30-Point Blog Critique Checklist
Once you have completed our 30-point checklist, you’ll not only have looked into your blog’s overall performance, you’ll have discovered some easy tweaks that will get you more attention from your audience.
Show Report: Craftcation 2019
Craftcation, the five-day business and makers’ conference held in Ventura, California, has once again served up a delightful mix of hands-on craft workshops, business classes, and problem-solving “think tanks” geared to makers and creative entrepreneurs. The event, which ran from April 3-7 and is now in its 8th year, attracted about 500 people, including presenters, sponsors, staff, and volunteers, many looking to start, build or refine their businesses while having fun and learning new skills. Roberta Wax was there and brings us this report.
State of the European Handmade Market
The creative market in the European Union is nearly as big as the United States’, but with some very curious differences.
JOANN Invests in Glowforge, Bringing Laser Cutting to the Mainstream Crafter
Glowforge, the home laser cutter, is about to become available to many more crafters, including those who can’t afford the hefty price tag (the retail price is $4,000, twice what it was during the crowdfunding campaign) and don’t have a dedicated space to house it. At the end of December the nation’s largest fabric and craft retailer, JOANN, announced a significant investment in Glowforge. Here’s how some crafters are reacting to the news.
Behind the Scenes at The Great British Sewing Bee
While Stuart Hillard didn’t manage to make it to the final round of the Great British Sewing Bee, his bubbly personality showed through and he was described by the judges as the person who “brought the joy into sewing.”
Makerist Makes Selling Digital Patterns Simple
Berlin-based Makerist would love to work with more American crafters. Makerist—voted one of Germany’s top 20 Internet start-ups last year—is a market leader in Europe for digital patterns and e-learning related to sewing, knitting and crochet. They recently entered the North American market, and founders Axel Heinz and Amber Riedl and their team are particularly interested in working with U.S.-based digital pattern makers and with those who love to instruct via video.
Neon Tea Party Makes a Business Out of Making Pompoms
Pompoms and tassels are happy things—joyous, whimsical additions to any outfit or décor. Throw in neon-bright colors and it’s a party with yarn. But pompoms as a business?
The Point of No Return: Making and Enforcing Return and Exchange Policies
A craft retailer must establish a clear and fair returns policy, including which products are returnable, how long a customer has to make a return, and how the purchase price will be refunded.
Folkwear Patterns: Serving Generations of Sewists
Folkwear is one of the oldest independent sewing pattern companies. They publish global, historical, and vintage sewing patterns, often including extensive cultural history, textile information, and handwork embellishment instructions in their patterns.
Corporate Member Profile: Sulky
Craft Industry Alliance is excited to announce that Sulky has joined us as a corporate member. Sulky has a longstanding history in the sewing community and is best known for their rayon threads and stabilizers. The rayon threads and stabilizers are used most often for machine embroidery and quilting, but these make up only a portion of their products.