While She Naps With Abby Glassenberg

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building a crochet business with my guest Toni Lipsey. Toni is the designer and instructor behind TL Yarn Crafts. Through her printable patterns and cheery video tutorials, she strives to make crochet accessible to makers of every skill level. Toni learned to crochet as a teen but honed her skills after graduating from college. She was bitten by the entrepreneur bug in 2015 and began TL Yarn Crafts as a finished product business. Designing soon became the focus and she was able to quit her day job in 2017. At present, Toni spends her time nurturing her community of over 175K makers across platforms by offering approachable crochet patterns and handmade business wisdom.  +++++ Today's episode is sponsored by Amy Barickman. Amy is the founder of Indygo Junction and authored the award-winning book Vintage Notions: An inspirational guide to needlework, cooking, sewing, fashion and fun! Visit Amy’s blog and sign up for her newsletter

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about fabric design and illustration with my guest Heather Ross. Author and artist Heather Ross has won fame exploring themes of resourceful and creative living, the natural world, and handmade. Best known for her collectible fabric designs and books that appeal to the handmade and craft markets, she also hosts a wildly popular series of craft retreats held across the country. Heather’s critically acclaimed memoir How To Catch a Frog chronicles her childhood spent in a remote corner of Vermont, in a wilderness setting that remains a major influence on her creative work. She is also a celebrated illustrator of numerous children’s books, including the best-selling Crafty Chloe series, winner of the Kirkus Star. Heather Ross was a regular guest on The Martha Stewart Show and one of the most-viewed artists featured on the how-to video channel Creativebug. She regularly speaks on a wide range of topics that include creative living, the mode

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building an ecommerce apparel business with my guests David and Holly Lesue. Holly is a quilter. She runs Maker Valley—a brand for creative makers (quilters and sewists)—where she designs graphic quilting/sewing tees, writes quilt patterns, curates custom quilt kits and fabric bundles, and designs enamel pins and stickers. David is a graphic designer. He runs Stately Type—a collaborative t-shirt brand—where he designs graphic tees with the help of his social media followers. +++++ Today's episode is brought to you by Troll Brothers Quilt Designs. Troll Brothers Quilt Designs is a Canadian online quilt shop located on picturesque Vancouver Island, BC, focusing on today's modern fabrics and trending designers in the quilting industry.  Stacie Wilson, the owner of Troll Brothers, provides you the best online shopping experience and personalized customer service to bring you the fabrics, patterns, and notions you are looking for!

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about building a sewing pattern business with my guest Norma Loehr. Norma is the founder and creative director of Orange Lingerie. After a career in financial services, she started Orange Lingerie and began making custom bras for individual clients in 2010. In 2013 she published a book on how to sew and fit bras and then began releasing her own line of bra sewing patterns and teaching her techniques in weekend workshops all over the U.S.  Her company’s mission is to enable sewists to make their own beautiful and professional looking lingerie. +++++ Today’s episode is brought to you by Therm O Web, maker of some of the craft industry’s most enduring and innovative brands, including HeatnBond, ZOTS, iCraft and Deco Foil. Based in the Chicago suburbs, second-generation, family-owned Therm O Web is proud to have served the creative community for nearly 50 years with quality products for sewing, quilting, embroidery and paper crafts. Visit

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about building a business as a paper flower artist with my guest Kate Alarcon. Kate Alarcón is known for her signature designs of uncommon paper botanicals. She teaches flower crafting workshops through her company, The Cobra Lily, and her remarkable pieces have appeared on sites including Martha Stewart Living, Design*Sponge, Poppytalk, and The House That Lars Built, among others. She lives in the Seattle area. +++++ This episode is sponsored by Darice. With over 45,000 arts and crafts items across hundreds of product categories, Darice is your one-stop source for wholesale supplies for your craft hobby, business or store. Whether you make items to sell at craft fairs and your Etsy shop or you teach workshops or make craft kits to sell, find all the supplies and products you need for your handmade business. Darice is offering an exclusive promotion for Craft Industry Alliance listeners. Visit Darice.com and use promo code CIA15 at

