Homespun E20 | Elizabeth Chappell

hi everyone welcome to Homespun where creativity and Community come together I am your host Misty D and today I am joined by Elizabeth Chapel of Quilter's candy Elizabeth is an incredible entrepreneur the host of The Craft to Career podcast and a fabric designer with art gallery Fabrics she is here today to remind us all to take risks ask for opportunities and to embrace who you are because the world needs more of it all right Elizabeth I am so excited to be here with you today I got to be on your podcast a while back and now I'm so glad you were kind enough to join me here so I really appreciate you taking the time oh thank you it's my pleasure I'm so excited to be here thanks for having me absolutely it I you know I always say I think we're we're friends at at heart we just never get to actually spend time together someday it will happen yes it'll happen it will for sure we'll we'll manage our crazy schedules and make it work eventually so well I would love if we could start by you just telling everyone a little bit about who you are and what you do now and then we'll dive into the backstory yeah so currently I am a fabric designer for art gallery fabrics and a pattern writer and you know it's so funny when people ask what do you do I'm like oh no which one of the things I have a podcast um and then I teach teach a a signature Course once a year where I teach other Quilters who want to write patterns how to do that I love it so much and like you are fully immersed in the quilting world now were you always quilty or crafty like growing up no okay crafty I would say yes okay um but quilty no which is funny because my mom is an award quilter I mean award win she was she passed away but um amazing quilter and I grew up where she would hand quilt and she'd have the big I don't even know what they're called but like you know the quilt was up with a frame and she would you know be handil um and I'd go to the fabric store with her and I was like no not again you know so it wasn't until I got older that um that I realized oh I actually want to do this you know and what was that spark that that Drew you back to it yeah so well I had have I had a neighbor friend we were best friends she moved away now but um she lived across the street and we would go on walks every day and I am an entrepreneur and I was like Tracy we should start a business together what should we do we had all these ideas and her mom we I live in Houston she came out for this market and I was like what is this Market that your mom goes to can I tag along and it was Quilt Market and she is Bonnie of Bonnie and Camille that's her mom oh my gosh how fun yeah and so I just was blown away it was very hip and modern and cool like uh no offense to what my mom did but our our styles are very different and so I was like oh there's a place for me in this community you know I was into like fashion blogging and stuff and at Quilt Market there was shoe making and clothing and you know home decor all the different things I was like oh whoa and the fabric spoke to me it just ignited wow I love that how fun and so then your entrepreneurial spirit and you've discovered the world of quilting again um you kind of dove in in a unique way so can you talk about the start of Quilter's candy pros and cons right I started quilting because I saw a business opportunity and I was like oh there's this niche market and it spoke to me obviously Quilt Market was very cool I was like oh I like this but I came to it with a business mindset from the very get-go I've looked at it very very different for most Quilters Who start as a hobby and are like maybe I'll turn this into a career um so my friend and I were like well let's start a business in this nich what should we do and we started a monthly subscription box for Quilters because that was very hot at the time and an untapped Market um but the more every month that we we would put a pattern every month in the box and the more that I would Cur it and look for patterns that I liked I got really excited I was like I want to make that and that and that and that and then I started my mind was like I I have ideas of my own I'd like to write these how on Earth does one go about doing that and so you know it's just kind of morphed over the years amazing and and now I mean it really has grown and I think you continue to inspire so many people through through your business and where whatever brought you to it initially I think it's very apparent that you were called to it and and you are definitely passionate about what you do and it's it's obvious to all of us who watch you and all that you put out into the world so thank you for for making that leap it's pretty incredible to watch and so now you like you said earlier you host a podcast and I was lucky enough to be a guest on there um which I have to admit I'm a little nervous interviewing you because you're an old Pro you're so good at it so you are that's hilarious no have turned I feel like I'm with the old here so oh well that's very kind but truly you you are uh an incredible host and so if you have not listened to the craft to Career podcast I highly recommend it because Elizabeth does a great job and she has so many incredible guests that you've gotten to talk to and so I wondered if there's maybe a guest that was like I cannot believe I get to talk to this person yeah um okay so well recently and this is probably I don't know because it's recent that I mean it's now been doing it for years which is about um but I had Su quilts on the podcast she was one of my very first guests and I've known her since I first started quilting and that was just so fun to hear her story recently I had minky Kim and that has turned out to