Many craftspeople utilize Etsy.com for promoting and selling the items they design and produce. Some even expand beyond Etsy and start up home businesses and small craft businesses outside the home, like Keara Sexton with OAK,  on Newbury Street in Boston. 
To learn more about Keara’s business and Etsy.com, read Shawn Cyr’s article, Those arts and crafts projects could add up to dollars online.  This might spark your creativity and give you ideas for expanding your crafting interests and even make some money with them.
There also are workshops and tutorials at Etsy.com.
What have been your experiences with Etsy.com?  I’d enjoy hearing about your craft business …read more

Flowers have inspired artists and craftspeople for centuries.  Quilt designs often have floral names.  Think about looking at the floral quilt patterns for ideas.  They can inspire other crafters, too. 
Quilters might follow the traditional patterns exactly or develop variations from them as my daughter does. 
 You could use floral designs in: 

Rug hooking (My husband’s grandmother made lovely hooked rugs with floral patterns.)
Crocheting & knitting  (My mother-in-law used flowers in some of her crocheted afghans.)
Painting & sketching (I’ve always enjoyed painting flowers, in fields and meadows, as well as in vases.  I’ve often used them in notecard designs, too.)
Latch hooking (My cousin has …read more

Whether you’re involved in your craft as a business (income producing venue) or simply for your own pleasure, media releases (traditionally called press releases) to promote your products, services, workshops, book, or simply yourself as a craftsperson can be very useful.
Here are 5 reasons they can be important:

 Helps you gain name recognition
 Lets the public know when you’re exhibiting at a show.
 Announces an award or type of recognition you’ve received.
 Informs the public about new classes/workshops you teach.
 Provides information about a unique trip you took related to your craft work.

 How have you used media releases to inform the general public about your arts and …read more

Nowadays, most crafters have a  web site, or at least a blog, for their hobby or business. It’s really almost essential that you develop a blog if you’re expanding your hobby into a business.
Some craftspeople start out with a blog, as my daughter has at Meandering Threads and then may develop a web site where they offer items for sale.  Perhaps you simply enjoy sharing your crafting heritage, as I do at Tales of the Trails End Quilters.  Here I relate stories about the quilters in my family.
Blogging gives crafters a place where others can view your work (especially if you use photos) and …read more

If you operated a quilting or fabric arts business in the pre-Internet days, you’ve likely discovered that much promotion nowadays is connected with online applications.  Even your business may have an online presence. 
“I’ve always considered myself a PR pro,” comments crafts business expert, Barbara Brabec, in her current e-newsletter bulletin, “but what I was particularly good at in years past was getting print publicity. 
       Yes, for many years Barbara has been considered a pro at helping crafts people promote their enterprises and has written several books on the subject.  Many of us have discovered, as Barbara has, that the PR field …read more