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about​ building a business in rug hooking with my guest Rose Pearlman. Rose is an artist and teacher who focuses on textile design. Her workshops center on ways of making beautiful home objects with simple, inexpensive materials. As the daughter of two artists, her parents taught her to value a life filled with creating, tinkering, and playing. She lives in New York City with her family. +++++ This episode is sponsored by Darice. With over 45,000 arts and crafts items across hundreds of product categories, Darice is your one-stop source for wholesale supplies for your craft hobby, business or store. Whether you make items to sell at craft fairs and your Etsy shop or you teach workshops or make craft kits to sell, find all the supplies and products you need for your handmade business. Darice is offering an exclusive promotion for Craft Industry Alliance listeners. Visit Darice.com and use promo code CIA15 at checkout for 15% off your

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about fostering creativity through daily practice with my guest Windy Chien. Windy Chien is best known for her 2016 work, The Year Of Knots, in which she learned a new knot every day for a year. Her work ranges in size from a knot that can fit in the palm of a child's hand to majestic, room-sized installations that are sought after by private collectors. Following long careers at Apple and as the owner of legendary music shop Aquarius Records, she launched her studio in 2015. Select clients include IBM, the National Geographic Society, and the Kering Group, and her work has been covered by Wired, The New York Times and Martha Stewart. Windy’s book about her work was published by Abrams in 2019. +++++ This episode is sponsored by Search Press. Find your new craft in 2020 and use code NEWCRAFT for a 30% discount on Search Press books on our website, www.searchpressusa.com.  See Search Press books in your local fiber arts and craft stor

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about collaborations with my guest Angela Smith and Liz Gipson. Angela founded Purl & Loop in 2012 after realizing her “ladder was against the wrong wall” in her sales career and she was determined to find a calling that brought joy and creativity to the world.  While she enjoyed needle crafts, she was more focused on the idea of creating a business from them rather than actually doing them. Since she focused on operations and process in graduate school, the world of manufacturing always had a special attraction.  Purl & Loop was originally a fiber related e-commerce site.  Upon discovering the world of laser cutters in 2014, Purl & Loop moved into the business of creating portable weaving looms and accessories.  Her goal is to create fun, cute and simple weaving products to help makers use up their yarn and thread stash.  When her mind is overactive with creativity, usually in the middle of the night, she reads mystery nove

On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building a business as a paper artist with my guest Abigail McMurray of Yeiou Paper Objects. I visited Abigail in her studio in Arlington, Massachusetts to record this interview which was a lot of fun. With paper as a medium, artist Abigail McMurray combines her background in graphic design and sculpture to create papercraft kits, unique greeting cards, architecturally-inspired artwork, and custom house portraits under the name yeiou paper objects. Abigail’s custom house portraits were awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2019 Etsy Design Awards. These heirlooms capture a home or other building, rendering the details and dimensions in a one-of-a-kind paper sculpture. Abigail lives and works in Arlington, MA with her husband, sister, and cat, who are all very gracious about the tiny bits of paper that end up all over the house. +++++ ​This episode is sponsored by Search Press. Bringing you the finest in art and craft instruction b

Today we have a special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast recorded at Fall Quilt Market in Houston, Texas. International Quilt Market is a trade show for the fabric and quilt industry. It takes place twice a year, in October and May, and is a time when quilt shop owners from all over the country and all over the world come together to see the forthcoming fabric collections from all of the manufacturers, try out the latest sewing machines, embroidery machines, and long arm machines from all the big machine brands, and discover new notions, buttons, trims, storage solutions, and other neat things they might want to carry in their shops in the coming year. I attended Fall Quilt Market and recorded interviews with shop owners about how 2019 was for them, what's selling particularly well, and what challenges they're facing coming into 2020. Some of the shop owners I talked to have been in business for three decades, and some for just a few years. Some are full-service quilt shops with a dozen employe