be one of my favorite just it was a very like vulnerable conversation that we both had and a very I I really love that um Joe Hudson he is not this is one of the he's not a quilter at all but we talk a lot about all sorts of things and he talks about just our mindset and things that are very very interesting that when you think about I mean life business anything our relationships he touches on all those things so that was a very like oh my gosh I can't believe I'm having on the podcast that's awesome it's really cool and I I really like the variety that you bring to the table because it like you said it's not always a quilter that you've invited to you know to join you and I think it gives a really well-rounded View and um and learning opportunity for all of us who are in this industry to just you know expand our Horizons a little bit so that's that's super cool really amazing one more by the way I have to add one more okay yeah so Trey Stewart he is a basketball player uh college basketball player division one and he takes quilts and turns them into clothing for professional athletes and it was so I was so intimidated to have him on the podcast and for once my kids were like my mom is the coolest sheing podcast like that's amazing isn't that the best when finally you're like they get it they get it I know you shared something that you you made something for your daughter the other day and she was like so excited and I can so relate to that because most of the time the kids at least so far you know my kids my older two work in the shops here and they appreciate quilting but it's definitely not their love and so even when I'm working on things they they really just don't care but when you find the thing that they love it's like man it just makes your mom heart sore you know yes it does I have to say too in my audience I'll hear people say like my kids aren't interested at all and I'm like I was negatively interested in quilting for years don't give up hope it wasn't until my mid early 30s that I was like oh my gosh and now I'm fully you know so Never Say Never oh exactly and I can totally relate to that I grew up surrounded by Quilters I was very fortunate in that way that I had women around me who were just incredible at at so many crafts truly like I never had the idea that I couldn't do anything because all of the women in my life were just rock stars and so I feel very very privileged from that example but my my first Fay into quilting was with my grandma when she was getting sick and um I loved her I love spending time with her but quilting was never something that was like I wanted to do it I wanted to help her when she was struggling with it towards the end of her life um and because it was a thing that I did with her and then she passed it took a long time for me to have any interest in coming back to that it was like this sacred time of my life that um I really felt was like it had served its purpose in that way and so even you know after Jake and I were married and I had you know a couple of my kiddos then we started the company I I was hesitant like I was willing to help behind the scenes with business things and and other opportunities that were there but the actual quilting design sewing part I was like nah I don't think that's for me and it wasn't until my youngest went to school that I was like all right I'll I'll make him a a quilt for nap time I can do that you know and then once I was in it I was like fully back in it because you know like I said I think I have that background that it was just like so much possibility and now man I can't imagine doing anything else it's crazy how how life works out that way you're like if you would have told me in high school that I would be a quilter and be designing quilt patterns I would have laughed I know I mean I took a sewing class in high school and I was like this is for the birds like I exactly I'm like if I never have to make another pair of pajama pants that would be okay it's so true well so through your podcast you obviously share a lot of business advice and you know just just life advice advice in general but I think one of your greatest gifts that I follow is just your passion for encouraging other creators on the business side and so can you talk a little bit about that and how you kind of found your love and passion for for sharing yeah I mean that's such an interesting question and one that I wonder myself a little bit but I think yeah wow there's a lot to talk on there I I just feel like it's a predominantly female industry and there are men here and we love and are so grateful for you know all every uh but predominantly female and predominant and there's nothing wrong there are people who love to quilt for a hobby or you know for fun all everyone whatever you do welcome welcome however there are women who um who want to earn a career who want to be able to have flexibility creativity stay at home whatever but there I just find so many women are like no not for me and that's why I think Joe Hudson that one guess was so exciting for me because there's so much psychology going on behind each one of us our doubts our it's The Human Condition You know it's just part of this human journey and I don't a lot of people find healing in quilting therapeutic so I just there's a beautiful thing in helping people tap into and it's it's a struggle of my own like learning to love myself lean into trusting myself taking risk risks um knowing you can do this and then seeing the results like oh my gosh this is cooler than I ever thought it would be whether it's a quilt or your business or whatever it's very very rewarding but for me it's I don't I'm not satisfied so much with the results for myself and everyone has their own