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We talk with designers and makers about what it really takes to build a creative business. Then we recommend great stuff we're loving right now.
LATEST EPISODE
Podcast Episode #237: Libs Elliott
In today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about modern quilting with my guest Libs Elliott.
Elizabeth (Libs) Elliott is a textile artist exploring the intersection of technology and traditional craft by using generative code to design and make handmade quilts. A deep appreciation for craftsmanship, design history and future-focused applications are all reflected in her work. She studied Material Art & Design at OCAD University and lives and works in Toronto, Canada. Libs has been making quilts since 2009 and designing fabric collections since 2015. Her commissions include work for individuals and corporate clients such as Absolut Vodka. She has exhibited her work internationally and been covered by press such as Gizmodo.com, Design Milk and Casa Vogue.
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THE HOST
Find out what it takes to build a business in the crafts industry. In each episode host, and Craft Industry Alliance co-founder, Abby Glassenberg, interviews a creative entrepreneur to learn about their journey to success. Hear their stories and find out how to earn a living through a love of craft.
FEATURED EPISODES
Podcast Episode #168: Toni Lipsey
In this podcast interview, Toni Lipsey of TL Yarncrafts talks about how she’s built her crochet design business including selling finished goods at craft fairs and then selling patterns on Ravelry and collaborating with other designers via YouTube.
Podcast Episode #167: Heather Ross
In this podcast episode with illustrator Heather Ross she discusses how she’s built her business designing fabric for Windham Fabrics and illustrating children’s books and how she feels the quilting industry needs to change and adapt to better compensate women.
Podcast Episode #162: Windy Chien
In this podcast interview, installation artist Windy Chien talks about her daily practice tying knots and how it led to a book deal with Abrams as well as the opportunity to create several high profile installations including one at Apple headquarters.
BROWSE ALL EPISODES
Please note that this show was previously called the While She Naps podcast. On October 1, 2019, it was renamed the Craft Industry Alliance podcast. The name has changed, but the mission of the show, the host, and the style are the same.
Podcast Episode #237: Libs Elliott
In this podcast interview, modern quilter Libs Elliott talks about how she uses generative AI to create quilt patterns and the development of her career in the quilting industry.
Podcast Episode #236: Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land
In this podcast interview, Anna Hrachovec explains how she began designing knitting patterns for miniature creatures and knitting soft sculptures that she then animates.
Podcast Episode #235: Cheryl Ham
In this podcast episode, Cheryl Ham talks about her journey from working a day job and dyeing yarn as a hobby to starting a sold-out indie dyed yarn subscription box business.
Podcast Episode #234: Jenn McMillan of Sew Fine Thread Gloss
In this podcast episode, Jenn McMillan explains how she came to develop a thread conditioner for hand sewing and how she’s built the business through collaborations with designers and event sponsorship.
Podcast Episode #233: Porfiria Gomez
In this podcast interview, modern quilter Porfiria Gomez talks about how she’s built her business through collaborations with other designers and bigger brands.
Podcast Episode #232: Meghan Fernandes of Pom Pom Quarterly
In this podcast episode, Meghan Fernandes, co-founder of Pom Pom Quarterly, explains how she and a friend she met while working at a yarn shop created and launched an independent knitting magazine that now spans two continents.
Podcast Episode #231: Samantha Hoyt of A Gathering of Stitches
In this podcast episode, Samantha Hoyt shares her journey to owning A Gathering of Stitches, maker retreats that take place at a camp in Maine in the summers, and focus on slow stitching.
Podcast Episode #230: Jonathan Lincoln of Goimagine
In this podcast episode, Goimagine founder Jonathan Lincoln discusses the state of digital marketplaces for handmade goods and why he feels there’s room for one that donates all profits to charity.
Podcast Episode #229: Brittany Jepsen of The House That Lars Built
In this podcast interview, Brittany Jepsen of The House That Lars Built traces her journey from creating giant paper flowers for her wedding to launching a creative brand, blog, and business.
Podcast Episode #228: Andrea Mowry
In this podcast interview, knitwear designer Andrea Mowry traces her creative career from working as a pastry chef to returning to a love of knitting and creating a business with knitwear design that supports her family.
