The host of HGTV’s Knitty Gritty presents “craftographies” of the most influential designers in the industry and profiles of under-the-radar newbies. Bestselling author and stitchery dynamo Vickie Howell puts down her needles to pay tribute to her fellow crafters! Her extraordinary new collection features interviews with thirty successful professional craftspeople as well as profiles of a diverse group of approximately sixty amateurs. And every interview includes a photo of the subject, plus a peek at their work or their studio. This project—a true labor of love—also documents how social networking sites, groups like Stitch ’n’ Bitch, and alternative sales outlets such as Etsy have helped create a close community of crafters passionate about their work and each other. Includes interviews with such influential crafters, designers, and business people as: Renowned quilter Denyse Schmidt The Crafty Chica, Kathy Cano-Murillo Artist and designer Mary Engelbreit Emmy-nominated host of Creative Juice, Cathie Filian Indie craft documentarian Faythe Levine Scrapbooking legend Sandi Genovese Project Runway winner and fabric designer Jay McCarroll TV Host and author Mark Montano Craft pioneer Carol Duvall Famed fabric designer Amy Butler “Bad ass!”—Christina Batch-Lee, marketing for Etsy “The kind of book you can’t stop devouring from the moment you open the cover and when you’ve finished reading you’re hungry for more . . . It’s the kind of book that changes lives.” —Margot Potter, The Impatient Crafter “[Vickie’s] heart, soul and intentions [with Craft Corps] are touching, and crazy cool!”—Amy Butler, world-renowned fabric designer

An exciting moment for any crafter is when they are able to take the love for crafts and turn it into real money. Selling your crafts enables you to make money doing what you love, along with the convenience of setting your own hours and working from home.

Brightly colored and intricately designed, molas have become popular with buyers across the United States, Europe, and Japan, many of whom have never heard of the San Blas Kuna of Panama who make the fabric pictures that adorn the clothing, wall hangings, and other goods we buy. In this study, Karin Tice explores the impact of the commercialization of mola production on Kuna society, one of the most important, yet least studied, social changes to occur in San Blas in this century. She argues that far from being a cohesive force, commercialization has resulted in social differentiation between the genders and among Kuna women residing in different parts of the region. She also situates this political economic history within a larger global context of international trade, political intrigue, and ethnic tourism to offer insights concerning commercial craft production that apply far beyond the Kuna case. These findings, based on extensive ethnographic field research, constitute important reading for scholars and students of anthropology, women’s studies, and economics. They also offer an indigenous perspective on the twentieth-century version of Columbus’s landing—the arrival of a cruise ship bearing wealthy, souvenir-seeking tourists.