Shows
Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #152: Pati Palmer of Palmer/PletschOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a business in the sewing industry with my guest, Pati Palmer.
Pati is the driving force behind the Palmer/Pletsch publishing company which has published dozens of sewing books and how-to DVD’s and creator of eight Palmer/Pletsch sewing notions products, including PerfectFuse™ Interfacings. Pati has been designing for the McCall Pattern Co. since 1980, and Vogue prior to that. She has written the guide sheets for over 250 patterns that include fit and sewing tips. Palmer/Pletsch workshops are offered in several cities around the c...
2019-09-0226 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #151: Lisa SolomonOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about making a career as an artist with my guest, Lisa Solomon.
Lisa Solomon is a mixed media artist whose work has been exhibited and collected all over the world. She received her BA in art practice from UC Berkeley and her MFA from Mills College, and has been a professor in the Bay Area for 15+ years. As a Hapa [her mother is Japanese and her father is Jewish Caucasian] she is profoundly interested in personal identity, and all things chroma. Her work reflects this as...
2019-08-191h 12Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #150: Laura Zander of Jimmy Beans WoolOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about running a brick-and-mortar and online yarn shop with my guest, Laura Zander.
Laura is the co-owner of Jimmy Beans Wool. Along with her husband Doug, she worked as software engineers during the dot-com boom in the San Francisco area. When Laura and Doug saw the boom begin turning into a bust they quit their jobs and moved to Lake Tahoe to begin a new adventure, opening a small yarn shop. Today Jimmy Beans Wool has been named one of the 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the...
2019-08-051h 14Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #149: Sarah GoldenOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about making a living as an artist and surface pattern designer with my guest, Sarah Golden.
Sarah is a painter and surface pattern designer living in Sacramento, California with her husband and 5-year-old twin girls. She paints abstracts, lots of plants and is a fabric designer for Andover Fabrics.
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This episode is sponsored by BrewStitched Fabrics.
Located online at BrewStitched.etsy.com, BrewStitched Fabrics offers fun and modern fabric for all of your sewing and quilting projects. Now carrying the al...
2019-07-151h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #148: Sarah KirstenOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a new sewing blog and business with my guest, Sarah Kirsten Anderson of the blog and sewing pattern company SARAH KIRSTEN.
Sarah is a sewing educator, sewing pattern designer, photographer, and a believer in the magic of making your own clothes. She’s passionate about making sewing and simple pattern drafting accessible to beginners, because she believes sewing is one of the most powerful ways to love your body, show your beauty, and express who you.
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This episode is sponsored by...
2019-07-011h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #147: Taylor McVay of Blueprints for SewingOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about running an indie sewing pattern business with my guest Taylor McVay of Blueprints for Sewing.
Taylor McVay is a designer, artist, and educator. She creates sewing patterns for unique, architecture inspired garments. Along with running Blueprints, Taylor teaches fashion design, pattern making, and sewing in the Boston area. Taylor creates one of a kind garments, experiments with techniques like weaving and embroidery, and loves to repurpose and recycle textiles. She spends a lot of her time thinking, writing, and talking about ‘slow fashion’.
Tayl...
2019-06-171h 02Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #146: Denyse SchmidtOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about quilting as an art form with my guest, Denyse Schmidt.
A former graphic designer and graduate of Rhode Island School of design, Denyse Schmidt began creating quilts in 1996. Intrigued by the rich historical nature of quilts and inspired by beauty born of necessity, Denyse adds her distinctive aesthetic sensibility – clean, spare lines, rich color and bold graphics – to this rich art form, and has won acclaim from the world of art, design, and craft. In addition to designing and making quilts, Denyse is an author, fabr...
2019-06-031h 07Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #145: Mark, Brian, and Josh Dunn of Moda and United NotionsOn this episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about running a fabric, notions, and gifts company with my guests, Mark, Brian, and Josh Dunn of Moda and United Notions.
Mark Dunn got his start in the fabric industry in 1966 working with his father William Dunn at Sewing, Sales, and Services which they founded together. In May of 1975 when Mark was 29, he moved to Texas to start United Notions Inc. He started with a five-man operation where he would take orders in the morning and fill them at his warehouse in the afternoon. In 1991 he st...
2019-05-201h 08Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #144: Jane SassamanOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a career as artist who makes quilts with my guest, Jane Sassaman.
After a varied career in the design world, Jane Sassaman began to quilt in 1980. She found that these “soft paintings” satisfied the draftsman, the craftsman and the artist in her. Consequently, she is now a dedicated (some say “obsessed”) quilt artist and fabric designer.
Her art quilts have been shown in many national and international exhibits, including Quilt National 1989 through 2005 and Contemporary American Quilts, the first major exhibit of American art quilt...
2019-05-061h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #143: Purl SohoOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a retail fabric and yarn shop, both online and in a brick-and-mortar setting, with my guests Joelle Hoverson and Page Marchese Norman.
Joelle and Page, along with Jennifer Hoverson Jahnke, are co-owners of Purl Soho, a fiber arts supply company that brings a modern sensibility to traditional needlecrafts.
We begin by talking about the story of how Joelle came to found Purl in 2002 as a small knitting store on Sullivan Street. Joelle explains how her vision for the store was d...
2019-04-151h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #142: Jessica Marquez of Miniature RhinoOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a handmade business with my guest, Jessica Marquez.
Jessica is a life long maker who found her way back to textiles while working on an MFA in Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology. After countless hours working digitally, retouching images and staring at a computer screen she longed for hands-on analog making. She taught herself embroidery and then never stopped stitching. In 2008 she started a creative handmade business, Miniature Rhino, named after a young cousin's imaginary friend, a dentist she called Dr. Rhino. Miniature Rhino became ...
2019-04-011h 01Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #141: Amy FriendOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a business as a quilt pattern designer, author, and blogger with my guest, Amy Friend. I had the pleasure of visiting Amy in her home studio in West Newbury, Massachusetts, and recording this interview in person which was lovely! Amy lives in a mid-19th century home that was formerly inhabited by a comb maker, shoemaker, and Morgan horse breeder. She grew up down the street from where she and her husband are now raising their three children.
A former museum curator, Amy designs...
2019-03-181h 06Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #140: Brad Krieger, Checker DistributorsOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about running a wholesale distribution company with my guest, Brad Krieger.
