Fiber Hooligan

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On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (05/12/14), my guest will be Stuart Hochwert, President and Founder of Prime Publishing. Stuart is an expert and really a cutting edge entrepreneur in world of internet marketing and content creation. He’s also, in my opinion, a giant in the online fiber arts world. Prime Publishing is his 4th media start-up. Their group of 27 cooking and crafting properties creates, aggregates and reviews original content. The brands span digital websites, e-mail newsletters, social media, licensing, e-commerce, business information, and marketing services. If you don’t recognize the name, Prime Publishing, that’s because you probably know them from their more well know online presciences like favecrafts.com, AllFreeKniting.com, AllFreeCrochet.com, StitchAndUnwind.com, and the Knit Picky Patterns eNewsletters… to name just a few.  He and his team are great folks that do a wonderful job reaching millions of knitters and crocheters with killer content. And they’ve been great partners me, to our company (XRX, Inc.), and to many of our STITCHES vendors and sponsors that we work with. I’m excited to have him on the show to talk about himself, his company, and something new that we have planned. I hope you’ll join us for what I can guarantee will be an exciting show.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (04/28/14) my guest will be Laura Zander of Jimmy Beans Wool. Originally from North Carolina, Laura earned a Master's in Poli Sci but switched gears while earning her PhD to computer programming (a favorite subject of hers). After lots of hard work, she landed a software developing job in Palo Alto, which is where Laura met her future husband, Doug! Wanting a change from the hectic pace of Silicon Valley, they moved to scenic Tahoe where Laura started to design websites for small companies. During this time, she learned to knit and loved it, which is how Laura met Lorna - owner of a local hand-dyed yarn company. She encouraged Laura to follow her true passion (knitting!) and voila! Doug and Laura emptied their savings account and Jimmy Beans Wool was born! We're going to be talking about the evolution of Jimmy Beans Wools, Sitch Red, her philosophy on business, the fiber arts industry, successes, challenges, and what's in store for the future. Laura is one of the most savvy business people in the fiber arts world. She's also someone who's courageous and generous of spirit. I’m so happy to be able to have her on the podcast. I hope you’ll tune in for what should be a great show.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (04/17/14) my guest will be Julia Grunau of Patternfish.com. Julia grew up amongst engineers (dad & brother, summer jobs). She got an English degree, then worked for some R&D tech companies before 1990 becoming (as far as she knows) the first woman to sell printed circuit boards in Canada (having become interested in knitting two years before). After seven years, she decided that she would rather sell yarn instead of torpedo and telecommunications parts, so she became an outside sales rep, selling yarn to yarn stores in the Toronto area.  In 2005 Julia became frustrated by having to go to 40 different websites to find PDFs to buy. She wanted a kind of Barnes & Nobles for knit/crochet PDFs and there wasn't one. It occurred to her that she might be well placed to do it (techie background, techie friends, lots of knitting contacts by then). So Patternfish.com was incorporated in October 2006 and launched a year and a half later, in June 2008. Since then Patternfish.com has become the largest pay-only site on the internet for knit and crochet designs, with over 16,000 top-notch patterns from hundreds of fine publishers (both corporate and indie) including Sirdar, Knitting Pure and Simple, Mirasol, Prism, Classic Elite Yarns, Lucy Neatby, Anne Hanson's Knitspot, Rowan, both the Noro and Debbie Bliss Magazines, Cabin Fever, Bergere de France, the UK Hand Knitting Association, and many others. Over 6,000 of them are exclusive to Patternfish.com as digital downloads, so there’s a lot of unique things to see. Julia is really smart and a lot of fun. I hope you’ll join us so you can hear from this remarkable woman.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (04/07/14) my guests will be Pam Haschke of Halos of Hope and Marian Rose from the Atlanta Knitting Guild.  We’re going to be talking about our ‘On Safari for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta' campaign; an animal themed hat drive for children who are being treated for cancer at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta - Egleston & Scottish Rite.  These ladies are not only dear friends of mine... they both inspire me. And you're going to want to tune in to hear their stories and how these amazing women are once again helping the community of Atlanta.

Next week my guests will be my dear friends BeLinda Creech and her wonderful daughter Cee Cee, now famous for her Elephants Remember Joplin campaign. Eleven year old Cee Cee Creech started her journey with elephants as a little girl with a big vision. In 2011, at the age of eight, she became aware of the disaster that was unfolding in Joplin in the aftermath of a devastating tornado, and she was sure that she could do something to help. She started knitting elephants for the children impacted by the tornado, while people caught her enthusiasm and spurred her on by donating money to the Red Cross for each elephant she brought to life. Since then, Cee Cee has been featured in 6 national publications, was a runner up for the Hearthsong Heroes award, and was the 2013 Jay Buckey Humanitarian Award recipient. She has also been interviewed on numerous radio programs, and even managed to get an elephant to NBC’s Brian Williams as a reminder about the needs remaining in Joplin. With the support and encouragement of her mother, BeLinda, and much of the knitting community at large, Cee Cee has continued to give to others through the simple gift of creating things with yarn. Cee Cee has raised over $12,000 and donated more than 1450 handmade toys for a variety of charities. Currently, Cee Cee is working with Ty Pennington (formerly of ABC’s “Extreme Home Makeover”) on his Pencils of Promise fundraiser, with the goal of building schools in Guatemala, and her “Elephants for Guatemala” campaign has a new herd in the making.  I hope you’ll all join me next week for what should be a wonderful and heartwarming show.

