In June Barack Obama sat down in Marc Maron’s garage to record a conversation for Marc’s podcast. Did you tune in? The episode was remarkable on a number of levels, most importantly because the President of the United States was talking to a regular guy in a regular space for a show that went straight…
Proud to Be an Etsy Seller
It’s really easy to criticize Etsy. Although I acknowledge that the platform is far from perfect, I remain loyal and I’ve recently been reminded why. In December of 2014 those of us who sell digital products were in a state of crisis over the European Union’s new tax regulations. Although Etsy was unresponsive to our…
What Makes a Local Quilt Shop Great?
In September of 2011 my trusty sewing machine of 23 years, a Bernette 330 I’d bought at G Street Fabrics in Rockville, Maryland when I was 13-years-old, broke for good. When the terrible “grrrr grrrr” noise began every time I turned it on, I set aside $500 to spend on a new machine at a…
Creating a Facebook Group to Build Community for Your Business
“The Facebook fan page feels like a podium,” says Jen Hagedorn. “It works for sending one-way messages about new patterns or sales, but it’s impersonal and can feel kind of spammy. The Facebook group, on the other hand, feels like a sewing circle.” Jen started a private Facebook group for her pattern company, Tie…
Should Sewing Patterns Be Certified?
If you’re interested in becoming a sewing pattern designer it’s easier now than it’s ever been. You can learn the skills you need, create a design, test it, and then sell it directly to consumers without a huge investment in formal schooling, software, or printing and distribution. There are online classes in pattern drafting, grading,…
The Etsy IPO Explained
Etsy sent out an email to all sellers on Wednesday stating that the company is going public. The Etsy Initial Public Offering (IPO) could take place as early as April, but we won’t know in advance the exact date or share price. I thought I’d take a look at what an IPO really is, how…
Three Bird Nest: The Etsy Success Story Redefined
This is what Etsy has become and it’s too bad too. The site was originally for selling hand crafted items crafted by the shop owner but then Etsy began allowing major manufacturing companies to sell their garbage on there. As I stated above, there are companies in Hong Kong that saturate Etsy with pages and…
On Sourcing Supplies (and Sharing Sources)
To me, it feels a bit like someone who wants to copy your term paper because, after all, you already did the work. This is how yarn dyer Jill Draper describes how it feels when she gets an email from a stranger asking for her colorway recipes. It happens more than you might expect. For…
On Choosing Not to Have a Craft Business
As Director of Artist Relations at 20×200, an online art market, Carrie Strine is involved with the business of art all day long. In her free time Carrie is an exceptionally skilled quilter. Her textile work is meticulous and beautiful and although she could build a business around it she’s made the conscious choice not…
The Inside Scoop on Pattern Bundles
Digital patterns have become an established part of the sewing scene over the past few years. Without the upfront cost of printing patterns and the distribution costs of getting those pattern into stores, the barrier to entry to becoming a designer is lower than it’s ever been and hundreds of new designers have flooded the…