Craft Industry Alliance

On today's episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we're talking about running a brick-and-mortar yarn shop with my guest, Annissa Essaibi-George.

Annissa is the owner of Stitch House. She taught at East Boston High School for 13 years before being elected to the Boston City Council. In 2021 she ran for Mayor of Boston.

Annissa recently served as CEO and president of the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston and now is the Partnership Advisor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts. Annissa is a mom to 4 great boys 20-year-old Douglas and 18-year-old triplets Charlie, Kayden, and Samir. Annissa and her husband Doug are both lifelong residents of Dorchester and live just up the street from the Stitch House.

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This episode is sponsored by Thinkific, the easiest way to turn your crafting expertise into an online education business. Whether you're teaching painting, quilting, jewelry making, or any other craft, Thinkific makes it simple to share your skills, grow your audience, and generate a new income stream. Start your free trial today at Thinkific.com.

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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 product and surface design with my guest Hollei Hayes.

Hollei is the owner of Hollei Anne Design Co. After honing her craft for over ten years in the design industry, she made the leap from working in Fortune 500 corporations collaborating with esteemed brands such as Toys R Us and Skip Hop. Now, she's fully immersed in her passion as a Surface and Product designer and has had her art seen in big box retailers like Target, TJ Maxx, Hallmark and more!

Today, she's fortunate to own a creative studio where she dedicates her efforts to providing trending art and design to elevate product collections and brand identities for entrepreneurial women in retail for the homegoods, stationery, gift and textile industries.

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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 activism with my guest Omakri Williams.

Omkari Williams is the Gold Nautilus award-winning author of Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World (Without A Bullhorn). Her book helps readers identify their “activist archetype" and map a personal action plan for engaging in small, change-making activities with potentially big impacts.

She has worked as an actor, political consultant, and coach. Now she welcomes all people into the world of micro activism, a sustainable path to change-making based upon honoring the inherent dignity of all people. 

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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 embroidery with my guest Melissa Galbraith.

Melissa is the fiber artist behind MCreativeJ. She was born and raised in the desert of Washington state where her mother instilled a love of making things by hand at an early age. Melissa shares her love of nature through whimsical and modern hand embroidery kits, hands-on workshops, and her books, How to Embroider Texture and Pattern and DIY Embroidered Shoes.

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This episode is sponsored by The Academy for Virtual Teaching.

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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 are talking with a variety of industry players about the second bankruptcy of JOANN Fabrics including:

• Grace Dobush, our business reporter for our corporate newsletter Craft Industry Insider


• Molly Hamilton from Folkwear Patterns


• Aaron Leventhal, former CEO and owner of Hero Arts


• Venture capital investor Elizabeth Caven


• And Kansas City-based fashion designer Whitney Manney

We start with Grace giving us an overview of the current situation at JOANN (January 2025), go through 10-15 minute interviews with each guest, and wrap up with Grace as we look towards what the future might be like for JOANN. 

We hope you enjoy this slightly different format for the show! 

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.