Brad is the president of Checker Distributors, a company his grandparents, Bob and Del Krieger, founded in 1948. Based in Maumee, Ohio, Checker is a leading distributor of quilting and sewing products. Independent quilt shops all over the United States and internationally order their inventory from Checker.
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This episode was sponsored by Pop-SEO.com, Pop Shop America has created a new learning center full of free resources to grow your creative business...
2019-03-041h 06Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #139: Pat and Walter Bravo of Art Gallery FabricsThis week on the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about running a fabric company with my guests Pat and Walter Bravo.
Pat and Walter own Art Gallery Fabrics, a manufacturer of premium fabrics for the quilting industry.
They are two soulmates who live life with a lot of passion, doing what they truly love. Originally from Argentina, they have been married for 34 years and have an amazing son, Alexander. Pat began sewing as a teenager and discovered quilting when the couple moved to the United States in the late 1980s. When she couldn’t fi...
2019-02-181h 12Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #138: EE SchenckOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking running a wholesale distribution company with my guests Stan and Brittany Gray.
Stan Gray is the owner of E.E. Schenck Company, which is a distributor, converter and wholesaler of all types of fabrics and sewing notions servicing customers throughout the world. After 51 years with the company, he is still involved in the day-to-day operations and enjoys his interaction with customers, employees and vendors.
Brittany is the General Manager of EE Schenck Company, and Stan’s daughter. After starting her career in the fashion indu...
2019-02-0458 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #137: Katarina RoccellaOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about becoming a fabric designer with my guest, Katarina Roccella.
Katarina was born in 1975 in Belgrade, Serbia where she lives with her husband and three kids that are true inspiration for her work. In 1998 she graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts at the Department of Graphic Arts and in 2003 got a master’s degree. She started on her PhD thesis in Applied Arts and Design in 2014. Nina work as a licensed artist for Art Gallery fabrics and has created 14 fabric collections for them.
We d...
2019-01-211h 06Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #136: Megan Eckman of Studio MMEOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about product development and building an embroidery business with my guest, Megan Eckman of Studio MME.
Megan is the owner and head designer of Studio MME, a company that creates approachable embroidery kits for modern stitchers. After failing her grandmother's embroidery lessons as a kid, she came back to the craft in 2014 and realized it needed a major update. She now makes kits that help others learn embroidery in a fun and easy manner. It's crafting with hand-holding. Over the past five years, she's landed her...
2019-01-071h 08Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #135: 2018 Community EpisodeAs we wind up 2018 I’m taking a minute to look back on the podcast this year. We’ve had so many of interviews with guests I truly admire including a whole roster of other artists and designers who have built independent creative businesses that are incredibly inspirational.
As we wrap up the year I wanted to turn to you, my listeners, and hear your voices on the show. I make this show for you, and it’s because of you that the show is a success. This is our third annual community episode and it’s one of m...
2018-12-171h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #134: Erin DollarOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a business as a surface designer with my guest, Erin Dollar.
Erin Dollar is the textile designer behind the home decor brand Cotton & Flax. She's known for her minimalist-modern approach to surface pattern design, and her textile home goods have been stocked in indie retail shops around the world, as well as on the shelves of stores like CB2, Need Supply, and West Elm. In 2016 she launched Arroyo, her first fabric collection for Robert Kaufman Fabrics, and this month her second collection, Balboa, arrives...
2018-12-031h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #133: The State of the Quilting Industry, Quilt Market 2018This is my second annual State of the Quilting Industry show recorded at Fall Quilt Market in Houston, Texas. The show is only open to the trade and it’s a time for quilt shop owners, pattern designers, notion makers, and fabric manufacturers to come together and do business with one another.
In this episode, I sit down with quilt shop owners to talk about how business is going. I did man-on-the-street style interviews with shop owners I’d never met before, walking up to them while they were in line for Sample Spree or sitting down with...
2018-11-1950 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #132: Ursula Morgan and Julie Roehm of CreativebugOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about online learning with my guests Ursula Morgan and Julie Roehm.
Ursula is the CEO of Creativebug, the award-winning DIY art and craft instruction site with 1,000+ videos for all skill levels. For $9.95/month, consumers have an all-access, no boundaries pass to all their creative interests. In her role as CEO Ursula grew subscriptions by 533% in her first year, a further 75% in year two, and 60% in year three. Creativebug under Ursula’s stewardship was acquired by JOANN stores in April 2017.
Julie Roehm is the Foun...
2018-11-051h 05Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #131: Molli SparklesOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a career as a quilter with my guest, Molli Sparkles.
Molli Sparkles is a multi-award-winning quilt maker who describes himself as a quiltmaker to the stars, fearless leader of the Glitterati, and spiller of truth tea. He blogs at MolliSparkles.com, and is a regular columnist for Make Modern and Textile Fibre Forum Magazines. His quilts have been exhibited and sold internationally, with a flair for humor, subversion, originality, and self-worth.
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This episode is sponsored by Quilt Photography Co. Beautiful p...
2018-10-151h 06Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #130: Anne WeilOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about going from blogger to author and teacher with my guest, Anne Weil.
Anne is the creator of the blog Flax & Twine and a designer of patterns and projects that have been published by Martha Stewart, Design*Sponge, Elle Decor, Real Simple, and the Huffington Post. The author of Weaving Within Reach (affiliate link) and Knitting Without Needles (affiliate link), Anne teaches classes nationwide at art retreats and local yarn stores and online at Creativebug.com and Craftsy.com. She lives in Denver, Colorado, with her family.
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2018-10-011h 05Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #129: Courtney CourtneyOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a handmade clothing brand with my guest, Courtney Chu, of the handmade clothing brand CourtneyCourtney.
Courtney Chu was trained as an industrial designer and worked as a children’s fashion designer. She’s obsessed with transforming and saving clothing from landfills through children’s and pet clothing. Currently, she’s creating memorable, lasting pieces that enhance any adventure through her brand, Courtney Courtney! According to Courtney, every color goes together, or she makes them go together. I love this mantra!
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Today’s epis...
2018-09-161h 00Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #128: Ebony LoveOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a career in as an expert in the quilting industry with my guest, Ebony Love.
An award-winning author and quilter Ebony is recognized as one of the leading experts in fabric die-cutting techniques. She’s best known as the author of The Big Little Book of Fabric Die Cutting Tips and the featured long arm columnist for Quilty Magazine, though she regularly contributes to other magazines, videos, and television programs. She’s fond of blindingly-bright prints and takes a contemporary approach to traditional designs. Her w...
