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Kathy Cano-Murillo is the founder of the award-winning site, Crafty Chica.com, specializing in Mexican-inspired crafts. Kathy’s mission to inspire others to bring out their inner sparkle—and to see the sparkle in others. She has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, NPR, Buzzfeed, and more.
Kathy will be speaking at Maker Festivals Mesa/Phoenix, so we asked her to share a little advance inspiration with us.
Q&A with Crafty Chica
Q: What’s your number one tip for someone who wants to transform their hobby into a business?
A: Don’t wing it, start with the end-goal vision of what you want your business to be and where you want it to go. Then reverse engineer the steps you will need to take to get there. Hope is not a strategy, action is. If you just dive in without a plan, you’ll end up on a hamster wheel of work and a lot of the joy will be sucked out!
Q: You do it all! In addition to making jewelry, painting, sewing, ceramics, and other crafts, you’re a business coach, novelist, licensed artist, and more. If you were granted a free day to do whatever you want, what would you do?
A: This is such a great question because it cuts right to the important part! I would definitely do ceramics! I love the process of working with clay and forming it into little textured stories!
Q: One of your most popular products is your unique, handmade, hand-painted mugs. How many mugs do you estimate making? And just how much coffee is fueling your creative adventures?
A: I go through different phases choosing what I want to work on. When I’m in my mug phase (which is usually fall/winter), I’ll paint and/or hand-build at least 250-300 mugs! But then I’m burned out, so I don’t make them again until summer. I never force myself to produce something if my heart is not in it. That’s where being a hyper creative comes in handy, there are always other genres to indulge in!
Related: Jewelry Artist Podcast: Kathy Cano-Murillo, the Crafty Chica Who Does it All
Connect with The Crafty Chica
Kathy’s newest line of Crafty Chica bisqueware is available at paint on pottery studios nationwide. She also has new annual planner and journals available at Barnes and Noble stores. Follow Crafty Chica on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or your favorite online platform.
Check out these jewelry projects—and more—at CraftyChica.com!
DIY Coin Jewelry: Make a sparkly ring from pesos using crystal flatbacks.
Bead Stash Charm Bracelet: Make a themed bracelet using beads from your collection.
DIY Resin Hoop Earrings: Use UV resin to make cute fruit hoops.
Creative Jewelry Inspiration from Interweave
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2)/rita-moreno-2024-oscars-031024-54cb2c55c28543c6893ec395fd29d6de.jpg "Rita Moreno, 92, Debuts Major Hair Change at 2024 Oscars")
.webp "Lovely Metal Frame Macrame Earrings Tutorials by NoTailCatJewelry / The Beading Gem")
