Wednesday's Featured Blogger Interview with Loretta from Stitching the Night Away
August 25, 2009 | By
Welcome to the second installment of our Featured Blogger Interviews! In this column of HandmadeNews, we’ll be interviewing some of the top bloggers supporting handmade, vintage, and indie on the web. These interviews will help you learn more about the writers behind your favorite blogs, as well as offer helpful information on how to make your own blog more successful.
This week we're featuring Loretta from Stitching the Night Away. Loretta is quite a presence on the web, and we thank her for taking time out of her schedule to talk with us today.
1. For our readers new to your blog, please tell us a little bit about yourself and Stitching the Night Away.
Cross stitch has been my passion since a very young age. When I was getting into online business way back in early 2000 and 2001 it was easy to decide what my first website would be about...cross stitch! I wanted to put together a community and bring cross stitch as a hobby to the masses.
2. How long has it taken you to establish yourself in the craft community?
That's a good question. Some days I'm not really sure if I am established. Being in the craft world online is a very unusual niche. I know people out there are thinking, "there are tons of crafts sites," and there are. But the truth is, a lot of crafters and people interested in our little hobby part of the world aren't internet savvy and don't find us. It's something I struggle with pretty often.
As far as the design aspect of things I'm getting ready to mail out some things to Krenik and PatternsOnline, so I'm hoping I'll start becoming a little more recognizable in that arena as well.
3. How long have you been cross stitching, and how did you get started?
I have actually been stitching since I was 8 years old! My first project was a small white goose on a red sweatshirt using waste canvas (talk about an annoying first project!). My Girl Scout troop did this project as part of a crafting badge. I was the first one done, then I moved on to helping others finish their projects and pulling out the waste canvas. I've had a needle in my hand ever since.
4. What advice can you offer fellow artisan bloggers looking to gain a presence in blogosphere?
Well, this might be a little controversial. I want to say don't be afraid to get your own domain name and set up a blog there instead of using a free based blog system! If you really want a presence having your own domain name makes a huge, huge difference. I'm not saying that free based blogs are wrong. There are plenty of great blogs out there that are on them. But for true established presence I think a domain name is needed.
The other thing I want to say is for those of you using blogger, please allow people to leave comments without being a blogger user! Please, please, please, I beg you. Nothing drives me crazier than getting to a stitching blog, wanting to comment, and not being able to because it won't let me.
*** If you need blogging help, please feel free to email me! I offer services for bloggers through my services site http://easywahmwebsites.com, and I'd be happy to answer questions, show you how to set up hosting, where to buy domain names, etc... ***
5. You also post a lot of helpful information about different craft fairs around the US. Do you feel that selling at fairs works better for artisans than online venues?
This is a difficult one for me. I love craft fairs, but the honest truth is people don't cash and carry like they used to. I don't think that has anything to do with economy either, I think it's more that we've become a society that doesn't carry cash on us. I know I don't. If you've got a merchant account, make sure you have a sign on your craft table that says "We accept major credit cards" and you might get some extra nibbles! 
Online venues make me squee with glee! I love Etsy.com and ArtFire.com. I'm a frequent shopper, and I love to buy. It's like visiting a craft fair whenever I want (which is usually on payday!). So put a few things in a shop, link the shop from your blog, and test the waters out. Don't be afraid to try new things, and talk about it on your blogs and on Twitter. Spread the word that you have new things added to your shop. The easier it is for people to buy, the more things you'll sell.
6. Is there any advice you can offer artisans struggling in the current economy?
I wish I had some good advice here. I really do. People are still buying things for their homes even in this downturned economy and with a recession. We want to feel comfortable, we want to feel cozy and comfy in our homes. If you can provide that at a reasonable rate, I'm willing to pull out my wallet and buy from you.
The only piece of advice I have here is don't lower prices because you feel like you have to! You don't have to. Don't take a major profits cut just to make sales. You have to eat and pay your bills, too. If anything, as crafters we tend to undercharge and should be charging more for our time and talents.
7. You post a blog entry almost every day (sometimes twice a day!) do you ever experience writer’s block? If so, how do you overcome it?
Writer's block? Me? No, never! LMAO - okay, so more like every.single.day. I always have writer's block. That's how I ended up with the Flickr Picks and Etsy Finds categories on Craft Blog! I couldn't think of anything to say, so I figured I'd find something to show instead. And it worked out! Quite often those are the most frequently viewed posts on the blog.
8. How much time do you devote to your blog (promoting, writing, etc) every week?
Not as much as I should. I spend at least one hour commenting on other blogs and getting links to my craft blog every week. Writing is in infinite process for me. I've got tons of posts in draft mode that I need to finish, plus notes on a notepad on my desk, plus word docs on my computer ... and on and on.
9. What’s a fun fact most readers don’t know about you?
Hmmm... I'm a pretty open book. I think my readers and message board members might know me as well as my husband and my four kids do. If you don't know and you want to know, go ahead and ask me!
10. Last but not least, why do you believe that supporting handmade and indie is important?
The past year or so it seems like the government is out to squash small business. We just can't let that happen. Everything out there has such a corporate feel to it anymore. Meanwhile, we have toys and clothes coming in from China and other places that are literally killing our children. (Aquadots anyone?)
Thank you Loretta for spending time with us today!
If you haven’t checked out Loretta’s blog, Stitching the Night Away, it is definitely worth visiting! You can also visit Loretta’s website at stitchingthenightaway.com.
Sara Moore is the Head of the Content Department on ArtFire.com.
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