2018-09-031h 10Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #127: Matt Reese of Road to CaliforniaIn this episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about creating a quilt show with my guest, Matt Reese. Matt is the owner of Road to California, the premier consumer quilt show west of the Rocky Mountains. Road to California features over 1,000 antique, traditional, art, and modern quilts and awards over $92,000 in prizes to artists from all over the world. 190 vendors come to the four day event at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, California where 39,000 people gather come to see the show, shop, and take 225 classes. Matt recently bought the show from his grandmother, Carolyn Reese...
2018-08-131h 05Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #126: Kelly Stevens of SuperbuzzyOn this episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about running an online and brick-and-mortar fabric shop with my guest, Kelly Stevens of Superbuzzy.
After finishing graduate school and some years working in higher education administration, Kelly rediscovered an early love of textiles and design in the late 1990s. Upon discovering Japanese craft books and modern Japanese fabrics, an obsession was born that later turned into the concept for Superbuzzy. The shop opened online in 2006, and then moved to a flagship storefront located in Ventura, California in 2011.
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Today’s episode is spon...
2018-07-301h 01Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #125: Merchant and MillsPlease note that we had audio recording issues with this episode. We did our best in post-production, bug the audio quality is not up to our usual standards. We apologize.
On this episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about elevating haberdashery with my guest, Carolyn Denham. Together, Carolyn and her husband Roderick Field are the owners of Merchant & Mills, a fabric, notions, and patterns company based in the UK. They founded the company in 2010 with the intention of bringing style and purpose to the overlooked world of sewing. Merchant & Mills products are stocked in r...
2018-07-161h 03Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #124: Sue SpargoOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about wool and texture and embroidery with my guest, Sue Spargo.
Sue is an internationally renowned designer, teacher, and textile artist. She’s authored several books including Creative Stitching and teaches on Craftsy as well as keeping up a rigorous travel schedule. 35 of her quilts were exhibited at the International Quilt Show in Houston in 2017 and in Chicago in 2018. Born in Zambia and raised in South Africa, Sue’s work is influenced by the color, energy, and simplicity of traditional African design. Today, her business is based...
2018-07-021h 10Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #123: Jen HewettOn today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about textile design with my guest, Jen Hewett. Jen is a printmaker, surface designer, textile artist and teacher. A lifelong Californian, Jen combines her love of loud prints and saturated colors with the textures and light of the California landscapes to create highly-tactile, visually-layered, printed textiles.
Jen’s first book, Print, Pattern, Sew: Block Printing Basics + Simple Sewing Projects for an Inspired Wardrobe, was published by Roost Books in May 2018 and her first line of commercial fabrics will be available with Cotton+Steel in August 2018. Jen and...
2018-06-181h 09Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #122: Hailey Hoffman Chisholm and Aaron Hoffman of Hoffman California FabricsOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about the business of fabric with my guest, Aaron Hoffman and Hailey Hoffman Chisholm of Hoffman California Fabrics.
Together, Aaron and Hailey represent the fourth generation of the Hoffman family working in the company that will hit its 94th anniversary later this year.
Hailey works as marketing and sales associate. Her mother, Robin Hoffman Haack, is the chief financial officer. She is the youngest Hoffman working at the company. Aaron launched the Me+You brand to offer hand-dyed solids and batiks featuring minimalist gra...
2018-06-0455 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #121: Shannon DowneyOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about art as community organizing with my guest, Shannon Downey.
Shannon Downey is an instigator. Currently, she is the Director of Development for Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Chicago where she raises funds to grow and protect immigrant and refugee rights and power through civic engagement and language access. She’s also adjunct faculty at Columbia College and DePaul University where she teaches Creatives how to build empires that will pay the bills and change the world.
Shannon is best known, though, by her a...
2018-05-211h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #120: Florence KnappOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about blogging and writing a book with my guest, Florence Knapp.
Florence is a quilter and dressmaker. For over a decade she has kept a blog, Flossie Teacakes, where she shares her adventures with a needle and thread and the life that goes on around her stitching. During this time she has designed sewing patterns and her work has been featured in various magazines, as well as in a book produced by the V&A Museum.
Florence’s early years were spent in Engl...
2018-05-071h 03Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #119: Leslie Tucker JenisonOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a career as a quilter, teacher, and designer with my guest, Leslie Tucker Jenison.
Leslie is an artist who makes contemporary quilts. She creates surface designs with dye and paint, and photography frequently informs her designs, either literally or by way of inspiration. Leslie has been a guest on The Quilt Show, Quilting Arts TV, Fresh Quilting, and more. Leslie’s work has been featured in numerous publications including Quilting Arts, Modern Quilts Unlimited, and Where Women Create: Quilters, as well as numerous book...
2018-04-161h 01Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #118: Lesley WareOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a career as a fashion design expert with my guest, Lesley Ware.
Lesley helps young fashionistas of all strips discover their personal style and talents through fun and creativity. Her passion for inspiring young people began when she earned her degree in elementary education and continued when she orchestrated a national program for the Girl Scouts. She has previously written two books on style and fashion design for girls, Sew Fab: Sewing and Style for Young Fashionistas and My Fab Fashion Style File (La...
2018-04-021h 03Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #117: Lauren FairweatherOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building an audience around your creative passions with my guest, Lauren Fairweather.
Lauren Fairweather is a YouTube content creator, Etsy seller, and independent musician who runs all of her creative businesses from home. This YouTube NextUp winner and mom of one has created videos for many companies including HGTV, SyFy, Simplicity, Intel, and Guitar Center and she recently starred in a video course for YouTube's Creator Academy. When she can get out of the house, Lauren enjoys speaking on panels, selling her handmade work, an...
2018-03-191h 06Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #116: Jean WellsOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about owning a quilt shop and a premier quilt show with my guest, Jean Wells.
Jean is an art quilter who is inspired by nature and the world around her. She’s also the owner of The Stitchin’ Post, a quilt shop in Sisters, Oregon that she’s owned for 43 years, and the founder of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, a world-renowned show that attracts tens of thousands of visitors to Sisters Oregon each July. She’s the author of over two dozen books, is a popular w...
2018-03-051h 01Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #115: Mathew BoudreauxOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a career in the sewing industry with my guest, Mathew Boudreaux.
Mathew Boudreaux of Mister Domestic learned to sew as a kid, but never really got into it until he had his daughter Helena, who is now four and a half. He thought it would be a great way to connect with her if he could make her cool clothes.
