whileshenaps.com

Sewing, blogging, and creative business.

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How to Buy Quilting Fabric Wholesale

February 3, 2019

*Fabric companies change their policies, close, and merge. I’m now updating a version of this list over at Craft Industry Alliance where you’ll also find a vast library of other resources helpful to craft business owners. Join me there!* Last week I got an email from a blog reader named Heather who asked: For many… 

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Filed Under: Being Self-Employed, Business Tips, Legal and Financial Issues

sewing hands

Checking In With Yourself

November 12, 2018

Have you checked in with yourself lately to see how you’re feeling about your day-to-day business activities? Being a solo entrepreneur means tackling many different tasks each day, everything from responding to customer emails to reordering supplies to meeting with your Wirral accountant, and so much more. You’re responsible for dreaming up the big ideas… 

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Filed Under: Being Self-Employed, Fostering Your Creativity

Amazon Prime Day

How to Save on the Best Sewing and Creative Business Supplies on Amazon Prime Day

July 16, 2018

Amazon Prime Day begins today at 3 pm Eastern. The event runs for a day and a half and is a great opportunity to save money on some essentials you’ve been meaning to buy. As a mom of three kids who also works a lot, I’m a pretty big fan of the convenience of online… 

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Filed Under: Being Self-Employed, Business Tips

Abby Glassenberg

How to Develop an Online Persona for Yourself

April 9, 2018

Photo by my friend, Lisa Neighbors. I was chatting the other day with a woman who is just beginning to build an online presence for her sewing business. She was having a tough time with social media because she just didn’t feel comfortable talking about herself all the time, yet that’s what platforms like Instagram… 

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Filed Under: Being Self-Employed, Customer Service

Ode to the iPhone on Its 10th Anniversary

June 29, 2017

Today is the 10th anniversary of the release of the first iPhone. I didn’t get an iPhone when it came out back in 2007. In fact I used to really hate cell phones. I was hesitant to get a phone at all, and when I finally got a flip phone I often left it at… 

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Filed Under: Being Self-Employed, Online Culture of Craft

Simple Ways to Work Smarter: Reduce Your Friction Points

April 10, 2017

The first and only time I’ve lived alone was in graduate school. I had a studio apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts and only had my cat, Poe, to keep me company. I enjoyed that year of no roommates and no boyfriend, despite the occasional bout of loneliness, but I did face one significant problem. I was… 

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Filed Under: Being Self-Employed

Slow Growth and the Internet Gold Rush

January 4, 2017

Almost a year ago I spoke at Midwest Craft Con and from the stage I asked by a show of hands how many of the 200 or so people in the audience had a day job in addition to their craft business. From where I stood  it looked like nearly every hand in the room… 

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Filed Under: Being Self-Employed, Online Culture of Craft

2016 Year in Review

December 26, 2016

2016 is drawing to a close and it’s time to review the year. I thought I’d take a look at what happened in my own business and what I saw as significant in the home sewing and quilting industries. Although I’ve written this blog for 11.5 years now, I only began writing year in review… 

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Filed Under: Being Self-Employed

How I Decide Whether to Take on a New Project

October 6, 2016

I was recently out with a friend and she pulled out her phone to show me something. When I glanced at the screen I noticed that her email app had the number 2,560 glowing in a little red circle. That would drive me crazy. I’m devoted to getting to inbox zero at the end of… 

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Filed Under: Being Self-Employed, Business Tips, Getting Published

Report from Sew Pro 2016

September 21, 2016

I’ve just returned from a wonderful weekend at Sew Pro, a brand new conference for sewing professionals that took place in Chicago on September 16-17. The event was organized by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness and Brenda Ratliff of Pink Castle Fabrics. Between the two of them Sara and Brenda have designed fabric for two… 

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Filed Under: Being Self-Employed, Monetizing Your Blog

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Welcome! I'm Abby Glassenberg and I'm glad you're here. While She Naps is a blog about designing and sewing stuffed animals and running a creative business.
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