Podcast Episode #227: Amy Small
In this podcast interview, Amy Small talks about how she came to found Knit Collage, her artisan yarn brand. From being a sweater designer for Free People traveling all over Asia, to creating unique chunky yarns that incorporate her love of “trinkets,” this is truly an inspiring entrepreneurial journey!
Podcast Episode #226: Simon Hurley
In this podcast episode, designer and influencer Simon Hurley traces the genesis and growth of his cardmaking business from creating YouTube videos in his parent’s basement when he was 14-years-old, to full-time crafts entrepreneur in his early 20’s.
Podcast Episode #225: Cynthia Treen
In this podcast interview, artist and designer Cynthia Treen discuss the value of writing a book once you’ve built a business that aligns with it.
Podcast Episode #224: Julie Robinson
In this podcast episode, fashion designer and knitwear designer Julie Robinson talks about her creative journey from going to Parsons, to working in the fashion industry, to branching off on her own teaching pattern grading to knitwear designers.
Podcast Episode #223: Sandra Chandler
In this podcast interview, quilt artist and teacher Sandra Lee Chandler talks about how she came to specialize in transforming denim into gorgeous contemporary quilts and explains her unique take on quilt clothes.
Podcast Episode #222: Morgan Spenla
In this podcast interview, Morgan Spenla, founder of The Crafter’s Box, talks about how she built a craft subscription box company.
Podcast Episode #221: Ana Campos
In this podcast episode, Ana Campos talks about the ins and outs of owning a local yarn shop with a witch theme.
Special Episode: The State of the Industry Panel at h+h americas 2022
In this podcast episode, you can listen to the State of the Industry Panel which was held at h+h americas in Chicago on June 22, 2022.
Podcast Episode #220: Stephanie Carswell of Hawthorn Handmade
In this podcast interview, Stephanie Carswell of the craft kit company talks about her business journey from owning a craft gallery to learning to needle felt to creating craft kits that are sold by retailers worldwide.
Podcast Episode #219: Rachel Bratcher of Ritual Dyes
In this podcast episode, Rachel Bratcher, the owner of Ritual Dyes in Portland, Oregon, talks about her journey to dyeing yarn and then opening a brick-and-mortar yarn shop.
Podcast Episode #218: Nicole Snow of Darn Good Yarn
In this podcast interview, Nicole Snow, the founder of Darn Good yarn, explains how she came to run an import business of cast-off silk yarns from India and how she’s expanded the business over the years to include women’s garments.
Podcast Episode #217: Kristina Burkey of Calliope Paperie
In this podcast interview, Kristina Burkey of Calliope Paperie in Natick, Massachusetts, talks about the path that led her to open a stationery store and what it’s like to be an independent retailer.
Podcast Episode #216: Whitney Manney
In this podcast episode, Kansas City fashion designer Whitney Manney talks about how she developed and launched her independent fashion brand.
Podcast Episode #215: London Kaye
In this podcast episode, crochet artist London Kaye talks about how she went from being a dancer to working at the Apple Store to creating yarn installations for major brands all over the US.
An Interview with One of the Founders of the Etsy Strike, Kristi Cassidy
In this interview, Kristi Cassidy, one of the founders of the Etsy Strike, explains how the movement came to be, its goals, and the long-term impact it hopes to have.
Podcast Episode #214: Anne Merrow
In this podcast episode, Anne Merrow discusses her long career in craft publishing from Interweave to co-founding Long Thread Media.
Podcast Episode #213: Jewell Washington
In this podcast episode, Jewell Washington talks about her creative journey as founder of Northknits and Our Maker Life.
Podcast Episode #212: Craig Swanson
In this podcast interview, Craig Swanson talks about his journey building a tech support business that included video training sessions and how that led him to co-found CreativeLive.
Podcast Episode #211: e Bond
In this podcast interview, artist and graphic designer e Bond talks about how she fell in love with making artist books, the combination of type and images, and her new fabric line with Free Spirit called Glyphs.
Podcast Episode #210: Heidi Parkes
In this podcast interview, artist Heidi Parkes talks about her career as an art teacher and how she transitioned to an art practice creating quilts and teaching quilting.
Podcast Episode #209: Safiyyah Talley
In this podcast interview, knitwear designer and podcaster Safiyyah Talley talks about the development of her multi-faceted craft business. Safiyyah’s interests in writing, marketing, and fashion design came together when she realized she could make a business of designing knitwear patterns.