With a new motivation to up his attention-to-detail, the quality and coolness far exceeded even his own expectations. Once he started po...
2018-02-191h 01Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #114: Melanie HamOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I'm talking with Melanie Ham about YouTube.
Melanie is a YouTuber and blogger who loves to create and share easy to follow sewing, quilting and crochet video tutorials to empower your creativity. She discovered sewing shortly after graduating with an art degree with emphasis in art history from California State University of Northridge when she found herself with more time on her hands after her husband joined the U.S. Army in 2007. Along the way she picked up crochet because it was easy to travel with and in th...
2018-02-051h 05Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #113: Casey YorkOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about quilting and art history with my guest, Casey York.
Casey has sewn for most of her life and has been making quilts for a decade. Initially inspired by the graphic possibilities of appliqué, she has worked in the quilting industry to push the boundaries of this tradition with her graphic, contemporary designs and patterns. Casey received her Ph.D. in art history in 2012 and is known in the quilting industry for her two books, Modern Appliqué Illusions (2014) and The Appliqué Book (2016). Her first line of fabri...
2018-01-151h 09Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #112: Carol SoderlundOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about color and dye with my guest, Carol Soderlund.
An artist and educator for 25 years, Carol’s curiosity about the range of color derived from yellow, red, and blue dyes led to her creation of her Color Mixing system for dyers. Carol encourages the freedom of mixing color by eye with results-based samples to guide the student. A former high school teacher, Carol was nominated for Teacher of the Year in 2013 and again in 2015 by the International Association of Creative Arts Professionals. Carol is co-author of Pl...
2018-01-011h 09Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #111: Ricky TimsOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about quilting and music with my guest, Ricky Tims.
Ricky Tims has successfully blended two diverse passions into one very unique and interesting career. His skills as a pianist, composer and producer have been evident by the thousands who have heard his music.
He is known in the international world of quilting as a best-selling author, enthusiastic and encouraging teacher, an award-winning quilter, fabric designer, and a talented and spellbinding speaker. His innovative and entertaining presentations feature live music and humor combined with sc...
2017-12-181h 08Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #110: 2017 Community EpisodeOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast is our second annual community episode. In this very special episode I invite you, the listeners, to recommend great stuff you're enjoying right now. A few weeks ago I put a call out on the blog and in my newsletter asking listeners to recommend a book, app, website, tool, notion, or podcast that they would recommend to a creative friend. I heard from so many of you! I put all of your recommendations together in this episode!
My co-host for the Community Episode again this year is St...
2017-12-041h 09Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #109: Shea HendersonOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a sewing community with my guest, Shea Henderson.
A former middle school math teacher, Shea Henderson now owns Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio, a sewing and quilt pattern company. She is the author of the award winning book School of Sewing: Learn it. Teach it. Sew Together. and her work has been featured in several books and magazines. She is one of founding members and a former president of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild. Shea lives in Kansas City, MO with her husband and t...
2017-11-181h 04Craft Industry AllianceSpecial Episode to Honor Nancy Zieman's MemoryOn today’s special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I’m so saddened by this morning’s news that Nancy Zieman has passed away. Nancy was a huge inspiration to me, and to so many of us. As a woman, a business person, and a working mom, Nancy lived her life with grace. She worked hard, had an excellent moral compass, and set a high bar for all of us to reach when it comes to being a participant in the sewing and quilting industry.
In May, a few months before she got sick with cancer...
2017-11-1455 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #108: The State of the Quilting Industry 2017On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I recorded my time at Quilt Market in Houston last week. We had a discussion about the state of the quilting industry with three quilt shop owners: Janet Lutz, Karen Montgomery, and Kris Thurgood.
Janet Lutz is the owner of Calico Gals, a quilt shop located in Syracuse, NY. Janet is also the founder of Row by Row Experience, a program which reaches over 3,000 quilt shops worldwide.
Karen Montgomery has owned The Quilt Company, a full service, brick and mortar quilt shop just outside Pittsburgh, PA...
2017-11-0659 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #107: Eleanor BurnsOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a successful career in quilting with my guest, Eleanor Burns.
Eleanor Burns is truly a star in the quilting industry. She entered the field in 1978 with a self-published book, "Make a Quilt in a Day-Log Cabin Pattern.” Her innovative techniques in "strip piecing" made quilting possible for busy sewers and remains popular today. Eleanor’s signature technique is to take time treasured patterns and make them quick and easy to sew with new methods.
In 1990, Eleanor pioneered the way people view quiltm...
2017-10-161h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #106: Arvin Pairavi, President and Co-Owner of Shannon FabricsOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a fabric company with my guest, Arvin Pairavi.
Arvin is the President and Co-Owner of Shannon Fabrics, a family owned importer and distributor of plush fabrics. Arvin joined the company in 2000 to work with his father and has helped grow Shannon Fabrics from a small business to a team of more than 50 employees.
In this interview we trace the Pairavi family's history in the fabric business. Arvin's grandfather and father had fabric stores in Iran before the family fled to the Uni...
2017-10-0259 minCraft Industry AllianceSpecial Episode: Craft Industry Alliance's 2nd AnniversaryOn today’s special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're celebrating the second anniversary of Craft Industry Alliance, the trade association for makers, designers, suppliers, and content creators in all areas of craft. Founded in October of 2015 by myself and Kristin Link (of Sew Mama Sew) Craft Industry Alliance now has over 1,300 members!
For this episode we're bringing five of those members onto the show to talk about their businesses and their relationship to the organization. Plus, we ask each of them to recommend great stuff they're enjoying right now. Kristin and I co-host these co...
2017-09-2555 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #105: Christine RicksOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about building a career as a designer with my guest, Christine Ricks.
Christine is the Creative Director for Missouri Star Quilt Company’s publishing department, working with a team to design and produce their magazines, Block and Modblock. She’s trained as a graphic designer and has taken up quilting as another medium to express her creative self. Christine spent the 10 years prior to her current position working in surface pattern design and contributing to several fabric lines for BasicGrey produced by Moda. She also con...
2017-09-1856 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #104: Fred Drexler, Co-Founder, Sulky of AmericaOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about building an innovative company in the sewing industry with my guest, Fred Drexler.
Fred, along with his wife, Joyce, founded Sulky of America, a premier thread and stabilizer company. Fred began his career in the sewing industry in 1965 at age 23 as a salesman for the Singer Company in Akron Ohio. In 1969, he opened his own Singer dealership in Punta Gorda, Florida and met Joyce in 1974. She founded Speed Stitch, the company that popularized free motion embroidery using a domestic sewing machine. In 1987 Speed Stit...