On the next pre-recorded edition of Fiber Hooligan (airing on 03/24/14) my guest is the iconic Barbara Walker. Mrs. Walker has been an idol and guru to knitter’s worldwide for decades, the first of her many comprehensive collections of knitting patterns appearing in 1968. But that's only part of her impressive list of achievements in a variety of fields. Born in Philadelphia in 1930, she studied journalism at the University of Pennsylvania and later worked for the Washington Star in Washington, D.C. It was there in the 1970s that she became interested in feminism, while working with a local hotline that helped battered women and pregnant teens. After relocating to Morristown, New Jersey, Mrs. Walker became a teacher of the Martha Graham dance technique. The first of her many notable and respected books on feminism, spirituality and myth was published in the mid-1980s, as was the Barbara Walker Tarot Deck, for which she supplied the illustrations. Her complete writing career has been split between knitting books, produced in the late 1960s through the mid-80s; and women’s studies and mythology books, produced from the 1980s through the early 21st century. And her influences continue to be felt by more than just the fiber arts world. It was a rare privilege to interview her for Fiber Hooligan! I hope you enjoy this very special show.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (03/17/14) my guest will be Mary Colucci. Since the mid-1990s, Mary Colucci has served as the Executive Director of the Craft Yarn Council (CYC), a nonprofit trade association that represents major yarn resources, needle/hook manufacturers, publishers, and consultants to the yarn industry. In that capacity she oversees all educational and promotional campaigns for the industry association, as well as monitors consumer research and retailer initiatives. She is also Executive Director of the Warm Up America! Foundation, one of the industry’s leading charities.   Prior to joining the CYC, she was president of CM Communications, a consulting firm, which was formed in 1988 with her business partner Christina Holmes. They handled a wide variety of consulting assignments, including product development and product launches, market research and numerous public relations campaigns.   From 1975 to 1988, Colucci served as Executive Director of The National Needlework Association, another industry group. She organized an extensive network of trade shows, education and public relations programs. Prior to joining TNNA, she was editor of Sew Business, an industry trade magazine.  Mary will be joining us to talk about the CYC, Warm Up America!, and the newest CYC initiative… Changing Global Health One Stitch at a Time. I hope you’ll join us for this show.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (03/03/14) my guest will be designer, teacher, and now author Brooke Nico. Brooke began her designing activities by sewing her own wardrobe, inspired by drape and color. She brought her talents to knitting almost 10 years ago, first exploring modular construct, then lace. In 2006 Brooke became part owner of Kirkwood Knittery in St. Louis, MO. Brooke got inspired by the intricacies and challenge of lace knitting in 2008. This is really where she has made her mark on the knitting world. She sees the patterns in small mathematical blocks & creates some of the most beautiful flowing garments in the field today. Her talent has been recognized by Vogue Knitting, Knitter’s Magazine, & Debbie Bliss magazines. She taught at the first VKLive event in New York City in 2011 and at VKLive L.A., as well as many STITCHES events. Her first book, Lovely Knitted Lace (published by Lark) is being released as we speak. The sub-title of the book is ‘A Geometric Approach to Gorgeous Wearables’. I have a pre-release copy of her book and I have to tell you that it’s just beautiful. Brooke is a lot of fun. She enjoys giving me a hard time, which should make for an interesting episode. I hope you’ll join us for this show.

Next week (02/17/14) my guests will be Barbra Pushies & Maridee Nelson, the creators & owners of the Yarnover Truck. The story behind this is great. They met in 2010 at a Tuesday night knitting group & became fast friends. One night at group, Maridee mentioned she was thinking about opening a yarn store. She had a name and a location all picked out, but the financial realities of a brick and mortar yarn store seemed overwhelming. During her weekly knitting class at work, Barbra brought up her friend’s yarn store idea. It was always a dream of Barbra’s, too, but, like Maridee, it always seemed just out of reach. One of the members of the knitting group suggested a yarn truck and immediately Barbra was enamored with the idea. Hours of Google research on mobile retail business and one overwhelmingly long email to Maridee later, they found themselves on Melrose talking with one of LA’s first mobile boutiques. On July 5, 2012 the Yarnover Truck was born. This year the Yarnover Truck team, as well as the Yarnover Truck itself will be on the STITCHES West Market floor. These ladies have a lot planned for the weekend. I’m looking forward to having them on the show so they can tell us what they’ve been up to and what we can expect at STITCHES and in the future. I hope you’ll join us for this show.

