The CraftSanity Podcast

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CraftSanity #114 4.15.10 Apr 15, 2010

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Before the world recognized Wendy Mullin’s Built By Wendy clothing label, she was just a girl sewing her heart out hunched over a machine stacked up on milk crates. She cut her fabric on the floor of her cramped apartment and worked at record stores to pay the bills. And long before she started calling herself a designer, she had become one. On this episode of CraftSanity, Wendy shares the inspiring story of how she built her own creative business one design at a time. Originally from Chicago, Wendy is now one of New York’s most established independent fashion designers. She sells her Built By Wendy line at her two retail stores in New York, at boutiques across the country and online. Budding designers got to know Wendy when she released her first book “Sew U” and follow-up book “Sew U Home Stretch.” Her third book, “Built by Wendy Dresses: The Sew U Guide to Make a Girl’s Best Frock.” just came out and demystifies the satisfying art of making a fun and flattering dress. Tune in and get inspired to build yourself a brand new frock.

CraftSanity #113 3.14.10 Mar 14, 2010

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I made you all wait way too long for this episode, but I think it’s going to be worth it. My guest is a fabulous storyteller who shares a wealth of info that I hope will serve as an audio springboard for all of you dear listeners out there dreaming of launching your own handmade business. You can do it! You can do it! You CAN do it! Now that I’ve got you pumped up a little bit, grab a project and settle in for a nice long chat with Kari Chapin, author of “Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally and Online.” I interviewed Kari for my craft column right before the book launch and then I interviewed her again for the podcast because I wanted you to get to hear the full story. With experience as a maker, marketer, stylist and retail manager (among many other things), Chapin has done a fine job of rounding up helpful information for creative people dreaming of making a handmade living. And I’m not just saying that because she interviewed me for her book. (Some of my comments about podcasting are one on page 206, but you’ll be way more impressed with the famous crafters she interviewed to fill the other pages.) Kari covers everything from pricing and taxes to social media and starting your own craft fair, so this book is pretty cool and includes a lot of info that I wish I would have known before I decided to launch my own crafty biz. Speaking of which… ENTER TO WIN a copy of Kari’s book by posting a craft business tip below. What do you wish you would have know before you got started? If you haven’t launched a handmade business yet, please post a question. What do you want to know before you get started? The deadline to enter the random drawing is March 21. Good luck!

CraftSanity #112 1.27.10 Feb 14, 2010

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This week my guest is Minneapolis based designer Rebecca Yaker. I’ve been wanting to interview Rebecca since we met at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair a few years ago and she did not disappoint. This episode traces Rebecca’s unconventional creative path to becoming an independent designer, artist, handmade business owner and published author. In 2005, Rebecca left the corporate world to start Hazel and Melvin’s Room, a custom baby bedding and accessories business that offers expecting parents a fabulous alternative to the mass produced products listed on many baby registries. Rebecca made a huge splash in craft circles when images of her unforgettable sock monkey dresses hit the web. She continues to make wearable sock monkey creations for people of all ages and takes custom orders for award winning sock monkey dresses. (Those must be an absolute blast to wear. I would love to run a road race wearing a sock monkey apron someday.) In February 2008, Rebecca and her pal Trish Hoskins had lunch with the president of Storey Publishing. A year and a half later, Rebecca and Trish where holding copies of their first book “One-Yard Wonders!”

CraftSanity #111 1.5.10 Jan 05, 2010

Show notes

This week my podcast guest is Rashida Coleman-Hale, 33, of Atlanta, who writes the I Heart Linen blog. A busy mama and super talented designer, Rashida’s story is sure to inspire you run to your fabric stash for a quick patchwork project fix. We chatted about her creative journey to becoming a craft project designer and published author and the challenges she’s encountered along the way. Rashida has a contagious laugh, so we did plenty of giggling. But we also had a serious discussion about how making beautiful things helped Rashida through postpartum depression. So if you’re going through a rough patch, this episode might be particularly helpful. Rashida’s first book, “I Love Patwork: 21 Irresistible Zakka Projects to Sew” just hit bookstores and features great designs including instructions to make the lovely blossom pincushions pictured above. (p. 71) Projects in the book include a combination of machine and hand sewing and feature lots of linen (no surprise there!) and the English paper piecing techniques that I find so fantastically additive. Rashida’s designs carry a strong Japanese influence reminiscent of the time she spent living abroad as a child. So if you love Zakka craft, you’ll enjoy making Rashida’s designs to adorn your creative space.