2017-09-041h 11Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #103: Jamie Chalmers, Mr. X StitchOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about cross stitch with my guest, Jamie Chalmers, also known as Mr X Stitch. Jamie took up cross stitching fifteen years ago and he’s never looked back. Since establishing the Mr X Stitch website in 2008, he has been showcasing new talent in the world of textiles and stitch and has curated a number of stitch-based exhibitions in the UK and Ireland. Jamie is an accomplished and internationally exhibited artist in his own right, and the curator of PUSH Stitchery (affiliate link), part of a series of books...
2017-08-201h 09Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #102: Benjamin Levisay, CEO of XRX, Inc.On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I'm at Stitches United in Hartford, CT, talking with Benjamin Levisay, CEO of XRX, Inc., publishers of XRX Books as well as promoters of STITCHES Expos. Benjamin is a second-generation partner in this 31-year-old company originally started by his uncle, Alexis Xenakis, his father, David Xenakis, and their partner Elaine Rowley.
Benjamin has been a part of the fiber industry since his family opened a yarn shop in Sioux Falls, SD when he was a small boy, an enterprise that later evolved into XRX. We talk about the c...
2017-08-0756 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #101: Sue BleiweissOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a career as a quilter with my guest, Sue Bleiweiss. I’m here visiting Sue in her home studio in Pepperell, Massachusetts which is about 45 minutes from my home and is a beautiful place to visit in July.
Sue creates vibrant colorful art quilts intended to delight the eye of the viewer and draw them in for a closer look. The author of several books, she has written numerous articles for Quilting Arts Magazine, appeared on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky...
2017-07-171h 02Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #100: Alissa Haight CarltonOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I'm talking with Alissa Haight Carlton. Alissa is a modern quilter, designer, author and the co-founder and Executive Director of the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG). She has written two quilting books, Modern Minimal and Block Party. When not working in the quilting world, she heads up casting for Project Runway. Alissa lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.
Alissa tells the story of the founding of the MQG and how it's run today. She talks about how the organization has grown, why they chose non-profit stat...
2017-07-031h 01Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #99: Ellen MarchOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about sewing magazines and television with my guest, Ellen March. Ellen March is the Community Content Director for the sewing division of F+W Media, including the Sew News, Creative Machine Embroidery, BurdaStyle, Sew Daily and Sew it All brands. She’s appeared on several television shows spreading her love of sewing, most notably Hallmark’s Marie Osmond Show and DIY Network’s Uncommon Threads, and she hosted Sew it All TV on PBS for nine seasons.
Ellen traces her career in the sewing media industry...
2017-06-191h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #98: Kathy Miller and Michael Steiner, Co-Founders of Michael Miller FabricsOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about running a fabric company with my guests, Kathy Miller and Michael Steiner. Kathy and Michael are the co-founders of Michael Miller Fabrics.
We begin by talking about Kathy's and Michael's careers before co-founding the company together. Kathy and Michael then explain how they met and came together to form their own fabric company. Michael Miller Fabrics has evolved considerably since its early days and you'll hear how and why it changed, and how the business was funded early on.
We talk about...
2017-06-0559 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #97: Nancy ZiemanOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a lifelong career in sewing with my guest, Nancy Zieman.
Nancy Zieman is an author, designer, businesswomen, TV producer, blogger and national sewing authority. She’s the host of the popular show Sewing With Nancy®, which appears exclusively on public television stations across the United States and Canada. You can watch Sewing With Nancy® online at nancyzieman.com.
In this interview Nancy traces the history of her career. Hear how she first got onto public television and what those early days were l...
2017-05-1557 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #96: Jen Carlton BaillyOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about building a career as a modern quilter with my guest, Jen Carlton Bailly. Jen is a founder of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild, the largest modern quilt guild in the world. She had a career in retail before becoming a mother and modern quilter and carries many of lesson she learned in those years over to her current work.
In this conversation we talk about discovering a craft community online and in person. Jen explains how modern quilters first connected online via Flickr and...
2017-05-011h 06Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #95: Nichole VogelsingerOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building an online presence on Instagram with my guest, Nichole Vogelsinger. Nichole has a beautiful new book out with Lucky Spool, Wild Boho: Modern Projects from Traditional Stitches (affiliate link). She's also partnered with an assortment of sewing brands including fabric and notions companies. Nichole has built tremendous momentum for her work by using Instagram to show what she's doing and forge connections. She currently has over 10,000 followers. It's really exciting to see her trajectory!
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This episode is sponsored by the International Ass...
2017-04-1755 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #94: Heather GivansOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about owning a quilt shop with my guest, Heather Givans. We recorded this episode in Savannah, Georgia, at Quilt Con 2017. The show was so inspiring and I was excited to have the opportunity to sit down with an equally inspiring guest to talk more about this industry.
Heather is a creative force; fabric store owner, fabric designer, quilt designer, national instructor, artist, and art educator. Heather creates community wherever she goes. Her shop, Crimson Tate, in Indianapolis, was born out of an obsession with creating no...
2017-04-0348 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #93: Co-Founders of Electric Quilt Penny McMorris and Dean NeumannOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I'm talking with Dean Neumann and Penny McMorris about Electric Quilt, the quilt designs software company they co-founded 26 years ago.
After the Air Force and then graduate school, Dean was a Professor of Mathematics at Bowling Green State University for 25 years. He received a hand-me-down computer from his son in the late 1980s, and quickly became a self-taught computer programmer just for fun.
His wife, Penny McMorris, was the corporate art curator for Owens-Corning Corporation, headquartered in Toledo, Ohio. Penny was a self-taught quilt maker. She...
2017-03-2056 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #92: Pokey BoltonOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about the sewing and quilting industry with my guest, Pokey Bolton.
Pokey Bolton was introduced to art quilting and the related needle arts in 1998, and ever since she took her first stitch (a fly) and embroidered her first motif (a spider), she has been entangled in this industry and doesn’t envision herself getting free.
Art quilting and mixed-media have, quite literally, taken over her life—so much so that she left her doctoral program and full-time teaching job to found Quilting Arts Magazin...
