Craft Industry Alliance

Today, we are re-airing an interview from March 2017 with the founders of Electric Quilt, Dean Neumann and Penny McMorris. Dean Neumann passed away this week on September 10, 2026.

Dean was the visionary behind EQ software. A mathematician who taught himself to program on a hand-me-down computer from his son, he became known to quilters worldwide through his work on Electric Quilt software. He put his heart into every version.

Dean...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about sewing clothes with my guest Cornelius Quiring.

When Cornelius Quiring was 3 years old, he was in a farm accident that left his body asymmetrical. He learned how to draft patterns and sew clothes to uniquely fit his body. It was a way of embracing who he is. Today, he shares his skills with those looking to do the same and empower themselves.

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On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about wholesale with my guest Emily Kerr-Finell.

Emily is a mission-driven entrepreneur and the founder at Wholesale In a Box and Making Faire Work. A seasoned wholesale strategist, she has helped 2,000+ people start and grow small businesses. Her approach to business has been featured by The Oprah Magazine, Forbe...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about illustrations and textiles with my guest Kristen Balouch, founder of Little House Cottons, an organic quilting cotton company that produces fabric based on her original illustrations.

Kristen is a children's book author, illustrator, and textile designer who has written and illustrated more than a dozen books for children. Her work has been recognized by...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about surface design with my guest, Carina Garnder.

Dr. Carina Gardner is the founder and President of the University of Arts & Design, which offers degrees and certificates through a unique program that helps designers turn their creative skills into profitable businesses.

Carina holds a Ph.D. in Design from the University of Min...

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about knitting and crochet publishing with my guest Amy Sadler.

Amy is the editor of Knitty, as well as publisher and founder of the magazine. In 2002, she suddenly realized she could start an online knitting magazine to feature the knitting talent she'd been seeing on blogs all over the world, all on one tidy, professional-looking web...

On this special live episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about Hobby Lobby with my guest Michael Blanding, author of the new book The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation.

Michael is a Boston-based investigative journalist and author of In Shakespeare’s Shadow and the New York Times bestseller, The Map Thief. A former senior writer at...

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 evolving role of craft in a complex wor...

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 inspiration and patterns on ...

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 americas 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 conversation among four industry profess...

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 considers herself an acci...

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 cultivate a creative c...

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 strategy, clear visual identity, an...

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 selling a business can be a lot...

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 crochet, embroidery, cross stitch, p...

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 both online and wi...

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 dolls and a deep appreciation for t...

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 has provided patterns to both Broadw...

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, warmth, and stalwart b...