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How Social Media Can Humanize Your Brand: A Case Study of McCall’s

June 4, 2014

Edited 9/18/15: The social media manager at McCall’s is Meg McDonald. A month ago I saw this tweet in my feed and got a little surge of excitement: Yippee, we’re on Twitter! — McCallPatternCompany (@McCallPatternCo) April 26, 2014 That same day I came across the brand new McCall’s Instagram feed. So why the surge of… 

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Filed Under: Business Tips, Marketing, Online Culture of Craft

What Happens When Your Pattern Goes Viral: The Spool Bird

May 30, 2014

UPDATED February 17, 2019: You can now purchase a copy of the Spool Bird pattern in two sizes from Michael’s Etsy shop for $5 right here. In 2008 Michael Fulkerson was working as a sewing teacher at Spool Sewing, a fabric store in Philadephia. The store owners asked Fulkerson if he could create a pattern… 

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Filed Under: Online Culture of Craft, Patterns

What is Quilt Market (and Why I Didn’t Go)

May 21, 2014

Quilt Market was last weekend. My Instagram feed was full of pictures of new fabric collections, designers beaming proudly in their beautiful booths, and the crazy crowds at Sample Spree. If you sew and follow sewing blogs at all, I’m sure you’ve heard about Quilt Market. But what is it exactly? How did it come… 

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Filed Under: Marketing, Online Culture of Craft

Tools and Access Don’t Equal Expertise, But They’re a Pretty Good Start

May 12, 2014

Last year I was talking to a designer about the class line up at an upcoming sewing conference. I pointed out that one of the classes people seemed to be most excited about was on surface design. She said, “I don't think surface design should be taught at conferences like this. Are you there to… 

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Filed Under: Business Tips, Online Culture of Craft

Why You Shouldn’t Ask an Artist, “Where Do You Find Your Inspiration?”

May 7, 2014

“Where do you find your inspiration?” I’ve been asked this question dozens of times and if you’re an artist I’m sure you have, too. Almost anytime an artist is interviewed this question comes up. But it shouldn’t. Asking an artist, “Where do you find your inspiration?” is a not a good question. It frames art… 

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Filed Under: Business Tips, Fostering Your Creativity, Online Culture of Craft

Why I’ve Decided to Pay for Books I Review

April 28, 2014

I have a book review coming on Friday, but before I post it I wanted to share with you a change I've made in my book review policy. When you've got a blog with a good-sized audience marketers of all sorts reach out to you asking if you'll write about their products. Mostly I say… 

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Online Culture of Craft

Should You Write Sponsored Posts on Your Craft Blog?

April 10, 2014

I got this email yesterday:   Save the Date: Michaels Blogger Event May 1 Hi Abby – Michaels is unveiling a new look at all of its Boston area stores and we are giving a select group of bloggers an exclusive sneak peek on Thursday, May 1 from 6-8 p.m. at the Saugus store. You… 

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Filed Under: Better Blogging, Monetizing Your Blog, Online Culture of Craft

Indie Patterns

How Indie Patterns Have Revolutionized Sewing

February 5, 2014

Sewing skipped a generation in my family. Growing up we didn’t have a sewing machine at home and I never saw my mother sew. The first time I sewed was in Home Economics class in 8th grade. I was terrible at it and got a C- on our final project due to wonky seams on… 

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Filed Under: Online Culture of Craft, Patterns, Self-Publishing

The Prevalence of Free Eastern European Softie Patterns Online

January 23, 2014

I've finally embraced Pinterest. I set up an account a few years ago and was using it a little bit, but I didn't really grasp it's utility, both for collecting and storing creative ideas and for promoting my own work, until very recently. These past few weeks I've been working on a whole series of… 

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Filed Under: Getting Published, Online Culture of Craft, Patterns

Etsy Redefines Handmade: Authorship, Responsibility, and Transparency

October 2, 2013

*After I published this post Etsy reached out to me and agreed to do a podcast interview. We talked in-depth about the new policies and how they will impact sellers and buyers. You can find that interview here. A few weeks ago we had a great discussion here about the meaning of the word handmade…. 

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Filed Under: Ecommerce and Etsy, Online Culture of Craft

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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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