2017-03-061h 05Craft Industry AllianceSpecial Episode: QuiltCon 2017 Best in Show Winner Kat JonesOn today’s special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I’m at QuiltCon 2017 and I’m honored to have been able to sit for a few minutes with Katherine Jones who has won Best in Show for her quilt, Bling. Kat is from Tasmania, Australia and I caught her just a few hours before she had to catch a flight back home. We sat on the grass outside the convention center and chatted about her extraordinary paper pieced quilt.
Kat has had award winning quilts in QuiltCon in years past, but she has a very low ke...
2017-02-2619 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #91: Susan Fitzgerald of Red Gate StitcheryOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about launching a kit and pattern business with my guest, Susan Fitzgerald. Susan lives near me, in the Boston area, so we were actually able to record this interview in person in Susan’s beautiful studio.
Susan Fitzgerald designs modern cross stitch kits and patterns. Her work features stitching on unconventional materials like wood, leather, and acrylic. Her innovative designs have been featured in a number of cross stitch, quilting, and craft publications including CrossStitcher magazine and Mollie Makes.
With a background in scien...
2017-02-201h 06Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #90: Claire RobertsonOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about blogging, and illustration, and newsletters with my guest Claire Robertson. Claire is an Australian artist and illustrator based on the Pacific North West island of Salt Spring, in British Columbia, Canada. She weaves the whimsy of her island life into her work, incorporating the local flora and fauna in her characteristic style. She is well known for her much loved blog loobylu.com which she began in 1999, and for which she has won many awards and accolades. She is also known for her iconic children's book illu...
2017-02-061h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #89: Thomas KnauerOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I've asked quilter Thomas Knauer to talk about the state of the quilting industry right now. Knauer is an academic as well as an award winning quilter and he views the industry in a way that I feel is unusual and thought-provoking. He talks about the relationship between the quest for perfectionism and quilting and how that leads to consumerism. Thomas also feels that "the quilting industry has nothing to do with quilts," a statement I ask him to unpack for us. Finally, Thomas shares a new model for lo...
2017-01-161h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #88: MimiGOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about building a business in fashion sewing with my guest Mimi Goodwin, whom you might know as MimiG.
Mimi is a mother, businesswoman, and award winning, trend expert and Editor-in-Chief of the popular fashion, lifestyle, and DIY blog, MimiGStyle.com. What started off as a hobby in her Los Angeles home in 2012, has blossomed into an international brand with daily engagement of more than 1.M followers.
We talk about :
What works on YouTube
Sponsored posts
Body image
How to build readership for y...
2017-01-091h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #87: Community Episode 2016On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're hearing voices from the community. It's the 2016 Community Episode! A few weeks ago I put a call out on my blog and in my newsletter asking you to record yourself and send it to me. I got so many entries! Thank you. Specifically I asked if you would recommend something you're loving right now. So this episode is full of amazing recommendations for books, apps, websites, notions, tools, and other podcasts you'll love.
I asked my good friend, crochet designer Stacey Trock of FreshStitches.com, to co...
2016-12-191h 00Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #86: Annie UnreinOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about product development with my guest, Annie Unrein. A creative lifetime quilter, Annie Unrein of Patterns by Annie and ByAnnie.com has been designing patterns and teaching since 2000. With a focus on practical and useful projects, Annie's patterns appeal to a sewists of all ages and levels.
Annie is the creator of ByAnnie's Soft and Stable, an innovative product she designed to add body, stability and a professional finish to purses, bags, home dec items, and more.
A popular instructor, Annie teaches online and a...
2016-12-051h 07Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #85: Jennnifer Judd-McGeeOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a career as an artist and illustrator with my guest, Jennifer Judd-McGee.
Jennifer Judd-McGee is a full time artist and mother living and working in Mount Desert Island, Maine. She describes herself as a nature lover, obsessive doodler, path finder, and appreciator of paper, fine point pens, and detailed patterns. Jennifer creates papercuts, illustrations, mixed media collage and monoprints that are reflective of her surroundings. She shows her work in galleries and licenses it to companies around the country.
Jen talks abo...
2016-11-211h 03Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #84: Jennifer PerkinsOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about building a business as a crafter with my guest, Jennifer Perkins.
Jennifer Perkins is an Austin, TX based creative consultant. During her lengthy career in the craft industry she has run a successful jewelry business (Naughty Secretary Club), hosted television shows (Craft Lab and Stylelicious on DIY Network), been the editor in chief of a magazine (Kids Crafts 1-2-3 started by Walmart) and everything in-between. Her distinct style and love of color and kitsch has followed her throughout all of these adventures.
2016-11-071h 06Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #83: Melissa AverionosOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about quilting, painting, and living a creative life with my guest Melissa Averinos.
Melissa Averinos paints, makes quilts, and writes craft books.
She won a Judge's Choice Award at QuiltCon 2015 for her quilt 'face #1' and won Best In Show at QuiltCon 2016 for her quilt 'My Brother's Jeans'.
Melissa travels nationally to teach her signature class ‘Making Faces with Melissa’ at quilt shops, guilds and retreats such as QuiltCon and Craft Napa. Melissa is the author of seven books. Her first co...
2016-10-171h 03Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #82: Mickey Krueger, President of Windham FabricsOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I'm talking with Mickey Krueger, the president of Windham Fabrics, one of the leading manufacturers of quilting cottons today. We recorded this show in front of a studio audience at Sew Pro, a sewing conference in Chicago in mid-September 2016.
If you're interested designing fabric, or if you're just curious how this side of the quilting industry works, this episode is for you. Mickey explains how Windham chooses new designers and exactly what he's looking for. He takes us through the fabric manufacturing process from start to finish. We...
2016-10-0345 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #81: Roost BooksOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about publishing craft books with my guests, Sara Bercholz and Jennifer Urban-Brown of Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala.
Sara is the Executive Vice President of Shambhala and the publisher of Roost Books. She started Roost Books with Jenn in 2012. Shambhala was started by her father, Sam Bercholz, in the 1960s and the company remains in the family
And Jennifer Urban-Brown is an avid knitter, a B+ sewer, and a dabbling baker. She has been an editor at Roost Books / Shambhala Publications since 2006, wh...
2016-09-191h 00Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #80: Maddie Kertay of the BadAss Quilters SocietyOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I'm talking with Maddie Kertay, the founder of the BadAss Quilters Society, a Facebook page and blog devoted to diversity and inclusion in the quilting community. In this conversation Maddie talks about how she became a quilter and the incident which led her to feel she needed a place to talk openly about issues within the quilting industry that she feels need changing. Maddie's blog and Facebook posts often delve into race, class, gender, and sexuality in a way that is rarely seen within this community. Maddie realized that her...
