Together they somehow manage three blogs: Craft Buds, Lindsay Sews, and Bugglebee. Imagine all the knowledge these lovely ladies possess! Here's one opportunity to glean some of that knowledge.
1. Craft Buds is a huge, very active blog. Explain your process for finding information and articles.
Craft Buds is a collaboration between me and my friend Mary. We each have areas we like to focus on each week, which typically means we'll post one craft tutorial (Mary), a roundup of free patterns (Mary), a handmade business article (Lindsay), the fresh picks for the week (another roundup of notable crafts, from Lindsay), and we share the duties when it comes to hosting giveaways.
A huge source of finding inspiration is just reading other blogs! I subscribe to at least 400 craft blogs, mostly sewing or quilting related, and I scroll through them every day to "clear out my reader." I also visit linky parties (http://craftbuds.com/linky-
2. Where did you learn the many business tips that you print, and how helpful do you think they've been for your readers?
All different ways. For instance, I'd been reading about effective ways to use Twitter (http://www.craftbuds.com/
3. What is the most time-consuming part of running a handmade business? How can those of us in the business save ourselves some of that time?
According to some of our featured crafters (http://www.craftbuds.com/
4. Your partnership obviously works well for you. How did you and Mary meet and become partners in the blogosphere?
Mary and I actually live near each other, went to the same college, and are a part of the same church! But we didn't know we really shared the love of crafting and blogging until we'd both launched our own sewing blogs, Lindsay Sews (http://www.lindsaysews.com/) and Bugglebee (http://www.bugglebeehandmade.
5. What other interests do the two of you share?
Oddly enough, we both live in historic homes in different areas of our town, built before 1900.
6. What is the one, most important, thing that others in the handmade biz do to grow their business?