Join host Misty Doan as she sits down with Vanessa Gertson, the creative force behind Lola Boutique and fabric designer for Moda Fabrics. Vanessa shares her inspiring journey from a divorced mom working until 1 AM to becoming a recognizable name in the quilting industry. Discover how she built her signature style, overcame imposter syndrome, and learned to protect her creative energy while building a sustainable business.

Key Episode Highlights:

• How Vanessa started her fabric design career with just five minutes a day in Photoshop while raising two young kids
• Getting rejected by Moda, then coming back a year later with improved designs that landed her the dream job
• Working from her kids' bedtime until 1 AM as a single mom and learning when to finally say no to opportunities
• Building a signature style without using signature colors - creating recognizable designs while changing palettes every collection
• Her design evolution from hand-drawing and scanning sketches to drawing directly on iPad Pro
• Why she won't write another book right now and how she protects her creative energy from overextension
• Living 45 minutes from Zion National Park and how nature resets inspire her fabric collections

Join host Misty Doan on Homespun as she sits down with the incredibly talented Kira Delaney, a fiber arts educator and pattern designer who has transformed her lifelong love of crafting into a thriving career. In this inspiring episode, Kira shares her unique journey from theater costume design to teaching middle schoolers after-school fiber arts programs, and how working in yarn shops led to publishing her own knitting and crochet patterns. Discover the profound differences between teaching children versus adults, why "letting yourself be a beginner" is crucial for learning, and how her theater background unexpectedly prepared her for inclusive pattern design. Kira also introduces hybrid crochet (Tunisian crochet) as an accessible entry point for nervous beginners and shares her philosophy that creativity should bring joy, not frustration.

Key Episode Highlights:

• Kira's evolution from theater costume design to full-time fiber arts teaching and pattern design
• Why children are naturally better students than adults - and what we can learn from their fearless approach
• How theater costume experience led to inclusive pattern sizing and fitting expertise
• The introduction of hybrid/Tunisian crochet as an ideal beginner technique combining knitting and crochet benefits
• Teaching philosophy: "If we're frustrated, we're missing the point of creativity"
• Building a fiber arts career through yarn shop teaching, pattern publishing, and festival workshops
• The importance of making tangible things in our increasingly digital world

Join host Misty Doan as she sits down with Jess Barrera, founder of Sally Tomato, to explore her inspiring journey from working at a family quilt shop to building a successful bag pattern and hardware business. In this engaging conversation, Jess shares how she turned her college entrepreneurship major into a thriving creative business, the challenges of scaling from her basement to a full operation, and her passion for making bag-making accessible to sewists of all levels. Discover the story behind her viral prom dress made from denim, her approach to product development, and valuable advice for aspiring creative entrepreneurs looking to turn their passion into profit.

Key Episode Highlights:

• Growing up at Nancy's Notions quilt shop and turning college entrepreneurship major into Sally Tomato empire
• The denim prom dress challenge that proved friends wrong and built her design confidence
• When inventory overflow took over the house - the moment she knew the business needed help
• Hardware innovation solving customer frustration with coordinated supplies and matching components
• First trade show chaos with homemade brick walls and learning the industry through trial by fire
• Balancing workaholic tendencies with family life using habit trackers and vintage movie inspiration
• Making bag-making accessible through educational tutorials and supporting sewists at every level