The Creative Connection

BlogHer Panelist-Content & Community Building (Intermediate-to-Advanced)-Building Community Around Craft

BlogHer Panelist-The Intersection of Craft, Passion, and Sustainability

Blogging since 2001, Mena Trott co-founded Six Apart and now serves as a board member of Say Media. During the past ten years, she has worked to bring blogging to the masses while keeping the personal voice front and center. She has spoken at Ted, D: All Things Digital, SXSW, Blogher and has appeared on the cover of Fortune Magazine. After an extended maternity leave, Mena has devoted her efforts to The Sew Weekly, on online community she began that is devoted to sewing. She lives in San Francisco.

Contact:
Web:http://www.sewweekly.com
Twitter: @sewweekly

BlogHer Panelist-Monetization and Business Models (Intermediate-to-Advanced)-Craft + Money:The Next Steps

Anne Kuo Lukito has been hooked on crafting since her dad showed her how to sew on a button at age 8. As a self-proclaimed “Crafty MacGyver,” her many endeavors over the years have included sewing, papermaking, cardmaking, silk painting, jewelry fabrication, baking and even a few failed attempts at learning to crochet from her grandmother. Anne discovered the world of knitting in 2006, after teaching herself to knit from a book. By 2008, she was completely immersed in the craft and began developing her own designs which appeared in such renowned publications such Knitty.com, Interweave Knits magazine and the book, “101 Luxury One-Skein Wonders”. Over the last few years, Anne’s work has also appeared in several books, yarn company collections and other publications, such as Knitscene and Twist Collective. Anne also designs for her own label, Crafty Diversions, and is currently writing her first book and well as a series of booklets. Y ou can find her designs at http://www.craftydiversions.com/ and http://www.ravelry.com/designers/anne-kuo-lukito .

BlogHer Panelist-Monetization and Business Models (Intermediate-to-Advanced)-Craft + Money: The Next Steps

Tara Gentile is a creative business coach who empowers passion-driven entrepreneurs to actualize their ideas, visions, and dreams – turning them into dollars and cents. She brings a creative approach to branding, product development, and marketing that incorporates both strategy and high touch design.

She writes frequently for the Daily Worth, Crafting an MBA, and The Mogul Mom. She’s the author of several popular digital guides including her latest on the relationship between personal art and money, The Art of Earning. She’s a proud mama to a 3 year old named Lola.

Contact:
Web: http://taragentile.com
Twitter: @taragentile

BlogHer Panelist-Content & Community Building (Intermediate-to-Advanced)-Building Community Around Craft

Corinne Leigh has been making videos for 10 years; working in Haiti, living on buses that run on recycled veggie oil and building DIY community at ThreadBanger and Craftovision. She is an expert in developing online communities, social networking and short form video content and is passionate about living eco and being a good person.

Contact:
Web: http://craftovision.tumblr.com
Twitter: @corinneleigh

BlogHer Panelist-Monetization and Business Models (Intermediate-to-Advanced)-Craft + Money:The Next Steps

Alicia DiRago is a DIY, style and design enthusiast. She currently resides in Houston, TX where she gave up a career in chemical engineering to start Dismount Creative, a company that offers social DIY classes that encourage women to Make It Fun, Make It Together, Make It Yourself! When she isn’t teaching happy hour craft classes (and enjoying the hoppiest beers she can find) Alicia writes a popular blog about DIY fashion, jewelry and décor projects and inspiration at www.dismountcreative.com/blog. You can also find her on Twitter @aliciadirago.

BlogHer Panelist-Monetization and Business Models (Beginning)-Introduction to Monetization Models for Creative Bloggers

Amanda Rettke is the creative force behind iambaker.net and iammommy.net. Her blogs showcase baking and all things parenting. Amanda’s award winning recipes and designs have been featured all over the web, on several television programs, as well as international newspapers and publications. Her self deprecating sense of humor will keep you laughing and her pictures will inspire you to be the best baker and parent you can be!