2016-09-0559 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #79: Arounna Khounnoraj of BookhouOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about making and selling handcrafted products with my guest Arounna Khounnoraj of Bookhou.
Arounna Khounnoraj started Bookhou with her husband, John Booth, in 2002 as a place to combine and market their work. Both Arounna and John started out as artists - Arounna as a sculptor and John as a painter - but as time passed their endeavors grew to include ceramics, fiber arts, architecture and furniture making to name only a few. nNeedless to say Bookhou defines itself as a multidisciplinary studio where the husb...
2016-08-151h 10Craft Industry AllianceEpisode 78: Annabel WrigleyOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I'm talking with Annabel Wrigley. Annabel Wrigley is an Australian mom, author, and designer living in rural Virginia. She owns Little Pincushion Studio, a space where she teaches children everything they need to know in order to go forth and conquer the world of sewing and creating. When she’s not teaching, she’s working on her “We Love to Sew” series of books published by C&T publishing. She also teaches classes on Creativebug and designs fabric for Windham Fabrics.
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This episode is sponsored by Art Stre...
2016-08-011h 07Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #77: Amy Marson, Publisher of C&TOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about craft book publishing with my guest, Amy Marson. Amy is the publisher at C&T publishing which also includes the Stash Books and FunStitch Studio imprints. We discuss how to pitch a craft book, how C&T markets new titles, Amy's position on advances and how a book can fit into an author's larger goals. And, of course, I ask Amy to recommend great stuff she's enjoying right now.
Check out C&T online at http://www.ctpub.com/ and on Instagram at https://ww...
2016-07-181h 03Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #76: Jenean MorrisonOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about illustration and self-publishing today with my guest, Jenean Morrison. Jenean is a surface/textile designer, painter, and the artist/publisher behind a popular series of coloring books for adults, first published in 2012. She's an Amazon CreateSpace success story who has sold over 91,000 copies of her self-published coloring books, earning her more than a half million dollars. Jenean designed fabric for Free Spirit for many years and her designs have been printed on rugs, stationary, scrapbook kits and more. We discuss the value of having an agent, ho...
2016-07-041h 08Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #75: Sarah BenningOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about embroidery as illustration with my guest, Sarah K. Benning.
Sarah K. Benning is an American fiber artist with a nomadic studio practice. Originally from Baltimore, she attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and received her BFA in Fiber and Material Studies in 2013. Shortly after graduating, Sarah discovered her love for embroidery, started her own business and has never looked back.
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Today’s episode is sponsored by The Merriweather Council where makers learn that gainful self employment through craft...
2016-06-201h 02Craft Industry AllianceMini Episode: Craft Industry AllianceOn today’s mini episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast Kristin Link and I talking about Craft Industry Alliance, a trade organization for craft professionals that we co-founded eight months ago. We're not at 800+ members, we're about to publish the 18th issue of our digital journal, we've held six webinars, and we have active discussions going on every day in our community forums. In this conversation we talk about what membership offers and who it's best for, we review some highlights (and a few frustrations) we've encountered along the way, and we tell you about some of our cur...
2016-06-0629 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #74: CreativeLive with Celeste Olds and Megan AumanOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about online learning with my guests, Celeste Olds and Megan Auman. Celeste Olds joined CreativeLive in 2010 and is now the Executive Producer of Production Operations. Megan Auman is a designer, educator and entrepreneur. Her eponymous jewelry line is sold in stores across the U.S. and online. She's also the founder of Designing an MBA. Megan has taught many classes on CreativeLive. We talk about CreativeLive's unique model of broadcasting classes live with a studio audience and the rewards that offers as well as the challenges it pr...
2016-05-301h 01Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #73: Alisa BurkeOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about creativity and drawing and making art with my guest Alisa Burke.
If she’s not making art in her Oregon Coast studio, you can find freelance painter and mixed media artist Alisa Burke blogging, teaching art workshops or crafting her handmade accessories. Whether it's running her creative business, being a mom or adventuring outdoors, she is always looking for inspiration. From drawing, painting, cooking and even the way she raises her daughter, Alisa seeks to infuse creativity into every part of her life.
2016-05-161h 05Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #72: Kristine VejarOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about dyeing fabrics and yarns with natural dyes. My guest is Kristine Vejar, owner of A Verb for Keeping Warm and author of The Modern Natural Dyer (STC/Melanie Falick Books). Kristine tells the story of how she became interested in studying textiles. We discuss the challenges of running a business based on naturally dyed fabrics and what it's like to write a book about your passion.
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Today's episode is sponsored by Textillia, the online sewing community. Check them out at http://www.te...
2016-05-0258 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #71: Kathy Phillips, Creative Director at Springs CreativeOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about fabric and fabric design with my guest, Kathy Phillips, the Creative Director at Springs Creative. Have you walked into Joann Fabric and seen prints with entertainment brands such as Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, Dr. Who, or Batman? If so, you've seen Springs Creative's fabrics. Springs Creative is a textile company based in South Carolina that creates over the counter fabric by the yard for quilters and sewists. They license dominant global brands, but they're also so much more. Springs Creative owns the Baxter Mill fabric ar...
2016-04-1859 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #70: Linda Permann, Acquisitions Editor at CraftsyOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast my guest is Linda Permann, the sewing and embroidery Acquisitions Editor at Craftsy.com. Learn what Craftsy is looking for in an instructor and in a class and find out what you can do to develop your skills and following if you'd like to become a Craftsy instructor in the future.
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This episode is sponsored by Amy Barickman. Check out http://www.amybarickman.com to see all of what Indygo Junction offers including sewing and embroidery patterns, fabrics, threads, downloads, and now her new Vintage No...
2016-04-0457 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #69: Janine Vangool of UPPERCASEOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about print magazines with my guest, Janine Vangool. Janine is the publisher, editor and designer of UPPERCASE, a quarterly print magazine for the creative and curious. UPPERCASE publishes content inspired by design, typography, illustration and craft. Her magazine and books celebrate the process of making, the commitment to craft and the art of living creatively. Janine tells us that anyone can be featured in UPPERCASE - learn how.
Visit UPPERCASE at http://www.uppercasemagazine.com.
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Today's episode is sponsored by The Pr...
