Jenny Hart, the genius behind Sublime Stitching, is writing on Crafting a Business for VenusZine, a zine for emerging creativity. Jenny brings hip modern designs to hand embroidery reclaiming it from the bunnies, mushrooms and "cutesy" of the past.

Starting out in 2000, Sublime Stitching has grown. The website offers patterns, kits, tools and textiles for sale. You can also find easy instructions (titled Tattoo Your Towels, I love it!!) for the beginning embroiderer. There is also a Sublime Stitching forum on Craftster. Ofcourse there is a blog!!

But even if embroidery isn't your thing, you should read her article on beginning a crafty business. She honestly describes trying to a grow a DIY business in a way that both encourages me and still gives me that chill-in-the-pit-of-my-stomach feeling:

It still is scary. But the scary part is different now. Attempts at making bigger strides, having more demand than resources to meet those demands, managing money wisely, and trying to find financial backing and business people in the industry who get the DIY movement (psst … they don’t) to possibly partner with. I’ve often felt very much like running a successful business is discovering the emperor has no clothes. Only, you’re king at your own company, which means you’re the one feeling naked.

About encouraging others to take a similar risk:

I find myself struggling to come up with some snappy reply that is encouraging and informative without saying "Go for it! Work really hard and it will be everything you dreamed!" Unfortunately, that’s just not the whole story. But I will say this: If you don't do it, you'll never know. And once you start, you'll see the next step and take it. Then it will become easier, then harder again, then easier, then doubly harder, and you'll find you're on your way. Where are you headed? Well ...

It won't look like what you expected.

It won't go the way you planned.

If you can be OK with that, do it.

There's more in this article, the first of 5 on Crafting A Business. Part Two, from December 5th, is all about book deals.

(crossposted from BlogHer)

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

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