While She Naps with Abby Glassenberg

Sonya Philip undertook an amazing project: to sew 100 dresses in a year, all from original patterns she's drafted herself. In this episode Sonya tells us her story, from growing up in a creative household to learning to sew and be a pattern maker. We talk about body image and uniforms and why sewing your own clothes is a life skill like scrambling an egg.

Sonya Philip undertook an amazing project: to sew 100 dresses in a year, all from original patterns she's drafted herself. In this episode Sonya tells us her story, from growing up in a creative household to learning to sew and be a pattern maker. We talk about body image and uniforms and why sewing your own clothes is a life skill like scrambling an egg.

My guests are Tara Swiger and Stacey Trock. We share our top tips for marketing your creative business. Whether you're just getting started with an Etsy shop, or you've been selling your creative products for many years, you'll pick up some new tricks to engage better with your customers. Hear about composing an excellent email, using auto responders, and why it's a good idea to assume the best. This episode is packed with ideas for creating better customer engagement. Enjoy!

In this episode I talk with Deborah Fisher and Stacey Trock about great tools we love. Deborah is the author of Sew Fun: 20 Projects for the Whole Family. She is a doll maker and quilter who co-founded the Bright Hopes Collaborative Quilt Project and Bo Twal, a doll-making project in Haiti. Stacey Trock is a crochet designer. Her company, Fresh Stitches, provides PDF patterns for fun, easy-to-make crocheted stuffed animals. I hope you enjoy the show!

My guests are knitwear designer Gwen Bortner and crochet designer Stacey Trock. We talk about our current favorite things including awesome books, apps, bags, time-saving tools, and other great stuff we think you'll love.

My guests are Betz White and Claudine Hellmuth, two fantastic indie designers and all-around interesting women. We share our top picks of apps, blogs, tools, recipes, subscriptions, and other awesome things we love. 

My guests are Wendi Gratz and Stacey Trock. In this episode we talk about our current favorites in media, apps, tools, books, and other things we're loving that we think you'll love, too.

In this episode I chat with Stacey Trock of FreshStitches and Mollie Johansen of Wild Olive about our favorite graphic designs tools, tips, and tricks that will make your blog or website look amazing, even if you're just getting started in web design. 

In this episode I chat with Stacey Trock of FreshStitches and Mollie Johansen of Wild Olive about our favorite graphic designs tools, tips, and tricks that will make your blog or website look amazing, even if you're just getting started in web design. 

In early October (2013) Etsy announced a significant policy change: sellers will be allowed to hire staff, have someone else ship their goods, and sell items made with manufacturing partners. This shift has been met with both outcry and relief from Etsy's 1 million sellers and 30 million buyers. I'm pleased to present this conversation I had with Vanessa Bertozzi who has worked at Etsy since its inception. One week after the announcement Vanessa and I talk about what prompted the new policy, what it really will entail for buyers and sellers alike, and how it will shape Etsy's future. Share your thoughts on my blog: http://www.whileshenaps.com

In today's show we are talking about one of the most challenging parts of having a niche blog: monetization. My guest is Bjork Ostrom of the food blog, Pinch of Yum. Blogging is wonderfully fun and brings all kinds of rewards in and of itself like making connections with like-minded people all over the world and getting your ideas into the public eye, but creating and maintaining a great blog is also really time consuming. Coming up with fresh content several times each week, writing posts, taking attractive photos and editing them, and then responding to comments can become an all-consuming job pretty quickly. If it’s a job you love and you’re good at it that’s awesome! But no matter how much you love your job, you probably want to get paid to do it and that’s where today’s guest comes in.   Bjork and his wife, Lindsay, have a beautiful food blog called Pinch of Yum. Most posts on Pinch of Yum are easy-to-follow delicious recipes, but Lindsay and Bjork are also interested in showing how to make an income from blogging and helping others do the same.

In this episode I chat with Dawn Treacher of Treacher Creatures about the toy testing requirements in the UK that apply to handmade softies and the process she's gone through the test 14 of her sock creatures for safety. Dawn's toys are truly adorable and our talk raises a lot of important issues for all softie makers no matter where you live.

Carol Cruise has had a wonderfully successful career designing stuffed animal sewing patterns for major pattern companies. She is a true veteran in this field and she has terrific advice and stories to share about her journey as a designer. Hear about Quilt Market in the 1980's! 

Awesome sewing pattern designer and surface designer, BariJ, and I have an informative conversation about how to get your sewing patterns printed and distributed to quilt shops and sewing centers all over the country. Bari generously shares the ins and outs of design, printing, and distribution. A lot goes into selling print patterns and Bari is an incredible resource. I hope you enjoy our talk!

Shawn Smith is the incredible creative talent behind Shawnimals, and indie plush company that has had great success. Shawn talks with me about how he went about getting his plush designs manufactured overseas and distributed throughout the United States. I hope you enjoy his story!