2016-03-211h 02Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #68: Heather LouOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about sewing your own clothes with my guest, Heather Lou of Closet Case Files. Heather is a Montreal-based sewing pattern designer and blogger. Once a shopaholic Vogue-reading fashion obsessive, Heather made a deal with herself that the only "new" things that could come into her closet would be things she made. Sewing quickly took over her life.
We talk about Heather's background and transition from full-time employment as a commercial graphic designer to becoming self-employed. Heather explains how she named her blog and talks about he...
2016-03-071h 04Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #67: Etsy WholesaleOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about Etsy Wholesale with Dana Mauriello, the Director of Seller Growth at Etsy, and Rachel Greenwald, the Seller Growth Lead at Etsy. Dana is responsible for managing Etsy's wholesale business and Rachel manages programs that provide seller education to help creative entrepreneurs start and grow their wholesale businesses. Learn what wholesale really means and figure out if it might be right for your business. Find out what exactly Etsy Wholesale has to offer and how the program works. And, of course, I ask Dana and Rachel to rec...
2016-02-1557 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #66: Jennifer Keltner, Publisher and Chief Visionary Officer, MartingaleOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about craft publishing with Jennifer Keltner, the publisher and chief visionary officer at Martingale. A 30-year veteran of the publishing industry, Jennifer Keltner brings to Martingale vast experience in editorial, management, and marketing. In her previous position as Crafts Group Content Chief at Meredith Corporation, Jennifer oversaw an expansive quilting and crafting media group, including magazines American Patchwork & Quilting, Quilt Sampler, and Quilts and More, and websites AllPeopleQuilt.com and HowToSew.com.
As publisher and chief visionary officer at Martingale, Jennifer oversees content, direction, sales, an...
2016-02-011h 06Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #65: Phoebe WahlOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about illustration with my guest, Phoebe Wahl. Phoebe Wahl is an illustrator whose vibrant work focuses on themes of comfort, nostalgia and connection to nature and one another. A kindergarten dropout, Phoebe complained that there "wasn't enough time to draw" in school. She spent the majority of her childhood running wild in Pacific Northwest backyards, before attending Rhode Island School of Design and graduating with a BFA in Illustration in 2913. Phoebe works in a variety of mediums, from watercolor and collage to fabric sculpture. An obsession with de...
2016-01-181h 02Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #64: Ali DeJohn, Founder of the MakerieOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about creative retreats and event planning with my guest, Ali DeJohn, the founder of the Makerie. Ali DeJohn is constantly inspired by anything handmade, homemade and everything cozy. The smallest, most meaningful moments in life are the most magical to her and she feels really lucky to live in beautiful Boulder, Colorado with her husband and two young children. She started a creative retreat filled with a fabulous, changing variety of modern creative workshops called the Makerie to give people the gift of uninterrupted creative time shared wi...
2016-01-0450 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #63: Jenny RushmoreOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about starting an indie sewing pattern company from scratch with my guest, Jenny Rushmore. Jenny is a body positive sewing blogger and she recently also became a sewing pattern designer when she launched her company Cashmerette Patterns which creates curve-friendly patterns in sizes 12-28 and cup sizes C-H. Originally from the UK but now living in Boston, Jenny learned to sew at 30 and it transformed her life, leading not only to a new found body confidence but a change in career. Jenny is passionate about helping curvy an...
2015-12-211h 14Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #62: Vivika DeNegre and Cate Prato, F+W Media Craft EditorsOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I'm visiting the offices of F+W Media here in Sudbury, Massachusetts, to talk with Vivika Hansen DeNegre and Cate Coulacos Prato. Vivika is the Editorial Director and Editor of Quilting Arts Magazine, Modern Patchwork Magazine, and related titles. Cate is the Senior eCommerce Online Editor for F+W catalog brands, having spent more than a decade writing and editing for Quilting Arts, Cloth Paper Scissors, and Quilting Daily. We discuss craft magazine publishing present and future.
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This episode is sponsored by WordCraft, communication services fo...
2015-12-071h 03Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #61: Luke HaynesOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about quilts as fine art with my guest, Luke Haynes. Visit Luke online at LukeHaynes.com.
Please note that this show used to be called the While She Naps podcast. The name has changed, but the content and host have stayed the same.
To get the full show notes for this episode, visit Craft Industry Alliance where you can learn more about becoming a member of our supportive trade association. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and buil...
2015-11-161h 02Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #60: The Hello Sessions and Midwest Craft ConOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about creative conferences with my guests Grace Dobush, an organizer of Midwest Craft Con, and Joy Uyeno, an organizer of The Hello Sessions.
Grace is a freelance journalist and the author of the Crafty Superstar business guides. She's also the co-organizer of Crafty Supermarket, an indie show that is celebrating its sixth birthday in Cincinnati on November 28, 2015. Midwest Craft Con is a retreat for mid-career makers coming in February 2016.
Joy Uyeno authors the blog Frock Files and is the social media manager at Be...
2015-11-0253 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #59: Malka DubrawskyOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcastI chat with Malka Dubrawsky. Malka is a fabric designer and quilter who is best known for her hand dyed and pattern fabrics. She has a degree in studio art from the University of Texas in Austin and trained to be a printmaker, but finding herself home with young children and without a press she began to work in fiber art. After several years exploring art quilts, Malka became interested in connecting with people more directly by creating functional items out of her own hand dyed and patterned fabrics. Today she...
2015-10-191h 05Craft Industry AllianceEpisode #58: Rob Appell of Man SewingOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about teaching quilting online with my guest, Rob Appell. Rob is the host of Man Sewing, a YouTube channel of the Missouri Star Quilt Company. He is a quilter and national quilting instructor who travels and teaches at many premier quilting shows and retreats. We talk about overcoming life obstacles in order to focus on pursuing a creative life. Hear about how Rob first became acquainted with Jenny Doan and what it's like to prepare for and tape videos for Missouri Star. Rob gives us tips on st...
2015-10-0558 minCraft Industry AllianceEpisode #27: Lilla Rogers and Lisa CongdonOn today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast I talk to illustration agent Lilla Rogers and artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon.
What does it take to make a living as an artist? We discuss how to develop a viable career making and selling your artwork. Lilla and Lisa also recommend great stuff their loving right now.
Connect with Lilla Rogers at: http://lillarogers.com
Connect with Lisa Congdon at: http://lisacongdon.com
Find me, Abby Glassenberg, at: http://craftindustryalliance.org
Enjoy the show!
Please note tha...
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