Craft Industry Alliance

In this special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're thrilled to be bringing you a recording of the keynote address at h+h americas 2026. This year our speaker was Natalie Chanin and her talk was called, The Future of Craft Is Collective. Natalie is the founder and creative director of The School of Making , Alabama Chanin , and the nonprofit Project Threadways , reflects on the e...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about stitching with my guest, Mollie Johanson. Mollie is a professional designer, illustrator, and stitcher. She's a contributor to Simply Sewing Magazine, Love Embroidery, and World of Cross Stitching, and is the author of four craft books, including her latest, Stitching Super-Cute Food Kawaii Style. Mollie shares creative...

We’re so pleased to bring you this special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast. This is a recording of the State of the Industry panel discussion which took place live on stage on May 6 at h+h america s 2026 in Chicago. With over 800 people in the audience, our panelists dove into the biggest issues and ideas the crafts industry is wrestling with right now. It was an exciting conversati...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about the first year owning a brick-and-mortar yarn shop with my guest, Sanjani Ramkissoon. Sanjani is the owner of Stitch & Revel , a yarn shop in Livermore, California, a charming wine country town in the Bay Area, about 45 miles east of San Francisco.  Born in Fiji and raised in the Bay Area since the age of five, she...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about coiled rope basketry with my guest Katherine Lile.   Katherine is the owner of The Mountain Thread Company in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.  She began sewing at age 4, and has always loved building community around creative endeavors.  Since opening her business in 2015, she's been on a mission to inspire, equip, and cu...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about quilting and creativity with my guest, Maude MacDonald. Maude is a creative strategist and brand designer who helps small business owners craft brands that feel like home — authentic, cohesive, and entirely theirs. Drawing from the success of her own brand, The Retro Quilter , Maude knows firsthand how intentional strat...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about buying and selling a craft business with my guests Lisa Shroyer and Leanne Pressly. This episode is a bit of a different show format because we focus on how to buy or sell a business. So often in the crafts industry, businesses just close, rather than go through a sale process. Part of the reason this happens is that se...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about owning a craft store and workshop space with my guest Sarah Ferguson. Sarah is the owner of Craft Habit , a brick-and-mortar retail craft store in Raleigh, North Carolina, which offers adult and youth classes, private parties and events, and youth sewing and craft camps. In 2024, Craft Habit debuted a wholesale line of...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about felt with my guest Renae Bradley.   Renae is the owner and creative director of Benzie Design , a colorful felt stitchery and craft shop founded as a creative outlet that gave her permission to “rainbow-tize” everything -especially wool felt. In business for over 15 years, Renae values the community that has been formed...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about creating a craft kit company with my guest Michelle Galletta of Kiriki Press .   Ontario College of Art and Design printmaking grad Michelle Galletta wanted to make her niece an embroidered doll but couldn't find a pattern anywhere. A week after attempting her very first stitch, she was left with a set of wonky owl doll...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about cosplay with my guest Madison May. Madison is the owner and head pattern maker at CUT/SEW Sewing Patterns , a beginner-friendly pattern company that provides entry-level, customizable patterns to the cosplay and street fashion community. With over fifteen years of experience in the costume and fashion industry, Madison...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building a craft community with my guests Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner   Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne are the co-founders of  Modern Daily Knitting , one of the most vibrant places in today’s knitting world. Their partnership began in 2003 with a blog that quickly grew into a beloved hangout online, known for its humor, w...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about running a brick-and-mortar yarn shop with my guest, Ali Dillingham, owner of A Yarn Market . A Yarn Market is a welcoming space based on the mission to make knitting and crochet accessible to all. With over 20 years of knitting experience, Ali is passionate about sharing the joy and therapeutic benefits of mindful makin...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about fabric design with my guest Kim Kight. Kim Kight started in the craft blogging world in the 2000s, first with a personal sewing and knitting blog then her fabric news blog, True Up. She is the author of the book "A Field Guide to Fabric Design" in 2011 with Stash Books, which is still in print. She started designing wit...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about crochet design with my guest, Brittany Garber .   Britt is the creative force behind KnotBadBritt —a name that’s become synonymous with bold color, approachable crochet design, and thoughtful community-building in the fiber arts world. With over five years of experience as a designer and educator, Britt is known for pat...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about quilting with my guest Maria Shell .   Maria’s work is grounded in the tradition and craft of American quilt making. She strives to take the classical components of a traditional bedquilt and manipulate them with the hope of creating surprising combinations of pattern, repetition, and color for the viewer. +++++ This ep...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about hand sewing with my guest Louisa Soenstrom .   Louisa considers garment-making skills to be deeply empowering. Louisa writes and teaches about patternmaking and hand stitching clothing. For most of a decade, she worked in technical design and patternmaking, most recently for Macy's and Eileen Fisher. Previous works have...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast,  we’re talking about building a crochet business with Amy Ting. Amy Ting is a Korean-Taiwanese crochet designer based in the Bay Area, California. She is the author of Amigurumi Critters and creator of  Curious Papaya . Amy’s amigurumi creations have resonated with a wide audience but especially so with the Asian-American population. Her d...

Welcome to this special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast.   Today, we’re excited to share with you an interview with Abbie Small. Abbie served as executive vice president and general manager of Simplicity Creative Group, owner of the Big 4 pattern companies. Just last week, Rubelmann Capital, in partnership with Abbie, acquired the company from the bankruptcy auction that was held af...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about living the life of a quilter and writer with my guest Marianne Fons .   Marianne Fons co-hosted “Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting” on public television nationwide for many years, first with Liz Porter and later with daughter Mary Fons.   With Liz, she co-authored Quilter’s Complete Guide , one of the best selling qu...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building a quilting business with my guest Michelle Cain. Michelle tried rather hard not to become a quilter. After growing up outside of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and having a mom who began quilting in the 1990s, this was a formidable challenge. A chance encounter with Denyse Schmidt’s work, however, introduced M...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about bag making with my guest Emma Brassfield . Emma is a YouTuber, pattern designer, bag sewing teacher and entrepreneur based near London, UK.  After over 20 years in the film industry, helping to make such iconic creatures and costumes as Iggle Piggle (In The Night Garden), The Flash (Justice League), Many goblins (Harry...

In this special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're so pleased to be sharing the keynote speech from h+h americas 2025 presented by Larrie King . Larrie King, better known as Mister Larrie, is an arts and crafts content creator, design professor, and creativity enthusiast based in Orlando, Florida. His projects often center on bright colors, bold patterns, and budget-friendly bas...

On this special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about private equity and it's impact on the crafts industry with my guest Megan Greenwell.   Megan is a journalist who has written or edited for publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, WIRED, and ESPN. She is also the deputy director of the Princeton Summer Journalism Program, a...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building a cross-stitch business with my guest Zoe Frost. Zoe is the heart, hands, and creative force behind Junebug & Darlin , a queer owned brand based in Portland, OR. When she's not crafting, you'll find her adventuring through the Pacific Northwest’s pine trees, ferns, and rivers with her partner and a dog or t...