CRAFT-ish Podcast with Vickie Howell

This week host Vickie Howell re-visits her conversation about creative rituals, inspiration, and the ebb & flow of ideas with guest, best-selling author Rachael Herron. Show Notes: vickiehowell.com/craftish

Best of CRAFT*ish This week, host Vickie Howell revisits her conversation with international best-selling author and success coach, Jen Sincero. Plus, from the What I'm Crafting(ish) To segment, new recommendations for TV shows, music, and audiobooks to keep you entertained while you make, work and live! SHOW NOTES: vickiehowell.com/craftish

This week on the show is needle arts designer, Jody Rice. Jody’s company Satsuma Street was founded after unsuccessful searches for modern cross-stitch patterns inspired her to design them herself. Her background in both textiles and graphic arts made this a relatively natural transition, so she created a collection. She began to make those patterns available for digital download on Etsy in 2013 and was blown away by the response. She had found craft community need, and filled it! Host Vickie Howell discovered Jody’s work when one of her besties was working on a Satsuma Street piece while their families were on vacation together last Summer. During their conversation, they talked about Jody's transition from working on blockbuster films to running a handmade business, her design approach, and what she does to block out all of the social media noise when it comes to her art. Show Notes: vickiehowell.com/craftish

This week on the show an audio clip interview with Knit Collage's Amy Small about her work to build sustainable employment for the co-op of women in India who spin her company's beautiful yarns. Show Notes: vickiehowell.com/craftish NOTE: This audio was recorded for a feature in Vickie's upcoming book "The Knit Vibe" (pre-order on Amazon), so the format's a little different

Vickie's live from the Comcast NBC Universal experience at SXSW, for a totally impromptu interview with the head of marketing at Bluprint (formerly Craftsy). We chat about how makers are now, finally, a force alongside the musicians and filmmakers who are traditionally the focal point of media conferences and beyond!

This week on the show is modern quilt designer and author of “Sew + Quilt: Techniques for Hand Stitching + Patchwork”, Susan Beal. Host Vickie Howell and Susan have known each other since Vickie first started in the craft industry, a decade and a half ago. Back then, if you were a maker on the internet, then you were automatically a part of what was then a small community of people. During their conversation they talk about the parallels in our professional and creative journies, the influence community has in their work, how craft can act as a conduit for our stories and acts of activism, and why it was important to Susan to write her latest book Sew + Quilt. Show Notes: vickiehowell.com/craftish

This week on the show is vintage dress pattern and fabric designer and author of several books including Gertie Sews Jiffy Dresses: A Modern Guide to Stitch and Wear Vintage Patterns You Can Make in a Day. Host Vickie Howell has followed Gretchen since she first started her original Gertie’s Blog for Better sewing, but have since become an even larger fan since delving into making one of her vintage party dresses for herself. During their conversation, they talked about the evolution of her personal style and how that affected the look of her brand, how important historical accuracy is to her when designing vintage-style pieces, and how she continues to build her business. Enjoy! Show Notes: vickiehowell.com/craftish

This week on the show, is a personal trainer, diet abolitionist and author of Physical Disobedience, Sarah Hays Coomer. As a mother to a daughter, and as a woman herself, Vickie, like most women likely, spends a significant amount of time thinking about body image. In a society that promotes an often unrealistic female physical ideal, there’s a real craft to creating a healthy, positive body image for ourselves and encourage the same for the girls and women who surround us. Vickie and Sarah talk about the challenges of connecting to our body, celebrating our strengths and how appreciation for our physical bodies can be the wildest form of social disobedience. SHOW NOTES: vickiehowell.com/craftish

This week on the show Vickie chats with sustainable craft expert Katrina Rodabaugh whose book Mending Matters: Stitch, Patch and Repair Your Favorite Denim & More sold out of its first printing. They talk about humans' obligation to mindfulness about consumption of clothing, the rise in popularity of the Slow Fashion philosophy, and what she’s learned over the past 6 years during her fast from Fast Fashion. SHOW NOTES: https://vickiehowell.com/craftish/

This week, we’re revisiting one of this podcast's most popular episodes, Vickie's conversation with designer, instructor, and Red Heart Yarn National Spokesperson, Marly Bird. Vickie and Marly go way back, and so there were no holds barred on their chat about Marly's journey from the finance world to fiber phenom, how she balances her many jobs, and what her personal philosophy is for living the professional dream. Show Notes: vickiehowell.com/craftish