On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building a fabric company with my guest Arvin Pairavi. Arvin is a visionary entrepreneur and the driving force behind Shannon Fabrics , a leading name in the textile industry known for its luxurious, high-quality Cuddle fabrics. Under his leadership, the company has redefined the market, setting new standards for innovation, craftsmanship, and customer satisfaction. +++++ To get the full show notes for this episode vi...
Jul 06, 2025•48 min•Ep. 243
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about punch needle with my guest Micah Clasper-Torch . Micah Clasper-Torch is a Los Angeles-based artist, designer, and educator helping to lead the modern revival of punch needle rug hooking. With a background in fashion design from The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and the Polytechnic Institute in Milan, Micah blends fine art, heritage craft, and wearable design to create one-of-a-kind textile pieces th...
Jun 16, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 245
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 7 at h+h america s 2025 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 conversation among four industry professionals each of whom has a unique vantage point and perspective. Our pa...
Jun 02, 2025•53 min•Ep. 244
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about museum exhibitions with my guests Nora Palermo and Pam Weeks of the New England Quilt Museum. Nora has served as Executive Director of the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts since 2013. Her broad experience in development for museums, cultural organizations and teaching hospitals brought a strategic approach to improving the NEQM’s finances and expanding its audience. With support from the Board of Direc...
May 05, 2025•51 min•Ep. 242
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about quilt kits with my guest Michael O'Dell. Mike is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist who administers anesthesia in a pediatric hospital, but his passion has always been art. He has worked with every material he’s ever had a chance to get his hands on, and quilting came to the fore in 2018 when his wife took up the hobby. As his wife worked on a 9-patch quilt as her first project, Mike saw each square as a pixel, ...
Apr 21, 2025•56 min•Ep. 241
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about creating a best-selling art and illustration company with my guest, Mary Engelbreit. Over 40 years ago, Mary Engelbreit launched her own company with a strong desire for creative freedom and a line of 12 greeting cards. The head of a highly successful business bearing her name, Mary is one of the country’s premier designers and artists. She is known throughout the world for her distinctive illustration style and desig...
Apr 07, 2025•59 min•Ep. 240
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about running a brick-and-mortar yarn shop with my guest, Annissa Essaibi-George. Annissa is the owner of Stitch House . She taught at East Boston High School for 13 years before being elected to the Boston City Council. In 2021 she ran for Mayor of Boston. Annissa recently served as CEO and president of the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston and now is the Partnership Advisor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern M...
Mar 17, 2025•47 min•Ep. 239
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about product and surface design with my guest Hollei Hayes. Hollei is the owner of Hollei Anne Design Co. After honing her craft for over ten years in the design industry, she made the leap from working in Fortune 500 corporations collaborating with esteemed brands such as Toys R Us and Skip Hop. Now, she's fully immersed in her passion as a Surface and Product designer and has had her art seen in big box retailers like Ta...
Mar 03, 2025•55 min•Ep. 238
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about activism with my guest Omakri Williams. Omkari Williams is the Gold Nautilus award-winning author of Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World (Without A Bullhorn) . Her book helps readers identify their “activist archetype" and map a personal action plan for engaging in small, change-making activities with potentially big impacts. She has worked as an actor, political consultant, and coach. Now she w...
Feb 17, 2025•54 min•Ep. 237
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about embroidery with my guest Melissa Galbraith. Melissa is the fiber artist behind MCreativeJ . She was born and raised in the desert of Washington state where her mother instilled a love of making things by hand at an early age. Melissa shares her love of nature through whimsical and modern hand embroidery kits, hands-on workshops, and her books, How to Embroider Texture and Pattern and DIY Embroidered Shoes . +++++ This...
Feb 03, 2025•59 min•Ep. 236
In this special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we are talking with a variety of industry players about the second bankruptcy of JOANN Fabrics including: Grace Dobush , our business reporter for our corporate newsletter Craft Industry Insider Molly Hamilton from Folkwear Patterns Aaron Leventhal, former CEO and owner of Hero Arts Venture capital investor Elizabeth Caven And Kansas City-based fashion designer Whitney Manney We start with Grace giving us an overview of the current ...
Jan 27, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 235
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about sewing machines with my guest Jason Zielke. Jason Zielke is the Chief Product Officer for SVP Worldwide , where he leads global brand marketing, new product development, and industrial design for iconic sewing machine brands Singer, Viking, and Pfaff. A seasoned executive with expertise in strategic planning and engineering leadership, he has successfully launched innovative products and driven significant market grow...
Jan 20, 2025•56 min•Ep. 234
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about starting a fabric company with my guest Tracy Krauter. Tracy is the founder of Splash Fabric . Raising three boys, Tracy knew there had to be a better solution to everyday messes. When she couldn't find the perfect fabric—one that was soft yet waterproof, durable yet sewable—she didn't just settle. She innovated. Today, her signature laminated cotton transforms ordinary items into spill-proof shields, creating beautif...
Jan 06, 2025•48 min•Ep. 233
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about craftivism with my guest Shannon Downey. Shannon is an artist, activist, craftivist, community builder, and general instigator. Her work moves people from passive consumers of art into engaged creators and leverages craft-based art forms to bring people together, present opportunities to transition from makers to change makers, and inspire radical hope for what is possible. She’s the founder of Badass Cross Stitch and...
Dec 16, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 232
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about weaving with my guest Jen Duffin . Jen is the designer and teacher behind Nova Mercury Design . Jen has been creating fiber art full-time since 2016, specializing in frame loom weaving. Inspired by color and whimsy, Jen loves creating art that brings joy to people's lives and homes. She aims to create beautiful heirloom artworks and to inspire a love of creating in others. She has taught many sold-out workshops in Mon...
