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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 #291: Micah Clasper-Torch
On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about punch needle with Micah Clasper-Torch.
Micah is a Los Angeles-based artist, designer, and educator helping to lead the modern revival of punch needle rug hooking. With a background in fashion design from The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and the Polytechnic Institute in Milan, Micah blends fine art, heritage craft, and wearable design to create one-of-a-kind textile pieces that range from coats and accessories to wall hangings and soft sculpture.
In 2019, Micah was formally trained as an Oxford Punch Needle Instructor at the Oxford Rug Hooking School in Vermont, and in 2020, she launched Punch Needle World, an online community, shop and educational platform dedicated to uplifting the craft and its history, and making high-quality supplies and training accessible around the world.
Her debut book, Punch Needle Fashion, comes out in June 2025 from Quadrille and brings punch needle into the world of contemporary fashion through 15 original projects and a beautifully photographed exploration of the medium.
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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
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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 #244: Victoria Findlay Wolfe
In this podcast interview, Victoria Findlay Wolfe talks about how she came to be a quilt artist, her art practice, and her love of textiles.
Special Episode: Justine Tiu, Co-Founder of The Woobles, Live at h+h americas
Today we have a special episode of the podcast recorded live at h+h americas 2023. Our Day #3 keynote was a fireside chat with Justine Tiu, co-founder of The Woobles.
Podcast Episode #243: Mary Grabenstatter
In this podcast interview, Mary Grabenstatter talks about how she started a subscription box for garment sewing.
Podcast Episode #242: Diana Baird N’Diaye
This podcast interview is with Diana Baird N’Diaye, senior curator and cultural heritage specialist at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife.
Podcast Episode #241: Elizabeth Silver
In this podcast episode, Elizabeth Silver talks about her career in surface pattern design including in-house and freelance.
Podcast Episode #240: Cadence Kidwell of Fuzzy Goat Yarns
In this podcast episode, Cadence Kidwell talks about leaving her job in academia to move to Georgia and open a yarn shop.
Podcast Episode #239: Stephanie Rohr
In this podcast, Stephanie Rohr traces her journey from being an actor to designing cross stitch patterns with bold, political messages.
Podcast Episode #238: Gretchen Hirsch
In this podcast interview, sewing pattern designer Gretchen Hirsch traces the development of her career from working in publishing to starting a blog to writing books and creating an indie sewing pattern company.
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.