Episode 094: Building the Craft Industry Alliance with Abby Glassenberg

11/05/19 • 48 min

This week on the show, Felicia is chatting with Abby Glassenberg: a sewing pattern designer, craft book author, writer, and teacher. Since 2005 she's been writing a blog called While She Naps: which is about the home sewing industry and creative entrepreneurship with a focus on craft publishing, fabric manufacturing, feminism, and social justice. Ten years after she started the blog in 2015 she co-founded Craft Industry Alliance and now serves as its president.

Join Felicia and Abby as they chat about the crafting industry and the challenges makers have as they pursue the dream of turning their passion into a sustainable business.

"...I want to be where people are... and see what it's all about and not... live in fear... when I posted that there were a lot of people who were... really scared of Tik Tok... this is going to steal my privacy... and I understand the fear... about it but I just also feel like... get in there and play... see it with [your] own eyes... I would rather take a look myself than... believe the hype and... not make my own decision" - Abby Glassenberg on crafters being on the new social media app, Tik Tok

In this episode, we talk about:

1:29 Abby chats about when she began creating and how she stared her business
8:39 How Abby transitioned crafting from her hobby to a business and how it affected her audience base, and how business itself can be creative
13:58 Abby and Felicia discuss a common question in the industry: If you help other crafters succeed in their business, aren't you creating competition for yourself?
19:23 Abby chats more about Craft Industry Alliance and what it has to offer members
23:14 Felicia asks Abby what are the biggest challenges the craft industry and business owners are currently facing
26:53 The opportunities Abby is seeing in the creative industry space
29:44 Crafting and Tik Tok? Abby discusses the new social media app and how crafters could be a part of it
34:45 How Abby's business has changed now that her children are older
38:39 Abby discusses the team behind Craft Industry Alliance
41:03 What's coming up in the Craft Industry Alliance
45:33 Felicia's Final Notes and Special Discount Code for Craft Industry Alliance Membership

Here's Where You Can Find Abby:

Abby's Blog: www.whileshenaps.com

Craft Industry Alliance Website: www.craftindustryalliance.org

Abby's Instagram: @abbyglassenberg

Abby Glassenberg Design Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/AbbyGlassenbergDesign

Get a Special Discount for Craft Industry Alliance Membership:

If you are a small business owner and are interested in joining the Craft Industry Alliance, Abby has created a special discount code for our listeners to receive 20% off the membership fee! Use the code: SWEETGEORGIA at checkout to receive your discount. Thank you so much Abby!

Thanks for Listening!

Thank you so much for joining us this episode! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your fellow fibre art friends. And if you like what we're doing here, please leave a rating and review on iTunes for the show. We read each and every emai

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Join Felicia and Abby as they chat about the crafting industry and the challenges makers have as they pursue the dream of turning their passion into a sustainable business.

In this episode, we talk about:

1:29 Abby chats about when she began creating and how she stared her business
8:39 How Abby transitioned crafting from her hobby to a business and how it affected her audience base, and how business itself can be creative
13:58 Abby and Felicia discuss a common question in the industry: If you help other crafters succeed in their business, aren't you creating competition for yourself?
19:23 Abby chats more about Craft Industry Alliance and what it has to offer members
23:14 Felicia asks Abby what are the biggest challenges the craft industry and business owners are currently facing
26:53 The opportunities Abby is seeing in the creative industry space
29:44 Crafting and Tik Tok? Abby discusses the new social media app and how crafters could be a part of it
34:45 How Abby's business has changed now that her children are older
38:39 Abby discusses the team behind Craft Industry Alliance
41:03 What's coming up in the Craft Industry Alliance
45:33 Felicia's Final Notes and Special Discount Code for Craft Industry Alliance Membership

Here's Where You Can Find Abby:

Abby's Blog: www.whileshenaps.com

Craft Industry Alliance Website: www.craftindustryalliance.org

Abby's Instagram: @abbyglassenberg

Abby Glassenberg Design Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/AbbyGlassenbergDesign

Get a Special Discount for Craft Industry Alliance Membership:

Thanks for Listening!

Previous Episode

093: Teaching the World to Weave with Kelly Casanova

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This week Felicia is joined by weaver, teacher, and designer: Kelly Casanova, from Melbourne Australia. Kelly runs an online weaving school called: Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons and has been working tirelessly to create ongoing weaving instruction, initially with a rigid heddle loom and now with multi-shaft looms. Kelly has been a huge inspiration for Felicia because Kelly was creating online weaving tutorials when there weren't any available.