calling you know whatever it might be but for me I really want to reach out and help others experience that as well and just like tap into their potential which is a fine line to walk because I feel sometimes I really maybe invest a little too much or care too much and I'm like ah how do I separate it so anyhow but that's part of the journey as well so I hope that answered your question it does and and so let's talk a little bit about that because I I think for me I I am also a people person and I tend to be a bit of an empath and so I can let feelings and opinions really weigh on me have you experienced that that struggle in your own life oh yeah absolutely I mean there there are days where I'm like what have I done like I've raised my hand and put myself in the arena and I don't need to you know totally optional thing um so yeah I an empath and I do feel but there is a drawer of letters that I save and emails that I save in students whose lives have been impacted and that is worth more than anything you know and I recently I've had some loved ones who've passed away or people close to me in in the quilon community some big people have passed away recently yes and it does bring about this like what is it all for what is it all about what are we doing here at the end of the day um the human relations that we have building ourselves personally conquering growing that and you know family all the things those are the things that that last and stick so even though it's uncomfortable at times it's worth it I feel like oh absolutely I I agree and honestly like that was probably the most difficult part for me in putting myself out there is that I know I often put too much weight in other people's opinions I love that phrase that like what other people think of you is none of your business I have to remind myself that all the time um but it's a good reminder that like for the majority of us we're we don't feel 100% confident we're doing the best that we can but we feel called to do a thing and we're not going to ignore that calling and uh I just think that's that's so important do you have like specific advice maybe I love that that you keep a drawer of all the goodness that's that's really cool well is there yeah yeah I was just gonna say is there anything else that has helped you kind of um mitigate what can be the the Muddy Waters of social media I'm really blessed to have a husband partner who's very supportive that's been crucial for me what no matter who it is having someone in your corner that is really and he will just laugh at things like that's crazy and it's really good to have that balance and perspective of like oh my gosh you're right this is crazy you know um therapy big advocate of therapy life coach whatever that might be um and embracing the journey like it's it's a journey and learning I've gone from like more of a stance of oh that's ridiculous doesn't matter to love and empathy for people who show up in a way that I'm like well that's okay you know we don't have to agree and I can love them and love myself and not need to change myself but it's taken a lot of work through you know the things that mentioned so absolutely no I I agree completely so you also teach this incredible course you like you said once a year so maybe tell people a little bit about that especially if they are interested in building um a creative business so yeah it's the quilt pattern writing course and when I first started writing patterns I remember someone close to me saying like that's a big deal I don't you don't just do that and I was and it kind of lit a fire under me which is a theme in my life I was like oh I will do this but it was hard and I looked and Googled and how to write patterns there were a few blog posts but very surfacy and I it was through other courses and lots of trial and error I was like why don't I help people do that and I also found in the quilton community oh I have to say your mother-in-law was one of the awesome examples that I there's contrast people who would hold things close and not want to tell you because it felt like scarcity and if I help you then it's G to hurt me yes but I your mother-in-law didn't know me from anyone you know and I saw her at coil market and asked her why do you give so freely you know on YouTube and all the things and she was like she was just very generous and very giving and she took time to speak to me which I you know was no one and I was she stood out to me as someone I was like I want to be like that I want to be someone who shares and there's room enough for everybody you know yeah um so any back to the course of what say oh I was just going to say we've definitely found that in our business the more uh generous that we can be it always comes back um tenfold and so I agree I think early on there was such a a scarcity mindset but really there's there's abundance of success if we all just um encourage one another and lift each other up but continue on so yeah it's true and it feels better it just feels better when you're in that scarcity it feels yucky and stressful and you're always watching for the other shoe to drop you know but when you're like oh and you sit back and calm down it's so much more fun it's so much more fun to to cheer them on and to see their successes and to feel like you have this amazing camaraderie and community that is really all in it together um and like you said there's there is genuinely room for everyone whatever you bring to the table and and the uniqueness I think is what makes the quilting community so special and uh it's my favorite part well that okay you touched on this awesome thing the uniqueness so each one of us we have our own brain and creative spirit and whatever we create it's going to be uniquely