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building a fiber business with my guest Felicia Lo. Felicia is a designer and entrepreneur, born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. Her lifelong passion for knitting, color, and design led her to start the sweetgeorgia blog in 2004. A year later, SweetGeorgia was founded at her dining room table with nothing more than three skeins of sock yarn for sale on Etsy. Since then, SweetGeorgia has become a way of life where work and play are inseparable. In 2017, she published her first book “Dyeing to Spin & Knit” with Interweave Press and currently, she is developing the School of SweetGeorgia to offer online fiber arts education to color-obsessed crafters. When she’s not playing with yarn or hunting tacos and ramen, she’s chasing her two young children around with her orange-loving husband. +++++ This episode is brought to you by Darice, a premiere distributor and manufacturer of wholesale arts and crafts supplies with over 45,000 ite

On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about goal setting and getting things done with my guest Elise Blaha Cripe. Elise Blaha Cripe lives with her husband and two young daughters in San Diego, California. She has been sharing thoughts and DIY projects online since 2005, running an online shop of handmade goods since 2008 and in 2015 launched GET TO WORK BOOK, a day planner + goal setting journal. Her book, Big Dreams, Daily Joys, a guidebook to goal-setting, productivity and finding more space for the things you love, just launched this October. ++++++ This episode is sponsored by VAWAA. Book a mini-apprenticeship with a master artist or craftsperson in 23 countries worldwide. Anyone can choose an artist from the site and spend 4-7 days immersing into the daily life of an artist, learning a new skill or collaborating on a project. From block printing in India, natural textile dyeing in Vietnam, or mandala weaving in Spain, your creative vacation awaits. Discover the VAWAA tha

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about discovering the life you’re meant to live as a maker with my guest Melanie Falick.  Melanie Falick is an independent writer, editor, and creative director—and a lifelong maker. She is the author, mostly recently, of Making a Life: Working by Hand and Discovering the Life You Are Meant to Live, as well as several other titles, including the seminal Knitting in America and bestsellers Kids Knitting and Weekend Knitting. She is the former publishing director of STC Craft/Melanie Falick Books, an imprint of Abrams, where she spearheaded books by many of the DIY world’s most esteemed authors, including Natalie Chanin, Lena Corwin, Kaffe Fassett, Lotta Jansdotter, Clara Parkes, Heather Ross, and Denyse Schmidt. She is also the creative director and editor of Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guides. Find her on Instagram @melaniefalick and at melaniefalick.com. +++++ Hello Bargello is dedicated to bringing back the vintage needlecraft of bargel

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about quilting and activism with my guests Sara Trail and Juan Tapia. We recorded this episode in person at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts where there is an exhibit up through December 1, 2019 of the Social Justice Sewing Academy Quilts called Piecing Together Youth Voices in a 21st Century Sewing Circle.  Sara Trail is the founder and executive director of the Social Justice Sewing Academy. Sara learned to sew when she was a toddler and had a sewing career as a teenager when she wrote Sew with Sara, a book that teaches teens and tweens how to sew clothes and accessories. She also starred in nationally published DVDs called Cool Stuff to Sew with Sara, designed two fabric collections with Fabri-Quilt and a pattern collection with Simplicity. While attending UC Berkeley, Sara created a quilt in memory of Trayvon Martin and her love for sewing and passion for social justice intertwined. After graduating from the Harv

On today's show, we’re talking about the history of Quilts, Inc. with my guest Teresa Duryea Wong. Teresa has authored two books on Japanese quilts and textiles and in early 2019, she published American Cotton: Farm to Quilt. She currently travels to Japan and throughout the US to research, write, and lecture. She holds a master’s degree in liberal studies from Rice University and in 2014, was named the ‘Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee Scholar’ by the Texas Quilt Museum and the Bybee Foundation. Teresa is a regular contributor to Curated Quilts magazine and also writes for Art Quilt Quarterly. She is a passionate quilter and also loves making bags and garments. Next month, she will debut another new book at the International Quilt Festival titled Magic & Memories: 45 Years of International Quilt Festival. This book shares the story of the history Quilt Festival and two women who founded the event. +++++ This episode is sponsored by Why We Quilt: Contemporary Makers Speak Out, a new book by Thomas Knauer.  I

