Photo by Ann K. Hubbard
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On 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 fabric, Fine|Spun, Volume One, was released by Studio 37 Fabrics (a division of Marcus Textiles) in the summer of 2017.
Sakura
We begin the conversation by talking about Casey’s name. She uses a trade name and explains how and why she made that decision. Next we talk about how she first began making quilts and what drew her to applique. Casey discusses the various ways in which her academic background assists her as a designer.
Apiary
Casey and I have been online friend for a long time and I remember many years ago when she announced her intention to become a fabric designer. In this chat I ask her to explain the very methodical way in which she went about making this dream into a reality. Casey talks frankly about rejection and how deliving into adjacent opportunities, such as teaching and writing books, helped her to achieve her goal.
Colorwash Throw
We refer to:
- Matisse paper cuts
- Bonnie Christine’s surface design course on CreativeLive
- Pattern Observer’s surface design course
- Lizzie House’s ebook How To Enter the World of Textiles: For the Quilting Community
- Broderie Perse
- Molli Sparkles’ post about the true cost of making a quilt
- Casey’s Crafting a Book blog series
This is a dynamic chat about the business of quilting and Casey is very generous and open. If you’re interested in designing fabric, writing books, teaching, or working in the quilting industry you’ll find many nuggets of wisdom here.
And, of course, I ask Casey to recommend great stuff she’s enjoying right now. Casey recommends:
- the public library
- maintaining your own reference library at home
- No Pay MBA by Laurie Pickard and Laurie’s book Don’t Pay For Your MBA
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Today’s show is sponsored by Spoonflower. If you’re a creative person who loves to design, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of seeing your art printed onto fabric, or better yet — seeing someone across the globe purchase it and make something amazing.
Spoonflower is the first company to make it possible to digitally print custom fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap with no minimums, and no limitation of colors. Shop from thousands of indie designs, or sell your own designs and earn up to 15% commission on every sale. The best part? As an independent seller you always keep the rights to your work. While She Naps podcast listeners can get 15% off your next Spoonflower fabric order. Go to try.spoonflower.com/abby and enter your email address to receive your coupon code.
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Catch up with Casey on her website and on Instagram.
You can listen to this episode by clicking on the green arrow below, or subscribe to the Craft Industry Alliance podcast in iTunes or on Stitcher so you never miss an episode. If you enjoy the show, tell a friend about it! Thank you so much.
Excellent podcast episode. So inspiring and informative. I love the nuggets of wisdom and insight.
Thank you for listening to the show Ava.
Love the topic today!
Is Lizzy House still selling her ebook? I clicked through to Lizzy House blog, then click on You can find the book here.
When I clicked I got: this page: Argh! We were unable to locate the page you were trying to load.
Hi Lydia! (I hope it’s ok if I chime in here, Abby!)
I looked for Lizzy’s book, too, and it seems like it is no longer easily available online (it’s been over five years since I accessed it, I believe). However, you might try contacting Lizzy directly through her new website–she’s super sweet!
Alternatively, there are now even more wonderful resources out there for aspiring fabric designers–I mentioned Lizzy’s because that’s what I happened to start with, but as the industry and the internet have grown, so has the number of resources out there.
Hope this helps a bit, and feel free to contact me if you ever have any questions 🙂
-Casey
Thank you Casey.