Podcast Episode #208: h+h americas with Darrin Stern
In this podcast episode, we’re talking about h+h americas, a new trade show for the crafts industry, with my guest Darrin Stern.
Podcast Episode #207: Starting a Kids Crafts Studio with Nicola Day of HipStitch
In this podcast episode, Nicola Day, the owner of HipStitch, explains her path to opening children’s crafts studios in the Boston area. Nicola provides insightful tips for building a kids crafts studio business including marketing, hiring, and project design.
Episode #206: Jill Wiseman
In this podcast episode, Jill Wiseman traces the development of her career as a beading teacher both in-person and on YouTube, as well as the growth of her online bead store.
Podcast Episode #205: Tian Connaughton
In this podcast episode, designer and tech editor Tian Connaughton traces the development of her career from learning to crochet from a co-worker while at her corporate job, to designing and publishing patterns in magazines, to teaching others how to get published.
Podcast Episode #204: Zak Foster
In this podcast episode, improvisational quilter Zak Foster talks about building a community of creativity online, creating memorial and burial quilts, and his commission for the Met Gala.
Powering the Creative Economy with Spoonflower
In this limited series of the Craft Industry Alliance called Powering the Creative Economy with Spoonflower, we’re talking with five artists about how they propelled their business forward using Spoonflower’s print-on-demand capabilities. In the sixth episode, we go behind the scenes at this fast-growing business.
Podcast Episode #203: Jenny Doan
In this podcast interview, Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Co. discusses how she and her family built one of the largest retailers for quilting fabrics and pre-cuts in the US through the power of YouTube.
Podcast Episode #202: Wendy Ward
In this podcast episode, sewing pattern designer and teacher Wendy Ward talks about her career path from working for a fast fashion brand to learning about sustainable sewing practices to teaching and authoring sewing books.
Podcast Episode #201: Schacht Spindle
In this podcast interview, Jane Patrick and Barry Schacht of Schacht Spindle Company talk about how they created this successful, family-owned business that’s a leading supplier of looms and spindles in the US.
Podcast Episode #200: Karen Barbé
In this podcast interview, artist Karen Barbé talks about the development of her career in embroidery. Raised in Santiago, Karen’s popular blog, Instagram account, and book have inspired thousands of people to learn about color and thread.
Podcast Episode #199: Meg and Patrick McElwee of Sew Liberated
In this podcast episode, Meg and Patrick McElwee of Sew Liberated talk about their journey to build a values-based business that’s focused on sustainability and personal empowerment.
Podcast Episode #198: Ursula Morgan and Mark Hyland of Premier Needle Arts
In this podcast episode, Mark Hyland of Premier Needle Arts and Ursula Morgan of The Crafts Group talk about their strategy to grow a family of craft brands.
Podcast Episode #197: Kristi Schroeder Larson
In this podcast episode, artist Kristi Schroeder Larson talks about her career as a graphic designer and how she pivoted to become a quilter and quilting pattern designer, and then pivoted again to designing needlepoint canvases.
Podcast Episode #196: Leigh Metcalf of Topstitch Studio
In this podcast interview, Leigh Metcalf talks about how she opened her fabric and yarn shop, Topstitch Studio. After writing a book covering craft shops all over London, Leigh opened one of her own with the intent of building community and curating a beautiful selection of special goods.
Podcast Episode #195: Make Modern Magazine
In this podcast episode, the creators of Make Modern Magazine discuss how they’ve created an independent digital quilting magazine with an international following.
Podcast Episode #194: Tisa Jackson
In this podcast interview, Tisa Jackson talks about how she has secured multiple brand collaborations within the crafts industry, designing creative projects to share with her audience.
Podcast Episode #193: Christi Johnson
In this podcast episode, artist Christi Johnson talks about her journey from working in the fashion industry to starting her own clothing brand, creating embroidery patterns and classes, and writing a book with Storey Publishing.
Podcast Episode #192: Katrina Rodabaugh
In this podcast episode, Katrina Rodabaugh traces the development of her career focused on sustainable fashion, mending, and natural dyeing.
Podcast Episode #191: Cecilia Nelson-Hurt
In this podcast episode, Cecilia Neslon-Hurt talks about the development of her career working in diversity, equity, and inclusion both for national corporations and in the fiber arts community.