Join Felicia and Kelly as they chat about the involvement and control that weaving offers a fibre artist and how to encourage others to start weaving.

"...I felt like I was always looking for something really authentic, like I could do it from start to finish and have as much involvement in the process as I possibly could. And weaving was it for that because I could get the fibre, I could spin it, I could dye it, and then I could weave it, and then I could sew it..." - Kelly Casanova on her love of weaving

In this episode, we talk about:

2:09 Kelly chats about how she first got into the fibre arts
3:43 What was it about weaving that captured Kelly's interest so much?
5:19 What is Kelly's favourite fibre or yarn to work with?
6:20 Kelly discusses her upcoming course on studying Japanese techniques of dyeing and weaving
8:37 Felicia asks Kelly how she comes up with her course ideas for her online school
12:38 Kelly explains what students can learn at her online school
14:05 Kelly gives advice to first-time weavers and how to get started
16:49 Felicia and Kelly chat about how to encourage more weavers to create content for the Internet
18:31 What are the differences Kelly sees between weaving on a rigid heddle looms weaving on a floor loom?
21:30 Felicia chats with Kelly about her Etsy shop and her experience selling on that platform
23:06 Kelly's tips for production weavers
25:19 Kelly describes why she loves the online weaving community
27:19 How Kelly finds the time for self-care in a busy life
31:29 What Kelly has planned for her online school
33:36 Where can you find Kelly online
34:12 Felicia's Final Notes and Giveaway!

Here's Where You Can Find Kelly:

Website: www.kellycasanovaweavinglessons.com

Online School: www.kelly-casanova-weaving-lessons.teachable.com

YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/kellycasanova

Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/kellycasanovaart

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kellycasanovatextileandfibreartist

Instagram: @casanova_kelly_weaver

Enter the Giveaway for 5 Free Weaving Patterns from Kelly's Etsy Shop:

If this week's conversation has inspired you to give weaving a try, then enter down below to win 5 free weaving patterns from Kelly's Etsy Shop!

Next Episode

Episode 095: Organizing your Knitting and Life with the Knitter's Planner

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This week, Felicia is joined by Kara Gott Warner and Stephanie Palmer of The Knitter's Planner. Kara has been on our show not once, but twice before, as she is the former editor of Creative Knitting Magazine and is now the host of the Power Purls Podcast. She is also a coach for creative women and entrepreneurs and is now the editor of The Knitter's Planner. If you want to listen to Kara's previous episodes with us they are Episode 24 and Episode 50. We are also joined by Stephanie who is the creator and publisher of The Knitter's Planner.

Please join us this week and get ready to nerd out about planning and time management!

"...we live in a hybrid time... we are in between two worlds in a sense... I do love my digital planners... but I think that there is just no replacement for putting a pen to paper... there's something meditative about it that you don't get with digital planning and there's a peaceful calming portion and there's a different level of commitment when you're thinking of your own goals and how you're structuring your time with pen to paper... that I just don't think digital can replace." - Stephanie Palmer on analog planners in a digital age

In this episode, we talk about:

1:20 Stephanie and Kara introduce themselves to the listeners
4:12 Felicia asks Stephanie why she decided to first make The Quilter's Planner
5:40 How is The Knitter's Planner different from other planners?
9:03 Sunday-Starter vs Monday-Starter: the customization options in The Knitter's Planner
13:24 Discussing how to merge a digital and analog planning systems
17:05 How using a planner can make a difference for fibre artists who want to create more
22:34 Chatting about the fear of "ruining" a beautiful planner
24:28 Discussing everyones personal workflow around their planner
29:50 How to plan around the holiday season
33:06 Tips for people who are not planners, but want to become one
35:43 Where people can find The Knitter's Planner
37:22 Felicia's Final Notes and Giveaway!

Here's Where You Can Find The Knitter's Planner:

Website: www.knittersplanner.com

Instagram: @theknittersplanner

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KnittersPlanner

Enter the Giveaway to win a Free Knitter's Planner:

Stephanie and Kara are giving one of our lucky listeners the chance to win a free custom Knitter's Planner! This is a giveaway you certainly don't want to miss!

Click here to enter the giveaway »