On this re-recorded edition of Fiber Hooligan (02/11/14) my guest is Anne Kuo Lukito. Though she’s been crafting & sewing all her life, Anne did not get into knitting until mid-2006. After teaching herself, she could not stop thinking about knitting and began making up patterns almost immediately. In early 2008, she submitted a few designs for publication and by late 2008, her designs appeared in Knitty, Interweave Knits & in 101 Luxury One-Skein Wonders. Since then, Anne has designed for several yarn companies and her work has also appeared in many other publications, including several books and magazines like Twist Collective and Knitscene. Her designs generally have a modern and fresh sensibility with a fun and innovative twist. One of the things Anne really enjoys is the opportunity to share and exchange knowledge with other knitters and with students. Anne teaches at knitting shows (including STITCHES), yarn shops, guilds and has also presented at a BlogHer conference and at Craftcation. Anne continues to develop her self-published designs under her independent design label and she also operates a small boutique distributorship, Crafty Diversions, which represents highly talented knitting designers in distributing their patterns and products to yarn shops. Anne’s patterns, tutorials and blog can be found on her own website.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (02/03/14) my guest will be the lovely and talented Myra Wood. If you haven’t met Myra, you’re going to love this lady… she’s extremely charming and very funny. Myra is an internationally know fiber artist, designer, author and teacher. She teaches a wide range of classes in knitting, crochet, embroidery and beading… specializing in all things creative. Her online class, "The Perfect Fit Seamless Crazy Lace Cardigan" is available at Craftsy.com. Myra is the author of Creative Crochet Lace and Crazy Lace along with numerous published patterns in books and magazines. Myra’s been a guest instructor on numerous episodes of Knit and Crochet Now, Knitty Gritty and Uncommon Threads on PBS, HGTV and DIY Network. Most recently Myra has just finished a new book with XRX Books (my company), Knit In New Directions, which will be debuting at STITCHES West… where she’ll also be presenting a killer Opening Day program. We’re going to be talking about all that and more on this show. I hope you’ll join for us so I can share this exceptional lady with all of you.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (01/27/14) my guest will self confessed "technique freak" and "skill junkie," JC Briar. JC dabbles in all kinds of knitting, but has a special fondness for textured knitting and novel construction techniques. She shares her enthusiasm by teaching at shops & fiber festivals and through her book Charts Made Simple. Her latest venture is Stitch-Maps.com, a website for viewing and creating grid-free charts of unparalleled fluidity, authenticity, & beauty. At Stitch-Maps.com, you can browse through a collection of over 500 stitch patterns, each displayed in the form of a stitch map. We're going to talk to her about her plans for the future of Stitch-Maps.com as well as the other cool stuff she's been up to. If you've met her, then you already know that JC is scary smart. She is also someone that I feel very lucky to call a friend. I hope you’ll join for us for this show so I can share this exceptional lady with all of you.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (01/20/14) my guest will be Rosemary Hill from Designs by Romi. Romi was born into a crocheting family and learned in preschool, but the call of the needles was always strong, and her mother finally relented & taught her to knit as well. It was love at first stitch. She knit off & on until 2002, when she resumed knitting passionately after a long hiatus, discovering the internet knitting community in the process. Learning to knit lace prompted the 2005 founding of her company, Designs by Romi, selling handmade shawl pins & sweater closures. She is currently working on a lace book for Interweave and 2 subscriptions: her latest Small Shawl eBook (Y4, also an app!) and The Great Oddments Knitdown. Her patterns have appeared in books, Interweave Knits, Knitscene, Knitty, and Twist Collective. Interweave Press published her first book: Elements of Style: Knit + Crochet Jewelry in late 2008. We’ll be talking about all of this as well as her Craftsy class! Besides being uber talented, Romi is also one of the sweetest people you could meet. I hope you’ll join us for this show.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (01/06/14) my guest will be John Levisay, CEO of Craftsy.com. John co-founded Craftsy in 2010 because he believed that there was a better way for people to learn and interact around their passions & hobbies.  Prior to Craftsy, John held executive roles at eBay.com and servicemagic.com. He joined eBay in1999, as head of Strategy & BD. He helped launch eBay Motors, growing it into a $14 billion a year global business. John later ran the Business, Photo, and Music categories on eBay and served as CEO of Kruse International, a 100-employee subsidiary of eBay Motors. Prior to eBay, John spent 6 years at General Electric, graduating from GE’s Financial Management program and Corporate Audit Staff. John received his MBA from The University of Michigan and his BA from Colgate University. He grew up in Spring Valley, IL and comes from a family of crafters. John lives in Denver, CO with his amazing wife and two children. His hobbies include history, music, photography, movies, cooking, and cake decorating. John is not only an interesting man, he’s also a really good guy. He has helped to bring so much to the fiber arts community. And I’m pleased to finally have him on the show. I hope you’ll join us for what should be a great interview with a remarkable and visionary man.