Business of Craft

My guest today is Laura Bellows, owner and founder of Jul Designs, an internationally collaborative company producing knitwear and body jewelry designs. Doctor Laura Bellows also happens to be a PhD trained cultural anthropologist, well-versed on the issues regarding cultural appropriation in business. She joins our show today to help crafty entrepreneurs understand cultural appropriation and what it means for their businesses.

Some listeners might recognize my guest today as a friend and former employee at Stitchcraft Marketing, Benjamin Krudwig. Benjamin makes his mark in the fiber industry as a talented weaver, garment-maker and fashion designer. He is currently the social media manager at Schacht Spindle. I wanted to have Benjamin come on the show today to talk about his expertise on millennial buying behaviors in the craft industry.

My guest today, Felicia Lo, is the founder and creative director of Sweet Georgia Yarns. Since 2005 Felicia and her team have focused on bringing “unapologetic colors” for fiber enthusiasts. Felicia is the author of Dyeing to Spin & Knit: Techniques & Tips to Make Custom Hand-Dyed Yarns. She is also a lecturer and teacher and has offered classes through Craftsy/Blueprint, and her new venture, the School of Sweet Georgia.

My guest today is Meg Sutton, owner of Belle and Union, a specialty paper and home goods retailer in San Antonio Texas. Meg started the business in 2012 after falling in love with letterpress while working in a boutique shop. Meg and her husband Josh run the business together with a focus on a brick and mortar model with all American sourced goods--which we’re going to delve into during our show today.

My guest today is TL Robinson. She is the founder and CEO of Mass Eden, a natural body care products business. I wanted to have her come on the show to share her journey about leaving her corporate job to take the leap and following her passion into creating natural body care products. Today we discuss the attributes you need to be a successful entrepreneur when passion is what's leading you, the concept of failing fast, and why inclusion is one of the most important aspects of her brand.

My guest today, Louis Boria, is the founder and owner of Brooklyn Boy Knits, a company that produces custom knitwear. In addition to building a thriving business, Louis is on a mission to combine his love of fiber arts with his passion to combat bullying and to champion inclusion and diversity in the fiber arts community. He has been featured in the media like New York 1, CBS News, Reuters, and Telemundo. In this show, I want to explore with Louis the idea of how unique differences in your personal and business brand can help you to grow your craft business.

My guest today is so very highly anticipated. I've been a fan of Michael since I was first introduced to his work through his book, Profit First. Michael's personal mission is to eradicate entrepreneurial poverty and he does that first and foremost through his best selling books including, Pumpkin Plan, Surge and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. He is the founder of Provendus Group, a consulting firm that utilizes his business growth methodologies. He hosts the Profit First Podcast and he has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Box Pro Magazine, Entrepreneur and Harvard Business Review.

My guest today, Scott Beebe, is the founder and head coach of MyBusinessOnPurpose.com, a coaching and consulting business designed to help liberate entrepreneurs from the chaos of working in their business rather than on their business. Scott also hosts the Business on Purpose Podcast and is the author of “Let Your Business Burn”. He currently coaches over 50 business owners.

My guest today, Kristy Glass, started her career in NYC on the stage and screen and then came to knitting after convalescing from some health issues. From there, she started Kristy Glass Knits and has grown it to meteoric new levels. Today, she boasts 26K Instagram followers and 24K subscribers on her youtube channel. She also has a robust Patreon account where she offers premium video content. Today we’re going to talk about some of the steps Kristy took along the way to arrive at this place so quickly.

My guest Katie Salmon is the founder and CEO of a digital marketing consultancy business called Katie Does Marketing. Katie helps shop owners and makers develop strategies to simply SELL MORE STUFF.