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I can't wait to leave for Portland tomorrow for that city's instalment of the Hello Etsy conference. The main conference is in Berlin this weekend, and several American cities are hosting their own creative small-business conference at the same time. I was very excited and flattered to have been invited to pitch a session for the...
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A frequent discussion topic in the creative business world has cycled back around, and I want to chime in with a couple examples from my own experience. The topic is doing work for free (with the assumption it'll pay eventually) versus only doing work for pay. This round of discussion was sparked by Jenny over...
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Last week I took a walk with a new friend. I pushed the stroller and she held the leashes of her dog and mine. We chatted about all sorts of things new friends talk about, including the dramatic tale of Owen's arrival in our family. She asked me when or how we'll tell Owen he's...
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When the baby arrived and we decided to remodel and/or switch around half our house, my workspace pretty much got moved to the bottom of the priority list. For the first few months I wasn't working at all, and then when I started working there were just so many other things to do that...
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I'm very, very excited about this. The ebook is formatted as a PDF, so it should be readable on any device. And it happens to be the perfect start-crocheting-for-the-holidays time of year. Just saying. And also, for the time being at least, it's on sale. (Read more about my thoughts on ebooks.)
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I've needed one, that's for sure. August was killer. But more about that another time. Or not. Regardless, perhaps you, too, will feel your spirits bolstered after half a minute listening to my kid laugh. (My apologies for having plunked my phone down to record this and failing to notice that toy thing blocking his...
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I've deleted this post a half dozen times, because I'm not sure there's a good way to say this thing I'm fairly desperate to say. Maybe this will do it. Dear crafts, For the last few months, I've felt like I've been unfaithful to you. I've been thinking of myself as a maker. I know this comes as...
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I'm really psyched to have had the opportunity to write a bit of a guide to making a Mighty Ugly creature for the CRAFT blog. I mean, it's CRAFT! And I got to sit for an afternoon and make and photograph an ugly creature! Fun times. So if you've been listening to me blather about...
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Beth Casey, owner of Lorna's Laces yarn company, raises some important questions about what makes a business "indie" and another business "corporate" over on her blog. Though it's tempting, given how much grey area there is, to wonder why making such distinctions is worthwhile, I do think it's an important conversation to have in our evolving...
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Dear designers, Thank you for the awesome wooden high chair we bought for Owen. It's slim and lovely and it'll grow with him into his childhood and hopefully beyond. We spent a fortune on it, but its cost-per-meal will approach zero as the years pass. Thank you for clean-lined cribs and outfits sans pastel colours. Thank you,...
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