*This post was originally published on February 27, 2017, and has been updated.* Last week I got an email from a blog reader named Heather who asked: For many years I have wanted to start my own craft business (specifically sewn goods), however as I have been thinking through what goes into producing each item…
5 Tips for Publishing a Craft Book in a Seller’s Market
When it comes to writing a book today, crafters are in the driver’s seat. If you’re a national teacher, have tens of thousands of engaged online followers, or can prove that your audience will convert into sales, you’re book proposal is highly convincing to publishers. Of course, a strong idea that’s fresh and on-trend is…
Sewing Goes to Silicon Valley: Elizabeth’s Journal #4
Elizabeth Caven is the founder of UpCraft Club, a company she’s hoping to build into the leading online distributor of digital sewing patterns (in the same way that Audible is the leading distributor of audio books). In order to achieve this goal, she’s spending four months in a startup accelerator in Silicon Valley called 500…
Who Killed Quilt Your Heart Out?
Fans of quilting personalities Marianne and Mary Fons were thrilled in February of this year when the mother daughter duo launched their own podcast. Called Quilt Your Heart Out the show was an hour-long call-in advice program for quilters. A fan of the public radio show, Car Talk, Marianne Fons envisioned Quilt Your Heart Out…
Sewing Goes to Silicon Valley: Elizabeth’s Journal #3
Elizabeth Caven is the founder of UpCraft Club, a company she’s hoping to build into the leading online distributor of digital sewing patterns (in the same way that Audible is the leading distributor of audio books). In order to achieve this goal, she’s spending four months in a startup accelerator in Silicon Valley called 500…
Quilts, Inc. Raises Rates for Quilt Festival Teachers for the First Time In At Least 17 Years
Quilts, Inc. informed its current faculty today that it will raise teacher pay rates by 33%, the first pay raise for teachers at International Quilt Festival (IQF) since at least 1998. A letter sent to teachers this morning from Judy Murrah, Vice President of Education and Administration at Quilts, Inc., stated: And if, as they…
Update on VAT
If you sell digital products like sewing patterns or ebooks online then Christmas 2014 you were likely stressed out about the EU’s changes to the Value Added Tax (VAT) law. Beginning January 1, 2015 all sellers of digital products have to collect VAT from their EU customers. There’s no exemption and no threshold so even…
How to Get a Soft Toy Designed and Manufactured
I’ve been writing a blog that is, at least partially, about soft toy design for ten years now. When you do a Google search for “soft toy design” my site comes up first and this means I get a lot of emails like this one: Dear Abby, I came across your very fun and informative…
One Company, Multiple Businesses
I was out for dinner on Friday night when I ran into Sarah, a woman I know from synagogue. Her son was in my class when I taught middle school and we always chat a little when we see one another. This time we started talking about work. I told her that while I loved…
“Our Word is Our Word”: Fabric Designers Working Without Written Contracts
image To protect their anonymity I’m not using the names of the designers I spoke with and I’ve changed any identifying details, although not in a way that affects their stories. Last fall I wrote a post explaining how much fabric designers earn. Several designers emailed me afterwards about various other issues, one of which…