CraftSanity #110 12.21.09 Dec 21, 2009

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Meg McElwee’s star has risen fast since I first chatted with her on episode 80 and it’s great to have her back as part of her blog tour to fill us in on her life as a new mama and published craft book author. (Go, Meg!) During our first chat, Meg was teaching at a Montessori school in Mexico and planning to return to the States to expand her pattern design business and start a family. She’s now living in North Carolina with her husband and son and continuing to expand her pattern line which includes my favorite apron pattern of all time, the Emmeline. Her new book “Sew Liberated: 20 Stylish Projects for the Modern Sewist” is packed with fun projects that highlight the fantastic possibilities that come with incorporating easy applique techniques. The book comes with a packet of patterns glued inside the back over so you have everything you need to get started right away. Projects for the home, babies, children and you are include. The Teacup Corset Apron, Funny Animals Children’s Totes and reverse appliqued Jersey Garden Skirt (cover photo) rank among my favorites patterns in the book, but I plan to try out several other patterns as time allows. So settle in with a project and tune in to this week’s show to hear Meg’s story.

CraftSanity #109 12.13.09 Dec 13, 2009

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Maya Donenfeld joined the craft blog scene about two years ago with the creation of her Maya*Made blog and has been inspiring readers ever since with her sustainable craft project ideas. A self-taught artist, Maya, 40, loves to create with items straight from the recycle bin. One of her favorite materials is repurposed burlap coffee sacks, but anything in the recycling bin is fair game. She turns newspapers into festive banners and she works wonders with toilet paper tubes. Above is a glimpse of her latest advent calendar design, which builds on last year’s design which was also created out of cardboard tubes. (She more or Maya’s designs on Flickr.) Maya lives in rural upstate New York with her husband and two children. She cooks up new designs daily while maintaining a regular dialog with her blog readers. Tune in to this week’s podcast to hear her tell her story in her own words.

CraftSanity #108 11.28.00 Nov 28, 2009

Show notes

Susan B. Anderson is back again to update us on the latest developments in her successful knitting career, namely her new book, “Itty-Bitty Toys.” I asked Susan to give a brief overview of her knitting career on this episode, but if you want to hear the whole story, I invite you to go back and listen CraftSanity episodes 46 and 64. Susan’s Itty-Bitty series including “Itty-Bitty Hats” and “Itty-Bitty Nursery,” have been very popular and the latest knitted toy book went into it’s second printing within weeks of the release date. The success this 45-year-old, married, mother of four from Madison, Wis. has lead opportunities to travel and teach in knit shops across the country. It also helped her land a fun gig with a great title as the curator of the Spud and Chloe blog where Susan frequently posts free patterns for knitters to download and stitch. Tune in to this episode for down-to-earth inspiration that just might inspire you to launch a handmade business of your own. And speaking of free patterns, check out the Susan’s Santa Baby pattern that I posted after our first chat. It’s perfect for last-minute holiday crafting.

CraftSanity #107 11.05.09 Cal Patch Nov 06, 2009

Show notes

Grab your latest project and settle in for a long chat with clothing designer and author, Cal Patch, the creative force behind the Hodge Podge clothing label. Immediately after opening Cal’s new book, I knew that it was going to be one of those books that would change my creative life. I want to sew more of my own clothes and often get disappointed when my projects don’t pan out. Enter Cal and her fabulous book, “Design-It-Yourself Clothes Patternmaking Simplified.” Cal has been teaching sewing and pattern making in New York for years, so this book is especially great for those of us who live too far away to take one of her classes in person.

CraftSanity #106 10.22.09 Liesl Gibson Oct 22, 2009

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On this episode of CraftSanity, Liesl Gibson shares the story of how she started her Brooklyn-based pattern company, Oliver + S. If you lurk around sewing blogs or frequent an independent fabric shop, you’ve probably seen her classic line that features darling designs to sew for girls and boys. Each pattern comes with a paper doll that sports the designs featured in the patten. And to boost the cute factor even higher, Oliver + S just released a spool dog cut-out as seen in the photo above. From the fashion district to Wall Street, Liesl’s path to launching her own line of children’s clothing patterns is entertaining and inspiring. Tune in to hear Liesl chat about everything from her childhood days watching her mother sew to working in the fashion industry, and the challenges of running a handmade business.

CraftSanity #105 10.07.09 Carin Vogelzang Oct 07, 2009

Show notes

This episode is about spreading hope one quilt at a time. Tune in to meet Carin Vogelzang, and her mother, Carol Peters, two women who turned a family tragedy into an inspiring cause called Margaret’s Hope Chest. Carin, of Toronto, and her mother, Carol, of Grand Rapids, co-founded the quilt charity Margaret’s Hope Chest in honor of Peters’ mom, Margaret Herrema, who died after she was critically injured during a purse-snatching in 2005. The first quilt they gave away was to the mother of one of the women convicted of Margaret’s death. Carin and Carol have given away 102 quilts since founding the charity in Margaret’s name in 2007. Now they’re asking quilters around the globe to help them make 400 quilts to give to homeless children living in the Grand Rapids Public School District here in West Michigan during the Christmas holiday.

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