ours and what I really do touch on not even touch on it's a huge part of the course is like bring your creative voice to the table and so people are like but there's so many pattern designers which is a whole another topic but um I'm like but there's no you out there you know and if we tap into what we love and really which is scary to put yourself out there and be different you know but if you can do that that's where the magic comes so it really is and you know as I as I dove into designing my own quilt patterns it was hard for me initially to trust my gut it you get a little bit of that well who Am I who am I to do this you know what what makes me an expert because I I certainly have never felt like one but it's exactly that it's that I had something on my heart that I wanted to share that this idea in my brain that I wanted to see you know brought to life and and being willing to take those things that come to you and share them with the world my hope is always that it will either help them if if their journey is simply to make quilts because they love it and it's healing and it's their favorite hobby awesome but if it also can encourage someone to kind of take that leap into being brave and putting thems out there man I would love to see more of that so is there anything else you want to touch on on the course I know we kind of got all all over the place there yeah yeah so I guess like the the meat of the course I touch on no I keep saying touch on but I really teach on is um Adobe so it's Adobe Illustrator and Adobe in design and I guess you could speak to this this is a unique opportunity because anyone you can write a pattern using any program right and I even offer a free course that uh for anyone if you want to learn how to use canva it's a free resource uh but at a certain point in your pattern writing career if you want to write for a Missouri Star or whoever you know uh there is an industry standard and we use Adobe products and when you pass files around um to an editor or you know whoever it's through Adobe and so and even just creative freedoms if you're like man I'm really struggling to make a cathedral window or whatever it might be you know and the graphics are really limiting Adobe is it's everything but it can feel very overwhelming and so I really just narrow it down to here's what you need to know to write a quilt pattern you don't need to know every single s every single thing in Adobe there's so much but here's what you can do and I break it down into really tangible step by step bite by- bite lessons to to help them have success with that I love that yeah that would that would have been hugely beneficial to me early on I mean now luckily the company has grown enough we have an amazing amazing team that helps support and so I get to do all of the fun creative side and then other people get to bring their magic and do the actual pattern writing and I feel incredibly blessed because of that I mean it's it's incredible so I do want to give a shout out to our amazing pattern team and our Tech editing team and um yeah and I think that's another piece where it's like maybe the design part isn't your magic but if you're good at writing patterns there's still an opportunity for you in the industry if you're good at editing still an opportunity for you in the industry so don't be afraid to kind of think outside the box either um yes if this is something that you feel called to do well yeah and on that I find a lot of people who take my course they aren't interested in marketing and I'm like oh there is a place for you like you do not need to if you're an amazing writer or Tech editor or whatever there are so many people who need that and absolutely tire that out you know and don't need to go out and be on Instagram making videos if that's not your thing you know yeah absolutely it's so true well so next up let's talk about your fabric collections because they are so beautiful and that had to have been just a dream come true so let's talk about that Journey a little bit yeah yeah so I mean I I would I wish I'd kept a journal but the timeline of it all is a bit fuzzy but when I started designing quilt patterns around the same time I was like how cool would it be to have my own Fabrics that I could put in these patterns and the more you quilt you'll know this too the more you quilt you start to realize what Fabrics you use and the kind of color combinations and the scale of the prints and all of that and so yeah I really wanted to do that and it took years I mean it was same with raining patterns my first were terrible I did these designs and I remember crying like looking at the FACS that I bought and looking at my sketches and there was this huge gap of like how on Earth are they looking that good you know so I it took a lot of years to learn how to use Adobe products to really get the look that I wanted um but anyhow so that was a dream of mine and yeah started designing for Art Gallery A couple of years ago and have three collections with them now yeah that's amazing can you talk a little bit about that process you know when when you finally felt like you maybe had a collection that was ready for the world how did how did you take that next step to reach out to you know a design house or or how did that go well so my path everyone's actually when I talk with people everyone has a very unique path so you know I you think like what is the path everyone there isn't one that's why I feel like the more people share the better so I had a relationship with art gallery from the very very beginning um we in fact Pat Bravo the owner she was like the guest for one of our monthly subscription boxes back in the day she's from Argentina and we included like a treat from