For this episode, I speak with Sarah Omura of SOhandmade, a line of eco-friendly toys for pretend play. Sarah’s products are impeccably designed and made -- and I loved this conversation with her -- she’s practical, openhearted, and passionate. Sarah talks about her journey with SoHandmade, the impact of COVID on her business, and her wild journey into mask-making. It’s fascinating to hear about how Sarah has been keeping SoHandmade afloat, in challenging times, and in ways she never could have imagined a few months ago.

Join us for a deeply thoughtful conversation with Stella Yoon of the Hudson River Exchange. Stella is a wise and contemplative shop owner with diverse experiences in the Hudson Valley. The HRE is a hub, training source, and retail and studio space for makers in the Hudson Valley of

New York. Stella brings a unique perspective to her work, combining experiences running a retail space, creating maker markets, and facilitating powerful conversations among makers. We talk about her experience with all of that, as well as the directions she’s taking during and after coronavirus.

Today I am talking to Hannah Armstrong of Quiet Cricket Studio in Austin. Quiet Cricket is a line of natural, handcrafted candles and body care items like natural deodorant and natural shampoo. Hannah has a deep background in ethnobotany, farming, and permaculture and that background in plants and sustainability informs every choice she makes with the line. Last week, in the midst of the COVID crisis, Hannah also started an innovative and generous Pay What You Can program. Today, Hannah tells us about that program as well as the opportunities, financial challenges, and tough choices she’s been facing.

One quick note -- the audio quality for this interview is not perfect. But I think Hannah’s insights and experiences are so interesting and important so we’re forging ahead with what we have.

We speak with Meera Lee Patel, a painter, writer, and maker known for her gorgeous art and deep wisdom.

As you’ll hear in the episode, she has found meaningful ways to diversify her work -- she sells products, has published two books, does licensing, and has a skillshare class.

I was honored to spend time with Meera as she shared very honestly about her struggles through the pandemic and how she has moved closer to the fear to come out to a place that feels like freedom. She speaks powerfully about the opportunity to build for the future and honestly about the challenge inherent in the unknown.

We hear from Elise Blaha Cripe, a small business owner who makes and sells handmade products, creates e-courses, and runs her great planner company, Get to Work Book.

Elise has done many things over the course of her career, many of them simultaneously. She is deeply honest and authentic, powerfully insightful, and very practical. She talks about the challenges she has faced in solo parenting and running a business during coronavirus while her husband is deployed… and she shares the perspective shift she had that allowed her to move forward and even bump up sales. I think you’ll love this episode -- Elise is a maker through and through and she somehow takes all the pressure off while also making everything seem possible.

In this episode of Making Do, we talk with Bekka Palmer of Closed Mondays. Closed Mondays is a textile brand that makes beautiful baskets and bags out of rope and thread.

Bekka shares how Closed Mondays grew, including their big push into wholesale and growing a team. She talks about the panic that came with coronavirus, the ways she asked for help, and how this time has brought a lot of unexpected positives in the business, along with a lot of challenges.

A couple of helpful ideas from Bekka:

Check out Skillshare. They may have great resources for business finances.

Think about doing a deep dive into foundational business practices like Holly Howard’s webinar, A Masterclass in Crisis.

We talk to Shawna of Strung by Shawna. Shawna is a maker, product designer, and illustrator who makes string art and string art kits.

Shawna has an incredible story to share of how she created her kits and the explosion of orders she’s been seeing since coronavirus hit. Her story is one of persistence and vision and creativity and struggle -- but above all, it’s an incredibly hopeful bright spot of thriving during this time.

We talk to Rachel Calhoun of Windblown Jewelry. Rachel’s line of brass and gold minimalist jewelry has grown from a piece or two being sold in the shop she was working in to being carried in stores across the country and a team of 5 people working on her team.

Rachel tell us how she has adapted her team, studio, schedule, launch schedule and countless other things during this time. She speaks to her real struggles but also shares her inspiring optimism and creativity in what she’s doing with Windblown now.

In our very first episode, we talk to Lauren Taylor, a blogger, sewist, maker, and sewing instructor. Lauren is a Nashville-based sewer famous for her authentic style, prolific sewing and making, and impressive workshop track record in some of the most impressive handmade communities.

We get specific and honest about how Lauren’s entire income disappeared with coronavirus, the creative and simple project she started to replace it -- and how that’s going.