In this short solo episode, I make an important announcement: the name of this podcast is changing. After 153 episodes as the While She Naps podcast, going forward this show will be called the Craft Industry Alliance podcast. Very little else about the show will be different. Tune in to hear what led up to this decision (a lot of careful consideration!). I'm really excited about this change! We have some new theme music which you can hear at the end of the episode.    I invited you to visit Craft Industry Alliance where you can learn more about becoming a member of our supportive trade association. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and build connections with forward-thinking craft professionals. Join today.

On today’s episode of the While She Naps podcast we’re talking about building an illustration business with my guest, Stacie Bloomfield. Stacie Bloomfield is the founder of the company Gingiber, based in Springdale Arkansas. She is an illustrator and printmaker who sells prints, stationery, fabric, and homewares in over 500 retail outlets around the country. She has collaborated with many retailers, including West Elm, Brooklyn Industries, The Land of Nod (now Crate & Kids), Moda Fabrics, Chasing Paper Wallpaper, and has been featured on Design Sponge, Martha Stewart.com, and others. She is also one of the founders of the Creative Social Retreat. +++++ Today’s episode is sponsored by AmyBarickman.com. Amy’s award-winning book, Vintage Notions: An inspirational guide to needlework, cooking, sewing, fashion & fun! shares lessons and wisdom from The Woman’s Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences which was founded in 1916 by Mary Brooks Picken, who Amy coined “the fairy godmother of modern sewing”.   Amy

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about building a business in the sewing industry with my guest, Pati Palmer. Pati is the driving force behind the Palmer/Pletsch publishing company which has published dozens of sewing books and how-to DVD’s and creator of eight Palmer/Pletsch sewing notions products, including PerfectFuse™ Interfacings.  Pati has been designing for the McCall Pattern Co. since 1980, and Vogue prior to that. She has written the guide sheets for over 250 patterns that include fit and sewing tips. Palmer/Pletsch workshops are offered in several cities around the country. Pati is so excited that her daughter Melissa Watson is following in her footsteps, joining a number of talented young women new to the fashion sewing industry. +++++ This episode is sponsored by Cheryl Lynch of Cheryl Lynch Quilts. Cheryl started quilting in 1992 and is an award-winning quilter and published quilt designer. She enjoys devising solutions for creative projects. Her most recen

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about making a career as an artist with my guest, Lisa Solomon. Lisa Solomon is a mixed media artist whose work has been exhibited and collected all over the world. She received her BA in art practice from UC Berkeley and her MFA from Mills College, and has been a professor in the Bay Area for 15+ years. As a Hapa [her mother is Japanese and her father is Jewish Caucasian] she is profoundly interested in personal identity, and all things chroma. Her work reflects this as well as an incredible love for textiles. She regularly uses “craft” materials and techniques in a “fine art” context. Another important focus of hers is bridging the gaps between being creative, living creatively, and making a living as a creative. +++++ This episode is sponsored by Hobbs Bonded Fibers. Hobbs Bonded Fibers has been making high-quality batting for quilters since 1978. They manufacture all their own batting in Waco, TX and you can find out more about all of

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about running a brick-and-mortar and online yarn shop with my guest, Laura Zander. Laura is the co-owner of Jimmy Beans Wool. Along with her husband Doug, she worked as software engineers during the dot-com boom in the San Francisco area. When Laura and Doug saw the boom begin turning into a bust they quit their jobs and moved to Lake Tahoe to begin a new adventure, opening a small yarn shop. Today Jimmy Beans Wool has been named one of the 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the US and Laura is one of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women. She was invited to the White House for a forum addressing the American Jobs Act where Jimmy Beans Wool was recognized as a notable Nevada business. When not knitting or working, Laura spends her time on the ski hill, running, playing tennis, or relaxing with Doug and their 10-year-old son, Huck. +++++ This episode is sponsored by Search Press. Bringing the finest in art and craft inst