Fabric company RJR sent an email to retailers notifying them of a minimum advertised pricing (MAP) policy that will go into effect for Cotton+Steel on December 1, 2018. The policy limits the ability of retailers to advertise prices below a certain level.
In 2016 Rumana Lasker looked at 52 sewing magazines published in the UK that year and realized that every single one featured a white woman on the cover.
“One of the things that struck me the most…is the feeling of being undervalued- as a consumer, as a person,” says Lasker a British sewer who was a quarter-finalist on the Great British Sewing Bee. “Because it is no exaggeration to say that by failing to represent us, they are telling people of color that we don’t matter.”
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.
Many people consider the International Quilt Festival, held yearly in Houston, TX to be the Mothership of all quilt shows. It’s certainly the largest, most diverse gathering of quilters in the world. As a long-time teacher in the industry, Lyric Kinard has had the privilege of attending a number of times and has met quilters from all over the United States and around the world. Who knew there were quilters in Greece and Turkey? This time around she ran into friends from Australia and New Zealand, Europe and South America. It’s truly a place where she can find her tribe in all its glorious diversity. Lyric tells us all about what was new and exciting at Festival this year in this show report.
As a creative person and a small business owner, you may have wondered how you can photograph yourself and still put your best digital foot forward. Getting professional photos is a great option, but sometimes you just need to take a quick shot to help market your business. We asked a professional photographer for expert tips on taking great selfies. Here’s what she told us!
Making Things is a new web app that launched on October 30 to the knit and crochet community and has provoked intense online discussion about the cost of pattern, designer compensation, and disclosure of affiliate links. Created by Megan Elizabeth and her partner, Rob Andrew, and based in Melbourne, Australia, Making Things is a monthly subscription service providing access to over 1,000 patterns as well as web-based pattern reading tools including stitch counters, row highlighters, chart grids, and editable notes, plus 24-hour live pattern support.
On October 26-28, 2018, fiber enthusiasts gathered at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center for the Southeast Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF). This year’s show was no ordinary year, though, as SAFF organizers and attendees celebrated the 25th anniversary this year. Ashley Little was there and brings us this report.
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.
There have been a few recent staffing changes at craft companies so we thought we’d round them up here.
F+W has sold the Martha Pullen Company and its portfolio of books, patterns, teacher curriculums, in-person and online events, and online embroidery club to Hoffman Media. The sale includes the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo, a suite of eight consumer sewing, quilting and embroidery shows in the US.
Malabrigo is one of the few companies that has successfully executed hand-dyeing on a massive scale — something typically done by small, independent and one-person operations.
The Handmade Fair took place September 14-16 at Hampton Court Palace in London. Founded in 2014 by Kirsty Allsopp, a British television presenter, the mission of the event is to help attendees appreciate the beauty of handmade and to become makers themselves. The show offers an exciting weekend of learning, community, and shopping for crafty people of all kinds.
Ask a knitter about “Rhinebeck” and you’re likely to hear stories of cider donuts, taking photos with sheep, and standing in massive lines for coveted hand dyed yarn. The New York Sheep & Wool Festival, a.k.a. Rhinebeck or simply Sheep & Wool, invites farmers, makers, families, and friends to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds for a weekend of wooly goodness. Held every October since 1980, Sheep & Wool has become a viral sensation in recent years, becoming the annual can’t-miss event for online influencers, bloggers, and vloggers.
The word craft is used for everything from the work of highly regarded makers, such as Faith Ringold and Beatrice Wood, to hobbyists who sew, knit, make pots, turn wood, and hammer iron, to the awful foam stickers that appear for birthday party ‘crafts.’ While none of these are less valid for what they are, there is a big difference.
And with that comes the devaluing of the sublime, and the minimizing of what we hold dear. So, why don’t we have different words?
Fabric Depot, Portland, Oregon’s famously enormous fabric store, is closing. Founded in 1992 in a space formerly occupied by a Fred Meyer supermarket in Southeast Portland, Fabric Depot was one of the largest, locally and independently owned stores in the United States.
Nancy Nally is the owner of Nally Studios and the publisher and editor of Scrapbook Update and Craft Critique, two websites focused on the scrapbooking industry. And avid scrapbooker for more than 20 years, Nancy has a keen interest in news and trends that affect the industry. This year she’s been bringing us quarterly reports on the scrapbooking industry. Check out her first one here. Today Nancy is back with her second update.
Last week the fall edition of The Knitting and Stitching Show took place at Alexandra Palace in London and as the organizers phrased it, they gave this edition of the show (which has been around for more than 30 years) “a refresh.”
With a new layout and expanded offerings, this four-day show is considered the go-to show that spans a variety of textile disciplines, including knitting and crochet, quilting, sewing, fabric collage, fashion and dressmaking, cross stitch, traditional and creative embroidery, weaving, and stumpwork just to name a few.
F+W is shutting down Modern Patchwork, Cloth Paper Scissors, Quilty, and Knit.Wear magazines. The issues currently in production will be the last. A letter will be going out informing contributors later this week and Tiffany Warble, Director of Content, says the company is working on a plan for existing subscribers. A round of layoffs accompanied the closures.
Nomadic Knits magazine highlights a different region of the world in each issue, focusing on what makes that place so special when it comes to fiber.
In its sixth year, Yarndale is one of the growing number of yarn/fiber specific retail craft fairs in the UK. It’s held over two days in late September at the Skipton Auction Mart, giving the event an almost Rhinebeck-like atmosphere (with fewer animals).