BlogHer Panelist-Content and Community Building (Beginning)-Your Social Media Solar System and Closing Session: The intersection of craft, passion and sustainability

Kathy Cano-Murillo is a writer and artist. Since 1990, she has sold her handmade “Chicano Pop Art” crafts to hundreds of retailers including Bloomingdales, Target, and Hallmark. From 2000-2008, she wrote a weekly syndicated Arizona Republic newspaper column, and has authored seven books including Crafty Chica’s Art de la Soul and Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing. In 2001, Kathy launched CraftyChica.com, a wildly popular web site to inspire women to brighten their lives with clever craft ideas. Her profiles include iTunes, HGTV, DIY Network, MyLifetime.com, The New York Times, USA Today, NPR and she has a Crafty Chica product line with iLoveToCreate, a Duncan Enterprises Company. When she isn’t creating or teaching, she writes novels. Her “Crafty Chica Novel” series include the critically-acclaimed Waking Up in the Land of Glitter and Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing (Grand Central Publishing). Kathy lives in Pho enix, AZ, with her husband, two kids and five Chihuahuas. Her motto for life is “Crafts, drama and glitter!” http://thecraftychica.blogspot.com

CONTENT & COMMUNITY BUILDING (BEGINNING)-YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA SOLAR SYSTEM

BlogHer Panelist-Growing Your Reach (Beginning)-Using Content and Community to Grow Your Reach

Crissy Herron is the founder of Indie Biz Chicks (www.IndieBizChicks.com). She is a proud resident of The Mitten State (Michigan), loves DIY culture, still listens to a lot of music from the 90s, and when she isn’t blogging or having a crazy adventure with her sister, she can usually be found mixing up something awesome in the kitchen.

BlogHer Panelist-Content and Community Building (Beginning)-Your Social Media Solar System

While many know Nancy Malay as “The Christmas Lady”, these days she creates a variety of vintage-inspired items for every Holiday, born from the spirit of old postcards and antique toys. In her cozy home workshop in Faribault, MN, she meticulously handcrafts her pieces using paperclay, papier mache and cloth. Embellishments of mica, antique trimmings, German glass glitter and tinsel add the sparkle and look reminiscent of earlier days.

She is a licensed artist/designer for Midwest-CBK, recently creating a collection for Christmas and Halloween, which will launch in January, 2012. Nancy was chosen by the prestigious Early American Life magazine as one of the Country’s top artisans, and listed in the 2008 Directory of Traditional American Crafts Holiday issue in two different categories. Published in numerous national magazines, including Prims, Celebrate 365 and Country Women, she was also selected by Better Homes and Gardens to design a step-by-step snowman project for their Holiday Crafts magazine for 2010 and 2011. Her studio will be featured in the Fall issue of Studios magazine.

When not working on her art or browsing antique stores or flea markets, Nancy’s other passion is gardening. It’s another way of expressing her creativity through the color and texture of the plants, designing beds that bloom all season long. She enjoys teaching online classes, but also loves inspiring new artists with individual sculpting classes offered in her studio. Her husband, Rick, and three grown sons are always supportive and encouraging. Nancy’s motto~”Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”.

Contact:
Web: http://www.nancymalay.com
Blog: http://www.nancymalay.blogspot.com

Panelist-Creating Community Through E-Commerce

BlogHer Panelist-Growing Your Reach (Beginning)-Using Content and Community to Grow Your Reach

Amy Turn Sharp is the wood queen of Little Alouette, an organic wooden toy shop she runs alongside her master carpenter husband, Joe. Their sweet little toys are all over the world now, from tiny boutiques to American Eagle 77 Kids shops. Even Martha Stewart thought Alouette’s toys were fabulous and extended an invitation to the shop to sell wee wood toys in NYC last holiday season at a private event.

Amy is a mother of three from Columbus, Ohio, who tracks her life on doobleh-vay blog, and has at least seven projects brewing all the time. She really wants to have an essay aired on NPR in the next two years. Amy LOVES online connections and helping other women find rooms of their own. She likes radishes, bookshops, and chicken korma. She is a Kirtsy.com and StoryBleed editor, in addition to a freelance writer who regularly contributes to sites like Alphamom.com and Scoutiegirl.com. She works with women all over the country teaching on the topic of social media. Amy also runs creativity workshops with local children and was named “One of the 50 Top Etsy Moms” by Babble.com in 2010. She has spoken at numerous conferences, including BlogHer, Blissdom, Mom2.0, Kirtsy HOSB, Chicks Who Click, and many other amazing local venues.

Contact:
Web: www.amyturnsharp.com
Blog: http://doobleh-vay.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @amyturnsharp