People
Stephen Sutton
Born in South Shields in North-East England, Stephen's first career was as a commercial and property lawyer where he was a principal of a firm in Newcastle Upon Tyne. After a transition for several years into banking, Stephen returned home to North-East England where he set up a small private law practice. As an avid classical music collector, he set up the Divine Art Record Company in 1992 initially as a hobby and to help raise funds for the local village church restoration. The business grew gradually, and Stephen left legal practice to manage the company full time in 2004. Two new directors were appointed in early 2009 to allow Stephen to set up and manage the USA affiliate, Diversions, LLC. Stephen is now the CEO and President of Diversions (trading as Brandon Music) as well as Chair of Divine Art Ltd. in England. Stephen's commitments to the classical music industry continue to develop as he co-owns a small music publishing business (Brandon Music Limited) in the United Kingdom and spends any spare time growing his vintage phonograph record collection. He also loves his hometown soccer club which will be dearly missed while he makes Brandon, Vermont his new home.
Edna Sutton
Edna was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. She was a primary (elementary) school teacher and headteacher at various schools before becoming an education administrator and inspector, working for Northumberland and North Yorkshire County Councils before moving to Barnsley, South Yorkshire, where she worked as Executive Director for Children, Young People and Families. An accredited school inspector, Edna received the award of ‘UK Local Government Woman of the Year' in 2007. Edna made the big step from the area of UK education to join the business in April 2011.
Patti LaDuke
A native Vermonter, Patti's career began in hospitality and spanned the restaurant industry to entrepreneurial management. For 17 years, Patti was the proud third generation owner of LaDuke's Restaurant which in more recent years has been re-established as Vermont Pizza and Creme. Patti transitioned to the United Parcel Service honing her skills in customer service and international shipping, placing her in perfect alignment as American Folk Artist Warren Kimble's first employee. For 12 years Patti was instrumental in the success of the Warren Kimble Gallery – The Kimble House – as the Retail Manager. When the Warren Kimble Gallery was sold to Stephen Sutton, Patti once again found herself in perfect alignment to be employed by Brandon Music which is conveniently located in the former Warren Kimble Gallery. Patti's passion is her grandchildren and watching them grow as the next generation of Vermonters.
Penny Powers
Hailing from a small town in Western New York, Penny moved to Vermont in 1980 where she balanced her role as a mother and a career in merchandising and retail. Her unique customer service skills were honed through local experiences at a pharmacy, gift boutique, antique shops, garden and floral stores, all leading up to her retail and merchandise role at the Warren Kimble Gallery in Brandon. Rejoining her friends and colleagues – Patti and Dotty – Penny was hired in early 2009 as the manager of the Harmony English Tea Room a Brandon Music. As well as her position with Brandon Music, Penny is currently employed part-time at the New England Maple Museum in nearby Pittsford and the Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock, Vermont. Penny's interests include gardening and floral arranging, cooking, kayaking and studying the mind-body-spirit connection.
Linda Banta
Brandon Music's latest employee is really a 'flatlander' in the truest sense of the word, having grown up and lived in Nebraska until 1992 when she and husband Jay moved to Vermont. Her professional career was in the medical field, where she worked as a Medical Technologist for over 40 years, most recently at Porter Medical Center in Middlebury. for about 16 of those years. Linda has always had a great love of and interest in the arts, primarily the performing arena, though she 'dabbles' in visual art too - in fact she currently has some acrylic-on-slate paintings on display at the Park Street Gallery in Brandon. Linda's involvement in the arts has seen her singing with the VSO Chorus, Maiden Vermont, Trillium (a hospice choir), performing folk music with Jay, and acting in local theater productions. She and Jay have a son, Matthew, and a daughter Shelby.
Linda's primary responsibilities here will be public relations, promotion, and liaising with the arts and music communities in Vermont and further afield, as well as day to day office administration and management.
Open 10 am - 6 pm daily
Café (table service) 12 noon - 5.30 pm daily
(both closed Tuesdays except for prebooked parties)
Phone: 802-465-4071
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