Dec 02, 2024•59 min•Ep. 231
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about designing fabric with my guest A nna Maria Parry . Having grown up in a creative home, Anna Maria Parry earned an honors BFA in drawing from the University of Tennessee in 1995 before opening a small clothing shop with her mother the same year. Designing and sewing a clothing label while managing a shop primed her for a career in textiles and small business. Since her first fabric collection debuted in 2005, she has d...
Nov 18, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 230
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about owning a yarn store with my guest Sara Ingle. Sara founded Boston Fiber Company , a local yarn store in Boston’s South End neighborhood, in 2022. Now finishing its second year, the store focuses on indie-dyed yarn, supporting local crafters, and fostering a strong community through numerous low-cost and free events and groups. The Boston Fiber Company team, currently consisting of three people, is dedicated to making ...
Nov 04, 2024•49 min•Ep. 229
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about publishing books with my guest Deborah Balmuth. Deborah retired from Storey Publishing on September 30 after 31 years with the company. She began as an editor, become editorial director in 2003, and publisher in 2013. She especially enjoyed expanding Storey's library of craft and herbal titles, working with authors including Helen Hiebert, Saffiyah Talley, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Kari Chapin, Thomas Knauer, Megumi Iny...
Oct 21, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 228
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about making and teaching art with my guest Julie Fei-Fan Balzer . Based outside of Boston, Julie is a painter, printmaker, and collage artist who constructs vibrant compositions. Her artwork investigates the interplay of identity and perception, inviting viewers to take a longer look. Julie works in layers, both physically and metaphorically, exploring what is visible and what is concealed. Passionate about connecting with...
Oct 07, 2024•54 min•Ep. 227
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about documentary filmmaking with my guest Jenifer McShane. Jenifer McShane is an independent filmmaker committed to using film to bridge understanding in situations where structural or cultural divisions typically keep people apart. Jenifer's current film The Quilters , a documentary short about a quilting group in a men's prison in Missouri recently premiered at the DC/Dox Film Festival in Washington DC and will be travel...
Sep 15, 2024•55 min•Ep. 226
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about the art of quilting with my guest Andrea Tsang Jackson . Andrea is a textile artist, quilt designer, author, and educator based in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. After working in various design fields and settings ranging from architecture to museums, the quilting medium called to her as a way to explore place, belonging, and agency. Andrea pushes the limits of quilting and textiles by exploring scale and dimension and ...
Sep 02, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 225
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about the art of wrapping gifts with my guest Megumi Inouye . Megumi is a gift-wrapping and packaging artist. Known for her sustainable wrap-ping designs and creative innovations, she encourages repurposing, utilizing everyday things around us, and using organic and recyclable items. She attributes her passion for gift wrapping to her Japanese heritage and the cultural values that underlie the meaning behind the art of givi...
Aug 19, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 224
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking with two more of the winners of the Golden Scissors Awards. These new awards recognize excellence in the crafts industry and are given out annually at h+h americas. Nominations were open to everyone and the winners were determined by an independent panel of judges made up of craft industry professionals. In this second episode, we'll hear the stories of our Innovation Award, Masey Kaplan and Jen Simonic of The Loose Ends Pr...
Aug 05, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 223
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building an audience with my guest Amber Kemp-Gersel of Damask Love . Amber was the keynote speaker at h+h americas 2024 in Chicago and this is a recording of her presentation. It was inspiring, smart, and funny and I think you’re going to love it. Amber Kemp-Gerstel is a television host and founder and creative director of Damask Love, a creative lifestyle blog all about doable DIY. Amber has partnered with brands li...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 222
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking with two of the winners of the Golden Scissors Awards. These new awards recognize excellence in the crafts industry and are given out annually at h+h americas. Nominations were open to everyone and the winners were determined by an independent panel of judges made up of craft industry professionals. In this first episode, we'll hear the stories of our Emerging Leader Award, Elizabeth Okeyele. Elizabeth works to spread the l...
Jul 01, 2024•50 min•Ep. 220
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about folk embroidery with my guest Krista West . Krista delights in bringing ancient beauty to the modern world with embroidery designs inspired by traditional Mediterranean folk textiles. Introduced to traditional folk embroidery in Greece, she fell in love with the vibrant colors and historic motifs and began stitching textiles for her own home. She quickly realized there was still much interest in this historic craft an...
Jun 17, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 219
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about building a craft tool company with my guest Kelly Brooks. Kelly and her husband, Scott Gardiner, are the team behind knitbrooks , where they create unique wooden crochet hooks. Kelly started knitbrooks in 2013 while she was working as a reporter/photographer at a small community newspaper in Alberta, Canada. She opened an Etsy shop to sell online, and participated in local handmade markets over the next few years. In ...
Jun 03, 2024•50 min•Ep. 218
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we're talking about growing a sewing pattern business with my guest Heather Lou. Heather has been passionately making her own clothes since 2010, and discovered she loved sewing so much she left a career in interior design to start Closet Core Patterns . Over the years, the company has grown and evolved and now offers standalone sewing patterns, online sewing classes, and an inspiring pattern membership and private community called Crew ,...
May 20, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 217
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 1 at h+h americas 2024 in Chicago. With about 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 conversation among four industry professionals each of whom has a unique vantage point and perspective. Our pa...
May 12, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 216
On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about marketing, retail, and stationery with my guest Lauren Tilden. Lauren is a marketing coach for small business owners struggling to consistently market their businesses. Also a maker, retail shop owner, and podcast host, she’s on a mission to help small businesses do better marketing so they can make a bigger impact on the world. An ex-corporate marketer, Lauren fell in love with small business through her first small ...
May 06, 2024•54 min•Ep. 215