Argentina and her Fabric and you know kind of had a yeah box so we had that friendship and connection um I invited myself out to agf I asked could I be a socialite like a brand ambassador and they were like yes we'd love to have you and I invited myself out to Florida and I've been working at at this point on my designs but I wasn't I knew they weren't good enough and Pat asked are you ever interested in designing Fabric and I showed her my designs and she for whatever reason she was able to speak in a way that finally resonated she was like hm Elizabeth you have a look on Instagram your quilt patterns have a look but your fabric doesn't have that look like it's kind of I mean I don't know how she said it but it it just wasn't coherent and it didn't fit my brand and when she worded it in that way I was like what yeah okay I do have a look and so I was able to tweak that and I also told her I don't know that I want to have a signature like standout design and for her to tell me you can design whatever you want you know don't don't be confined in these boxes I I have ended up having like a signature you know design but for her to tell me you don't have to all of a sudden I was like oh the shackles are gone I can create and um and that opened up a lot of creative freedom that's amazing well and some sometimes that that like permission to really be yourself is what you need to just like soar right exactly like you said just take those shackles off and and really figure out what what you want to create how amazing that's really cool and also I want to go back to I'm so impressed that you were just like hey I want to be a socialite pick me I love that so much like you know that turns out is something that's not common I didn't know but I think that's attributed a lot to my growth and success is that I'm just like I'm just gonna try it let's just do this you know so I love it so much I mean and and what a great reminder to just put yourself out there because what's the worst that's going to happen right no you already think it's going to be no maybe in your head so you're in the same exact spot that you were before and I think we think oh then they're gonna think less of me trust me as someone who reaches out and asks me stuff I'm not remembering like that person asked me this and I said no you know they all too busy too so just exactly exactly everybody's doing the best they can and and I think if you also hold on to that mindset that like everybody wants success for everyone around them and a no doesn't mean you're the worst I don't like you I don't want you to be successful that's not the same thing and so finding a way to separate those is so important yeah you know funny because people will hear this and think oh Elizabeth asks then it happens I wish I could give you a list of all the things I've asked and have said been told no you know so exactly gotta go out there and try it yeah I love that got to shoot your shot definitely oh that's so amazing well is there anything else that you would want to share with maybe up and cominging Quilters or entrepreneurs because that's obviously a love of yours um to just help them make the next big leap really I I I don't know self love like really just learning to tap into what you love go on playdates with yourself you know go out and explore and just find something totally outside of the box that you'd want to create and do and just try something different you know and that's to either entrepreneur or anyone anyone you know just play and have fun and laugh and and that will show up in what you do and create I love that so is there something that you do to kind of keep your creative bucket filled uh you know what's interesting is I I'm saying no to a lot more things like keeping my time free for me I don't know how that but most creatives I talk to are the same way having things on the calendar all the time is a is a real times it's a suck for me my energy you know so no I agree completely and it's it's definitely a hard lesson that I had to learn as well because initially you want to do all the things you want those opportunities and you feel like if you say no that you're going to miss out somehow and I've certainly found in my life the more uh protective I am of my time the better my creative work becomes and I want to do good work you know ex yeah and so I I love that and I can completely Echo that sentiment that I've had to get a lot better at saying no uh I initially I was such a people pleaser that was impossible for me to do and and now it's really not I actually much better at just being like that's that's not going to work and if it's po if I can offer an alternative I'm happy to do that um but yeah that's that's a big one I love that you brought that up it's huge so oh well I I just truly appreciate you spending this time with me today and I don't I know you have a busy schedule ahead of you but I would love if you would just remind everybody where they can follow along with what you're up to or if they want to check out any of your courses or your podcasts um where they can find out about that yeah so the podcast is craft to Career if you know the business side interests you Instagram I'm having such a fun time creating content for Instagram it's at Quilters candy and then yeah if you're interested in pattern writing the quilt pattern writing course opens every September so I'd love to have people join that if that's what they're interested in awesome and is that on your website that they would find that yep that's on the quilter candy.com y perfect well thank you so much Elizabeth I really appreciate it and hopefully will be hanging out together in person soon we will I know we will absolutely have a great day thanks you too bye-bye bye