This month, Jenn McMillan is celebrating the 1-year anniversary of her company Sew Fine Thread Gloss, proving that a little help from your friends can go a long way in growing a business. The company offers beeswax-based thread conditioners that help avoid thread snags, frays, and tangles when doing any kind of handwork. Jenn’s goal is simple: help make hand-sewing a more enjoyable process.
Each year, the Pantone Color Institute looks at the film and entertainment industry, art collections and new artists, fashion, design, travel, new technologies, and materials, as well as socio-economic conditions to establish the Color of the Year. 2019’s Living Coral is a lively orange hue with a strong pink undertone; the warmth of Living Coral speaks to a yearning to connect socially in meaningful ways but through digital tools.
Bluprint CEO John Levisay sent out a survey to instructors yesterday with questions intended to learn more about their impressions of the company and goals for working together in the future. The survey was accompanied by a letter from Levisay that acknowledged the company’s shortcomings in instructor communication over the past year, as well as the drop in revenue many instructors have experienced since the move to a subscription model and the NBCUniversal buyout.
JOANN has just launched a print-on-demand fabric service, MyFabric. We place an order and sew up some samples to see how it works. Here’s our review.
SNAP, the conference for creative bloggers and influencers, has new owners and they’re ready to guide the popular event into its next chapter.
Spoonflower, the Durham, North Carolina-based print-on-demand fabric company, has announced a new grant program for small businesses. Are you getting ready to launch, or do have a new product in mind? Are you preparing for a craft fair or big event? A Spoonflower small business grant will get you a $1,000 credit to use for custom fabric, wallpaper or gift wrap to help make your dream a reality.
Michaels, the Irving, Texas-based craft store chain, launched a new program last month encouraging local makers to teach craft workshops in the stores’ classrooms. Called MAKERS Nation, the program is currently being piloted in five areas: Los Angeles, Chicago, Kansas City, Northwest Florida, and Salt Lake City.
Online class and supplies platform, Craftsy.com, alerted pattern designers yesterday that it plans to reduce the size of its pattern marketplace as part of a revamp coming in 2019. According to the FAQ document linked to in the email, the Craftsy team reviewed 220,000 patterns from 12,000 shops leading up to yesterday’s notice.
Hey craft business owners! This gift guide is just for you. If someone has been asking you what you want this holiday, we know you’ll find some things on this list that you’ll need and love. Treat your business (and yourself) to something fun this holiday season!
Weaving rarely surfaces to the level of popular culture, but in the aughts it has fared well. Here are some of the trends that are bringing weaving to the fore.
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?
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.