Craft Industry Alliance

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 organizations including the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation and the Society of Illustrators. She founded Little House Cottons, a boutique organic cotton brand featuring her whimsical designs in 2022. She is a graduate of Pratt Institute; her career has spanned more than thirty years, inspired by the universal themes in folk art and color play. She divides her time between a tiny apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and her studio in New York's Adirondacks.

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This episode is sponsored by Quilting.com. Right now, quilters across the country are searching online for shops just like yours. The question is — will they find you? Quilting.com is building the go-to directory for the quilting community, and registration is open now. It's free, it's fast, and it puts your business in front of customers actively looking to buy. Visit Quilting.com and register today.

Quilting.com is offering a free month's business upgrade to Craft Industry Alliance listeners using Coupon Code: CRAFT2026.

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To get the full show notes for this episode visit Craft Industry Alliance where you can learn more about becoming a member of our supportive trade association. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and build connections with forward-thinking craft professionals. Join today.

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 Minnesota and has spent over 18 years licensing her art and patterns. Her designs have appeared on dishware, jewelry, prints, clocks, sewing patterns, kids' products, and seasonal décor sold through major retailers like Nordstrom, Riley Blake Designs, Silhouette, and 500+ independent boutiques and museums across the U.S. She previously served as Creative Director for Carta Bella Scrapbook Paper.

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This episode is sponsored by h+h americas Fall Edition.

 

Attention Craft Industry Alliance podcast listeners! Mark your calendars for the h+h americas Fall Edition, happening September 30th through October 2nd at the Reliant Center in Houston, Texas! Discover new seasonal collections, source top-quality fiber, fabric, and tools, and build valuable industry connections. Buy your ticket today! 

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To get the full show notes for this episode visit Craft Industry Alliance where you can learn more about becoming a member of our supportive trade association. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and build connections with forward-thinking craft professionals. Join today.

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 website. And here we are 24 years later.

Amy is a member of the cohort of late-diagnosed autism and ADHD women of a certain age. She’s into her rescue dog, Sky, rabbits, quirky movies, tiny collectible vinyl toys, everything about Formula 1 racing, and making one very good iced coffee to start every day. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario.

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This episode is sponsored by Clothworks.

If you're involved in the quilting industry, you're probably familiar with the Clothworks family of brands. From trend-forward print collections and American Made Brand Cotton Solids to the playful world of Susybee, Clothworks creates fabrics that help keep quilt shops and their customers inspired.

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To get the full show notes for this episode visit Craft Industry Alliance where you can learn more about becoming a member of our supportive trade association. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and build connections with forward-thinking craft professionals. Join today.

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 Boston Magazine and senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, his work has appeared in The New York Times, WIRED, Slate, Smithsonian, The Boston Globe, and other publications. Visit his website at www.michaelblanding.com.

Michael visited the Craft Industry Alliance studio to tape this interview in front of a live virtual audience.

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To get the full show notes for this episode visit Craft Industry Alliance where you can learn more about becoming a member of our supportive trade association. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and build connections with forward-thinking craft professionals. Join today.

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 world. Drawing on the Project Threadways manifesto, she explores how making—rooted in joy, creativity, and shared experience—can connect individuals while also building stronger, more resilient and interconnected systems of education, production, and community. This keynote invites the craft industry to chart a path forward through collaboration, shared resources, and collective stewardship—moving beyond preservation to build resilient, regenerative ecosystems for the next generation of makers.

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To get the full show notes for this episode visit Craft Industry Alliance where you can learn more about becoming a member of our supportive trade association. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and build connections with forward-thinking craft professionals. Join today.