For this installment in my series about sewing softies for pleasure and profit I am focusing on gallery shows. Scattered all over the country, and all over the world really, are a select few very special galleries that show indie art. These are places that are run by people who are savvy to the online…
Softies For Sale Series: Selling on Consignment
It is many crafters dream to get their handmade goods in boutique stores. The thrill of seeing your wares on the shelves of a beautiful boutique, of knowing that the buyer or owner of the store thinks that what you make is worthy of being in their store, and that all kinds of shoppers will…
Softies For Sale Series: Selling Art Toys
A few weeks ago I put the following question on Twitter: “What is your biggest source of income?”. Almost everyone in my Twitter community are designers or crafters of some kind and I got all sorts of replies and a terrific discussion ensued (I love Twitter for that). Selling handmade items at craft fairs and selling…
Softies For Sale Series: Teaching a Class (in-person)
For today's post in my series focusing on turning sewing into a viable career I want to talk about teaching. Before I had children and started sewing softies all the time I was a teacher. I worked in education for six years all together: two as a Teach For America corps member teaching middle school…
Softies For Sale Series: Contributing to Sewing Books
For this installment of my series about turning your love of sewing softies into a career I want to talk about contributing projects to sewing books. Over the last few years I have been asked by editors at many different publishing houses to contribute to collective books that feature projects by many different sewists. Just…
Softies For Sale Series: Craft Fairs
In this installment of my series on ways to monetize your softie making habit I want to talk about craft fairs. I have discovered over these last seven years of sewing softies that there are many paths one can take when it comes to selling work. I think it is beneficial to consider all of…
Softies For Sale Series: The Cottage Industry License
If you make original softies and you want to turn your toys into a business, selling your patterns is probably a good use of your time and effort. Creating a good pattern and getting it ready for sale is a significant investment up front, but once it is made you can sell the pattern in…
Podcast Episode #5: Veteran Softie Pattern Designer, Carol Cruise
I’m excited to share with you today my first foray into creating a recorded interview. In my efforts to learn more about ways to make money from sewing softies I wanted to talk with an industry veteran. I figured there must be a lot I could learn from someone who started selling soft toy patterns…
Softies for Sale: A Series on Monetizing Your Softie Sewing Habit
One day back in 2005 I took my seven-month-old baby to the library for story time and while I was there I started looking at the sewing books. I ended up checking out a soft toy sewing book written in the late 1960s and later that day, when the baby went down for a nap,…
Gallery Show of Soft Sculpture Birds: Young Blood in Atlanta, GA
I’m back and it was an amazing experience. David and I spent the day on Friday setting everything up and he was so incredibly generous with his time. He built half a dozen shelves from reclaimed wood to display my birds and his smaller paintings. And he brought with him an amazing collection of natural…