Meet The Family
Our growing community of artists, entrepreneurs, dreamers and humanitarians is what makes us so special. Check us out!
Founder/Artist
Jess Read
Jess is the founder of Mera.Ki and one of our resident artists. What she lacks in size, she makes up for in spades of enthusiasm and volume. To put it succintly... Jess is no shrinking violet. She has grand plans to save the world and isn't quiet about it (or anything. Ever. Regrettably).
Specialties:
-Writing
-Large scale murals
- Multimedia
-Decks
-Watercolour/Acrylic/Aerosol
-Pencil
- Avid disliker of capsicum
Street Service Coordinator
Blair Marz
This firetwirling ninja is at the heart of Mera.Ki. Since its' inception, Blair has been hitting the streets of Brisbane before the world wakes up to deliver vital goods to those in need.
... Once Jo wakes him up.
Specialties:
-Fireshows
-Street Outreach
- The ideas guy
-Nintendo
Artist
Jeff Mathers
Mera.Ki is very lucky to have talented musician and artist Jeff to bring a spark (see what we did there!) to the team. This high voltage pyro has a huge heart and lays down some beautiful fractal burns on recycled decks that are both brilliant stand-alone pieces or part of a collab deal with eithere our paintbrush-weilding energizer bunny Jess or tattooed turbo-nerd Paul. Sometimes, all three of them get in on it - then it's a real party!
Specialties:
-Decks
-Fractal Burning
-Guitar
- Fire. Just lots of fire.
Marketing Guru
Dan Curcin
The business brains of the operation, Dan is the Director of Awedience and resident Mera.Ki marketing guru. Full of life, energy and a drive for change... Dan is the marketing mastermind that works towards making Mera.Ki a household name while dealing with the delicate balance between crazy (Jess) and logic (everything else). Like the rug in The Big Lebowski, Dan really ties the whole room together and we would probably just spend all our time buying inflatable dinosaur costumes if he didn't keep us* on track.
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*quite obviously Jess. She very much already owns an inflatable dinosaur costume. It was purchased pre-Dan.
Specialties:
-Corporate branding
-Marketing
-Digital & Video services
-Drawing this one little dog picture that he's been obsessed with since highschool
Street Outreach Coordinator
Jo Zwart
Jo is a firecracker! She is the sweetness and light of Mera.Ki and we would be lost without her. Full of ideas and bursting with energy, Jo hits the streets and makes an impact on those in need by delivering much sought-after items and the most infectious smile in existence.
Specialties:
-Fire shows
-Street Outreach
-Public awareness
-Cat Whisperer
Artist
Pauly (Jax) Jackson
Master tattooist and all-round wizard artist…. We give you Jax ('Paul' sounds like an accountant or something; Jax is flat-out wearing shoes). He’s the animal whisper, doesn’t brush his hair (ever), thinks fantasy football is LIFE, and has an absolute heart of gold. This raging nerd is an extremely talented artist and turns out exquisite detail in every piece. His work ranges from ethereal gothic, through to vintage comic and stops at a million wonderful places in between. Fiercely passionate and driven to change the dialogue about mental health stigmas, Mera.Ki is all the better for having Jax as part of the family.
Specialties:
- Tattooing
-Digital art
- Large scale murals
- Decks
- Acrylic
-Pencil
-Sci-fi & fantasy, gothic, comic
- Can recite the entire Blood Bowl rule book verbatim without taking a breath. #notallnerdswearcapes