PA almost ten years ago and did not know many people. She made it my goal to build herself a “nest” - a collection of all of her favorite things and the place she feels the most comfortable. Over the next several years Jill worked within the community, explored the area, added onto her home, met new friends, added 3 kids to her family and started her own homestead. She now have goats, alpacas, and chickens. Jill proudly says she have truly made her “nest” in Kane. Through her business, Jill makes seasonal home decor, handmade goat milk soap, engraved charcuterie boards , dough bowl candles, and wooden jewelry.
John Costik - WildWoodPA
John was born into a family of woodworkers in southern Pennsylvania who owned their own lumberyard. His father was a skilled cabinetmaker, and his love of woodworking inspired John as a child. Now, sixty years later, as a lifelong woodworker, John embraces the work ethic of woodworking, and appreciates the diversity of lumber found in Pennsylvania woodlands. It provides a wonderful source of material to work with: oaks, birch, maple, cherry, walnut, etc. John especially likes the more decorative woods: curly maple, flame birch, birds eye maples, tiger striped, spalted and figured woods. These unique varieties can be challenging to work with, but their distinct characteristics allow for the creation of truly unique and stunning pieces. Each project is a journey, revealing the hidden beauty within the wood and transforming it into a timeless work of art.
Karen Hetzel - Moments in Time Studios
Karen has been providing contemporary portrait and photography services since 2006. She has 27 years’ experience photo directing models for one of the nation’s leading men’s and women’s apparel catalogs, and recently provided photo services for the same company’s new pet catalog. Her passion is collaborating with her subjects – people or pets – to capture that perfect moment in time.
Tataboline Enos - Author of "Proudly Made"
Tataboline “Ta” Enos is the Founder and CEO of the Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship. In 2025, Ta released an award-winning memoir through PA-based publisher Sunbury Press about her journey titled Proudly Made: A Story of Reinvention in the Big Woods and Small Towns of the Pennsylvania Wilds, which captures the rise of the PA Wilds movement and how one of America’s most rural regions – and its leader – reinvented themselves through grit, creativity and community. A fourth generation native of the Pennsylvania Wilds, Ta believes in helping rural communities, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs connect their work to larger systems to thrive in ways that honor both tradition and innovation.
PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Kinzua Bridge State Park
The inaugural PA Wilds Conservation Shop opened at Kinzua Bridge State Park in August 2016. After exploring the height and hikes surrounding the Kinzua Skywalk, meander through the visitor center to visit the Conservation Shop and enjoy educational displays about the location’s history. This is a must-see destination in the Allegheny National Forest + Surrounds landscape of the PA Wilds. The PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Kinzua Bridge offers many products that are specific to the area, such as t-shirts, postcards, magnets, pins and artwork that reflect the history and beauty of the bridge, along with many other products from around the PA Wilds region. Add a gift-giving destination statement, not just for tourists. The visitor center is open year-round with seasonal hours.
