Craft practice has experienced a sharp rise in popularity since the late 2000s, partly through the ‘aura of the analogue’ and the desire for authentic, handmade products in an increasingly fast paced, digitalised world (Luckman, 2015) but also because of digital platforms such as Etsy and social media enabling ‘anyone’ to become a craft entrepreneur. This book brings together historical, policy and individual narratives to inform a broad understanding of craft entrepreneurship. Drawing on case studies from around the world, Craft Entrepreneurship considers questions of identity, community, and the digital in craft entrepreneurship. In doing so, it finds craft activities to be positioned between or across the arts, heritage, notions of a bohemian lifestyle and the challenges of micro-entrepreneurship. By engaging with the contradictions and fragility of sustaining a craft practice, the chapters in this book contribute to different perspectives for entrepreneurship studies. The contributions to this volume illustrate the craft entrepreneurs’ identity, motivation and sense of creative purpose through their craft, as these collide with the tensions brought about through entrepreneurship.

Music is a universal language, and John Braheny speaks it eloquently as he helps prepare us for our big musical break--by teaching us the craft of songwriting and revealing secrets of the music business. Includes anecdotes, exercises, and examples from dozens of songwriters, such as Harry Chapin, Paul McCartney, and many others.

This action-oriented planner is packed with advice and worksheets that guide creative entrepreneurs in their hot pursuit of profit. From big picture goals (writing a mission statement, developing marketing campaigns, launching a new line) to immediate to-dos (getting a business license, pricing products, packing for trade shows), this essential guide brims with how-to tips from industry experts.

Craft, Inc. is the hipster business primer for entrepreneurial crafters to turn what they do for fun into what they do for money. Pro crafter Meg Mateo Ilasco offers a step-by-step guide to everything from developing products and naming the company to writing a business plan, applying for licenses, and paying taxes. Chapters on sales, marketing, trade shows, and publicity round out the mix. Plus, in-depth interviews with such craft luminaries as Jonathan Adler, Lotta Jansdotter, Denyse Schmidt, and Jill Bliss provide inspiration and practical advice. Accessible, informative, and more than a little spunky, Craft, Inc. paves the way for today's creative minds to become tomorrow's trendsetters.

Both volumes of Creative (and Cultural) Industry Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century map and elucidate the adaptations and challenges faced by the creative professionals and the entrepreneurial solutions they have co-developed.

Updated business wisdom from the founder of Dogfish Head, the nation's fastest growing independent craft brewery Starting with nothing more than a home brewing kit, Sam Calagione turned his entrepreneurial dream into a foamy reality in the form of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, one of America's best and fastest growing craft breweries. In this newly updated Second Edition, Calagione offers a deeper real-world look at entrepreneurship and what it takes to operate and grow a successful business. In several new chapters, he discusses Dogfish's most innovative marketing ideas, including how social media has become an integral part of the business model and how other small businesses can use it to catch up with bigger competitors. Calagione also presents a compelling argument for choosing to keep his business small and artisanal, despite growing demand for his products. Updated to offer a more complete look at what it takes to keep a small business booming An inspiring story of renegade entrepreneurialism and the rewards of dreaming big, working hard, and thinking unconventionally Shows how to use social media to reach new customers and grow a business For any entrepreneur with a dream, Brewing Up a Business, Second Edition presents an enlightening, in-depth look at what it takes to succeed on their own terms.

If you want to turn your hobby into a money-making venture or improve your current sales, you will benefit from the dozens of tips inside this book.

Starting A Craft Business is a fresh and innovative inspirational business guidebook for individuals who love to make handcrafted or art items and want to make money while enjoying their talent. Whether the craft artisan is a retired school teacher, vacation bible school craft teacher, disabled professional, or simply a lover of any form of art or craft, this book will help to make their dreams and aspirations of business ownership become a reality.

Essays from twenty-seven leading book editors: “Honest and unflinching accounts from publishing insiders . . . a valuable primer on the field.” —Publishers Weekly Editing is an invisible art in which the very best work goes undetected. Editors strive to create books that are enlightening, seamless, and pleasurable to read, all while giving credit to the author. This makes it all the more difficult to truly understand the range of roles they inhabit while shepherding a project from concept to publication. What Editors Do gathers essays from twenty-seven leading figures in book publishing about their work. Representing both large houses and small, and encompassing trade, textbook, academic, and children’s publishing, the contributors make the case for why editing remains a vital function to writers—and readers—everywhere. Ironically for an industry built on words, there has been a scarcity of written guidance on how to approach the work of editing. Serving as a compendium of professional advice and a portrait of what goes on behind the scenes, this book sheds light on how editors acquire books, what constitutes a strong author-editor relationship, and the editor’s vital role at each stage of the publishing process—a role that extends far beyond marking up the author’s text. This collection treats editing as both art and craft, and also as a career. It explores how editors balance passion against the economic realities of publishing—and shows why, in the face of a rapidly changing publishing landscape, editors are more important than ever. “Authoritative, entertaining, and informative.” —Copyediting

For crafty entrepreneurs, a highly focused guide to using social media and blogging to measurably impact your sales. If you want to earn income from your creative crafts, social media and craft marketing expert Hilary Pullen will help you develop a 360 degree strategy for online networking, outlining the resources and time you need to commit. She will take you through how to identify who you want to connect with, where you will connect with them, and what type of things you want to share and say to them—all with relevant examples and case studies. You’ll see that with a little planning and management, you can learn to love blogging and social media—and experience it not as a chore but an additional way to make use of your natural creativity! “I know what it takes first hand to market your crafts online and Hilary’s book is one of the most detailed marketing books out there for creative business owners . . . If you are looking for a marketing guide to help your craft business thrive, then you need to pick up Hilary’s book.” —Timothy Adam, Handmadeology